Help with finding a good Wi-Fi 6 router

[simX]

It's been a while since I posted on the forums, but I'm looking to replace my aging Apple AirPort Extreme router which has been having some problems, and there are just way too many routers on the market to make an informed decision from just Google searches.

So hopefully some of you can help me with the decision!

Here are my requirements:

• Wi-Fi 6 support required.
• No cloud account required for setup. Some routers (like the eero) absolutely require an account in order to setup the routers. This requirement rules them out.
• The ability to monitor traffic by device via some tool, either the built-in administrator tools, or outsourcing data processing to something like a Raspberry Pi would be fine.
• Low to medium cost. For a single router, probably no more than $300 or so. For an appropriate two-piece mesh system I'm willing to pay up to $500.

Nice to haves:

• Wi-Fi 6E support would be nice for future-proofing, but optional since I don't have any 6E compatible devices yet.
• Mesh networking, or at least the option, would be nice, but is not required. I live in an older home with walls that do dampen Wi-Fi signals quite a bit, so a 2-piece mesh kit would probably not be overkill (3-pieces would probably be too much).
• Ability to handle gigabit internet speeds.

Thanks for any help!

 

[macsplusmacs]

deleted: wrong router specs.

 

[simX]

I have Orbi wifi 6 at home. soon will be getting an office and trying this one first:

NETGEAR Nighthawk R7350 AC2400 Router: Fast Beamforming Wi-Fi for Gaming, 4K UHD Streaming. 2400Mbps, 2500 Sq Ft, QoS, Dual Core, 2.4 + 5GHz, 5 x GIGABIT + USB 3.0 Port, Smart WiFi Router R7350-NAS

NETGEAR Nighthawk R7350 AC2400 Router: Fast Beamforming Wi-Fi for Gaming, 4K UHD Streaming. 2400Mbps, 2500 Sq Ft, QoS, Dual Core, 2.4 + 5GHz, 5 x GIGABIT + USB 3.0 Port, Smart WiFi Router R7350-NAS

www.amazon.com

"E" would be nice.. but i want to keep the cost down since I had to give Netgear my first born to cover cost of highest end Orbi I bought.

The Nighthawk R7350 AC2400 is not a Wi-Fi 6 router. To say nothing of the other requirements of no cloud account required, and ability to monitor traffic by device?

 

[macsplusmacs]

The Nighthawk R7350 AC2400 is not a Wi-Fi 6 router. To say nothing of the other requirements of no cloud account required, and ability to monitor traffic by device?

oh. will delete.

post the one your final choice here when you decide?

 

[Super Spartan]

It's been a while since I posted on the forums, but I'm looking to replace my aging Apple AirPort Extreme router which has been having some problems, and there are just way too many routers on the market to make an informed decision from just Google searches.

So hopefully some of you can help me with the decision!

Here are my requirements:

• Wi-Fi 6 support required.
• No cloud account required for setup. Some routers (like the eero) absolutely require an account in order to setup the routers. This requirement rules them out.
• The ability to monitor traffic by device via some tool, either the built-in administrator tools, or outsourcing data processing to something like a Raspberry Pi would be fine.
• Low to medium cost. For a single router, probably no more than $300 or so. For an appropriate two-piece mesh system I'm willing to pay up to $500.

Nice to haves:

• Wi-Fi 6E support would be nice for future-proofing, but optional since I don't have any 6E compatible devices yet.
• Mesh networking, or at least the option, would be nice, but is not required. I live in an older home with walls that do dampen Wi-Fi signals quite a bit, so a 2-piece mesh kit would probably not be overkill (3-pieces would probably be too much).
• Ability to handle gigabit internet speeds.

Thanks for any help!

I was having issues with my ASUS RT-AX88U and all my Apple devices they were only getting 30% of my actual bandwidth and after posting my issue here, it seems like some issue with ASUS and Apple devices so I got a Nighthawk AX6 6-Stream AX5400 WiFi 6 Router and now all devices get 100% speed and its super stable. Never disconnected or had any issues.

 

[Clix Pix]

A couple of months ago I replaced my AEBS with an Amplifi Alien 6, which although can also be part of a Mesh system serves very well as a standalone device as well, and am very happy with it. Quick and easy to set up, lets me know what is going on and when it needs to be updated, and is definitely delivering WiFi more quickly than the AEBS.

 

[simX]

I was having issues with my ASUS RT-AX88U and all my Apple devices they were only getting 30% of my actual bandwidth and after posting my issue here, it seems like some issue with ASUS and Apple devices so I got a Nighthawk AX6 6-Stream AX5400 WiFi 6 Router and now all devices get 100% speed and its super stable. Never disconnected or had any issues.

I was considering the Nighthawk AX5400. Does it require the app to set it up? Do you have to have a Netgear account? Or is there a built-in web administration page? If it has a web administration page, would you mind posting some screenshots of the UI, if there's any traffic analysis pages? (Please redact any sensitive information or settings.)

 

[Super Spartan]

I was considering the Nighthawk AX5400. Does it require the app to set it up? Do you have to have a Netgear account? Or is there a built-in web administration page? If it has a web administration page, would you mind posting some screenshots of the UI, if there's any traffic analysis pages? (Please redact any sensitive information or settings.)

They recommend the app but you can skip that and set it up manually. The username is admin and you can use it to login. Logging in with an email account is optional but everything can be local with no online account and no app.

 

[Phil77354]

These articles may be helpful to you:

The Best Wi-Fi Routers

We’ve tested the latest Wi-Fi routers and found the best options—from budget models to top-of-the-line—to make your wireless network faster and more responsive.

www.nytimes.com

The Best Wi-Fi Mesh-Networking Systems

If a normal router can’t provide reliable wireless access to every corner of your home, mesh systems should help you work from home and stream games and movies without a hitch.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Super Spartan]

These articles may be helpful to you:

The Best Wi-Fi Routers

We’ve tested the latest Wi-Fi routers and found the best options—from budget models to top-of-the-line—to make your wireless network faster and more responsive.

www.nytimes.com

The Best Wi-Fi Mesh-Networking Systems

If a normal router can’t provide reliable wireless access to every corner of your home, mesh systems should help you work from home and stream games and movies without a hitch.

www.nytimes.com

No they're not. It's easy to just pull off search results from Google without having a clue what you're talking about right?

ASUS: As I mentioned above all their routers have a serious compatibility issue with Apple devices where the speed never reaches more than 20% of the total bandwidth (Google it)

TP-Link: worst routers with the worst firmware in the world. Very locked down and they never release firmware updates. Had a TP-Link Archer AC5400X and sold it after 5 months, one of the worst routers I've ever owned yet it has many inflated reviews about being one of the best on many websites.

Fake website reviews are one thing but nothing beats advice from actual owners on a forum.

 

[Phil77354]

Fake website reviews are one thing but nothing beats advice from actual owners on a forum.

Good grief. Not fake reviews at all. My fault for trying to be helpful.

 

[Fishrrman]

I like Clix Pix' recommendation of the Amplifi router with mesh abilities, in reply 6 above.

If was going to buy something now, that would be at or near the top of the list.

But wondering:
Are "wifi 6" standards finalized yet?

 

[simX]

Responding to a number of the other comments (thanks for the discussion):

• Yes, the Wi-Fi 6 standard is finalized. It was approved on February 9, 2021.

• The only Amplifi router that is Wi-Fi 6 compatible is the Amplifi Alien, which costs $379. A bit on the high side (though individual Wi-Fi 6E routers can cost up to $600, so it's not the most expensive). But again, I'm also looking for local setup only and traffic monitoring by device, and I haven't read anything about whether Amplifi supports those. Does anybody have one and can provide screenshots of the admin interface?

• Re: the articles from Wirecutter: no need to get snippy Super Spartan, but Phil77354: while the Wirecutter articles are a good first stop, I indeed have already read those, and they haven't provided the detail about some of the features I want. In particular, they don't go into whether their routers require a cloud account to set up (like eeros do, which rules them out), and no indication of traffic monitoring by device.

• Super Spartan, re the Nighthawk AX5400: THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting screenshots of the router's admin interface! Looks reasonable, and clean. However, the traffic meter seems to be all or nothing, not segregated by device. So that's more for making sure you don't go over your ISP's bandwidth cap, rather than (what I'm looking for) being able to figure out which device is hogging bandwidth. I did also look at the router manuals for similar Netgear routers, and it seems to be the case that the traffic monitor is just monitoring *overall* traffic going out: https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RAX50/RAX50_UM_EN.pdf

• Also re: ASUS devices, I didn't know they were known to have bandwidth problems with Apple clients. That's kind of surprising to me as I haven't seen a single mention of that in any official reviews. But most reviews are superficial anyway.

• I have also eliminated ASUS devices for another reason. They do seem to have a traffic meter feature in their admin interfaces. How...ever, they outsource that part of their firmware to Trend Micro, and they send all your data to Trend Micro, who does who knows what with it. To even use the features, you have to agree to Trend Micro's privacy policy and then install something on the ASUS router (who knows what). And Trend Micro's privacy policy includes terms that say the router can send your e-mails to them?! I find it unlikely that that actually happens, especially since retrieving e-mail is usually over SSL, so not sure how they would decrypt your e-mails to send them to Trend Micro. Regardless, this is scummy enough that it rules out ASUS routers because I wouldn't be able to use the traffic meter feature because of the privacy invasiveness. More on this here: https://www.computerworld.com/article/3194843/asus-router-warnings-on-privacy-and-security.html


I do seem to have found a device that might fit my requirements, though, and it's... the top pick from the "best Wi-Fi router" Wirecutter article LOL, the TP-Link Archer AX50. (No thanks to the article though.) Surprisingly, they actually have an emulator of their admin interface here! https://emulator.tp-link.com/ax3000-us-v1/index.html

If you go to that emulator, click on Advanced at the top, then scroll down to System Tools at the left, and click Traffic Monitor, that feature seems to satisfy my requirement of being able to get per-device bandwidth usage. Laughably, though, you can't actually enable that feature in the interface emulator. But I can see a flash of the table which includes "Real-Time Rate" and "Traffic Usage" segregated by device. And the ? button reveals a description of "Displays the traffic usage of a device in the past 10 minutes or that of all devices in the past 10 minutes/24 hours/7 days", which is exactly what I want.

I did notice that the AX50 comes with "TP-Link HomeCare by Trend Micro" which makes me nervous that maybe TP-Link is using the same privacy-invasive stuff as the ASUS routers do, though? See https://www.tp-link.com/us/homecare/

It's unfortunate it doesn't have WPA3 capabilities, but oh well. At only $120, it doesn't seem like a super-big investment if I end up replacing it in the near future with a mesh Wi-Fi 6E router once the prices come down.

Super Spartan, I'm curious why you don't like TP-Link routers besides their lack of firmware updates... I'm frankly not expecting any router I buy to gain features over time. Even Apple's AirPort Extreme routers rarely got new features. Any particular reason you don't like TP-Link routers?

 

[Weaselboy]

Wireless Buying Advice

Not sure which wireless router or card to buy? Ask for advice here.

www.snbforums.com

You might find the SmallNetBuilder forum helpful.

 

[Clix Pix]

OP wrote:
"• The only Amplifi router that is Wi-Fi 6 compatible is the Amplifi Alien, which costs $379. A bit on the high side (though individual Wi-Fi 6E routers can cost up to $600, so it's not the most expensive). But again, I'm also looking for local setup only and traffic monitoring by device, and I haven't read anything about whether Amplifi supports those. Does anybody have one and can provide screenshots of the admin interface?"

As I mentioned in my post, I do have the Amplifi Alien, and although it is not inexpensive, to me it is worth the price. For me one reason it was so appealing is that it is easy to set up and use, no fussing with compatibility and this-and-that, no need to go to a web page to configure an admin interface. I don't believe it supports local setup only and traffic monitoring by device. The device can be controlled and configured either with an app in one's smartphone or on the router itself, as there is a touch screen panel on it. This provides information such as how many devices are connected and using the router at any given time, as well as wireless speed. In some ways the ease and simplicity of this device reminds me a bit of setting up and using the AEBS.

 

[simX]

OP wrote:
"• The only Amplifi router that is Wi-Fi 6 compatible is the Amplifi Alien, which costs $379. A bit on the high side (though individual Wi-Fi 6E routers can cost up to $600, so it's not the most expensive). But again, I'm also looking for local setup only and traffic monitoring by device, and I haven't read anything about whether Amplifi supports those. Does anybody have one and can provide screenshots of the admin interface?"

As I mentioned in my post, I do have the Amplifi Alien, and although it is not inexpensive, to me it is worth the price. For me one reason it was so appealing is that it is easy to set up and use, no fussing with compatibility and this-and-that, no need to go to a web page to configure an admin interface. I don't believe it supports local setup only and traffic monitoring by device. The device can be controlled and configured either with an app in one's smartphone or on the router itself, as there is a touch screen panel on it. This provides information such as how many devices are connected and using the router at any given time, as well as wireless speed. In some ways the ease and simplicity of this device reminds me a bit of setting up and using the AEBS.

Ah, sorry for somehow glossing over that you bought it for yourself. I appreciate the similarities to AEBS routers. I might be able to live without traffic monitoring, but if it requires a cloud login, unfortunately that rules it out for me.

 

[Clix Pix]

I don't recall now needing a cloud login.....been a while since I set up the thing!

 

[Super Spartan]

Responding to a number of the other comments (thanks for the discussion):

• Yes, the Wi-Fi 6 standard is finalized. It was approved on February 9, 2021.

• The only Amplifi router that is Wi-Fi 6 compatible is the Amplifi Alien, which costs $379. A bit on the high side (though individual Wi-Fi 6E routers can cost up to $600, so it's not the most expensive). But again, I'm also looking for local setup only and traffic monitoring by device, and I haven't read anything about whether Amplifi supports those. Does anybody have one and can provide screenshots of the admin interface?

• Re: the articles from Wirecutter: no need to get snippy Super Spartan, but Phil77354: while the Wirecutter articles are a good first stop, I indeed have already read those, and they haven't provided the detail about some of the features I want. In particular, they don't go into whether their routers require a cloud account to set up (like eeros do, which rules them out), and no indication of traffic monitoring by device.

• Super Spartan, re the Nighthawk AX5400: THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting screenshots of the router's admin interface! Looks reasonable, and clean. However, the traffic meter seems to be all or nothing, not segregated by device. So that's more for making sure you don't go over your ISP's bandwidth cap, rather than (what I'm looking for) being able to figure out which device is hogging bandwidth. I did also look at the router manuals for similar Netgear routers, and it seems to be the case that the traffic monitor is just monitoring *overall* traffic going out: https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RAX50/RAX50_UM_EN.pdf

• Also re: ASUS devices, I didn't know they were known to have bandwidth problems with Apple clients. That's kind of surprising to me as I haven't seen a single mention of that in any official reviews. But most reviews are superficial anyway.

• I have also eliminated ASUS devices for another reason. They do seem to have a traffic meter feature in their admin interfaces. How...ever, they outsource that part of their firmware to Trend Micro, and they send all your data to Trend Micro, who does who knows what with it. To even use the features, you have to agree to Trend Micro's privacy policy and then install something on the ASUS router (who knows what). And Trend Micro's privacy policy includes terms that say the router can send your e-mails to them?! I find it unlikely that that actually happens, especially since retrieving e-mail is usually over SSL, so not sure how they would decrypt your e-mails to send them to Trend Micro. Regardless, this is scummy enough that it rules out ASUS routers because I wouldn't be able to use the traffic meter feature because of the privacy invasiveness. More on this here: https://www.computerworld.com/article/3194843/asus-router-warnings-on-privacy-and-security.html


I do seem to have found a device that might fit my requirements, though, and it's... the top pick from the "best Wi-Fi router" Wirecutter article LOL, the TP-Link Archer AX50. (No thanks to the article though.) Surprisingly, they actually have an emulator of their admin interface here! https://emulator.tp-link.com/ax3000-us-v1/index.html

If you go to that emulator, click on Advanced at the top, then scroll down to System Tools at the left, and click Traffic Monitor, that feature seems to satisfy my requirement of being able to get per-device bandwidth usage. Laughably, though, you can't actually enable that feature in the interface emulator. But I can see a flash of the table which includes "Real-Time Rate" and "Traffic Usage" segregated by device. And the ? button reveals a description of "Displays the traffic usage of a device in the past 10 minutes or that of all devices in the past 10 minutes/24 hours/7 days", which is exactly what I want.

I did notice that the AX50 comes with "TP-Link HomeCare by Trend Micro" which makes me nervous that maybe TP-Link is using the same privacy-invasive stuff as the ASUS routers do, though? See https://www.tp-link.com/us/homecare/

It's unfortunate it doesn't have WPA3 capabilities, but oh well. At only $120, it doesn't seem like a super-big investment if I end up replacing it in the near future with a mesh Wi-Fi 6E router once the prices come down.

Super Spartan, I'm curious why you don't like TP-Link routers besides their lack of firmware updates... I'm frankly not expecting any router I buy to gain features over time. Even Apple's AirPort Extreme routers rarely got new features. Any particular reason you don't like TP-Link routers?

iMac 24 internet speed 20% of what it should be

Thank you so much man! I could've never imagined! It was indeed the ASUS RT-AX88U router. Seems like it doesn't play well with Apple devices because both my new iMac and iPhone 12 Pro Max had this slow connection issue. I just setup the Nighthawk AX6 router and the speed is back to normal!

forums.macrumors.com

just my recent experience, both iPhone 12 Pro Max and my new iMAC 24 don't get more than 20% of the bandwidth. Nothing other than default settings in the router

As for TP-Link, careful, my previous TP-Link Router c5400X was good in terms of hardware but never got any firmware updates, the admin settings are very limited as well and their tech support is atrocious

 

[jterp7]

i have the orbi ax6000 which i upgraded from the RBR50. Both are 2 piece setup - main router and satellite. I haven't heard of their 6e update yet but itll certainly be pricey. I got a used one on ebay and it worked just fine.

 

[Buadhai]

I'm also looking to replace an old AirPort Extreme (the flat one). It's not that I think it is performing badly, but the ISP refuses to deal with throughput and dropout issues unless I replace it.

Here's the situation: The router is in my condo unit here in Thailand. The condo gets Internet from Thailand's NT (National Telecommunications company) and distributes it via CAT5 cable to each room. Each room gets a single private IP address. I use the AE to route Internet to wired and wireless devices using a different subnet. (And, yes, that means my devices are behind a double NAT.)

The condo is a small studio of about 45 square meters (about 450 square feet). There are no internal walls. Every point in the condo, except in the bathroom, is in line-of-sight with the router. The condo is occupied only for about one week per month by the two of us. We each have an MBA, iPhone and iPad. There is also an AppleTV, two Raspberry Pies which operate webcams and a "smart" (actually, very stupid) Samsung TV. The Pies run 24/7 even when we're not in residence.

The only thing we do which requires any significant bandwidth is stream video via the Apple TV which is about 2cm (an inch, more or less) from the AE.

All of this has worked fine for five or six years until recently when the Internet connection got very flakey. (I was and still am away, so I have no way to physically inspect any of the devices.) I don't think I need a new router, but will get no customer support until I replace the AE. The Thai network technicians are very wary of the AEs because they cannot connect to them with their Windows laptops via a web interface. When I got fiber optic at home I told them to put their router in bridged mode so I could use an AE (the last model) four routing and WiFi. This terrified the installer who said he would not be responsible if it didn't work. It has been running fine for years now.

Router choice is kind of limited in Thailand. I can get a Netgear RAX40 — NIGHTHAWK AX4 for about US$200. It seems robust enough for my modest needs and, while I find the price to be a bit shocking, affordable.

Any thoughts?

==========

I check Internet connectivity every four minutes and keep a log. Here's a recent fragment showing the flakey nature of the connection:

Thu Aug 26 14:01:52 +07 2021 offline
Thu Aug 26 14:07:16 +07 2021 offline
Thu Aug 26 14:08:44 +07 2021 offline
Thu Aug 26 14:12:01 +07 2021 online
Thu Aug 26 14:16:07 +07 2021 online
Thu Aug 26 14:20:32 +07 2021 online
Thu Aug 26 14:24:32 +07 2021 online
Thu Aug 26 14:29:52 +07 2021 offline
Thu Aug 26 14:32:32 +07 2021 online
Thu Aug 26 14:38:35 +07 2021 offline
Thu Aug 26 14:40:54 +07 2021 offline
Thu Aug 26 14:44:13 +07 2021 online
Thu Aug 26 14:48:32 +07 2021 online
Thu Aug 26 14:52:32 +07 2021 online
Thu Aug 26 14:56:54 +07 2021 offline
Thu Aug 26 15:01:24 +07 2021 offline
Thu Aug 26 15:06:29 +07 2021 offline
Thu Aug 26 15:11:00 +07 2021 offline
Thu Aug 26 15:12:22 +07 2021 offline
Thu Aug 26 15:16:04 +07 2021 online
Thu Aug 26 15:20:04 +07 2021 online
Thu Aug 26 15:24:22 +07 2021 online
Thu Aug 26 15:28:35 +07 2021 online
Thu Aug 26 15:32:47 +07 2021 online

 

[crashnburn]

Small Net Builder has "real" test benchmarks.