Question I would like to ask about router recommendations

[ka1sen]

Hi, i recently bought starlink mini and it works fine, but wifi kinda sucks cause it's being blocked by the roof, for that reason i have a direct ethernet to my pc but i would like to buy any router to solve this wifi problem, or directly connect devices via ethernet.

I would like to ask about a budget router, it if works it's fine, I would like to spend more money on one, but i don't have any for the moment, would be nice to get rid of bufferbloat but i also can't get the risk to flash the router with a third party firmware, even if i have confidence on it, cause if the router doesn't work i'm out of pocket, so, that's it.

 

[alceryes]

There’s some oldie but goodie routers that should work fine. One of my favorites is the Netgear R7900 or R8000. There are a couple different sub models so choose wisely if you do want to flash it with OpenWRT. I've used both models with and without OpenWRT and they are solid performers. You should be able to get one pretty cheap on the secondhand market.

When you set it up, make sure you're not working through a double NAT. It sounds like the Starlink has its own Wifi, which means there's probably a mini router on it. You'll want to put that router into passthrough mode so that your new/used router handles all the routing functions.

 

[ka1sen]

There’s some oldie but goodie routers that should work fine. One of my favorites is the Netgear R7900 or R8000. There are a couple different sub models so choose wisely if you do want to flash it with OpenWRT. I've used both models with and without OpenWRT and they are solid performers. You should be able to get one pretty cheap on the secondhand market.

When you set it up, make sure you're not working through a double NAT. It sounds like the Starlink has its own Wifi, which means there's probably a mini router on it. You'll want to put that router into passthrough mode so that your new/used router handles all the routing functions.

Yeah starlink mini has his own wifi but you have an option to change it to a third party router.

Tnx for the recommendation i will try to find it and i still open to more recommendations !!

 

[bill001g]

Don't worry about bufferbloat it is mostly old information back from when people used DSL lines.....I suspect that is the site you are running the tool from. They like to pretend they are still relevant.

Bufferbloat only occurs when you are at 100% utilization. Back it the DSL days it was very easy to spikes you utilization to 100%.

The so called bufferbloat test will overload even a 5gbit internet connection and claim there is bufferbloat. The so called solution is to use special QoS software. The problem is on very fast internet connection this QoS software has so much overhead it casues more problems than it pretends to solve. Even in best case you will lose 10-20% of your bandwidth because of how the software is configured.

As to a router decide on your wifi needs. After that pretty much even very cheap off brand name routers can run 1gbit wan/lan.

 

[ka1sen]

Don't worry about bufferbloat it is mostly old information back from when people used DSL lines.....I suspect that is the site you are running the tool from. They like to pretend they are still relevant.

Bufferbloat only occurs when you are at 100% utilization. Back it the DSL days it was very easy to spikes you utilization to 100%.

The so called bufferbloat test will overload even a 5gbit internet connection and claim there is bufferbloat. The so called solution is to use special QoS software. The problem is on very fast internet connection this QoS software has so much overhead it casues more problems than it pretends to solve. Even in best case you will lose 10-20% of your bandwidth because of how the software is configured.

As to a router decide on your wifi needs. After that pretty much even very cheap off brand name routers can run 1gbit wan/lan.

Thank you about the bufferbloat explanation, i'm pretty much needing help cause my old router wasn't compatible and i had to reset manually starlink cause there was no wifi so i cant connect from the phone app, i was scared fr that time.

 

[Ralston18]

I will add the suggestion to go online and directly visit the manufacturer's website to find and read the router's User Guide/Manual before buying.

Be careful: just because the manufacturer's name happens to appear in the website URL does not mean that the website is truly that of the manufacturer.

Be wary of generic "manuals" websites.

 

[BFG-9000]

You need an AP, or to use your old router as an AP. That requires turning off the DHCP server in it, making sure it's not on the same IP address as the Starlink router, and usually not using the WAN port on it at all, so "not compatible" could just be a configuration problem.

The Starlink routers already have fq_codel, but the issue is none of the normal cures for bufferbloat like that work very well on any wireless WAN connections like Starlink or 5G cellular. So just use the Starlink device as your gateway router as there is nothing to be gained by using a different one.

 

[ka1sen]

I will add the suggestion to go online and directly visit the manufacturer's website to find and read the router's User Guide/Manual before buying.

Be careful: just because the manufacturer's name happens to appear in the website URL does not mean that the website is truly that of the manufacturer.

Be wary of generic "manuals" websites.

Tnx u i will try to find the manual

 

[ka1sen]

You need an AP, or to use your old router as an AP. That requires turning off the DHCP server in it, making sure it's not on the same IP address as the Starlink router, and usually not using the WAN port on it at all, so "not compatible" could just be a configuration problem.

The Starlink routers already have fq_codel, but the issue is none of the normal cures for bufferbloat like that work very well on any wireless WAN connections like Starlink or 5G cellular. So just use the Starlink device as your gateway router as there is nothing to be gained by using a different one.

Oh i see, well, it work's well so, np at all, i just want to have wi fi in my entire house cause actually i only have a decent connection in a few parts of it

 

[BFG-9000]

i just want to have wi fi in my entire house cause actually i only have a decent connection in a few parts of it

Well yeah, that's what the access point is for.

I was just pointing out you should not use the 2nd router as a router, because the Starlink one already has good QoS enabled so there would be no point. Note though, even Starlink's stated goal of 20ms latency with it would still be worse than cable internet can get using only DOCSIS-Pie in the modem and no QoS in the router at all. They haven't reached that yet but are in the mid to high 20s most of the time and ~65ms at peak times, which may be as bad as DSL but is actually pretty decent for wireless, and you aren't likely to improve on that with a different router.

It's better than 5G, where the home hotspot users only get the excess bandwidth that higher-paying and thus higher-priority cellphone users aren't using at the time. Which is probably the reason why in crowded areas it's not uncommon to see 150 to over 1000ms in those bufferbloat tests rather than more Starlink-like latencies.