[SOLVED] Change routers

[JokerPower]

Hi guys

I need your advice on upgrading my network.

I live in a house with three floors. On the second floor, I have an TP-LINK Archer AC1200, while on the third floor there is NETGEAR Nighthawk R7000.

The Archer is used for covering the first & second floor. While the coverage is ok, I don't like speed I'm getting. Also, it tends to connect 5GHz capable devices to 2.4GHz network (even if I'm pretty close to the router). I believe this is because there is no Smart Connect function.

The R7000 has better wireless coverage & speed. But Netgear is known for bad firmware updates. It's a lottery.

My Internet connection is FTTH with 500/500 Mbps.

What I want to achieve is:

• maintain or improve wireless coverage
• better wireless speeds.

I was thinking about the following options:

• Keep R7000 and change Archer C5 for something better. What would you recommend in this scenario? Standalone ASUS RT-AX92U or TP-LINK Archer C4000 could be a viable option? Keep in mind that I don't have available Netgear routers in my town. I can only order ASUS or TP-LINK
• Change both routers for something like ASUS AiMesh AX6100 (RT-AX92U 2 Pack).

What would you do in my case?

Many thanks

 

[bill001g]

You should be able to force the correct band by using different SSID for the 2.4 and 5g radios.

It is the end devices not the router that is choosing the wrong connection. With different SSID you can force the device to use the radio you want.

You best option when you really need speed is always ethernet. Most other things that are wifi only tend to not really use that much bandwidth. It is not like you are downloading a 20gbyte game to your phone.

You have to be careful chasing big numbers. Just because you buy some router that can do 4x4 mimo using non standard 1024 qam does not mean your end devices can use it. This is also true of the 802.11ax stuff. Not many devices support it yet and it is already been made obsolete by the next generation that will support the new 6g radio band.

In general the 1200 number represent the most common wifi device. It represent 2x2 mimo and most device have only 2 antenna. You could look at say 1750 devices which is 3x3 mimo but it does no good if your end device does not have 3 antenna. Your current r7000 gets is 1900 number by using a non standard data encoding on the 2.4g band that few devices support. So it really is a 1750 router.

Not sure what to suggest the 2 devices you have should be fine. Coverage issues are likely due to your end devices not transmitting at the full legal power. Almost all routers transmit the maximum power.

 

[JokerPower]

You should be able to force the correct band by using different SSID for the 2.4 and 5g radios.

It is the end devices not the router that is choosing the wrong connection. With different SSID you can force the device to use the radio you want.

You best option when you really need speed is always ethernet. Most other things that are wifi only tend to not really use that much bandwidth. It is not like you are downloading a 20gbyte game to your phone.

You have to be careful chasing big numbers. Just because you buy some router that can do 4x4 mimo using non standard 1024 qam does not mean your end devices can use it. This is also true of the 802.11ax stuff. Not many devices support it yet and it is already been made obsolete by the next generation that will support the new 6g radio band.

In general the 1200 number represent the most common wifi device. It represent 2x2 mimo and most device have only 2 antenna. You could look at say 1750 devices which is 3x3 mimo but it does no good if your end device does not have 3 antenna. Your current r7000 gets is 1900 number by using a non standard data encoding on the 2.4g band that few devices support. So it really is a 1750 router.

Not sure what to suggest the 2 devices you have should be fine. Coverage issues are likely due to your end devices not transmitting at the full legal power. Almost all routers transmit the maximum power.

Thank you for your reply.

I've observed that devices tend to connect with the 5GHz network while using the R7000. Which is not the same as with Archer C5. So it's a router thing.

Also, the coverage and the speed is better with the R7000.

Wired is good, my PC is connected through Ethernet. But I can't connect 3 laptops in my house through a wired connection. It's just not practical.