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New Modem and Router (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter SHIZNITTTT
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Polish Hammer
made of glass
Looking at getting a new router as the Netgear WNDR3700 that has served me well for a while is about to crap out. It seems I have to unplug/replug it in once a day now as it is losing the internet signal from the modem. Looking at the "66" models of the Asus, is there a reason to get the N66U over the AC66R if they are at the same price? I will only have one AC device on the network (an iPhone 6) with the rest being on N.
House is 2 stories plus basement (with WiFi connected Blu Ray in basement). The modem/router sits central on the second floor. Currently I don't really have signal problems, but I guess speed could be better. Devices on WiFi are: two laptops, three smartphones, three tablets, one Chromecast, one WiFi BluRay player. But usually no more than say 3-4 devices at once.
House is 2 stories plus basement (with WiFi connected Blu Ray in basement). The modem/router sits central on the second floor. Currently I don't really have signal problems, but I guess speed could be better. Devices on WiFi are: two laptops, three smartphones, three tablets, one Chromecast, one WiFi BluRay player. But usually no more than say 3-4 devices at once.
Stanwyk
Footballguy
SmallNetBuilder has a review (albeit 2 years old) of the AC66 and they liked the N66 over the AC66, primarily due to firmware issues. SNB has a pretty good forum area specific to Asus routers to read up on - that's where I would start for comparison.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/31841-asus-rt-ac66u-80211ac-dual-band-wireless-ac1750-gigabit-router-reviewed?start=4
So to answer your question, if you were previously on G only, I'd say go N66. But since you currently have a 2 stream N, I'd move up to the AC66. And as hxperson said in the other thread, if I were you, I'd go for the best Asus AC on the market right now, then possibly move that Netgear to the basement in access point mode to help with signal there.
For a house your size, I'd really recommend InSSIDer (or similar wifi signal strenth testing app) to verify your signal rates with your current router (and then to compare and tweak your new router). If your speed is low, it may be due to low signal strength. I'd aim for -55 signal strength or better in all locations. With 2 stories and a basement, you may be at -65 or -70 or worse in some locations (-30 is the highest - I get -32 in the same room as my N66U).
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/31841-asus-rt-ac66u-80211ac-dual-band-wireless-ac1750-gigabit-router-reviewed?start=4
So to answer your question, if you were previously on G only, I'd say go N66. But since you currently have a 2 stream N, I'd move up to the AC66. And as hxperson said in the other thread, if I were you, I'd go for the best Asus AC on the market right now, then possibly move that Netgear to the basement in access point mode to help with signal there.
For a house your size, I'd really recommend InSSIDer (or similar wifi signal strenth testing app) to verify your signal rates with your current router (and then to compare and tweak your new router). If your speed is low, it may be due to low signal strength. I'd aim for -55 signal strength or better in all locations. With 2 stories and a basement, you may be at -65 or -70 or worse in some locations (-30 is the highest - I get -32 in the same room as my N66U).
VA703
Footballguy
had Comcast install their gateway in my basement furnace room near the master panel. worked okay in the living room which is a floor above but 0 strength in the upper levels.
had the tech come back out and install it in the living room, superior coverage all over the living room and upper levels but crap coverage in the basement. there must be some steel beams under the mainfloor that kills the wifi. good to know I wouldn't have even suspected it.
now I have 2 wifis roaming the house
had the tech come back out and install it in the living room, superior coverage all over the living room and upper levels but crap coverage in the basement. there must be some steel beams under the mainfloor that kills the wifi. good to know I wouldn't have even suspected it.
now I have 2 wifis roaming the house
Polish Hammer
made of glass
Well, I just hooked up my RT-AC68W. The white one on Amazon was $150 and I got them to knock $20 off due to some other deal, so I got it for $130 which I figured is pretty good. I just did the basic setup so I have my 2.4 and 5 GHz networks up and running with personal passwords. It seems like this thing has a ton of different settings on it. I don't want to mess anything up, but don't mind a few simple tweaks to boost performance on my streaming or my torrenting. Any suggestions? What do I do with that InSSIDer app? I forgot to do any measuring with the old router. Though, it wasn't really a speed issue, just that the unit kept losing connection and needing to be unplugged/replugged.
Also, as for the "Netgear as an Access Point" idea, if that router keeps needing to be reset, wouldn't that kind of reduce that benefit? Or would using it as an AP change that issue? Thanks for the help!
ETA - I use Private Internet Access VPN when torrenting. Do I need to do anything special through the router to help with that?
Also, as for the "Netgear as an Access Point" idea, if that router keeps needing to be reset, wouldn't that kind of reduce that benefit? Or would using it as an AP change that issue? Thanks for the help!
ETA - I use Private Internet Access VPN when torrenting. Do I need to do anything special through the router to help with that?
Last edited by a moderator:
3C's
Footballguy
Make a backup of the config on the ASUS. I just did a firmware update the other day and the instructions said to hold reset for 5 seconds. Didn't say anything about that resetting to defaults. Fortunately I did a backup before I started.
Like you I had a flaky Netgear before. Thought about making it an access point but 1) it's not playing nice and 2) it had to be reset often. Thinking about chucking it in the recycle pile.
Stanwyk
Footballguy
Glad you got the new AC68 hooked up and working. As for tweaks - use the 5GHz band on all the devices that support 5GHz. Then, you can tweak the 5GHz channel on the Asus (instead of setting it to "Auto"). The higher channels give higher signal strength. So, start up InSSIDer on your device and it will show you signal strength for each wifi signal it can find. Here you care about your 5GHz SSID. You want good signal strength (between -30 and -55) in all locations. I walked around my house with InSSIDer running on the laptop, making sure signal strength was good in all locations I cared about. I have a 1-story and the router is central to the home, so I was able to run my 5GHz on channel 161 and get excellent signal throughout the house. You may need to adjust the channel to get the best reception in your basement.
InSSIDer also has an option to show you which channel is best for each SSID. For your 5GHz, if there are no other 5GHz nearby, it will probably recommend channel 36 (I *think* the lower channels are better for penetrating walls). For the 2.4GHz band, the channel suggestion will help avoid channel overlap and interference from your neighbors.
Netgear - maybe it had some flaky issue when routing that might be avoided when running in AP mode? Worth a shot if you aren't using it as a router now. Otherwise yeah its a brick.
Definitely backup your config on the new Asus before tweaking. Like 3Cs I've had to reload all my settings after a firmware update. Won't make that mistake again.
You can set up QoS and have the router set your torrent traffic (on whatever port the torrents run on) to a lower priority so torrent traffic won't affect everything else.
InSSIDer also has an option to show you which channel is best for each SSID. For your 5GHz, if there are no other 5GHz nearby, it will probably recommend channel 36 (I *think* the lower channels are better for penetrating walls). For the 2.4GHz band, the channel suggestion will help avoid channel overlap and interference from your neighbors.
Netgear - maybe it had some flaky issue when routing that might be avoided when running in AP mode? Worth a shot if you aren't using it as a router now. Otherwise yeah its a brick.
Definitely backup your config on the new Asus before tweaking. Like 3Cs I've had to reload all my settings after a firmware update. Won't make that mistake again.
You can set up QoS and have the router set your torrent traffic (on whatever port the torrents run on) to a lower priority so torrent traffic won't affect everything else.
Stanwyk
Footballguy
One more thing.
Both of my closest neighbors are still on 2.4GHz only. I think one is channel 1 and one is channel 11, so I'm in the middle on channel 6, and that's fine. On the Asus, you have the option to set 2.4 to either 20 or 40MHz channel width. 40 can give you more throughput, but you'll end up stomping on your neighbors channels (they could be running 40 and stomping on your channel too - works both ways). I leave my 2.4GHz at 20MHz. I only have one wireless client and my guest network running on the 2.4, so I don't really care about speed there.
Both of my closest neighbors are still on 2.4GHz only. I think one is channel 1 and one is channel 11, so I'm in the middle on channel 6, and that's fine. On the Asus, you have the option to set 2.4 to either 20 or 40MHz channel width. 40 can give you more throughput, but you'll end up stomping on your neighbors channels (they could be running 40 and stomping on your channel too - works both ways). I leave my 2.4GHz at 20MHz. I only have one wireless client and my guest network running on the 2.4, so I don't really care about speed there.
Polish Hammer
made of glass
InSSIDer app...the one that is $10? I know we are on FBG and all, but is there a free app alternative?
3C's
Footballguy
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
Not sure what the question is in here but I just upgraded from an AC750 router to the one linked below and the performance and coverage upgrade has been terrific.
TP-LINK Archer C8 AC1750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router
TP-LINK Archer C8 AC1750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router
