Netgear xr500 your experiences with this router.

[RogerSC]

Latest Firmware version is 2.2.1.10

• Supports more languages.

Bug Fixes:

1. Fixes security issues.
2. Fixes the firmware update issue.

e38BimmerFN was talking about latest release for Orbi. For Orbi, 2.1.3.4 was just officially released, no longer Beta.

Thread kind of wandered there *smile*.

 

[Killhippie]

e38BimmerFN was talking about latest release for Orbi. For Orbi, 2.1.3.4 was just officially released, no longer Beta.

Thread kind of wandered there *smile*.

Think I kind of wandered there too. Sorry about that.

 

[e38BimmerFN]

Well v2.1.3.4 is not quite official. There still considering it beta. There in flux right now with that router system.

As for the XR500, should be AWESOME.

 

[RogerSC]

Well v2.1.3.4 is not quite official. There still considering it beta. There in flux right now with that router system.

As for the XR500, should be AWESOME.

Interesting, I got 2.1.3.4 as the latest official release...so by definition it's beyond Beta (a limited release for testing). Love Netgear *smile*. Working well for me, though.

Now back to your original programming, the XR500 *smile*.

 

[brusyev]

How is XR500 working for those of you owning one? I am thinking of either going with it or the Asus AC-88U. Is custom fimware possible on XR500 like it is on Asus with Merlin?

 

[avtella]

How is XR500 working for those of you owning one? I am thinking of either going with it or the Asus AC-88U. Is custom fimware possible on XR500 like it is on Asus with Merlin?

It's an R7800 at heart though some changes with the antenna seem to have reduced 5Ghz performance but increased 2.4 Ghz performamce from two reviews I have seen, but internal hardware is essentially the same. You can change the board id via telnet to the R7800 and flash DD-WRT/LEDE (OpenWRT) images meant for the R7800. (You may need to edit the DTS file as a last minute change increased the XR500 to 256MB flash vs 128MB on the R7800) They both have the same underlying Netgear Firmware with the XR500 having the Duma stuff overlaid on top, if going open source just stick to the R7800 as the 5 Ghz performance is slightly better and it would be much cheaper as well.

Reviews:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/02/05/netgear-nighthawk-xr500-pro-gaming-router-review
https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/james-morris/netgear-nighthawk-xr500-wireless-gaming-router/4/

 

[gobble]

The only reason to get the XR500 over the R7800 is the firmware it comes on (for duma OS). If you want to play get an R7800 for a lot cheaper with the same hardware and can run ddwrt, openwrt and Voxel (netgears firmware with a few tweaks)

 

[brusyev]

It's an R7800 at heart though some changes with the antenna seem to have reduced 5Ghz performance but increased 2.4 Ghz performamce from two reviews I have seen, but internal hardware is essentially the same. You can change the board id via telnet to the R7800 and flash DD-WRT/LEDE (OpenWRT) images for the R7800. (You may need to edit the DTS file as a last minute change increased the XR500 to 256MB flash vs 128MB on the R7800) They both have the same underlying Netgear Firmware with the XR500 having the Duma stuff overlaid on top, if going open source just stick to the R7800 as the 5 Ghz performance is slightly better and it would be much cheaper as well.

Thanks Avtella. I am currently using Asus AC-87U running Merlins modified firmware. The wifi stability has gotten alot worse recently and I am looking to upgrade to XR500. Did you or other members here move to this router from Asus and what are you thoughts on the differences between the two brands?

 

[avtella]

Thanks Avtella. I am currently using Asus AC-87U running Merlins modified firmware. The wifi stability has gotten alot worse recently and I am looking to upgrade to XR500. Did you or other members here move to this router from Asus and what are you thoughts on the differences between the two brands?

Asus UI is more refined with more options, no doubt, I never had hardware issues with either Netgear or Asus. I don't own the XR500 but I was made to test the firmware on an R7800 during beta period, the Duma additions are nice and all, but I liked the simplicity of the stock Qualcomm Stream-boost QoS which is probably better for the average user. I think the GUI/QoS/Network Monitoring features are a nice improvement, but in my personal opinion I don't think it warrants the extra $100 plus I game on PC so the region limiter for games was not much of use to me. Others may have different opinions.

 

[e38BimmerFN]

The XR500 has stellar wifi range and performances. Solid router for gaming and wifi as a single unit router. I highly recommend you at least try one out for your self. We can all talk about it, it's when you get to work with one and test it out for your self is where you can decide. Similar HW as R7800 however it blows it out of the water IMO. And the R7800 is no slouch. I had some dead or low signal spots with the R7800. The XR500 filled these in nicely.

I have a RT-AC66. It's an ok router. The XR500 is better

Try it. You'll like it. Specially if your a gamer.

Thanks Avtella. I am currently using Asus AC-87U running Merlins modified firmware. The wifi stability has gotten alot worse recently and I am looking to upgrade to XR500. Did you or other members here move to this router from Asus and what are you thoughts on the differences between the two brands?

 

[brusyev]

Asus UI is more refined with more options, no doubt, I never had hardware issues with either Netgear or Asus. I don't own the XR500 but I was made to test the firmware on an R7800 during beta period, the Duma additions are nice and all, but I liked the simplicity of the stock Qualcomm Stream-boost QoS which is probably better for the average user. I think the GUI/QoS/Network Monitoring features are a nice improvement, but in my personal opinion I don't think it warrants the extra $100 plus I game on PC so the region limiter for games was not much of use to me. Others may have different opinions.

Thank you and e38BimmerFN for replying. I do not game much anymore but I do have many devices and users in my house using wifi (including 7 wifi security cameras) which put a good load on my router. What I had enjoyed about Asus/Merlin firmware on my AC87U is it giving an ability to see real life cpu/ram loads and temperature...are these available on XR500?

 

[e38BimmerFN]

Well if you don't game much anymore, I probably would not recommend the XR500, it's really directed towards gamers. Lots of gaming features and such. If your not doing gaming much, maybe not worth spending the money on something you may not use as much.

It does support CPU and Memory status. I don't think it support temperature though. Mine ran moderately warm when I had mine under load. Of course, I always connect and run a laptop cooler fan under may routers all the time.

 

[Gitsum]

Well I've had mine for a couple days and i think its going back. It drops wifi connection to my Asus N66u that i have set up as a media bridge out in my garage with a couple mining rigs hooked to it. Ive tried all the different combinations of wifi settings but it will lose connection after about an hour and will not reconnect on its own. So overnight, my mining rigs go offline. Can't be havin that.

 

[avtella]

Thank you and e38BimmerFN for replying. I do not game much anymore but I do have many devices and users in my house using wifi (including 7 wifi security cameras) which put a good load on my router. What I had enjoyed about Asus/Merlin firmware on my AC87U is it giving an ability to see real life cpu/ram loads and temperature...are these available on XR500?

For CPU/RAM load on the R7800 and other standard Netgear routers you need to go to 192.168.1.1/debug.html

 

[Find the Door]

Never returned something so fast in my life. Compared to what I was getting with Adaptive QoS using fq_codel on my Asus AC86U it was a nightmare.

Bufferbloat seems to be an issue with this router as is with no fix in sight. Took it back asap and will eagerly await Merlin's next firmware release.

 

[avtella]

No buffer-bloat issues here, considering I was getting an F before turning on StreamBoost QoS and setting device priorities, after which I would get an A and occasionally a B. Adaptive QoS's recent updates from Broadcom has gotten better I will admit, as the R8500 does get better bufferbloat scores but its not night and day.

You have to set QoS bandwidth limits manually and set the speeds to average that you get, not the max, that maybe your problem. When I was on CenturyLink I would get 36-37/4.5-5 Mbps so I set limits to 34/4 Mbps and got an A on DSL reports speed test. Recently I switched to Comcast and even without QoS now I get a B on average on both routers (R8500/R7800). The third router of mine, an R7800 on LEDE/OpenWRT with Cake QoS which in a way is a successor to FQ-Codel (same people made that) is probably the best Bufferbloat wise.

 

[Find the Door]

No buffer-bloat issues here, considering I was getting an F before turning on StreamBoost QoS and setting device priorities, after which I would get an A and occasionally a B. Adaptive QoS's recent updates from Broadcom has gotten better I will admit, as the R8500 does get better bufferbloat scores but its not night and day.

You have to set QoS bandwidth limits manually and set the speeds to average that you get, not the max, that maybe your problem. When I was on CenturyLink I would get 36-37/4.5-5 Mbps so I set limits to 34/4 Mbps and got an A on DSL reports speed test. Recently I switched to Comcast and even without QoS now I get a B on average on both routers (R8500/R7800). The third router of mine, an R7800 on LEDE/OpenWRT with Cake QoS which in a way is a successor to FQ-Codel (same people made that) is probably the best Bufferbloat wise.

I'm giving it another shot tomorrow to see how it turns out. Ultimately if it doesn't work out I'll go the cake route. Having the extra features that DumaOS provides is kind of nice provided that I'm able to get it dialed in correctly.

 

[RMerlin]

They did seem to learn a lot from the R7000 and the months that it took them to get that one working well. Ended up using third-party firmware most of the time on the R7000. The R7800 came out with fully functional, working firmware.

One big difference is the R7000 is based on Broadcom's SDK, while the R7800 is based on OpenWRT. OpenWRT's code is miles ahead of Broadcom in every single aspect.

 

[Find the Door]

One big difference is the R7000 is based on Broadcom's SDK, while the R7800 is based on OpenWRT. OpenWRT's code is miles ahead of Broadcom in every single aspect.

How about the XR500?

 

[avtella]

How about the XR500?

It’s an R7800 with NetDuma software additions basically. Same hardware.