Don't know which router to choose

[_FTW]

I have a TP-Link 1043 v1 which on itself works fine but in some periods needs a lot of rebooting. Also doesn't have 5ghz while me laptop does. So I wanted to take advantage of it and after all the good reviews I purchased a WDR3600. What a dissapointment in terms of range. In my garden the range is at least 5 meters less than my 1043. Throughput is also lower on higher distances. Not to mention 5ghz....2 thin old walls @ 10 meter/30ft = no 5ghz @ phone. At same point in house the 3600 is 10db behind, in garden 15-20...

So now I am looking into buying a really good router. Demand number 1 is raaaaange. Close second is speed. Third is external antennas so I can replace them with higher gain ones. AC is a nice extra. And as it seems (I have done my homework, obviously) the top AC routers are also the fastest N 2,4ghz and 5ghz routers. There are a few contenders which all have some negatives. Top contenders are (in no particular order):

RT66N

• Reported FW instability
• Reported range problems
• Not a good reputation for security (8 months for a fix I read)
• Small one but compard to others: no AC
• Is the FW still in development, like when it was released?

R7000

• Buggy firmware
• Huuuuuuuge, my place to put it is small
• Less advanced compared to Asus (availables logs etc)

AC68U

• Runs hot
• Reported FW instability and bugs
• Reported range problems
• Something with a unshielded USB 3.0 port badly influencing 5ghz range
• Not a good reputation for security (8 months for a fix I read)
• Is the FW still in development, like when it was released?

AC66U

• Reported FW instability
• Reported range problems
• Not a good reputation for security (8 months for a fix I read)
• Is the FW still in development, like when it was released?

Archer C7

• My trust for TP-Link routers has decreased after my experience with the so called very good WDR3600 (after searching found many with same problems)
• According to reviews, limited range and throughput. But user experiences sometimes deny this...

D-Link AC868

• No external antennas
• Poor 2,4ghz range

Edimax BR-6478AC

• Only uses 2 radio's (currently the best wifi device in my house is my laptop with 2x2 2.4 and 5ghz)
• Guest-wifi not completely isolated from own network

As it sits now I am leaning toward buying a TP-Link and test it to see how it works here and if that doesn't work, going all out and buy a R7000 and put DD-WRT on it to counter almost all negative points...Maybe try Edimax in between. What do you guys think?

 

[stevech]

Opinion:
Way too much emphasis put on goodness of WiFi router on the topic of range.

WiFi is two-way. A weak or distorted transmitter signal from the user device is about on par with vice-versa.

A wifi router/AP is not a "broadcast station" like FM or AM broadcast radio.

 

[Cloud200]

If all you care about is range . . . I see three choices;
1. Run some wire and install access points. Personally I prefer units that support POE just to keep the cables down to just the ethernet wire.
2. Give up most of your speed and install something like OpenMesh. Speed will drop. You will get range though.
3. Install directional antennae in order to focus the signal and hope the receive is boosted enough as well. If you have interference in the area this will just be a waste of money though.

 

[_FTW]

WiFi is two-way. A weak or distorted transmitter signal from the user device is about on par with vice-versa.

A wifi router/AP is not a "broadcast station" like FM or AM broadcast radio.

Yes you are absolutely right. That's exactly the reason why I want external antenna's so I can replace them with 9/12dbi omni's and why I am not really looking into strong boosting of signal. My laptop has very good wifi reception, my phone could do better.

If all you care about is range . . . I see three choices;
1. Run some wire and install access points. Personally I prefer units that support POE just to keep the cables down to just the ethernet wire.

Good suggestion, thought of that too. But I don't think I would like 30w of idle accesspoints running all year long I am considering an accesspoint near the garden that I can switch on when needed but ideally one accesspoint with high gain antenna's would be ideal.

2. Give up most of your speed and install something like OpenMesh. Speed will drop. You will get range though.

As said, speed is the second priority after range But that OpenMesh thing looks interesting, I'll have a read.

3. Install directional antennae in order to focus the signal and hope the receive is boosted enough as well. If you have interference in the area this will just be a waste of money though.

I need range in several spaces that are wide apart in terms of angle so that's not a solution unfortunately.