R7800 WiFi signal strength

[TonyH]

Good friend of mine who is still actively working in related field as usual sent me a ASUS ACRT-AC3100.
So I checked signal strength between two routers. From upstairs loft to ground floor family room where our HT
is located. R7800 gives 60-some dbm vs. RT-AC3100's 50-some dbm consistently on both bands. Almost 10dbm difference. May not be much to prove it'll be like that at several different distance. Firmware used on R7800 is latest stock vs. Merlin's Beta 2 on RT-AC3100.

 

[rbird2]

I returned a ASUS RT-AC3100 and then bought a Netgear R7800. I found that the R7800 signal strength in my house was stronger than the AC3100. I just wish Netgear put some more more effort into the Genie user interface. It's functional, but no way as nice as the ASUS user interface.

 

[TonyH]

I returned a ASUS RT-AC3100 and then bought a Netgear R7800. I found that the R7800 signal strength in my house was stronger than the AC3100. I just wish Netgear put some more more effort into the Genie user interface. It's functional, but no way as nice as the ASUS user interface.

Genie? If I am on NG anything first thing I do is avoid Genie. It robs PC cpu time and memory space big time. At least for me whatever Genie can do, I can do faster manually for sure, LOL!

 

[garethr]

Genie? If I am on NG anything first thing I do is avoid Genie. It robs PC cpu time and memory space big time. At least for me whatever Genie can do, I can do faster manually for sure, LOL!

Netgear also call the web UI Genie too which I'm guessing is what @rbird2 was referring to.
The Netgear UI does look like something out of late '90s and is severely lacking functionality wise compared to the AsusWRT UI (although that in itself looks like a web UI from the mid '00s so isn't exactly a shining example of modern web GUIs.
I'm sure there'd be a market for someone who was able to make a functional, modern responsively designed web UI with elegant typography.

Anyway, back on topic, I have both the R7800 and an Asus RT-AC88U and purely subjectively I'd say the the 88U signal - especially 5G is stronger than the R7800 at range.
The 88U also feels much better built hardware with higher quality materials and plastics than the R7800 although being Broadcom based is more power hungry and runs warmer.
Stability wise I've had no issues with the 88U at all but until the most recent firmware the R7800 has been a challenge.
Of course in the UK thr 88U is quite a bit more expensive than the R7800.

 

[Killhippie]

Netgear also call the web UI Genie too which I'm guessing is what @rbird2 was referring to.
The Netgear UI does look like something out of late '90s and is severely lacking functionality wise compared to the AsusWRT UI (although that in itself looks like a web UI from the mid '00s so isn't exactly a shining example of modern web GUIs.
I'm sure there'd be a market for someone who was able to make a functional, modern responsively designed web UI with elegant typography.

Anyway, back on topic, I have both the R7800 and an Asus RT-AC88U and purely subjectively I'd say the the 88U signal - especially 5G is stronger than the R7800 at range.
The 88U also feels much better built hardware with higher quality materials and plastics than the R7800 although being Broadcom based is more power hungry and runs warmer.
Stability wise I've had no issues with the 88U at all but until the most recent firmware the R7800 has been a challenge.
Of course in the UK thr 88U is quite a bit more expensive than the R7800.

I looked at the 88U and decided to stick with the R7800. Now its had the latest firmware update its fulfilling all my needs and I can still get a 5Ghz signal though 5 brick walls and into the car on my iPhone (admittedly its not super strong but that's pretty impressive) That's more than enough for me, my 40's Bungalow has no not spots and that's all I need.

I think all routers are pretty much at the limit of tx power now anyway. After a while routers have becomes akin to smartphones, promising a ton of stuff that never really makes a lot of difference really in day to day use, apart from Qualcomm actually having a decent QoS setup with Streamboost and the R7800 has an updated chipset, so hopefully lessons learned over the R7500/7500v2. The 88U looks like a good router but I could not justify buying one at its price point, especially as it still has Broadcoms first 4x4/chipset inside it.

For myself The R7800 is more than capable for doing for what I need it to do. At the end of the day its down to personal taste really as performance is getting so close across vendors now (with a few exceptions). Even the R7000 is still a decent router for most people needing an AC class machine and has great range. Netgear please do something with your GUI though, its awful.

 

[TonyH]

Netgear also call the web UI Genie too which I'm guessing is what @rbird2 was referring to.
The Netgear UI does look like something out of late '90s and is severely lacking functionality wise compared to the AsusWRT UI (although that in itself looks like a web UI from the mid '00s so isn't exactly a shining example of modern web GUIs.
I'm sure there'd be a market for someone who was able to make a functional, modern responsively designed web UI with elegant typography.

Anyway, back on topic, I have both the R7800 and an Asus RT-AC88U and purely subjectively I'd say the the 88U signal - especially 5G is stronger than the R7800 at range.
The 88U also feels much better built hardware with higher quality materials and plastics than the R7800 although being Broadcom based is more power hungry and runs warmer.
Stability wise I've had no issues with the 88U at all but until the most recent firmware the R7800 has been a challenge.
Of course in the UK thr 88U is quite a bit more expensive than the R7800.

Genie is always WIP on every NG products, LOL! Stuff like that makes people dumb and lazy expecting Genie does everything for them.

 

[RogerSC]

Now that Kong has put out an image that can be used to flash back from dd-wrt to stock firmware, I'm planning to try dd-wrt on the R7800. I do find that the wireless from the R7800 is stronger than any other router I've had here, but have not tried the RT-AC3100. I have to say that I'm kind of down on Asus after an "unbrickable" Asus router that I had got bricked for no particular reason, and a network extender from Asus was just a mess. On the other hand, both my Netgear routers are working well, and the Netgear network extender I tried worked a lot better than the one from Asus.

However, as they say, your mileage may vary *smile*.

 

[Killhippie]

Genie is always WIP on every NG products, LOL! Stuff like that makes people dumb and lazy expecting Genie does everything for them.

Netgears GUI does hold peoples hands but to some that's what they want, setting up a router can be bewildering to many, and its not dumb or lazy to need a little help with that. Also many want to set and forget until the next firmware update, not everyone uses a router like a hobbyist. If it works and its secure leave it and use it is, that is perfectly fine for many users. Considering how many Netgear users run into trouble not resetting their router after a big update and end up with bizarre glitches and issues, now imagine if they had the array of control that some router interfaces allowed it would cause no end of issues. Take the new HH6 from BT, yes is still hobbled but its much more powerful, it updates its own firmware manages IPv6 and people can get on with using the internet without worrying if they set it up right first time that's what most people want, users of forums like this are more in the minority. I myself like a little more functionality, but I can see how Netgear's middle ground approach helps people learn just enough to better their coverage, but also get it right.

 

[TonyH]

Netgears GUI does hold peoples hands but to some that's what they want, setting up a router can be bewildering to many, and its not dumb or lazy to need a little help with that. Also many want to set and forget until the next firmware update, not everyone uses a router like a hobbyist. If it works and its secure leave it and use it is, that is perfectly fine for many users. Considering how many Netgear users run into trouble not resetting their router after a big update and end up with bizarre glitches and issues, now imagine if they had the array of control that some router interfaces allowed it would cause no end of issues. Take the new HH6 from BT, yes is still hobbled but its much more powerful, it updates its own firmware manages IPv6 and people can get on with using the internet without worrying if they set it up right first time that's what most people want, users of forums like this are more in the minority. I myself like a little more functionality, but I can see how Netgear's middle ground approach helps people learn just enough to better their coverage, but also get it right.

Just another man's opinion. I am good at teaching some one how to fish. I am not good at giving fish.

 

[Killhippie]

Just another man's opinion. I am good at teaching some one how to fish. I am not good at giving fish.

"If you give a man a fish he is hungry again in an hour. If you teach him to catch a fish you do him a good turn"