Best Router for Smarthome/Sonos/homekit

[BuddyRich]

i live in a modest split level house 1800sq ft + basement. currently have an r7000, located in the basement that gives alright coverage but excellent coverage to the ATV4k thats about 10ft away and gives good performace to local media from plex server which is hardwired to the r7000 as well as home hubs for hue and ikea. The last free port on r7000 runs to an old wdr3700 i have put in ap mode to a more central location that extends things a bit more but still lower in the house. ideally id like a bit more coverage upstairs but cant run ethernet any higher and powerline is out as i have a aluminum wiring and i understand that doesnt work as well for powerline.

I used to have a rock solid homekit setup but a recent update to either router or perhaps ios 13 and im having a heck of a time with homekit devices not responding outside of a home. works fine when on lan. Tried various options except the nuclear option of reseting atv. From reading whatever i get needs to be ok with bonjour/mdns.

The WDR3700 just died so im looking for a replacement router. ill probably keep the r7000 in ap mode but looking for recommendations on what router to get for the house. Fully an apple household with a couple windows machines (for work).

Most of my smart home is zigbee with wired hubs or zwave but i do have a wifi garage door opener and of course a few sonos speakers and atvs via wifi.

looking for suggestions. would a mesh system be better?

 

[OzarkEdge]

i live in a modest split level house 1800sq ft + basement. currently have an r7000, located in the basement that gives alright coverage but excellent coverage to the ATV4k thats about 10ft away and gives good performace to local media from plex server which is hardwired to the r7000 as well as home hubs for hue and ikea. The last free port on r7000 runs to an old wdr3700 i have put in ap mode to a more central location that extends things a bit more but still lower in the house. ideally id like a bit more coverage upstairs but cant run ethernet any higher and powerline is out as i have a aluminum wiring and i understand that doesnt work as well for powerline.

I used to have a rock solid homekit setup but a recent update to either router or perhaps ios 13 and im having a heck of a time with homekit devices not responding outside of a home. works fine when on lan. Tried various options except the nuclear option of reseting atv. From reading whatever i get needs to be ok with bonjour/mdns.

The WDR3700 just died so im looking for a replacement router. ill probably keep the r7000 in ap mode but looking for recommendations on what router to get for the house. Fully an apple household with a couple windows machines (for work).

Most of my smart home is zigbee with wired hubs or zwave but i do have a wifi garage door opener and of course a few sonos speakers and atvs via wifi.

looking for suggestions. would a mesh system be better?

You have a lot of variables going on there with Apple and IoT.

And you want to modestly and wirelessly extend WiFi coverage up and perhaps outside a bit.

Your wired AP fell short due to its limited Ethernet run.

Powerline is always experimental.

A 2-node wireless mesh system would be better than a router with a wireless repeater, imo... if it works.

Me, I would experiment with a 2-node wireless mesh system with one node in the basement and one node a level up.

Me, I would start with an Asus RT-AC86U router high and central in the basement. If that works out with your clients and you need more WiFi coverage, add a second 86U as a wireless AiMesh node a level up, located for backhaul signal RSSI values greater/more positive than -68 dBm (observable in the router webUI Wireless Log).

That's one approach... a mesh system will solve the problem of extending WiFi coverage wirelessly. Beyond that, you'll have to be willing to experiment with your clients and any given mesh system.

I have a 2xRT-AC86U Aimesh as described in my install notes. Its only real weakness has been the firmware ride as Asus has rolled out AiMesh for its many router products. I think it's worth a try... it has Asuswrt-Merlin support, if you need more functionality. Maybe some Apple users here can add to these considerations. The IoT stuff is anybody's potluck, imo.

OE

 

[Trip]

While Asus AiMesh may work, it won't offer the level of self-optimizing backhaul, traffic flow smoothing and bufferbloat elimination that you'd get automatically with something like Eero Pro tri-band. If cost is less a concern than just getting it right, I would just bite the bullet, invest the $500 and buy an Eero Pro 3-pack. Rip and replace the R7000 with the Eero base, the 3600 with the second Eero Pro (hardwired) and put the third Eero Pro on the second floor, running wirelessly.

The main things you won't have with a whole-house product is manual channel selection per node and VLAN and ACL capability if you ever want to start segmenting your network. For that, you'll need business-grade gear. But for just a baseline, reliable system that keeps it simple, Eero Pro is the way to go, IMHO.

 

[OzarkEdge]

While Asus AiMesh may work, it won't offer the level of self-optimizing backhaul, traffic flow smoothing and bufferbloat elimination that you'd get automatically with something like Eero Pro tri-band. If cost is less a concern than just getting it right, I would just bite the bullet, invest the $500 and buy an Eero Pro 3-pack. Rip and replace the R7000 with the Eero base, the 3600 with the second Eero Pro (hardwired) and put the third Eero Pro on the second floor, running wirelessly.

The main things you won't have with a whole-house product is manual channel selection per node and VLAN and ACL capability if you ever want to start segmenting your network. For that, you'll need business-grade gear. But for just a baseline, reliable system that keeps it simple, Eero Pro is the way to go, IMHO.

Looks interesting... have you lived with this mesh system long enough to experience it in use? It does not seem to be your usual sort of gear.

OE

 

[Trip]

Have suggested it to four friends who were all wanting something DIY; helped set it up for one of them when I was over. Two on Spectrum cable. One on Frontier DSL. One on fiber. Was fairly impressed at how smooth the install went the one time. All four have had nothing but good things to say. Not a huge sample size, but so far, so good.

 

[Poseidon]

Another help/suggestion thread and yet another Asus 86U router recommendation.

I guess I should be expecting this and not be so surprised anymore.

 

[System Error Message]

there isnt really a best router for smart home. smart home, iot and such are all gimmicks.

To a wifi network, 10 sensors = 10 wifi clients. If they all sync at 1Mb/s, than they're disturbing other clients, if they sync at the full possible link speed, than they can talk at 1Mb/s all they like as long as the sync speed is at max they wont be taking the air time of others.

So basically just treat them as any other client/device and make sure they sync at the highest speed possible.

This alongside your wifi usage can help you decide. Do you need more signal strength elsewhere? Do you have high traffic at a certain spot? then focus an AP there. Wired mesh works, wireless to wireless mesh is a bad idea.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Have suggested it to four friends who were all wanting something DIY; helped set it up for one of them when I was over. Two on Spectrum cable. One on Frontier DSL. One on fiber. Was fairly impressed at how smooth the install went the one time. All four have had nothing but good things to say. Not a huge sample size, but so far, so good.

I would be concerned on another front going forward... that Amazon now owns Eero to serve its own big data interests. Big Data like Amazon and Google are infiltrating our lives unchecked. There is much potential for abuse and misuse. I'm lining up opposed on principle and in practice... what could be purely useful to the user is made ridiculously invasive and purposely obtuse to serve their self interests above my own. So, given many other options, I would not recommend using consumer grade networking products from the likes of Amazon and Google.

OE

 

[Trip]

That's a testy subject, for sure, and I'm sure that after deliberating it through dozens of replies, we'd ultimately find the same middle ground.

I will say that if you think for one second that between your smart phone and all the other devices in your life, that likes of Samsung, Apple, Asus, Netgear, Motorola, Arris, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Cisco, HP, your washing machine, your stove, your car, etc. etc. etc. are somehow ethically immune based on a brand or logo, then I've got some sobering news for you. Quite simply, we live in a day and age where, as soon as you turn on the power button to a few devices, it's pretty much game over. They're going to take what they want, how they want, when they want. I do realize we can at least try to vote with our wallets based on what we perceive to be more ethically-poised products, and I respect those who do, even if I don't share the same view, but on the flip side I would urge people just simply get the tool that's the most functional for the job and move on. Life is too short to give up living in abundance for sake of worrying over stuff we the plebs likely won't ever be able to persecute on that stance alone.

I'd rather use Eero myself, be successful while doing so, then use my own private earnings to develop a competitor product with a better privacy policy that out-competes them in the marketplace, and claim victory that way. But hey, to each their own.

 

[OzarkEdge]

That's a testy subject, for sure, and I'm sure that after deliberating it through dozens of replies, we'd ultimately find the same middle ground.

I will say that if you think for one second that between your smart phone and all the other devices in your life, that likes of Samsung, Apple, Asus, Netgear, Motorola, Arris, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Cisco, HP, your washing machine, your stove, your car, etc. etc. etc. are somehow ethically immune based on a brand or logo, then I've got some sobering news for you. Quite simply, we live in a day and age where, as soon as you turn on the power button to a few devices, it's pretty much game over. They're going to take what they want, how they want, when they want. I do realize we can at least try to vote with our wallets based on what we perceive to be more ethically-poised products, and I respect those who do, even if I don't share the same view, but on the flip side I would urge people just simply get the tool that's the most functional for the job and move on. Life is too short to give up living in abundance for sake of worrying over stuff we the plebs likely won't ever be able to persecute on that stance alone.

I'd rather use Eero myself, be successful while doing so, then use my own private earnings to develop a competitor product with a better privacy policy that out-competes them in the marketplace, and claim victory that way. But hey, to each their own.

I don't think we need to throw in the towel. Good government will weigh in on the matter... that's what good government does, if we don't throw in the towel.

I doubt that government and corporate users will be installing Big Data networking products. That leaves your usual vendor recommendations viable and intact, for good reason... one more reason to consider their products over consumer grade networking equipment.

OE

 

[Trip]

I just try to focus on functionality and keep it simple when possible. All good either way!

 

[OzarkEdge]

I just try to focus on functionality and keep it simple when possible. All good either way!

You raise a good point (looking past cost)...

Big Data is exploiting the consumer by removing cost from the equation... they are giving it away. The Eero mesh system is not cheap now but I'll bet Amazon lowers its price considerably after they finish rebuilding it to suit their Big Data purpose to compete with Google in the home.

Your focus on functionality typically has you recommending business class equipment for home networking applications... higher initial cost and probably more complexity, but functionally sound advice that may become more fashionable for discerning home consumers despite the costs, if business class equipment remains free of Big Data's exploits, which it should and likely will.

OE