Which of these two routers would be better?

[Rinsell]

We’re changing the internet cables from copper to fiber, this means we also have to change routers. As i live in a small country i’ve got a really limited selection of routers i can buy. I’ve narrowed it down to the Aginet EX220 (150$) and the Zyxel EX5601-T0 (200$). Our current internet speed is 60/15, maybe thinking of upgrading it to 100/100. Future proofing is not that important, it would be nice, but not necessary.

 

[jzchen]

Zyxel EX5601-T0 is my recommendation

 

[ColinTaylor]

The Zyxel looks to have the better hardware specs. That doesn't necessarily mean it's the better router. Try to find some real-world comments from people that have used either router with your particular ISP.

 

[Rinsell]

The Zyxel looks to have the better hardware specs. That doesn't necessarily mean it's the better router. Try to find some real-world comments from people that have used either router with your particular ISP.

Yeah, first thing i did was to ask ChatGPT, he said that the Zyxel has better hardware, but is generally unstable and has issues with static IP adresses (which is something i would like to use). And because Aginet is a part of TP-Link, it has better firmware (ergo, more stable) and larger range. But i don’t trust the bot.. I feel its better to talk to people that know what they’re talking about

 

[ColinTaylor]

Does your ISP have a user forum you could ask in?

 

[Tech9]

We’re changing the internet cables from copper to fiber, this means we also have to change routers.

What devices is the ISP supplying with their fiber service? Your own router means your responsibility. Get the ISP provided device instead and if it's not working properly - call them to fix it.

 

[Rinsell]

Does your ISP have a user forum you could ask in?

Not that i know of… i can’t see anything on their website

 

[Rinsell]

What devices is the ISP supplying with their fiber service? Your own router means your responsibility. Get the ISP provided device instead and if it's not working properly - call them to fix it.

They’re not supplying anything, the fiber service is free, and we get a 25% off on the zyxel. The other router is from the only other ISP

 

[Tech9]

I would perhaps get the Aginet EX220. It's more than enough for 100/100 ISP line, similar to Archer AX23 for service providers, has good 4dBi and 5dBi external antennas and may reach further, it's also cheaper.

 

[Rinsell]

I would perhaps get the Aginet EX220. It's more than enough for 100/100 ISP line, similar to Archer AX23 for service providers, has good 4dBi and 5dBi external antennas and may reach further, it's also cheaper.

Yeah, i was leaning more towards the Aginet, but wasn’t sure i should listen to ChatGPT. A stable router is a pretty big thing for us

 

[Tech9]

wasn’t sure i should listen to ChatGPT

Don't. It's just opinions aggregator in this case. If you like ask what the neighbors around use and get more relevant to specific ISP feedback. If one of the ISPs around is offering EX220 model - they perhaps tested it on their network and it works well. They don't want service calls.

 

[fruitcornbread]

Personally, I would get the Zyxel EX5601-T0 as it is Openwrt supported, but only if you care about it. A similar model was heavily recommended for Openwrt users in the EU last year since you can get it relatively cheap at 30€ T-56 (ISP Odido branded EX5601-T1, which is the same as T0 version with SFP+ port removed).

https://forum.openwrt.org/t/adding-openwrt-support-for-zyxel-ex5601-t0/155914

 

[Rinsell]

Only serious thing i want to do on my router is setup pi-hole (which was a thing my previous router couldn’t do), but if it also supports openwrt, it allows for more customizeability than i thought. Thanks guys!

 

[Tech9]

For basic ad-blocking purposes you can use upstream filtering DNS service like AdGuard. The final result will be very similar and no additional hardware is needed. More information how to set here:

AdGuard DNS — ad-blocking DNS server

Create your ad-blocking DNS server that will protect your personal data, prevent tracking and allow you to control access to specific content on the Internet.

adguard-dns.io

DNS-based filtering is kind of old school nowadays though and increasingly less effective.