Time to replace my wifi router/ap, suggestions?

[Ime]

About 4-6 weeks ago, lightning struck my place. Had a few things die, and some others are now starting to give out.

Next thing that finally gave up the ghost was my ASUS RT-N66U. It's been a reliable workhorse, but was never quite the same after the lightning strike that took out the FIOS router it was connected to. Today it finally decided it'd had enough and failed.

So now I'm looking for a new WiFi 802.11ac router with good 5ghz range. I live in a crowded apartment complex and 2.4ghz is really not a great idea.

I would be using whatever I got as an access point, and plug it into my FIOS router. I've been looking at the ASUS line again, but heard decent things about Netgear and wanted some opinions.

Here's what I have for clients:

- Two 802.11n laptops (one I could upgrade with a 802.11ac card, the other is getting replaced by Christmas with a MacBook Air/Pro)
- Two iPad Air 2's and two iPhone 6 pluses. All 802.11ac.
- Two Apple TV 3's.
- 802.11n printer (EPSON)
- 802.11n Blu-ray player
- 2015 Samsung Smart TV (I'm pretty sure it's also 802.11n only)
- Three wired PC's, and 1 wired Vonage unit

I don't use any USB ports on the router, I share media from the wired PC's.

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[AnonymouseUser]

What is your budget? A good roundup of some of the more popular AC routers is here. A good budget AC1900 router is the TP Link Archer C9 @ ~$130. The Asus AC68U and Netgear R7000 are also good choices but a bit more expensive (~$175-$200). All three can run DD-WRT and/or Tomato firmware if you are so inclined.

AC1900 rankings

 

[Ime]

What is your budget? A good roundup of some of the more popular AC routers is here. A good budget AC1900 router is the TP Link Archer C9 @ ~$130. The Asus AC68U and Netgear R7000 are also good choices but a bit more expensive (~$175-$200). All three can run DD-WRT and/or Tomato firmware if you are so inclined.

AC1900 rankings

I'm definitely looking at the $200 range routers. RT-AC68U and RT-AC87U are both on my radar, as is the R7000 and R7500.

Reading the ranks, it looks like the R7000 has the best range in 5ghz band, which is what I'm looking for. Never heard of the TP-Link router before. I'm a little concerned something so cheap compared to the R7000 but I'll read up on it some more, thanks!

 

[Puffnstuff]

I am using a r7500 nighthawk and I can tell you to avoid it like the plague as it has a Frankenstein radio setup that is problematic. I would look hard at the asus models and if you must the netgear r7000 but not the r7500.

 

[smitbret]

I'm definitely looking at the $200 range routers. RT-AC68U and RT-AC87U are both on my radar, as is the R7000 and R7500.

Reading the ranks, it looks like the R7000 has the best range in 5ghz band, which is what I'm looking for. Never heard of the TP-Link router before. I'm a little concerned something so cheap compared to the R7000 but I'll read up on it some more, thanks!

Nothing wrong with TP-Link. I had been using the Archer C7 as my main router for about 2.5 years. An Asus RT-AC68U was sitting in the box in the garage for the better part of a year. Range and transfer rates are roughly equal to the Asus RT-AC68U, at least as far as my wireless testing has gone. 5 or 6 different spots in the house and outside show they are neck and neck on every test I ran. I wouldn't spend more than the TP-Links unless I had a specific feature I needed. It's a solid brand, just relative newcomers. Their interface isn't as polished as NetGear and Asus but all of the major features are there. I kind of view them as the Vizio or Hyundai of the networking world. They may not be the absolute best in their class but they are good, solid devices with a lot of value.

I switched the Asus and TP-Link out a couple of weeks ago because I discovered that I could flash the Asus router with AsusWRT Merlin Firmware and set the router as the network's Master Browser. That feature is missing from TP-Link. Otherwise, the TP-Link would still be in use.

 

[razel]

$200? If you can wait a bit the Google OnHub by TP-Link is coming out soon. Even if you don't like/trust Google, that router will up the ante forcing other companies to release competing products. A solid choice in the meantime is the Apple Airport Extreme. It's closer to $150.

Otherwise I wouldn't spend too much at this moment. I'm talking under $50. I recommend the Linksys EA6200 for $35 at woot. My install instructions for DD-WRT are here. Look for razel. DD-WRT v3 works and development is alive for it and using it will get you 1200AC (300N/866AC) and enables full (N/AC 5ghz) beamforming. The Linksys firmware limits you to 566AC something and enables AC only beamforming.

Also after 90 days (warranty ends) tear it apart and easily plug replace the 3 5ghz antennas to help with your range. 2 2.4 antenna plugs appear to be there too, but you may have to cut a line to disconnect the PCB antenna. Also when it comes to range, elevating your router and using aluminum foil has nearly always had better results.

 

[Ime]

Nothing wrong with TP-Link. I had been using the Archer C7 as my main router for about 2.5 years. An Asus RT-AC68U was sitting in the box in the garage for the better part of a year. Range and transfer rates are roughly equal to the Asus RT-AC68U, at least as far as my wireless testing has gone. 5 or 6 different spots in the house and outside show they are neck and neck on every test I ran. I wouldn't spend more than the TP-Links unless I had a specific feature I needed. It's a solid brand, just relative newcomers. Their interface isn't as polished as NetGear and Asus but all of the major features are there. I kind of view them as the Vizio or Hyundai of the networking world. They may not be the absolute best in their class but they are good, solid devices with a lot of value.

I switched the Asus and TP-Link out a couple of weeks ago because I discovered that I could flash the Asus router with AsusWRT Merlin Firmware and set the router as the network's Master Browser. That feature is missing from TP-Link. Otherwise, the TP-Link would still be in use.

I ran out and grabbed the R7000 today and set it up in AP mode. It gives a better signal on 5ghz then the RT-N66U did. I also pulled everything off 2.4ghz and moved it to 5ghz or hardwired. 2.4ghz is practically unusable in my apartment complex now it's so noisy.

So far everything is working great!