Router died today

[bigboxes]

Been flaky for a while. It was time to replace it with something more reliable and modern. I have been researching routers on and off for quite sometime. I'm not as dependent on it as I used to be as my cable modem has one built-in. My main rig, file server and my wife's machine are all hard wired Cat6 to the router. I like it like that. Solid. Reliable. I even have a cable run to the living room for my future HTPC. However, with cell phones and tablets needing access for family and guests wireless is becoming ever important.

I've been wanting an ac router for a while. Would the Asus AC2400 RT-AC87U be reliable router that performs well with wireless. I live in a single story 1,500 square feet. Not big, but cozy. Would that Asus model provide reliable coverage?

 

[Charlie98]

I don't know about the Asus, I have a Cisco wireless router that works very well. I run wireless to 2 PCs and a laptop, plus our 4 mobile devices and it never misses a beat in our 2-story, 2500sq/ft house. I can even set in my truck in the driveway and my phone is still connected to wifi.

 

[bigboxes]

I don't know about the Asus, I have a Cisco wireless router that works very well. I run wireless to 2 PCs and a laptop, plus our 4 mobile devices and it never misses a beat in our 2-story, 2500sq/ft house. I can even set in my truck in the driveway and my phone is still connected to wifi.

You mean Linksys? Is so, what model?

 

[Elixer]

Belkin bought linksys.

Asus RT line are very nice routers, no real complaints with them.
Though, I should mention that I flashed the firmware to Tomato, so, I am unsure how good the "default" router firmware is.

 

[RossMAN]

My Asus RT-N66U has been rock solid fast and reliable.

http://slickdeals.net/f/7827077-asu...xtender-bundle-119-99-ar-free-shipping-newegg

 

[shadowman724]

You can go with Linksys. They have been maintained by Cisco from 2003 to 2013. And for small offices, they're great.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I would go with the asus unit. I'm currently running a netgear r7500 and I wish that I'd purchased the asus unit instead. Netgear firmware gets worse with each revision and their genie app is horrible on the pc although the android version works ok.

 

[bigboxes]

You can go with Linksys. They have been maintained by Cisco from 2003 to 2013. And for small offices, they're great.

I've had Linksys in the past. Router and Gigabit switch. I've currently got a D-Link (dead) and a Trendnet 8-port Gigabit switch. I knew the router was having issues, but I've got lots of wants and it wasn't a priority. Now it is.

Keep the recommendations coming. Reliability first, signal strength/coverage second.

 

[boomhower]

I bought an Asus AC last year and it died less than a year later. Replaced it with a Netgear 7500 and it didn't get along with my Fire TV's. Replaced it with a Linksys 1900AC and love it. Great coverage and no issues at all. I regret ever going away from Linksys to start with. They get a bad rap from the Belkin take over but I've never had any issue with mine all the way back to the 54G days.

 

[bigboxes]

I bought an Asus AC last year and it died less than a year later. Replaced it with a Netgear 7500 and it didn't get along with my Fire TV's. Replaced it with a Linksys 1900AC and love it. Great coverage and no issues at all. I regret ever going away from Linksys to start with. They get a bad rap from the Belkin take over but I've never had any issue with mine all the way back to the 54G days.

There's every reason to worry about the Belkin takeover. Cisco built a brand in Linksys based on their reputation in enterprise. Now that they've built up a brand, they sell it. Linksys can only go down with Belkin.

I've not against Belkin, they are what they are. I've own many of their products. However, whatever their reputation you need higher when it comes to Networking equipment. You need reliability. That's why you pay a little more for that quality.

I had my Linksys equipment last 8-10 years. Usually, technology moves faster than they usually last. So, you upgrade less often.

 

[boomhower]

There's every reason to worry about the Belkin takeover. Cisco built a brand in Linksys based on their enterprise offerings. Now that they've built up a brand, they sell it. It can only go down with Belkin.

I've not against Belkin, they are what they are. I've own many of their products. However, whatever their reputation you need higher when it comes to Networking equipment. You need reliability. That's why you pay a little more for that quality.

I had my Linksys equipment last 8-10 years. Usually, technology moves faster than they usually last. So, you upgrade less often.

I'm holding a wait and see approach. So far I have not had any issues. I'm my experience the tech in routers move faster than the devises that connect to them. AC has been around for a while not but just fairly recently has AC proliferated to where the average consumer can benefit from it. They are big on releasing routers with draft certifications that aren't even finalized. Being on the bleeding edge of router tech rarely has benefits.

 

[bigboxes]

I'm holding a wait and see approach. So far I have not had any issues. I'm my experience the tech in routers move faster than the devises that connect to them. AC has been around for a while not but just fairly recently has AC proliferated to where the average consumer can benefit from it. They are big on releasing routers with draft certifications that aren't even finalized. Being on the bleeding edge of router tech rarely has benefits.

Totally agree. That's why I'm asking the opinion of others. I don't need the bleeding edge. Just want the best that is stable and reliable. I can read specs all day. I want to hear of others experiences with the product. I do my research.

 

[bigboxes]

Anyone else? I'd like to hear from more people on routers for the home before I make a decision.

 

[Elixer]

Model Asus RT-N66U
Chipset Broadcom BCM5300 chip rev 1 pkg 0
CPU Freq 600MHz
Flash Size 32MB

Time Sat, 02 May 2015 16:30:22 -0400
Uptime 192 days, 12:42:49

As long as you have the ability to flash 3rd party firmware, and the hardware is decent, then you shouldn't have many issues. Just find the router you were looking at, and search other forums for issues that may crop up.

 

[MtnMan]

My Asus RT-N66U has been rock solid fast and reliable.

http://slickdeals.net/f/7827077-asu...xtender-bundle-119-99-ar-free-shipping-newegg

I loved the specs on this router, but it was totally unreliable, needing a reboot (power cycle) every 8 to 16 hours, when it did a great imitation of a brick.

It was returned, got a Cisco EA4200 and put DD-WRT on it, rock solid, and when grandsons are here with TV's, tablets, phones, BD players it handles up to 20+ wireless connections with no problems.

 

[bigboxes]

As long as you have the ability to flash 3rd party firmware, and the hardware is decent, then you shouldn't have many issues. Just find the router you were looking at, and search other forums for issues that may crop up.

I do all that. However, I want this forum to provide me with some feedback. There's lots of techies on our board. With Amazon or Newegg you'll get more grumblers due to their propensity to report negative experiences. I will be pulling the trigger soon though. So, please give me your feedback!

 

[bigboxes]

Belkin bought linksys.

Asus RT line are very nice routers, no real complaints with them.
Though, I should mention that I flashed the firmware to Tomato, so, I am unsure how good the "default" router firmware is.

Do you lose any features with the flash to Tomato? How do you know if it will work with a given router?

 

[Elixer]

Do you lose any features with the flash to Tomato? How do you know if it will work with a given router?

You gain more features.
As far as how do you know if it will work, you check the supported router page on their site.

 

[VirtualLarry]

NeweggFlash has the Asus RT-N53 router, refurbed, for $14.99 FS. The newest build of Tomato supports it. It's N600 (N300 dual-band). Only 10/100 WAN / LAN though, no gigabit.

 

[bigboxes]

As far as how do you know if it will work, you check the supported router page on their site.

I've been checking their site alright. I'm ready to pull the trigger on everything. I'm excited that DD-WRT supports the router and that they've gotten a lot of the bugs out of the firmware. Cool.

 

[WT]

I know you spec'd AC, but both Newegg and Amazon have been offering the Netgear R4500 (Costco version of the WNDR4500) refurb for only $35. Many of us have purchased it and flashed it to the full WNDR4500 version (which enabled the 2 USB Mediashare ports and allows Web Genie Android app support).

It also supports DD-WRT but for my specific purposes I am staying with the Netgear stock firmware for now. I've had it for about a month now, and it replaced a WNR3500 that was still running, but I wanted to add 5Ghz support to my busy home wireless infrastructure.

 

[bigboxes]

Update: Did go with the RT-AC87R. I'm excited for the upgrade. My wife's phone, my phone and my tablet all have ac connectivity. Wife had a bunch of Amazon codes and I ended up paying $88 for the router. Can't wait to play with it when I get it next week.

 

[bigboxes]

All set up and configured! I am the man. Works great stock. Going to do some more research as to the pluses of using a custom firmware. Web pages load very quickly on the gigabit ports. Got 3 devices connected to the 5Ghz ac wireless network. One device on the 2.4Ghz n wireless network. A total of 8 devices are on the LAN.

Still contemplating hooking the printer directly to the router. Currently, I have the printer connected through my main rig. :hmm:

Asus RT-AC87R

 

[rchunter]

Yeah, if you have a network printer, definitely plug it in. That way you can print from any computer on the network.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Bigboxes I would leave well enough alone if it is working right. Custom firmware for these new routers such as tomato isn't working out so well and is crippling features forcing users to revert back to the stock firmware.