Router Advice - UK 2021

[Shought152]

I am helping a friend setup a home network. He has a bungalow here in the UK (Single Story). His budget is around £150 (Can go a little above - if its better)

The router will be stored in a boiler cupboard in the hallway so would be near central to for the property (Boiler no longer installed inside it)

I have seen either

Amplifi HD (without the mesh points - router only) https://eu.store.ui.com/products/amplifi-mesh-wi-fi-system?currency=EUR&variant=29377698201709&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google Shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwgb6IBhAREiwAgMYKRvh0DSye2311sh5G7BJSkhhngsV_OOXP58vx87QVDwaqgKt19EgqOxoChaUQAvD_BwE

Or this nighthawk:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TDV2IS4/?tag=smallncom-21

I notice the nighthawk has a faster throughput of WiFi speeds although not sure on the range between them both.
I did think that Netgear products, they don't supply long after care support such as software updates etc.

What would you suggest? Or any other alternatives?
He only does work etc from home, very little gaming. Lots of streaming Netflix/Iplayer etc.


Thanks

EDIT: Just noticed on another thread someone suggest Asus RT-AC86U or RT-AX86U are these any good?

 

[ColinTaylor]

The router will be stored in a boiler cupboard in the hallway so would be near central to for the property.

Hi @Shought152

Does this boiler cupboard no longer have a boiler in it? Otherwise, a confined hot area with no ventilation next to a large metal object is the worst possible location for a wireless router.

 

[Shought152]

Hi @Shought152

Does this boiler cupboard no longer have a boiler in it? Otherwise, a confined hot area with no ventilation next to a large metal object is the worst possible location for a wireless router.

Yes sorry - the boiler wouldn't be in here. New one being installed as we speak in the loft/attic!

 

[ColinTaylor]

Does your friend has any specific requirements beyond general browsing, streaming and email? e.g. VPN's, QoS, media server, torrents, etc.

What client devices will he be using?

EDIT: Just noticed on another thread someone suggest Asus RT-AC86U or RT-AX86U are these any good?

I have both the RT-AC68U (also called RT-AC66U_B1) and the RT-AX86U. In terms of coverage they are about the same as all wireless routers in the UK are restricted to the same power output. I'm assuming the bungalow is the typical size for the UK so coverage shouldn't be a problem unless he wants to cover outdoors as well.

 

[Tech9]

In terms of coverage they are about the same as all wireless routers in the UK are restricted to the same power output.

This is interesting for me, because I have compared similar routers and the coverage I observed was different, worst to best:

RT-AC66U B1, fixed round stile antennas, BCM4360 + Skyworks 85728-11
RT-AC68U A2, removable round style antennas, the original design, BCM4360 + Skyworks SE5023L
RT-AC1900P B2, removable flat style antennas, the new design, BCM4360 + Skyworks SE5003L1
RT-AC86U, removable flat style antennas, the new design, BCM4366E

I believe all of the above routers have the same power output as per local regulations, but RF design and efficiency was improved over time. RT-AC66U B1 is newer than RT-AC68U A2, but also cheaper model. RT-AC1900P improved not only the CPU, but the radio/antennas design. RT-AC86U with the new SoC outperforms all AC68U variants. Link speeds at the same distances vary with >400Mbps between RT-AC66U B1 and RT-AC86U. At the edge of usable coverage area some devices drop the connection to RT-AC66U B1, but still stay connected at 135Mbps to RT-AC86U. All tests done on 5GHz band. 2.4GHz band is about the same.

 

[Shought152]

Does your friend has any specific requirements beyond general browsing, streaming and email? e.g. VPN's, QoS, media server, torrents, etc.

What client devices will he be using?


I have both the RT-AC68U (also called RT-AC66U_B1) and the RT-AX86U. In terms of coverage they are about the same as all wireless routers in the UK are restricted to the same power output. I'm assuming the bungalow is the typical size for the UK so coverage shouldn't be a problem unless he wants to cover outdoors as well.

Torrents, has CCTV no need for VPN, QoS,Media.

I'm still really stuck what to choose for him

 

[ColinTaylor]

@Tech9 This is why reviews/recommendations (of the WiFi) from non-UK sources are fairly meaningless to UK customers. Compare for example the 2.4GHz band. In the US the maximum power output allowed is 1W compared to 100mW in the UK. Yes there are improvements to the RF design in the later models but the effect of these are usually insignificant compared to other factors like area being covered, internet speed and how much co-channel interference there is.

@Shought152 Do you know what speed his internet connection is? How are his CCTV cameras connected to the router. Ethernet or WiFi? If WiFi, 2.4GHz or 5GHz?

At the moment I'm leaning towards the RT-AC66U_B1 as a budget option given the (apparently) small area needed to be covered. The RT-AX86U is good but at more than twice the price it's way outside his budget. It also has issues with the 5GHz band in my experience. I'd be reluctant to recommend the RT-AC86U based on the very mixed experiences reported in these forums.

I'm sure that there are other good routers from other manufacturers but I don't have any recent experience with those. Bear in mind that these forums are mostly populated by Asus users so any recommendations will be heavily skewed towards that brand.

P.S. I'm assuming that he'll be using a BitTorrent client on his PC and not the one on the router (which is a bad idea despite it being an advertised feature).

 

[Tech9]

In the US the maximum power output allowed is 1W compared to 100mW in the UK.

I know, but none of the above US/CA models routers use 1000mW Tx power on 2.4GHz. Most are limited to 100mW or something around this number. The limitation comes from power amplifiers used. 5GHz band common low channels 36-48 are up to 200mW and this is what I tested with. Newer routers show better usable range using the same Tx power output. If given choice and the budget allows, I would pick later AC68U V3 with new antenna design over AC66U B1 with older style antennas. The hardware is very similar, but I see clearly performance differences.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Unfortunately the AC68U V3 doesn't appear to be sold in the UK at the moment. It might end up being another US/CA-only model like the RT-AC1900P. Again, another example of why US reviews are often of limited value to non-US customers.

 

[Tech9]

I understand. What real life difference do you see between your old AC68U and the new AX86U? Both must be limited to EU/UK regulations.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I understand. What real life difference do you see between your old AC68U and the new AX86U? Both must be limited to EU/UK regulations.

To be honest I don't see much difference regarding WiFi (other than the AX86U's 5GHz keeps crashing ). If anything the coverage of the RT-AC68U was better because it puts out a stronger signal on all bands/channels. Of course the AX86U is vastly superior in terms of VPN, QoS, etc. - none of which I use.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Just before my previous post I did a sanity check on my memory by changing the RT-AX86U's channel to 36/80 and comparing it to my previous notes. Since changing to that channel, as expected, the 5GHz WiFi has crashed 26 times in 42 minutes.

 

[Tech9]

I have only two HND platform router models - few AC86Us and recently I've got one AX58U. Someone disposed the AX58U because of faulty power supply connector, bad solder point - easy fix. If I wanted trouble-free Asus router, I would pick later AC68U variant - the AC1900P. It's built better, the software is more mature, the performance is more consistent. AC86U is disbalanced, the device as a whole can't keep up with components performance. I can crash AC86U doing large USB transfers, for example. One of three AC86Us doesn't start every time after soft reboot, I don't know why. AX58U is not only ugly, but also slower to common 2-stream AC client than 2014 AC68U! If I restart radios on AX58U (GN enable/disable, for example), all link speeds drop and it needs time to recover. I have to reboot the router to continue my testing. AX58U is annoying to the point I want to throw it back to the bin.

 

[Tech9]

Since changing to that channel, as expected, the 5GHz WiFi has crashed 26 times in 42 minutes.

Have you tested it with latest Asuswrt? It supposed to be few months newer code. I only test with official Asuswrt.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Have you tested it with latest Asuswrt? It supposed to be few months newer code. I only test with official Asuswrt.

Only briefly. They're now suppressing the WiFi debug messages so the crashes are not obvious. At the time I wasn't fully aware of the problem before switching back to Merlin. So rather than switching back and forth between firmwares I'm just going to wait until Merlin can incorporate the newer Asus code.

 

[Tech9]

This I don't understand. How is AX86U widely recommended model? What's the crashes effect on connected devices?

 

[ColinTaylor]

I posted a description here. It's something that would only effect some people and even if it does they may not be aware of it because the impact is quite small. It's more of an annoyance really because in the current Merlin firmware the syslog gets flooded with messages.

 

[Tech9]

Thanks for the explanation. Interesting find. Some people recommend this router as lowest latency Asus router.

Sorry @Shought152 for hijacking your thread. Follow @ColinTaylor advice, he knows router stuff better than most.