Router that does not lose settings on its own or needs regular reboots.

[CrackButcher]

Hi , I am looking for a router in the 50-100 US dollar range. I am looking for 2.4ghz and 5ghz that has mu-mimo. Basically I think that will prevent my games from lagging/hiccups as much when my wife watches youtube.

The main feature I want in the wireless router is that it does not lose its settings randomly. Also I don't want to have to reboot at random intervals.

I am currently just hotspoting to my phone 24/7 because the qos is just so much better. I reset the wifi router app on the phone less than once a month! I also never have to deal with it going down randomly it is reliable. Don't know why I haven't been able to find a router yet that I can just set and not have to tinker with all the time.

 

[L&LD]

Welcome, @CrackButcher!

MU-MIMO won't help with your games.

Why do you want a router that loses its settings randomly?

What are your ISP speeds? Up and down?

What devices does your wife watch YouTube with? Are they 4K screens and thus require 4K content? Can you set her device(s) to only need 1080P content instead?

What device are you playing games with? What is the connection? Wired, or wireless? What network adaptors are available on it and have you tried them all?

What router are you currently using?

The price range you're seeing will not get you into what you're after. You may need to find used deals (maybe on this site) to get the level of performance you want (assuming all the other points made above are up to par too).

 

[CrackButcher]

@L&LD

Ha you posted just before I edited it.

My down is about 200mbps and 30mbps up on speed tests from speakeasy and ookla. The speeds might be higher if I speed tested on the modem itself.

She just watches stuff on the phone mostly, it is not a high resolution phone so the max it MIGHT be doing is 1080p .

I was using a TP-LINK Archer C2 AC750. It works great when it is working.... and was about 50 bucks when I got it a few years ago, but it keeps on losing settings so it works for a maximum of 2.5 days then I have to setup my networks again.

I have a built in Killer Wireless n/a/ac wireless adapter for the laptop. I use a cheap NET-DYN for my VMs. I connect to the a or ac network not the bgn.

The other brands I have used netgear and linksys both required me to reboot every few days, not clue what models those were but they weren't high end either and in the 50-100 dollar range.

I need QOS, what do you suggest.

 

[L&LD]

AC750? Is that the steam or the coal-powered version?

An RT-AC66U_B1 with RMerlin firmware, a spare USB drive for amtm (built into the firmware), a swap file, and FlexQoS or CakeQoS would be like going from a 1930's movie to 'T2'.

I have a few customers with such a combination and close to your ISP speeds and they've been running the latest stable RMerlin firmware since it was released back in the middle of August. A lot of them without a reboot, yet.

While this is a good and solid choice, for a few dollars more (or watch for sales in the next few weeks) the RT-AC86U will be another huge jump too for higher performance via lower latency and much better hardware all around.

Another area of improvement is to get rid of the 'killer' software and rather, use stock Intel drivers for better reliability and performance. While you're at it, get rid of the NET-DYN's too. With the new router, you can use your existing one as a Media Bridge or AP (but don't connect any wireless clients to it).

 

[dosborne]

Why do you want a router that loses its settings randomly?

The randomness is much more fun than a router that loses its setting on a regular schedule

Hi , I am looking for a router in the 50-100 US dollar range.

If you are looking for better performance and reliability, I fear that you will need to reset your expectations in regards to cost. A bottom end router is unlikely to have the resources required to run for more than a couple days without a reboot (IMO). I'd suggest, since you've had experience with better quality products, that it may have been worthwhile to investigate the reason for the required rebooting to determine if there were specific memory leaks, processes that you didn't need and could disable, etc.

Personally, I have no issues with, and prefer, to have a scheduled reboot during off hours. It gives me peace of mind to know that it is running a fresh environment. I've not had any of my routers (asus, tp-link, d-link etc) over 25 years lose settings randomly, but know some people do have this issue. Sometimes it can be explained by overheating (poor ventilation), running too many services, overloading the ram, etc and sometimes it comes down to simply bad luck and a hardware failure.

An RT-AC66U_B1 with RMerlin firmware, a spare USB drive for amtm (built into the firmware), a swap file, and FlexQoS or CakeQoS would be like going from a 1930's movie to 'T2'.

Personally, I'd go the simplistic route. If looking for stability and performance, then run the LEAST number of processes, avoid usb usage entirely, strip it as bare as possible.

 

[L&LD]

@dosborne, I agree with you about stripping it 'as bare as possible'. But what I suggested is what the OP wants, that is as 'bare' as we can go.