Recommended router 3000 sq ft house.

[zolo111]

Hi, I'm new here

I'm in the market for a router to cover a 3000 sq ft, 2 floor house with thick concrete walls. I live in the US but the house is in a different continent, so can't try different ones, I'll be installing it next month.

They have 25/5mb fiber service, the gateway modem provided by the ISP (horrible wifi coverage) is located in one side of the first floor; can't move it.

I currently have a couple of DD-WRT routers in 2nd floor as wired AP's. But the ethernet cables (running outside the house) get damaged due to weather, cats in the house..etc

I can't / not allowed to run cable inside the mother in law's house :/

Max 15 devices connected (2.4 & 5Ghz), but mostly 4-5. No usb support, file transfers between devices capabilities; just a good wireless signal to connect to the internet throughout the house. No nearby wireless interference.

This leaves me with the option of a single device, I understand it's not the best option; but oh well.

I need it to be rock solid since I won't be there to troubleshoot..etc

Can I get away with T-Mobile TM-AC1900? Or ?

max $250 if must.

Thanks!

 

[L&LD]

Welcome!

Thick concrete, two floors and different country? I hope you're not expecting whole house coverage?

RT-AC3100 plus current RMerlin firmware is my best recommendation for your circumstances. But that doesn't mean it 'will' work trouble-free or 'rock solid' either, in that environment.

Wish you the best.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/s...-go-with-the-rt-ac1900p-v3.34748/#post-281391

 

[zolo111]

Thanks for the reply, I understand that it won't cover the whole house. I just want to replace the current AP's with one that will be as strong as possible; since I can't run cables through walls..etc

 

[L&LD]

Then in my experience, the RT-AC3100 + RMerlin firmware will give you the most trouble free service you can expect.

Be sure you flash the router to the current firmware you want to use and do a full reset to factory defaults followed by a minimal and manual configuration afterwards to connect to your ISP and secure your router.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/n...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac66u-slow-wan-to-lan.12973/page-3#post-269410

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/faq-nvram-and-factory-default-reset.22822/

 

[zolo111]

I'm still reading the links you provided, thanks.
If all I care about is the wifi coverage and range, I don't need all the extra RAM, 3100 speeds..etc what would be the better option then? 1900P?

 

[L&LD]

I'm still reading the links you provided, thanks.
If all I care about is the wifi coverage and range, I don't need all the extra RAM, 3100 speeds..etc what would be the better option then? 1900P?

Re-read the first link I provided above. The 5GHz signals range went from effectively non-existent to 'wow' for my customer in their very large home and limited router placement options.

All the extras you don't care about is what gives that great range, ime. There is no 1900P 3x3:3 router that comes close to what a 4x4:4router like the RT-AC3100 can do.

In other words; the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts.

With concrete walls and two storeys, you can try a lessor router, but I wouldn't expect it to equal the RT-AC3100 in that situation. The 'just a little better' range and performance the RT-AC3100 may offer may be the difference from being usable as a single router/AP vs. being not much better than what you already have as provided by the ISP at the location in question.

Do keep your options open too for a more central location for the main wireless router. (Use proper pipe/conduits to shield the LAN cables as necessary from the ISP supplied modem or modem/router to the router you will use).

 

[zolo111]

I grabbed one from newegg, thanks for the help.

What would RMerlin firmware offer that dd-wrt won't though? so if all I want is as much wifi coverage & stability as possible; dd-wrt would be enough; correct?

I'm just used to dd-wrt & don't have experience with Merlin.

 

[avtella]

Its a modified version of stock firmware. I believe DD-WRT and OpenWRT have issues with hardware acceleration if I'm not mistaken causing lower overall throughput.