Choosing a low latency router for Xbox One X

[LostinIT]

Hi
I was wondering if someone could tell me what the best router would be to use with the Xbox one x.
The Xbox will be connected via ethernet. I don’t have a computer and nothing else will be connected to the router. The wifi will be off but occasionally I have to update my iPhone so an external wifi on/off switch is a must for me.
If the settings for the router can be accessed by an app that would be great.
I have had two Netgear xr500’s but had to take them back because they were faulty, Netgear Support and I couldn’t access the “GUI”.
I have 100/40 FTTC nbn and an isp provided netcomm nf18acv connected to an ncd box at the moment.
I’m looking for a router that would lower my ping and latency as much as practicable.
Any price range.
I’m sorry but I don’t really understand all the technical terms used with technology, layman’s terms please.

Thanks for reading.

Melbourne, Australia

 

[L&LD]

With an Ethernet connection to your Xbox, it doesn't matter what router you use. That will already have the lowest latency possible.

Save your money and just use what the ISP supplies you with and leave the WiFi on too.

 

[Trip]

With an Ethernet connection to your Xbox, it doesn't matter what router you use. That will already have the lowest latency possible.

Almost, but not quite. We need to think about the gaming experience as a whole. Any old router may work to keep latency low on the LAN (presuming the built-in switch is not bottlenecked), but for WAN, I'd argue you'd want something capable of SQM QoS, to keep bufferbloat (aka unwanted latency) minimized/eliminated. And yes, even with a single wired client, on a 100/40 connection, bloat can/will happen (if that XBox decides to download updates while the OP is gaming, potential link saturation, bufferbloat and erratic ping). Add in some wifi clients and there's a high chance it would happen. An additional benefit to SQM being applied to all traffic, all the time is you won't have to care about turning wifi on/off to safeguard QoS for the XBox.

The only product that will do all of the above an easy-to-use format with a phone app, and is offered in Australia, would be Eero. I'd buy either an Eero dual-band or Eero Pro tri-band base unit. To enable QoS, you'd just go into the "Eero Labs" section of the phone app and toggle on "SQM". Give it a day to auto-tune to your internet speed, and you're done. All problems with gaming solved. If you need more wired ports, simply wire a $20 unmanaged switch to the spare port on the Eero, the plug in all wired devices to the switch.

If you can't get Eero in your market, but you're skilled enough and/or willing to learn, you could also accomplish the same via Ubiquiti UniFi hardware, namely a USG and an AC-LITE access point. There is a UniFi phone app, but you would need to do the initial setup via the controller software installed on a PC/Mac, to gain access to the QoS settings. Here's several videos on how to set that up. Once initially setup, you'd be free to manage UniFi from the phone app from there forward.

An additional option, which unfortunately doesn't have a phone app and requires some decent skill, would be OpenWRT running on a Qualcomm-based all-in-one router, like a TP-Link Archer A7. The benefit here is all-in-one hardware on the cheap. You also could try this with Broadcom hardware and a firmware that supports rudimentary SQM, such as an Asus running Merlin, but I'm the de-bloating results may not be as good.

 

[thiggins]

There's also IQrouter. Don't know if it's available in OZ
https://evenroute.com/

Is bufferbloat even an issue with fiber? I know it is for pokey 10/1 DSL.

 

[Trip]

Is bufferbloat even an issue with fiber? I know it is for pokey 10/1 DSL.

It may be less apt to occur on residential fiber due to lower first-hop latency and jitter (usually on order of 2x to 10x less), but when throughput differs enough across an interface, buffering is still likely to occur. Buffers would/may take less time to clear, so bloat may not be as exacerbated, but I'd be willing to be it could/would still happen, even if it is a bit more mild. I suppose @dtaht would be able to clarify further...

 

[LostinIT]

With an Ethernet connection to your Xbox, it doesn't matter what router you use. That will already have the lowest latency possible.

Save your money and just use what the ISP supplies you with and leave the WiFi on too.

Hi
I do use the isp provided router.
The provided router doesn’t have a wifi on/off toggle switch, I have to call my isp and get them to turn the wifi on, I update my phone and then I have to call my isp to turn the wifi off.
I also had around 118ms latency then it started to go up to around 180 now it’s settled in around 135 for a few weeks now.
Do you think Xbox servers may be a factor?

Thanks.

 

[LostinIT]

There's also IQrouter. Don't know if it's available in OZ
https://evenroute.com/

Is bufferbloat even an issue with fiber? I know it is for pokey 10/1 DSL.

Hi
I just searched iq router availability, ebay has them from Kansas. Not much else came up in the search, not sure if it’s compatible with the infrastructure here in Australia but it does sound good, something that can optimise the available service without having to have a degree in computer science and technology.
I wonder if it has a wifi on/off toggle switch...
I’ll keep looking for more information about it,

Thanks.

 

[LostinIT]

Hi

Almost, but not quite. We need to think about the gaming experience as a whole. Any old router may work to keep latency low on the LAN (presuming the built-in switch is not bottlenecked), but for WAN, I'd argue you'd want something capable of SQM QoS, to keep bufferbloat (aka unwanted latency) minimized/eliminated. And yes, even with a single wired client, on a 100/40 connection, bloat can/will happen (if that XBox decides to download updates while the OP is gaming, potential link saturation, bufferbloat and erratic ping). Add in some wifi clients and there's a high chance it would happen. An additional benefit to SQM being applied to all traffic, all the time is you won't have to care about turning wifi on/off to safeguard QoS for the XBox.

The only product that will do all of the above an easy-to-use format with a phone app, and is offered in Australia, would be Eero. I'd buy either an Eero dual-band or Eero Pro tri-band base unit. To enable QoS, you'd just go into the "Eero Labs" section of the phone app and toggle on "SQM". Give it a day to auto-tune to your internet speed, and you're done. All problems with gaming solved. If you need more wired ports, simply wire a $20 unmanaged switch to the spare port on the Eero, the plug in all wired devices to the switch.

If you can't get Eero in your market, but you're skilled enough and/or willing to learn, you could also accomplish the same via Ubiquiti UniFi hardware, namely a USG and an AC-LITE access point. There is a UniFi phone app, but you would need to do the initial setup via the controller software installed on a PC/Mac, to gain access to the QoS settings. Here's several videos on how to set that up. Once initially setup, you'd be free to manage UniFi from the phone app from there forward.

An additional option, which unfortunately doesn't have a phone app and requires some decent skill, would be OpenWRT running on a Qualcomm-based all-in-one router, like a TP-Link Archer A7. The benefit here is all-in-one hardware on the cheap. You also could try this with Broadcom hardware and a firmware that supports rudimentary SQM, such as an Asus running Merlin, but I'm the de-bloating results may not be as good.

Hi
Eero isn’t publicly available in Australia at the moment ( from a quick search thanks to reddit).
Umm I sort of heard about wrt and merlin but I don’t understand it, sorry.
Tp link do have some good points but in another search there are some bad points and that’s where it gets confusing for me, one site recommends one router and another recommends another.
SNB seems to be the best place for information and answers, so hopefully I’ll find something.

Thanks

 

[thiggins]

Yes, you can disable IQrouter Wi-Fi. Even if you can't, make sure you enable encryption and use a long random string of characters as password and no one will be connecting to it.

 

[Trip]

Unfortunately I don't believe the IQRouter product is available in the Aussie market. I could be wrong...'

Honestly I would go the Ubiquiti route for this if I were you.

 

[L&LD]

Hi
I do use the isp provided router.
The provided router doesn’t have a wifi on/off toggle switch, I have to call my isp and get them to turn the wifi on, I update my phone and then I have to call my isp to turn the wifi off.
I also had around 118ms latency then it started to go up to around 180 now it’s settled in around 135 for a few weeks now.
Do you think Xbox servers may be a factor?

Thanks.

Everything is a factor. Nothing stands on its own.

I really can't understand why you turn WiFi off? If you want to update your phone, can't the free WiFi at the local cafe work easier than calling your ISP to turn it on/off?

With that kind of latency, your own router may be able to help with QoS enabled. And if using an RMerlin powered Asus router, the FreshJR QOS script would be helpful too.

https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/about

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/r...ements-custom-rules-and-inner-workings.36836/

 

[System Error Message]

the best router for lowest latency is one with CPU connected ports, and these routers require a lot of skill to configure. However at best you'll see a reduction of 2ms from what i've tested. Then you'll need to configure QoS and know which packets to prioritise ahead of the queue so they get processed first.

turning wifi off wont improve the latency of a router. Most routers have a switch port you go through before getting to CPU whereas wifi uses PCIe straight to CPU. For some we just have wifi as a seperate device mainly because its hard to get a good all in one (you now can though with the mikrotik RB4011 but they still use switches).

 

[coxhaus]

I think buying a router based on setting it up with a phone is nuts. Use the ISP provided and setup router until you own a computer. There are so many computers out there surely you have friend which can help you out.

 

[L&LD]

I think using an app is nuts!

But then, people tell me using my phone to call people is weird too.

 

[coxhaus]

touche L&D. What if you need 2 APs?

 

[LostinIT]

Hi
I suppose I could go to maccas or a cafe and use their free wifi after signing up with them. I value my privacy and security.
Wifi is wasted with me as I don’t use it, except for the phone, and the energy that comes from it doesn’t feel good.

What do you think about the tplink archer v400 v2?
Apparently you can tether your phone to it and access the settings.
I was looking at the archer c60 but would like your advice.

I don’t want to get anyone else to setup the router because basically I don’t know what they’re doing...
Privacy and security.

Thanks for your replies.

Thanks.

 

[Mark070]

I kind of have to agree with @L&LD, in his original reply. The guy just asked for a router with low wired ping (latency) ... and maybe use-able wifi once in awhile. Use the ISP supplied Modem ... buy your wife a vacation .. or .. take my wife on a vacation - one of the two

 

[MarkyPancake]

I use an AC86U with my Xbox One X and pretty much play always-online and multiplayer titles these days. I don't experience any noticeable issues because of the router, whether the X1X is wired or on the 5 GHz Wi-Fi and there are always at least 10 devices connected via Wi-Fi and hammering the bandwidth.

The most noticeable issue with online gaming in my experience is the location of the server or host you're connected to, such as if I'm playing multiplayer and it's put me on an out of region server. High server ping/latency is far more perceptual to what's happening on screen than what your router is designed to do, in my opinion.