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.

 

[ka1sen]

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.

The unique reason i was asking for a compatible router is that my parents doesn't have a clue on how to set up a hotspot on the mobile phone, and even if the know there is still places of the house withouth connection at all, a hotspot could help, but definetively if the hotspot if not lefted 24/7 in a place it's not going to work, also i don't know if there is router that connect like to my wifi and just extend or i need like i said a router to do it

 

[BFG-9000]

A "compatible" router implies you want to disable the router in the Starlink by putting it in bridge mode and replace it with an external one, which is exactly what we have been telling you is not necessary.

A "hotspot" shares the internet from a cell phone by converting its 4G or 5G internet connection to wifi, which uses costly cellular data so has nothing at all to do with your Starlink internet.

An "access point" is a radio that attaches to ethernet and can provide/extend wifi. Given ethernet is good to 328' away, it can even be placed at a considerable distance away from your Starlink router, to wherever the wifi signal is poor.

A "wireless router" is a box that can both rout and has radios. Generally you can turn off the routing part to convert it into just an access point, but if you can't or don't want to, you could always buy a purpose-built access point. As you found, you can't just put two routers on the same subnet as both will try to hand out DHCP addresses to all your devices and make everything stop working.

A "wireless extender" is a single radio that connects to wifi and repeats it all wirelessly, at the expense of double the latency and half the bandwidth. Given you would have to place it where you have good wifi signal already, which is where you already have ethernet, so this may work but is a worse choice than an access point.