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WiFi Router Recommendations? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago by 133arc585@lemmy.ml to c/hardware@lemmy.ml

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Apologies if this isn't the best community for this question, I wasn't sure where else to put it.

I am looking to replace my WiFi router. It will only have a few devices on the wireless side, with the majority of my network data going between wired devices. Any gaming or latency-sensitive stuff will be on a wired device as well. The range doesn't have to be all that much, the total square-footage it needs to cover is pretty small, and there is nothing wifi-blocking to deal with (no metal/brick internal walls, etc). The only part that might be somewhat picky is: I either want good customization/configuration options or the ability to install a custom router OS (last I checked, openwrt is still popular?). Also, there are a couple older devices that I want to be able to connect still that only support up to 802.11n. I am very price sensitive.

From my looking so far, I've found

TP-Link Archer A7, which supports openwrt, but I don't think supports WiFi 6
TP-Link Archer AX10/AX1500, which does support WiFi 6, but I can't find info about openwrt support
TP-Link AC1200 A6 V3, which is dirt cheap but I can't find info on openwrt support, and I can't tell what WiFi version it supports

I don't think I've used a TP-Link router before so any opinions there would be welcome (apologies if I butchered the naming scheme on the routers, it seems they all have several A___ numbers associated with them); they are at the top of my list currently due to their price and having the features I need.

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[–] TheJack@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have no experience with Open WRT, but I can confirm that, TP-Link Archer A7 is working great with DD WRT.

I can vouch for TP-Link wireless products in general. So far I've used 2 routers and 2 usb adapters (even drivers are working fine with Windows 11 and Ubuntu MATE) from TP-Link, and none of them had any problem whatsoever.

Regarding performance of Archer A7-V5, I'm getting full 100 Mbps (my ISP connection speed) through this router on my phone, and this is 3rd router in my setup. First being ISP, then ASUS and then Archer A7.

I'm running Archer A7-V5 for over a year with DD DRT. In fact, I've just upgraded it to July 8, r53221 build right after reading your post. Firmware files for r53221.

[–] 133arc585@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago

Ok good to know! I forgot about ddwrt as well. The Archer A7-V5 seems top of list right now.

[–] oxideSeven@lemmy.fmhy.ml 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Have you considered getting a wired router and separate access point? That's what I do. I don't like my router, ERX, it's great, just not what I want. I pair that with a unifi access point. That way I can add more if needed.

[–] 133arc585@lemmy.ml -1 points 1 year ago

I had that thought in passing, but I've never managed such a setup and I (perhaps baselessly) assumed it would work out to be more expensive. Also, I've never looked at wired(-only) routers except when I have had to deal with rack-mount ones.

In theory though that could work perfectly. Do you have some starting points for me to look at wired routers, and APs? The Ubiquiti APs seem rather expensive, more than the all-in-one wifi routers I was looking at.

[–] redcalcium@c.calciumlabs.com 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

For customer router, you can't go wrong with Asus. It has thriving community firmware (AsusWRT-Merlin), which really open up the device without sacrificing usability and the original routers' features. Asus also help with the project and the open source maintainers have full access to the routers original source code. IIRC flashing Merlin doesn't void the router warranty.

The drawback is Asus routers are more expensive than TP-Link. But after owning several TP-Link routers (mainly because they're cheap), I don't recommend them and I think you should spend a bit more money to get an Asus router instead.

If you're interested, buy an Asus router supported by AsusWRT-Merlin (specifically the AX models of you want wifi 6): https://asuswrt-merlin.net/

[–] 133arc585@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thanks for the suggestion. I wasn't aware of AsusWRT-Merlin, which would (in theory) open up ASUS routers. Having said that, and looking at the list on their website and checking prices, it is definitely out of the question. They range from "way too expensive" to "astronomically and absurdly expensive" (some are pushing $600USD).

[–] redcalcium@c.calciumlabs.com 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If your getting a TP-Link router for the purpose of installing openwrt, be extra careful with selecting the router to buy and note their hardware revision. TP-Link has a habit of naming different routers with similar name, so if you're not careful you might ended up buying an incompatible router.

[–] 133arc585@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind!

[–] Lrobie@vlemmy.net 2 points 1 year ago

The Belkin RT3200 is a pretty popular router for openwrt. It's a Wifi 6 router and you can usually find them cheap on ebay.

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