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New router or mesh set-up?

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  1. #51

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    Quote Originally Posted by pin:
    @Deleted, sorry, appreciate your feedback, please don't take it any other way. I'm a tiny bit clueless about how repeaters work hence my queries.

    So, if I read it right, even though my router (RT-N66U) just supports "n", if the repeater supports "ac", I will get "ac" speeds on my devices (such as my phone, computer, etc) which support "ac"?

    As @bdw has pointed out, my router is now several years old anyway so was thinking of upgrading it anyway. But seems the general view is I'm better (and probably cost effective) of just getting a repeater, because a new router won't really solve my issues. Also thanks to @jgl for his feedback.
    My understanding is that the repeater @Deleted pointed you to will work with your existing router (any probably any other router from any other brand for that matter), but it won't ''repeat' what your router doesn't broadcast. So if your router only broadcasts an N signal, it will only repeat the N signal and the AC functions of the repeater will not work.

  2. #52

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    Quote Originally Posted by bdw:
    Also the new routers have become 'smarter' in family management. I have 2 kids and I can create profile for my son and daughter. For my son, I attach all his devices such as ipad, iphone, laptop, etc, and then do same for daughter, and then can control their screen time easily which propogates across all of their devices. No need to manage each device separately, now I manage each PERSON.

    Another thing I like is how the entire device can now be controlled via phone app. From firmware updating, to my smartDNS management, everything is now done on my phone and not going to 192.168.1.1 on my browser anymore.
    Which make/model does this? Can you do this remotely via your phone app?

    Out of curiosity, more than anything else. I'm not up to speed on current home router tech these days.


    Quote Originally Posted by pin:

    So, if I read it right, even though my router (RT-N66U) just supports "n", if the repeater supports "ac", I will get "ac" speeds on my devices (such as my phone, computer, etc) which support "ac"?
    I really wouldn't be worring about N vs AC speeds here. If you're sticking to your old N66U and slapping an AC repeater to extend range then:

    1. Any device connected to the AC repeater is still going to be connecting to the Internet via the N66U using N, so zero benefit to speed.

    2. Simply adding the repeater is going to halve your theoretical max wireless throughput speeds anyway. This doesn't matter, whatever speed you end up with will be okay unless you're copying big files around.

    3. All wifi speed claims about the newer standards reaching 800Mbps or whatever are complete bullshit anyway. With wifi, you just want it to work well enough to browse the internet and stream Neflix. So you want coverage, speed is irrelevant. If you want speed, you will be running physical cable, there is no way around this.
    Last edited by jgl; 11-03-2019 at 11:43 AM.

  3. #53

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    Quote Originally Posted by jgl:
    Which make/model does this? Can you do this remotely via your phone app?

    Out of curiosity, more than anything else. I'm not up to speed on current home router tech these days.
    I have the Asus AC86U and yes both the family management functions and remote access (managing from outside my home) can be controlled through the Asus app.

    I have a mate also with kids and he's just got a Synology router and he says is even better. If you've ever used synology NAS with the Diskstation software before you might know what I mean. But you can get all sorts of apps and plugins for your router now. He was even telling me how he can control facebook, instagram, etc. He can even stop his kids from 'liking' posts on FB etc
    jgl likes this.

  4. #54

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    Quote Originally Posted by bdw:
    My understanding is that the repeater @Deleted pointed you to will work with your existing router (any probably any other router from any other brand for that matter), but it won't ''repeat' what your router doesn't broadcast. So if your router only broadcasts an N signal, it will only repeat the N signal and the AC functions of the repeater will not work.
    Uh, I don't think that's the way it works. This would only be true if the device was acting as an analogue signal repeater like some old school radio setup.

    The range extender is a WAP, so it is handling its own connections to end devices via whatever protocols and medium it is happy with, for example if it has physical ports, it could be extending the network to go across a wire instead of N/AC/whatever.

    It's just that the connection between the old router and the extender will be on N, because that's all the old router can handle.

  5. #55

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    @pin Let us know how all this works out in the end


  6. #56

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    Quote Originally Posted by jgl:
    @pin Let us know how all this works out in the end
    As is with most things these days, something else came up. Wifi kind of works upstairs now, but I do need an upgrade. Hopefully by the end of the year (bit like the updated mobile app for this site).

  7. #57

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    Update. Ended up getting the Orbi mesh setup. Took about 10 minutes to setup. I opted for ease of use. It wasn't the cheapest, but the easiest and quickest to set-up. also Orbi has decent reviews. Have decent coverage all around now.

    Thanks for all the previous suggestions.

    chichow and jgl like this.

  8. #58

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    Original Post Deleted
    Yeah, BK50.

  9. #59

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    If you have or plan to deploy wired Ethernet backhaul to your access points, purpose-built wired access points such as Ubiquiti UAP-AC-Lite, TP-Link EAP-225v3 or other APs reviewed in the 2x2 AC Access Point Roundup series are both less expensive and higher performance than AiMesh routers. If you can't or don't want to use Ethernet backhaul and just want mesh, mesh Wi-Fi systems such as eero with a pair of Beacons still cost at least a little less than most AiMesh options, and tend to be more stable, easier to live with, and higher in Spouse Acceptance Factor.
    For what it's worth, I've not had the most stable experiences with cheap Ubiquiti gear. I run two UAP-AP-AC-Lites normally. One died after about a year and needed replacement. Of the two that I currently run, I've had to power cycle them several times this year. This seems to run in clusters- months go past, then I might have to power cycle one twice in a week. For something that marketed for enterprise use, this is pretty shit.

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