Posted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 7:29 Post subject: Change the WRT3200ACM with NETGEAR 7800
Hi everyone, I would like to know if it is better to change 2 WRT 3200acm with 2 NETGEAR 7800, is it worth it? would I have improvements? thanks _________________ Linksys WRT3200ACM AP 1
Linksys WRT3200ACM AP 2 + WDS AP
Linksys WRT3200ACM WDS STATION + WDS VAP
DD-WRT Version: r48494
OpenVPN Server
OpenVPN Client
Cloudflare
Express VPN
Raspberry Pi-hole
Well, Marvell's Wi-Fi division is dead in the water and their assets are in the process of being sold to NXP.
As you probably know, there are longstanding issues plaguing the open source wireless driver, mwlwifi. There is little chance Marvell or NXP will ever allow anyone NDA access to fix their FullMAC chip binaries.
The blackboxed precompiled firmware blob used in the open source driver behaves differently from the proprietary driver used in the official Linksys firmware (ESP8266 works fine for example).
Linksys hasn't released an update to their own firmware since January 2018, even after security exploits were published. Have an issue? Try an earlier build. That's their "solution" seriously.
The damn router runs too hot. The 2.4ghz range and performance is meh. DFS detection kicks you off 5ghz channels. The list goes on.
As for the R7800, Qualcomm Atheros actually allows NDA access. The driver is actively maintained.
You will have the widest choice of firmware options and DD-WRT actively supports R7800.
I regret buying a WRT3200ACM, used even. I did some research beforehand and still I thought it couldn't be that bad (rose tinted glasses due to the WRT54GL days). It looked great on paper.
That said, I think BS has pulled off some miracles with the Marvell based WRT series. Still, I'd rather use the model he prefers.
TL:DR What kind of bandwidth does your ISP provide you? What features are important to you? How do you currently have your WRTs configured? What can't you live without and is there anything you are looking for? Do you have any issues currently?
Well, Marvell's Wi-Fi division is dead in the water and their assets are in the process of being sold to NXP.
As you probably know, there are longstanding issues plaguing the open source wireless driver, mwlwifi. There is little chance Marvell or NXP will ever allow anyone NDA access to fix their FullMAC chip binaries.
The blackboxed precompiled firmware blob used in the open source driver behaves differently from the proprietary driver used in the official Linksys firmware (ESP8266 works fine for example).
Linksys hasn't released an update to their own firmware since January 2018, even after security exploits were published. Have an issue? Try an earlier build. That's their "solution" seriously.
The damn router runs too hot. The 2.4ghz range and performance is meh. DFS detection kicks you off 5ghz channels. The list goes on.
As for the R7800, Qualcomm Atheros actually allows NDA access. The driver is actively maintained.
You will have the widest choice of firmware options and DD-WRT actively supports R7800.
I regret buying a WRT3200ACM, used even. I did some research beforehand and still I thought it couldn't be that bad (rose tinted glasses due to the WRT54GL days). It looked great on paper.
That said, I think BS has pulled off some miracles with the Marvell based WRT series. Still, I'd rather use the model he prefers.
TL:DR What kind of bandwidth does your ISP provide you? What features are important to you? How do you currently have your WRTs configured? What can't you live without and is there anything you are looking for? Do you have any issues currently?
Hi thanks for the detailed answer, I have 2 WRT3200ACM are connected via LAN, I have a bandwidth of 60 mb, I use an openvpn server and I use a vpn client (Express vpn), I use about 10 devices connected in wifi. I would like to change the WRT3200ACM with the netgear 7800 because I have read that they are more supported and that they have less problems than wrt3200acm, do you think it is better to make this change for my needs? _________________ Linksys WRT3200ACM AP 1
Linksys WRT3200ACM AP 2 + WDS AP
Linksys WRT3200ACM WDS STATION + WDS VAP
DD-WRT Version: r48494
OpenVPN Server
OpenVPN Client
Cloudflare
Express VPN
Raspberry Pi-hole
You may also want to consider Asus RT-AC86u running Merlin firmware with its 1.8Ghz cpu for good vpn client speeds. The PBR is great, i now use 1 myself, running openvpn server and 2 x vpn clients (2 different vpn providers)
i use bt wh mesh wifi because i already had, but you can use the built in aimesh to connect other Asus aimesh supported routers. in my opinion defiantly worth considering.
I have 4 wrt3200's arranged in a wds setup. For the most part things work well but I do have a lot of issues getting the 5 GHz radio to come up after firmware upgrades or reboots. I'd like to try a different brand of router since it seems that Linksys isn't providing adequate support for these routers. But it's difficult to decide what to go with since some people have good luck with their router while "trashing" others and vice versa. Same goes for firmware reviews. Reviews done done on routers running vendor firmware isn't much help when one wants to use dd-wrt or openwrt or whatever. I guess I'll run a random number program and make my router decision that way. It'll cost a lot to replace 4 routers though.
I have 4 wrt3200's arranged in a wds setup. For the most part things work well but I do have a lot of issues getting the 5 GHz radio to come up after firmware upgrades or reboots. I'd like to try a different brand of router since it seems that Linksys isn't providing adequate support for these routers. But it's difficult to decide what to go with since some people have good luck with their router while "trashing" others and vice versa. Same goes for firmware reviews. Reviews done done on routers running vendor firmware isn't much help when one wants to use dd-wrt or openwrt or whatever. I guess I'll run a random number program and make my router decision that way. It'll cost a lot to replace 4 routers though.
This is the problem, I have to buy the third router to connect it in WDS with the second one and I am undecided whether to buy another WRT3200ACM or replace them all with other products, so I wanted to know if I should replace them all or continue to use WRT3200ACM, but from what I see they are not 100% supported such as netgear or other brands. _________________ Linksys WRT3200ACM AP 1
Linksys WRT3200ACM AP 2 + WDS AP
Linksys WRT3200ACM WDS STATION + WDS VAP
DD-WRT Version: r48494
OpenVPN Server
OpenVPN Client
Cloudflare
Express VPN
Raspberry Pi-hole
You may also want to consider Asus RT-AC86u running Merlin firmware with its 1.8Ghz cpu for good vpn client speeds. The PBR is great, i now use 1 myself, running openvpn server and 2 x vpn clients (2 different vpn providers)
i use bt wh mesh wifi because i already had, but you can use the built in aimesh to connect other Asus aimesh supported routers. in my opinion defiantly worth considering.
I should replace 3 routers, so I would like a product that is well supported and that works well, what do you suggest in my situation? _________________ Linksys WRT3200ACM AP 1
Linksys WRT3200ACM AP 2 + WDS AP
Linksys WRT3200ACM WDS STATION + WDS VAP
DD-WRT Version: r48494
OpenVPN Server
OpenVPN Client
Cloudflare
Express VPN
Raspberry Pi-hole
When I did research early this year I narrowed it down to three choices: Linksys WRT3200ACM (Marvel), Netgear R7800-100NAS (Qualcomm Atheros) and Asus RT-AC86U (Broadcom).
Linksys WRT3200ACM has DD-WRT and OpenWRT (Davidc502 build).
Netgear R7800 has Voxel (modified stock), DD-WRT and OpenWRT (hnyman and kong builds).
Asus RT-AC86U has hardware acceleration for OpenVPN but you will be limited to modified stock firmware from asuswrt-merlin.
The overkill choice would be R9000, as R7800 will far exceed your needs.
You may also want to consider Asus RT-AC86u running Merlin firmware with its 1.8Ghz cpu for good vpn client speeds. The PBR is great, i now use 1 myself, running openvpn server and 2 x vpn clients (2 different vpn providers)
i use bt wh mesh wifi because i already had, but you can use the built in aimesh to connect other Asus aimesh supported routers. in my opinion defiantly worth considering.
I should replace 3 routers, so I would like a product that is well supported and that works well, what do you suggest in my situation?
i don't use the Aimesh side of my router so i can't say how well this works but i would consider looking at Asus RT-AC86u as your main router then simply add other cheaper rt-ac Asus routers if all your going to be using these as mesh nodes, (i would recommend reading up on this before committing) DD-WRT does not support (as far as i am aware) mesh hand offs so you'll end up with access points holding on to the access point and not handing off to the strongest signal with a mesh network using 3 x R7800 or Linksys wrtxx.
The policy base routing is much simpler than DD-WRT, for my needs suits me better than my R7800 i have previously. I've used all the routers your getting recommended Linksys WRT3200acm, WRT32X and R7800.
Setting up PBR, VPN client and VPN server configuration on Asuswrt Merlin is very simple compared to DD-WRT and works very well. Can't comment on OpenWRT firmware as never really used a lot.
Because of the cost of a second and third router you would be better of in my opinion doing the similar me, using a good fast router to run the VPN from and then simply add a mesh system for your wifi, (this is why i never used the AImesh side) i don't use the routers wifi at all its disabled, my BT Whole Home disc's use Ethernet backhaul apart from if i am testing BT WH firmware and are quite stable now a days. There are lots of mesh systems out there finding the correct one for your needs again is a mine field and requires some reading.
Prices are dropping every day; buy used equipment. I saw an R7800 locally sell for $40 USD in the past week...yeah.
Probably because 802.11ad devices are on the market now. They're pricey though. 802.11ax is being developed also but I have no idea when they'll be out. Too bad that I'll have to change out my wrt3200acm's in groups of 4 (WDS system).
