Time for a new wireless router: share your suggestions and experience here

[SpeedyChix]

All mac/apple household. pair of Airport Extremes in service now (5- & 7-years old).
Xfinity cable in an area with 32 channels, have a new cable modem ordered to replace current unit.

While I'm in network mode, started to look at replacing the AEs with a single unit like the Synology RT2600AC located centrally on the first floor or a minimal mesh setup (Netgear Orbi or AmpliFi).

Experience on any of these? Would you do same again, etc.

[NYCfixie]

1) Call XFinity and have them turn off internal WiFi on the device they supplied. It will stop people from stealing (i.e. using) your bandwidth. You know how you always see those "hotspots" that you can connect to as a customer, those are all people's ISP provided devices. Stop giving your bandwidth away for free.

2a) Google Wifi 3-pack. Easy, if not easier, to setup than Apple Airports. Great coverage. Great bandwidth. very small devices. Doesn't look bad either. Setup several for friends/family.

2b) Eero HomePack (3 devices). Highly recommended by colleagues (I work in technology - servers, network, computers, etc) as an alternative to Google. They also set them up for friends/family.

3) Did you really complete step 1? If not, call you ISP and have them turn OFF internal WiFi on the device they gave you.


P.S. I replaced my personal very, very, very old Airport Extreme with a Google WiFi. My wife and I live in a 750sqft. apartment so all we needed was 1 device.

[cny rider]

1) Call XFinity and have them turn off internal WiFi on the device they supplied. It will stop people from stealing (i.e. using) your bandwidth. You know how you always see those "hotspots" that you can connect to as a customer, those are all people's ISP provided devices. Stop giving your bandwidth away for free.

2a) Google Wifi 3-pack. Easy, if not easier, to setup than Apple Airports. Great coverage. Great bandwidth. very small devices. Doesn't look bad either. Setup several for friends/family.

2b) Eero HomePack (3 devices). Highly recommended by colleagues (I work in technology - servers, network, computers, etc) as an alternative to Google. They also set them up for friends/family.

3) Did you really complete step 1? If not, call you ISP and have them turn OFF internal WiFi on the device they gave you.


P.S. I replaced my personal very, very, very old Airport Extreme with a Google WiFi. My wife and I live in a 750sqft. apartment so all we needed was 1 device.

I don't know jack about modern technology, but we just got rid of our ancient Airport, and went with the Google 3 pack.
So simple to set up, even I couldn't screw it up. And it works flawlessly (about 3 months so far).

[SpeedyChix]

1) Call XFinity and have them turn off internal WiFi on the device they supplied. It will stop people from stealing (i.e. using) your bandwidth. You know how you always see those "hotspots" that you can connect to as a customer, those are all people's ISP provided devices. Stop giving your bandwidth away for free.

2a) Google Wifi 3-pack. Easy, if not easier, to setup than Apple Airports. Great coverage. Great bandwidth. very small devices. Doesn't look bad either. Setup several for friends/family.

2b) Eero HomePack (3 devices). Highly recommended by colleagues (I work in technology - servers, network, computers, etc) as an alternative to Google. They also set them up for friends/family.

3) Did you really complete step 1? If not, call you ISP and have them turn OFF internal WiFi on the device they gave you.


P.S. I replaced my personal very, very, very old Airport Extreme with a Google WiFi. My wife and I live in a 750sqft. apartment so all we needed was 1 device.

Don't use the xfinity gear. Have always bought our own cable modem w/o wifi (no router) and use a separate router (presently one of the Apple Extremes as a router/WAP)
Mesh with separate backhaul seems like it would be best?

Will look at eero and google.

Any insight to minimize bufferbloat? It's historically been bad.
The chipset in the Arris DOCSIS 3.1 may improve some of it. It's overkill for our current provisioned speed. It will be able to bond to all of all available channels.

Thanks

[SpeedyChix]

Any TP-Link Deco users here?

Ethernet backhaul isn't separate but reviews seem solid.
Was going to run ethernet from basement unit that will be router as well off the modem, ethernet to first floor unit and put the third unit upstairs on wi-fi.

[rec head]

I have had the Eero 3 pack since they came out. Super easy and great coverage on a 4 story building. When I got it it was the easiest mesh out there but it seems like others are catching up. If you need more than one access point mesh really seems like the way to go.

[Two]

Third the Eero. They just work. The Google WiFi also looks good, but they don't have the best track record as far as abandoning home products seemingly arbitrarily. Trust is huge for me -- whoever controls your router controls all your computer traffic. What they secure/protect/allow can have far reaching implications.

[Too Tall]

I'm with you on the Arris DOCSIS 3.1. Me happy.

[Hoonjr]

How big is the area you want covered by wifi? I'm very happy with my Ubiquiti AC-PRO AP. It covers my entire house 2 story house with basement with a central mount point. Center ceiling on the first floor. My setup is pretty simple. Router (whatever is cheap on ebay and compatible with your ISP) >POE switch>WAP. It was $300 total for the Ubiquiti equipment. You could go cheaper and use a non POE switch but then you'd need a power source close to the WAP which may look clunky. I did have to run an ethernet cable from the switch to the WAP behind some walls to make the install look cleaner. I've had zero downtime i.e. not one minute of downtime with their equipment since I installed and configured it.

[davids]

I've used an Arris (w/DOCSIS 3.0) for over two years now, replacing the Comcast modem/router. I've also used a set of TP-Link powerline extenders to provide access points on each floor of my house since late 2015. I think there are more elegant solutions available now.

Networking Devices: Reviews by Wirecutter | A New York Times Company does a good job vetting and evaluating this stuff.

Comcast has taken good care of me, actually. I had speed problems and the tech who was dispatched (1) validated the problem and (2) kept poking around until he found the backwards-facing splitter stuffed behind a faceplate at some point deep my house's past. He removed it from the cable path and - boom - 125MB all day long.

[Dave Thompson]

We’ve had the Eero system our 3 story house for about 8 months now. Our Comcast cable, which is buried in the yard, comes into my office in the basement where the modem/router is located . The Eero is lightyears better than anything else we’ve used trying to get good, reliable WiFi throughout our whole house. Extremely easy to install, setup and control. Love it!

[SpeedyChix]

After using too much brain bandwidth, punted and ordered the Eero. Setup fast and took less time than activating the cable modem. So far all good.
Eero downside: I'm not keen on it requiring the cloud and the automatic forced updates.

Ubiquiti or AmpliFi will be the replacement if the Eero isn't a winner.

VPN next on the list.

Thanks for the input.

[rec head]

The forced updates are to keep the router secure for those that would never bother to update FW on a router. Personally I like not having to keep up with it but see your point. I just wish Eero would let me set up the Guest network as a fully functional separate network. That would awesome.

Do you have a VPN in mind? I haven't looked into it in years.

[Too Tall]

After using too much brain bandwidth, punted and ordered the Eero. Setup fast and took less time than activating the cable modem. So far all good.
Eero downside: I'm not keen on it requiring the cloud and the automatic forced updates.

Ubiquiti or AmpliFi will be the replacement if the Eero isn't a winner.

VPN next on the list.

Thanks for the input.

Speedyone - I've dragged my feet far too long on this. Still loving the eero setup?

[j44ke]

Not to muddy the waters, but I've been watching this Amplifi unit, and now that it is out, it has been getting positive reviews. Spendy perhaps, but my current Apple-based WIFI network is about that.

AmpliFi | Faster, Whole-Home Wi-Fi

[SpeedyChix]

Speedyone - I've dragged my feet far too long on this. Still loving the eero setup?

Yes! It is in the category of fire it up and forget about it. Have a full install at our place and put one in at the kids. I've had zero tech support calls for network issues from them since (that was two years ago). They have a newer generation out now. You can add on the subscription security bits if you need or want them.

Ended up going with Private Internet Access for a VPN (looking back at that old post).

Not to muddy the waters, but I've been watching this Amplifi unit, and now that it is out, it has been getting positive reviews. Spendy perhaps, but my current Apple-based WIFI network is about that.


AmpliFi | Faster, Whole-Home Wi-Fi

Looks good. It'll be ages before we have access to gigabit internet here. : (

[Too Tall]

Thanks SpeedyOne. I can get two Pro units (new) from CostCo for $269. That should cover me.

[sbornia]

I replaced a couple of Apple Airport extremes with the Eero kit that includes the main unit plus two smaller ones. It’s terrific, probably overkill, in our 1200 sq ft house and 300 sq ft detached garage/home office. But I have peace of mind that my video meetings will run well from the farthest point away from the main connection.

[choke]

I purchased an Orbi system (base & 2 remotes) last year and I've been very happy with it. It's overkill for my house but I had pretty much non-existent wifi in spots outside where I like to sit and it cured that problem.

[Two]

Eero was purchased by Amazon, and the voices in my head tell me that's scary from a privacy standpoint. They also dated for Wi-Fi standards, but I think even the stuff on the bleeding edge is going to be outdated fairly quickly. I personally would rather go with one of the WiFi 6 routers if I want to keep it long term.