Question Need help picking a new router

chris_61

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Looking to upgrade from the SuperHub from virginmedia, so need some advice on what router to get.
the wifi constantly disconnects while browsing and the range is not soo good. looking to get an AC Router. Had a look through and found these:

ASUS RT-AC3200 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-RT-AC3200-Tri-Band-Gigabit-Router/dp/B00Y2NVH4O/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1481913524&sr=8-9&keywords=ac+router&th=1

Netgear R8000 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-R8...&qid=1482326656&sr=8-1&keywords=netgear+r8000

Is there any better ones i should be considering or does anyone have any experience with these 2?

- Chris.
 
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Wi-Fi disconnecting is a "classic" symptom of an interference issue which could be due to some environmental cause such as "something else" using the radio frequencies (microwave oven, car alarm, baby monitor, etc.) as well as obvious sources such as "other" Wi-Fi devices in your locale. A replacement router would not necessarily address such, it could even be worse. You might do better by selecting a better radio channel for your existing router and of course changing that will cost nothing. There's an FAQ on diagnosing Wi-Fi issues pinned in this forum.

Don't hold out hope for some magic "uber router" with "twice the signal" (or whatever) than everyone else's - and don't buy into the Internet Myth that all ISP's supply "rubbish routers." Wi-Fi transmit power is limited by law (at around a 10th of a watt) and most kit is, and always has been at or close to the permitted maximums.

If you wish to extend and/or enhance the coverage footprint, by far the best way is to deploy additional outpost hotspots linked back to your existing router. It's much better VFM (and should avail better throughput) than a forklift router swap which is something of a gamble - the replacement could possibly be worse. It's what we do in big deployments - we string up hundreds of hotspots rather than some (mythical) "uber router" in the middle.

However, if you are determined to change (and there are good reasons for so doing) a web site in the USA called SmallNetBuilder reviews a lot of SOHO kit and does a better job than many of objectively testing things. He also tabulates the results into "league tables" by various metrics. You could do worse than look there.

Changing to "get AC" is of course a worthy reason to change, though it will only make any difference if you have or are about to obtain AC compatible clients. Be aware that the 5GHz radio frequencies used by A/AC do not penetrate "stuff" as well as the 2.4GHz frequencies used by B/G. (N can work in both wavebands, though not all N devices do so.) Thus if you are trying to improve coverage by switching B/G/N2.4 to AC, you may not be successful, though of course, as ever with Wi-Fi, no one can predict how your locale will work: You've got to suck it and see then fix any problems that emerge.
 
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We can have lots of devices streaming 1080p content at the one time so was going to get a tri-band for the extra bandwidth and for the future proof factor. Features like Adaptive QoS might also come in handy from the ASUS.

I have tried changing the channel a few times and it doesn't make any difference. I was going to get an access point but i don't think that would stop the random wifi disconnects?

Do you have any recommendations for an access point that will work with the VM SuperHub?
 
We can have lots of devices streaming 1080p content at the one time so was going to get a tri-band for the extra bandwidth and for the future proof factor. Features like Adaptive QoS might also come in handy from the ASUS.

What I've seen of so-called "tri-band" devices (which admittedly isn't much) tend to be dual band devices with two radio chains serving the 5GHz band, (which is no bad thing.) So you've essentially got 3 AP's in one box, one AP for 2.4GHz and two for 5GHz. To be effective, you'd need to ensure the two 5GHz AP's are set to different channels - hopefully their OS takes car of this for you.

I have tried changing the channel a few times and it doesn't make any difference. I was going to get an access point but i don't think that would stop the random wifi disconnects?

Not if the cause is external. There's nothing different between Wi-Fi from an AP and a SOHO router. The Wi-Fi functionality of a SOHO router is an AP - it's just built into the same box as loads of other gubbins to get you on the Internet.

If you get your clients and AP/routers closer to each other, sometimes it's more reliable as the "signal to noise ratio" of the unwanted interference and the wanted transmissions improves. Rather like standing next to someone and talking with them will tend to "mask out" any background noise that would be more of a problem if you stood (say) 10 meters apart.

Though we've far from proven that interference is the issue. At the moment, we have no evidence, just a symptom.

Do you have any recommendations for an access point that will work with the VM SuperHub?

In SOHO gear, AP's & routers don't "talk" to each other in any meaningful way (as enterprise kit does,) so pretty much anything should be fine. Some people use old "crippled" routers as AP's as it's sometime cheaper and/or they have one in hand. There's and FAQ on the subject pinned in this forum.

The "trick" with outpost AP's is how you establish the "backhaul" link from the outpost to the rest of your network. "Proper" cabled ethernet links would be best, tunnelled over the mains using HomePlugs is (probably) next best, Wi-Fi backhauls are also possible but we regard them as least good as they tend to clobber the throughput (speed) and physical positioning is important to form a good link.

There's also an FAQ on HomePlugs pinned in this forum - some of them are available with a Wi-Fi AP built in. They seem to be quite popular with people who find they are precluded from installing ethernet cabling.
 
I have cabled Ethernet so if i was going to get an access point it would be something like:

Router (Downstairs) > Switch (Loft) > Switch (upstairs Bedroom)> Access Point (Same Bedroom)

I'm guessing having the access point at the end of the 2nd switch switch is fine as its basically just additional network switches from the router?

We don't have any old routers so would need a new access point or router:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-TL...8&qid=1482357792&sr=8-2&keywords=access+point You recon this access point would do the job, seems a bit cheap?

Or would this be better: https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Wireless...&qid=1482357792&sr=8-17&keywords=access+point

The WAC 120 also seems to be AC1200 so not sure how that would work if my current router isn't AC?

Both completely different price points but considering the superhub is just a rebadged netgear it might work better with the WAC120?
 
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I'm guessing having the access point at the end of the 2nd switch switch is fine as its basically just additional network switches from the router?

Yes it's fine. Technically, each additional hop add some latency (lag,) but in such a small network you'll be hard pushed to notice it. Capacity on the links can be a factor if you spend all day copying huge amounts of data around, but if the use case is typical Internet surfing, media streaming, etc. again it probably won't be perceivable, esp. if your switches and router are Gigabit capable.

I don't comment on individual pieces of equipment as I don't see enough of it to be able to make a judgement.

AC is the latest version of the technology so it's probably attracting a price premium. Or to flip the argument on it's head, now that N is "old" there's some cheap deals out there. Price differences tend to be mostly about software "features," number of radio chains ("MIMO streams"), dual band.

The WAC 120 also seems to be AC1200 so not sure how that would work if my current router isn't AC?

It won't care (see below.) I suspect the only significant factor would be that an AC client in session with an AC AP/router is (I suspect) less likely to automatically roam to an AP "only" offering other protocols (A/B/G/N) until it looses connection entirely. However, I don't recall that roaming behaviour is mandated in any standards, so it's up to the each client device's designer to determine their roaming criteria.

Both completely different price points but considering the superhub is just a rebadged netgear it might work better with the WAC120?

It won't care. In SOHO gear each AP/Router essentially functions as a discrete stand alone unit. You just don't need to worry about "compatibility" as they don't communicate with each other at all (apart from the data transfers.) As long as it's got a properly functioning ethernet port, (and when did I ever see one that didn't) that's pretty much all you need to "worry" about. Beyond that, it's about choosing the features you want.
 
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