recommendation for 802.11ac wireless router

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  1. Posts : 1,750
    Windows 10 Pro
       #1

    recommendation for 802.11ac wireless router


    Moderators: if this post is off-topic, please just delete it, and I will understand.

    Guys,

    Is is OK to ask for a router recommendation here. My network includes a wireless bridge which is failing, so I thought I would repurpose my current router as a bridge and get a new router with 802.11ac support. What do you guys recommend.

    Thanks.
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  2. Posts : 2,324
    Win10
       #2

    That would depend largely on your Budget and how fast you want AC to go ?

    But I am fairly Happy with the TP Link C7 for it's price.....it is also IPV6 capable if your ISP uses it? Mine is ver. 2
    ----- it seems happier if it is restarted every now and then it seems ....
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  3. Posts : 3,257
    Windows 10 Pro
       #3

    The wireless ac market is changing quickly, so it's hard to put a finger on things. How much do you want to spend? Do you want the absolute best? Fastest? Best Range?

    At the top end there is now the NETGEAR - Nighthawk X8 AC5300 Tri-Band Quad Stream Wireless-AC Router, which boasts 3 bands and 5.3Gb/s, but is close to $400

    At the midrange is something like an AC1900/AC1750/AC1600

    At the lower end is an AC300-750 or so. Generally, the higher the number the faster it is, and more bands it supports. I typically won't buy anything that isn't at least dual-band. There's just way too much stuff in the 2.4GHz range for interference (mice, cordless phones, baby monitors, all kinds of stuff). 5Ghz is much less crowded and faster.

    However, you don't really say what your current router is.. if you get something way wicked fast, and you are stuck with your slower router as a bridge... then it's not going to help much.

    What do you need the bridge for exactly? To allow a desktop PC to use the wireless? Might be easier to just get a card for the desktop.
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  4. Posts : 273
    Windows 10 Pro 1709 x64
       #4

    My utmost priority is the rock stable connection then performance and wireless range on both bands. IMO, Linksys WRT1900AC easily met all of these requirements. I haven't restarted the router since the last time I manually updated the firmware:

    recommendation for 802.11ac wireless router-capture.jpg
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  5. Posts : 1
    Windows 10
       #5

    I don't think you will need something more than an AC1900 router and while I agree that the Linksys WRT1900AC is a good device, either of these two options can outperform it and they're a bit cheaper (you could also slip a powerline adapter if the bridge isn't as reliable).
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  6. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #6

    Mystere said:
    At the top end there is now the NETGEAR - Nighthawk X8 AC5300 Tri-Band Quad Stream Wireless-AC Router, which boasts 3 bands and 5.3Gb/s, but is close to $400

    At the midrange is something like an AC1900/AC1750/AC1600
    I have been very happy with my Netgear R7000. I have exactly 1 complaint about it in about 4 years I've had it. It has a feature called smart connect which chooses which band (2.4 or 5) a device connects to for best performance. My router is in the basement, and I have a dual band range extender in a second floor bedroom. With smart connect turned on, it only lets the dual band range extender connect to only 1 channel - so I just leave that turned off.

    I have the Netgear R7000 in the basement. Two floors up I have a Linksys RE6500 Range Extender which has 4 ethernet ports as well. Both my 2.4 and 5 ghz channels have the same SSIDs and since I have gone to this arrangement (and I have tried a bunch) I have rock solid signal and performance all over my house.
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  7. Posts : 2,324
    Win10
       #7

    Something to consider is that not all AC Devices are equal in there top speed , so there is no point in a $400 AC5300 Router if the Devices you are going to Connect can't do those speeds anyway. When you are at those Speeds Devices need to be able to Beam Split etc to get that top performance speed.

    If like me you have your Phone and maybe a Tablet , Surface 3 in my case, the C7 ac1750 is fast enough , (1300@5ghz/450@2.4ghz)
    The Surface in particular can only do max 768 anyway , and only within 5-10 ft of the Router.

    A friend has the Tplink C8 and has no issues with it either. But my Brother has the D8 which he says has connection issues and is waiting for a new Firmware .
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  8. Posts : 30
    Windows 10 x64
       #8

    As a side note ,you may want to know what technology your ISP uses when delivering your internet speed.For example,here in Romania,where I live, the largest Gigabit internet provider uses PPPoE which is quite demanding on most routers,for example Tp link has a separate table for the PPPoE speeds their routers can deliver.I know for a fact that the nighthawk is capped at 550 mb/s if HW Nat is not working properly on PPPoE.
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  9. Posts : 3,257
    Windows 10 Pro
       #9

    Kbird said:
    Something to consider is that not all AC Devices are equal in there top speed , so there is no point in a $400 AC5300 Router if the Devices you are going to Connect can't do those speeds anyway. When you are at those Speeds Devices need to be able to Beam Split etc to get that top performance speed.
    This is absolutely true. However, one other thing to consider is how MANY devices you are connecting. The faster devices simply have more bandwidth, and therefore can handle more devices at once with more bandwidth for each device.

    If you have kids, a wife, and others living in your home, they may each have phones, tablets, DVR's, and other tools that use up a bunch of wireless bandwidth.
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  10. Posts : 9,765
    Mac OS Catalina
       #10

    Always check the ratings on smallnetbuilder.com. Personally I would go with a wired router, a Access Point with POE (Powered Over Ethernet) capabilities. Mixing Gateways with wireless built in and trying to turn them into just an Access Point will still cause issues if that one device is already having problems.
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