Does anybody here own an Edimax BR-6478AC AC1200?

[htismaqe]

Back around January, I upgraded from a Netgear WNDR3700 to an Asus RT-N66W. I had several issues with Asus and just couldn't ever get it stable.

I solicited advice here and despite some protest, I decided based on previous experiences with Netgear that I would splurge and go with the R7000.

I am absolutely in love with the R7000's range, especially on the 5Ghz but the unit is one of the buggiest routers I've ever owned. On top of that, I've been working with Netgear support for well over a month and I'm doing 90% of the troubleshooting work. All they can seem to offer is new beta firmware after new beta firmware, without even acknowledging that they can't reproduce the problems.

Bottom line - I'm ready to give up on Netgear.

In looking through all of the SNB reviews here, I found this Edimax router. I noticed it doesn't have any USB, which I absolutely don't need (I have a NAS).

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with these.

 

[htismaqe]

Can someone clarify something from Tim's review?

He lists the following as Cons:
• No USB port
• Unhelpful user manual
• No bridging features
• Wireless guests can access wired LAN

However, later in the review, he states this:

"Going into a bit more detail on the Guest network feature, you can configure guest networks individually for the two bands. Enable Wireless Clients isolation isolates wireless clients, but guests are on the same IP subnet (192.168.2.xxx default) as wired and non-guest wireless clients. Guests cannot ping or access the router admin and can't access wired LAN clients, either. Unfortunately, you cannot set bandwidth limits for your guest wireless networks."

Can wireless guests access the wired LAN or not? I mean, this is essentially the same way guest networks have always functioned on my Netgear routers (same IP subnet but no access between guests and no-guests).

Also, I read a review that this thing only supports 16 DHCP reservations which is a showstopper for me.

 

[htismaqe]

I found the user manual and indeed, it only supports 16 static DHCP entries.

I guess I will be looking elsewhere.

 

[thiggins]

Craig Ellison did the review and he is very thorough. The Con "At a glance is probably a typo, which I'll fix.

What drew you to the Edimax anyway?

 

[htismaqe]

The price point and lack of unnecessary functionality (USB support, never used it going all the way back to my original WNDR3700).

Unfortunately, the 16 DHCP reservations thing is a killer for me. I need at least 64.

All I really want is the range I got from the R7000.

I went from the 3700 to the RT-N66W and there wasn't a significant range difference, especially on the 5Ghz. I had a few little issues with DNS not being proxied correctly and instead of trying to fiddle with it, I just returned it. Not enough of an upgrade to be worth it.

With the R7000, especially on the 5Ghz network, I can get wireless access in places I couldn't before. In my office, I can do a full Time Machine backup in 4 hours, compared to FOURTEEN before because I was having to use an intermediate 2.4Ghz AP to get connectivity.

I really don't want to add anymore device complexity to my network by trying to splice in a 5Ghz AP. I want a router with comparable range to the R7000 without all of the bugs. It seems the next choice would be the Asus AC1900 but between the problems I had with the RT-N66W and all of the stuff I've read here, it sounds like it would be more of the same.

Is there anything in the lower speed classes that has similar 5Ghz range to the R7000?

 

[Pierino]

You could try dd-wrt on the r7000.

 

[thiggins]

Is there anything in the lower speed classes that has similar 5Ghz range to the R7000?

Have you tried DD-WRT on the R7000 to see if it eliminates your bugs? It's easy to load (like factory firmware) and easy to revert to factory.

For range, compare 5 GHz downlink profiles in the Router charts (example) and look where the curve hits the x axis. For lower class routers, the curves will be lower because link rates are lower.

If other NETGEARs are out due to concerns about similar problems and ASUS is out, try a Linksys EA6900, EA6500 or EA6400. You can order direct from them and try it out and return it if you don't like it.

 

[htismaqe]

I have tried DD-WRT briefly. I just don't like it. Too many configuration options.

I'm pretty sure based on other's reports that it would fix all of my issues but I just can't get past the sheer overwhelming nature of all of the options (I have OCD ).

I've also been looking at the 5Ghz downlink profiles, the R7000 is superior to just about everything not branded Asus but that doesn't mean the other devices are unusable, right? Really all I'm looking for is a device that doesn't drop off dramatically towards 0 as the attenuation increases, right?

 

[thiggins]

I have tried DD-WRT briefly. I just don't like it. Too many configuration options.

I'm pretty sure based on other's reports that it would fix all of my issues but I just can't get past the sheer overwhelming nature of all of the options (I have OCD ).

I don't blame you. They expose a lot of controls including ones that can definitely screw you up if you don't know what you are doing.

I've also been looking at the 5Ghz downlink profiles, the R7000 is superior to just about everything not branded Asus but that doesn't mean the other devices are unusable, right? Really all I'm looking for is a device that doesn't drop off dramatically towards 0 as the attenuation increases, right?

The R7000 5 GHz is hard to beat. Yes. that is what you are looking for. Also look for a product that has higher vs. lower throughput left at the 45dB point. This chart view makes that easy.

You can also sort the chart by price, class or throughput by clicking the links at the top of the chart columns. Have fun!

 

[htismaqe]

Hmmm...

The EA6900 looks great on the 5Ghz but the 2.4Ghz range is scary. It looks like it might be a dropoff from even my old 3700, which probably won't work for me.

What about the TP-Link Archer C7? It has strong 5Ghz performance. Unfortunately, it looks like it also has issues on the 2.4Ghz band.

It's also HALF the price of the AC1900 routers...

 

[Pierino]

Dd-wrt has a lot of option but you don't have to use them. You can just use the things you need like you do know.
The rest just leave alone.

 

[htismaqe]

Yeah, seems a simple enough answer but really doesn't work for me. I prefer to stick to stock firmware.

 

[Deleted member 28741]

Hmmm...

The EA6900 looks great on the 5Ghz but the 2.4Ghz range is scary. It looks like it might be a dropoff from even my old 3700, which probably won't work for me.

What about the TP-Link Archer C7? It has strong 5Ghz performance. Unfortunately, it looks like it also has issues on the 2.4Ghz band.

It's also HALF the price of the AC1900 routers...

I'm considering the Archer C7 as well.. But what are the problems with it on 2.4ghz? Do they continue with the version 2 hardware?

Like you I don't need USB or server (VPN, DNA etc) functions so seems overkill to pay for that.

I was going to get the AC56U but that also has problems on 2.4.. If it was firmware fixable then I still might go for it.

 

[htismaqe]

That's kind of where I'm at. The EA6900 is intriguing but the review isn't glowing on the 2.4Ghz band. I'm a little confused though about the profile graphs in the review vs. the profile graphs I generated via the Router Charts. They don't seem to be the same.

Here's the profile graph from the EA6900 review. (See below for the EA6900 graph from the Router Chart)

In regards to the TP-Link's 2.4Ghz performance, I'm talking about this:

At 45dB attentuation, throughput drops through the floor and at 57dB and greater, it will barely connect.

 

[htismaqe]

Thanks for all of your help everyone. I think I'm going to go with the EA6900.

Update: I like it! Here's why.

 

[Nexus]

Thanks for all of your help everyone. I think I'm going to go with the EA6900.

Good luck! Hope it works out for you.