Which wifi router?

[bwframe]

Upgrading for us is a bit of a hobby, not necessarily making big leaps.
Our latest upgrade was made due to our security cameras in the backyard, they were getting weak signals. So, I did some research and found our ASUS routers were capable of providing a mesh network.
So, configured our media bridge as a mesh node. Of course, now we need a new media bridge. We went with an ASUS AX router to fill this role with plans to upgrade our main router to AX as well.
Just got an ASUS AX11000 which we haven’t got up and running just yet.

All that said, it does appear making the leap to AX is a good upgrade to make. I believe you’ll see improvements as you get new devices capable of supporting AX.

What is the half-life of a $450 router?

 

[IndyTim]

What is the half-life of a $450 router?

I’m not sure.
My experience has been these things are DOA or they last long enough for me to screw them up. Like, installing DD-WRT and cranking the power output until they crap out.

 

[wtburnette]

It's crazy to me that I'm leaning towards the TP-Link posted above as it's under $300...

Never thought I'd be paying that for a freaking wifi router.

 

[eric001]

It's crazy to me that I'm leaning towards the TP-Link posted above as it's under $300...

Never thought I'd be paying that for a freaking wifi router.

Mine's on the way--supposed to be here some time tomorrow. I'll see about getting it set up and then leave a progress report here. Hopefully all goes well!

 

[wtburnette]

Mine's on the way--supposed to be here some time tomorrow. I'll see about getting it set up and then leave a progress report here. Hopefully all goes well!

I'll wait to hear your thoughts. I'm not in a hurry, so might be better to see what you think about it.

 

[JettaKnight]

As an alternative option, I went with a router and separate WiFi access point(s).

My Ubiquiti Edgerouter and long range AP was about $200, but took more time to physically install and programmatically setup.
The AP actually looks like an AP, not a lame ring toss game.

 

[eric001]

OK, so I finally had time to set up the new TP-Link.
After I figured out the easiest way was to use an ethernet cable to link straight to it from my laptop, things went well for the most part.
Couple of little glitches, but otherwise pretty painless.
First glitch was I forgot to turn off the AT&T wifi first--oops. Can't have multiple networks with the same name coming from multiple routers I guess... Now I know.
Second glitch was fiddling with the wifi settings and not initially turning on "Smart Switching", which renamed my 5Ghz network to match the name of the 2.4Ghz one. Oops! I'd already set my Firestick up to access the 5Ghz one... took me a bit to figure that one out, but obvious in hindsight--I just unplugged/repowered it and it came right back up.

I kept the network SSID and password that I already had, which seems to have been a good choice--the phones, computers, smart tv, etc, etc. seem to be working perfectly again.

I can't claim any real skill or knowledge messing with this stuff, and it still worked out for me. Surprise, surprise, but my connections look more solid now. I can only hope they stay that way!

 

[indyblue]

I liked my old ASUS but I'm running a Motorola now that's getting the job done well for it's price. Reaches my entire 2 acres without needing repeater.
I do use some of the advanced functions as well, some port fwds and NATs and a vpn.

 

[Gabriel]

I can't help, but I have some crazy thing that looks like the Eye of Sauron should be floating above it.