Recommended routers to date

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semaj153
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Joined: 21 Jul 2015
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PostPosted: Tue May 19, 2020 16:02    Post subject: Recommended routers to date Reply with quote
I am due for a new router and wondering if you guys have some specific recommendations. I want to get something under $300, and do not need the get the latest and greatest.
I currently have 9 connected devices, with more to come.

From what I have gathered from the forums:
Wifi6 is a gimmick and not worth my time and money.
If I do go down that route, BCM is not currently, and may never be, supported.
Is QCA, ATH, or other traditionally considered better?
Is tri-band or MU-MIMO worth it, or also gimmicks?
What else should I be considering when looking for features?

Thank you for your help.
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blkt
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PostPosted: Tue May 19, 2020 17:39    Post subject: Reply with quote
R7800 or R9000.

Maybe an older EA8500 or R7500v2 if trying to save money, but some for regions there is no discount or it's not enough.

I currently have R7800 and EA8500 (formerly WRT3200ACM and WRT54GL, both collecting dust).

Qualcomm Atheros is the way forward.


Last edited by blkt on Tue May 19, 2020 17:44; edited 1 time in total
kernel-panic69
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PostPosted: Tue May 19, 2020 17:44    Post subject: Reply with quote
x2 on the above recommendations Cool

blkt wrote:
I currently have R7800 and EA8500 (formerly WRT3200ACM and WRT54GL, both collecting dust).


I could've used a second WRT54* to test the WAN lease issue Razz

Not sure I have a use for another WRT3200ACM at the moment, yet. Twisted Evil

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semaj153
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PostPosted: Tue May 19, 2020 18:17    Post subject: Reply with quote
Your recommended the R7xxx and R9xxx series. Was the R8xxx series bad?
SurprisedItWorks
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PostPosted: Wed May 20, 2020 15:41    Post subject: Reply with quote
FWIW, the Linksys WRT1900ACSv2 is a decent outlier in the otherwise fairly disastrous current Linksys WRT line. This means specifically the ACS and specifically the v2 per the upper-right corner of the blue label on the bottom of the case. The fact that it is a v2 is never advertised in commercial listings, but modern new sales are always the v2 as far as I know. With used ones just be sure you can return it, as you really, really don't want the earlier models.

With the WRT1900ACSv2 you will need a USB fan to keep it from going squirrely now and then from the heat. Earlier and later models had fans built in, but when they designed this particular router they were having a bad day re heat-management thinking. And you'll have to expect most of the front-panel lights to dim with age, to the point that eventually you'll need a dark room to see the ones on the left. Another bad day. Despite these two nuisances, these have been great routers for me.

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2x Netgear XR500 and 3x Linksys WRT1900ACSv2 on 53544: VLANs, VAPs, NAS, station mode, OpenVPN client (AirVPN), wireguard server (AirVPN port forward) and clients (AzireVPN, AirVPN, private), 3 DNSCrypt providers via VPN.
apacheguy
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2022 3:54    Post subject: Reply with quote
blkt wrote:

Qualcomm Atheros is the way forward.


Is there a reason you say this? With Atheros you’re stuck with SFE. With Broadcom you get CTF and Flow Acceleration which are significantly faster than SFE.
blkt
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Joined: 20 Jan 2019
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2022 9:46    Post subject: Reply with quote
SFE, CTF soft optimizations and FA switch offloading are for older hardware to keep up, be aware of caveats.

QCA drivers open source, Broadcom proprietary. Consider CPU / SoC specs, faster hardware, instruction sets.

Recommended: R7800 (XR450/XR500), R9000 (R8900/XR700), R7500v2, EA8500 (serial flash), x86 (J4125).
Xeroxme90
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 4:56    Post subject: Re: Recommended routers to date Reply with quote
R7*** and R9*** seem okay for now
blkt
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 6:30    Post subject: Reply with quote
@semaj153 R8000, R8500 are Broadcom search threads, posts, drivers, corrupt CFE, backup, recovery etc.

Broadcom: R7000, R7000P, R7100LG, R7300DST, R7850, R7900, R7900P, R7960P, R8000P, R8300 and more.

MediaTek: R7200, R7350, R7400, R7450. Let us avoid xxx or *** and we avoid any unnecessary confusion.

R8900 is rebadge, rebrand or variant of R9000 hardware. Also see XR series. Recommended list is Atheros.
kalrez
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 12:07    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ebay in US Netgear XR500 Used going between $ 40.00 - $ 60.00 some a little less with a Missing Antenna (always seems to be # 3 missing).

I've picked up 5 in this price range with only 1 of them having bad blocks. I put it back to stock and resold it for $ 75.00 on eBay.
FlaParrotHead
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PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2022 4:14    Post subject: Netgear Router/AP and extender Reply with quote
Looking to replace an aging Linksys WRT3200ACM (gateway) and Wireless connected RE9000 extender. Too many drops from devices and other issues.

It seems Netgear is the current choice these days…. With an 7800, 8000 or 9000 being the recommended models. What is the key difference in the two and what (wirelessly connected) extender would pair up best with it?

Please don’t suggest wiring the extender, it’s not an option with our place/configuration.

WAN connection is 500/20 for what that’s worth.

Lots of Apple devices, STB streaming devices, QNAP NAS, Sonos, Hue, Pal, etc…

Thanks.

_________________
Linksys WRT3200ACM
VersionDD-WRT v3.0-r50500 std (10/13/22)
Kernel VersionLinux 4.9.330 #3466 SMP Thu Oct 13 02:01:23 +07 2022 armv7l
Linksys RE9000 Extender (WiFi attached)
OpenVPN with PBR: ExpressVPN
Devices: Sonos, Apple, QNAP, Laserjet other
blkt
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PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2022 6:00    Post subject: Reply with quote
R8000 was never recommended. I was trying to explain *** or xxx or other generalized statements are bad.

In need of a quick fix or triband extender, see EX7500, EX7700 or EX8000 if you do not mind stock firmware.
I have EX7500 it's fine. If I see a cheap used EX8000 might pick one up out of curiosity, comparisons, 4x4:4.

R9000/R8900/XR700: fast Alpine AL-514, dual switch design headaches, active antennas reliability concerns.
EA8500 has better range, reliable daily use. R7800/XR450/XR500 commonly recommended 1.7GHz qca9984.

Can always use WDS with matching DD-WRT models, or similar, recommended Qualcomm Atheros hardware.
Recommended: R7800 (XR450/XR500), R7500v2, EA8500 (serial flash), R9000 (R8900/XR700), x86 (J4125).
kernel-panic69
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Location: Texas, USA

PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2022 14:09    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ship me your 3200 when you replace it, I can make use of it if you can't figure out how to make it work for you.
x2 on R8000 not being recommended. Broadcom devices do not have near the upstream support that Atheros /
MediaTek do these days. Marvell has improved some, but people keep bitterly clinging to misinformation.

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Per Yngve Berg
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PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2022 18:37    Post subject: Reply with quote
Extenders are not worth it. They are just crippled version of the router with less ports, less memory etc.

I have seen one with the WAN port physically removed instead of having 5 LAN ports.
FlaParrotHead
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Joined: 04 Nov 2020
Posts: 80

PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2022 20:21    Post subject: Reply with quote
Per Yngve Berg wrote:
Extenders are not worth it. They are just crippled version of the router with less ports, less memory etc.

I have seen one with the WAN port physically removed instead of having 5 LAN ports.


I personally disagree, it really depends what the individual users needs are. The RE9000 in my current Linksys configuration deliver my iPad 100/20 when connected to it from the farthest room …. The WRT3200ACM it’s behind delivers maybe 30/10 from the same location.

I’ve no need for any LAN ports for this use case, just extending the WiFi signal and speed.

_________________
Linksys WRT3200ACM
VersionDD-WRT v3.0-r50500 std (10/13/22)
Kernel VersionLinux 4.9.330 #3466 SMP Thu Oct 13 02:01:23 +07 2022 armv7l
Linksys RE9000 Extender (WiFi attached)
OpenVPN with PBR: ExpressVPN
Devices: Sonos, Apple, QNAP, Laserjet other
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