Questions about my WiFi!

[+BudMan MVC]

Not a fan of tplink to be honest (their entry level smart switches have had serious issues with vlans in the past).  But since this isn't going to be doing vlans it could be great product. But again I have no experience with that one either.  It could be fine - what is the cost difference.  You would have to compare specific features..

 

To be honest, any major player current modern wifi router is prob going to be way better than your ancient N router. 

 

Features I would look for is 3rd party support, can it run 3rd party firmware.  This would be a big one for me.  2nd would prob be can it also do mesh, ie can you add nodes and enable mesh.  This one mentions that it can do that as well.

 

Other than that they really should have a very common feature list.  So unless there is something specific your looking for that isn't available on the other one - prob come down to price.. Is there much of a difference in cost?

 

One thing say about tplink, they are always normally cost friendly compared to other brands.

 

You might have better input from others here that have actually used both or 1 of those devices.  I haven't actually personally used a soho router in years!! And the only possible way I would run one is my ###### caught fire or something and needed to go to the local store to get "something" so I could get online.  But it would be off my network as fast as I could replace it

 

If I was in need/want of replacing my router and APs currently.  I would go with a netgate sg6100 for the router and prob a mix of the unifi U6-Pro-US and U6-LR-US models.  But until there is a new AP with 2.5ge uplinks I will stick with what I have.  The current APs I have currently can handle my internet 500mbps, see 400 without any issues.  And I only currently have 1 device that can even do AX

 

My current APs do not support wpa3 personal fast roaming, which is a bit disappointing but doesn't justify cost of new devices at this current time.  I can do wpa3, but issue is none of the iot sort of devices support it.  So while I can use it on my trusted wifi network, can't really use it for any of my other vlans.  Other than a transition mode where both wpa2 and wpa3 are supported.. And that really isn't a good configuration to be honest.

[spaceelf]

On 27/11/2021 at 02:33, yoco said:

Sorry for being annoying, but is this one better than ASUS one?

https://www.tp-link.com/my/home-networking/wifi-router/archer-ax73/

Even the C6 is far better as a main router than the N66.  It did come out eight years later (or three if its the C1 revision, apparently.)

 

Also yes.

[Ixion]

The Asus AI Mesh stuff works pretty well. I have 3 Asus Zen Wifi AX XT8s in a mesh system. What I would say about AX is that if you have old devices on the network you'll want to set your 2.4GHz network up as a "compatability" network as Wireless N kit (e.g. Smart home stuff) really struggles or causes issues with AX.

 

I solved the problem by moving all my smart home stuff to Zigbee/Zwave which although drastic has now left me with a whizzy fast Wifi and smart home

 

With a Virgin Media router in modem only mode I get the full 600Mbits of my internet connection in every room in my house and over 100Mbits even at the bottom of my garden.

[+BudMan MVC]

On 27/11/2021 at 10:17, Ixion said:

moving all my smart home stuff to Zigbee/Zwave

There is that advantage there of taking iot stuff like bulbs off your wifi for sure..  And also those types can still work without internet as long as you control them from say your phone on same wifi network.

 

cost of switching everything out can be discouraging though.. especially if you have a lot already.. I have 13 just wifi bulbs, I do have some others on lutron - which I really which all of mine where on.. But they lack color control and the switches they run off in the wall are expensive and you have to replace your current wall switches (so more work)..  But good thing with those is if internet down, they jsut work like normal light bulbs from the switch on the wall as well.

[yoco]

So, I bought Asus RT-AX58U.

A few questions:

- in Wireless settings "enable smart connect", do I leave this disabled or should I enable it?

- in professional tab, there's two options: Multi User MIMO and OFDMA/802.11ax MU-MIMO. By default they're both disabled under 2.4GHz, but enabled under 5GHz. Should I leave it like that?

- are there any other options I should know about that are important?

 

☺️

[spaceelf]

On 01/12/2021 at 03:47, yoco said:

So, I bought Asus RT-AX58U.

A few questions:

- in Wireless settings "enable smart connect", do I leave this disabled or should I enable it?

- in professional tab, there's two options: Multi User MIMO and OFDMA/802.11ax MU-MIMO. By default they're both disabled under 2.4GHz, but enabled under 5GHz. Should I leave it like that?

- are there any other options I should know about that are important?

 

☺️

Smart Connect usually just means a single SSID for both bands.  It's up to your preference or if any devices are having issues with one or the other.

 

Some of those options are often disabled by default.  They're good to use, but I imagine there's a reason.  I'd enable them and see if you have problems with anything.

[+BudMan MVC]

On 01/12/2021 at 09:58, Nope said:

Smart Connect usually just means a single SSID for both bands.

I have not read the manuals on these devices in any great detail - but I concur that is a logical assumption for that features name.  Most modern routers do use a common ssid for both 2.4 and 5.  And its up to the client to choose which they connect too based on the clients capabilities and its decision on which band is better signal, etc.

 

Now it is possible that some devices have issues with common ssid for both 2.4 and 5.. None of my devices have had a problem, and I have quite a few different sort of iot devices.  Problem is when using different ssid - is once a client has latched on to some specific ssid, it doesn't like to switch to another one - even if say ssid_5ghz has better signal than ssid_2ghz

 

Some wifi routers I believe have an option of doing say common ssid, and then also having ssid_5 and ssid_2 for example..  So you could use either of the specific ones for when a client might have an issue using the common one.

 

Unless you run into specific issues with your devices I would use just one common ssid for both bands.

 

That smart connect option could also mean try to force client to 5 vs 2.4, etc. vs just common ssid.. I would read the manual for exactly what that feature does..  When you have it disabled do you just see 1 common ssid, or are their multiple ssids? Based on the ssid you set? With unifi there is clear setting when you set a ssid to be 2.4 or 5 or both

 

 

And then there is this option

 

To try and force clients to use 5 if they support it.  I haven't played with that since I have never seen a client try and use 2.4 consistently when it also support 5..   As you might have noticed in previous post where a client moved on its own from 2.4 to 5 when it made sense to the client.

[yoco]

It says this!

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

The saying I go with "If it's disabled/enabled by default, leave it. Unless you KNOW what you are doing, leave it alone" Only adjust it if you get issues.

 

my 2 cents..

 

[+BudMan MVC]

@yoco - so yours is a triband then, lists 5-1 and 5-2, but you only see 1 ssid being seen by your devices or do you see multiple ssid? Ie variants of what you had set for the ssid?

[yoco]

If I search for my wifi I see 2.4GHz which is named Asus, and 5Ghz which is named Asus_5G.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

slightly off topic but I can't stand how a lot of routers default the SSID names to 5G instead of 5Ghz. I work in a tech support field for credit card terminals and can't tell you how frequently clients and even our own agents get confused by the 5G term because 5G is a GPRS standard now so we get worried questions about network plans on both sides even though it's not GPRS and have to constantly explain the difference...

 

/end off topic rant

[yoco]

Is there a good app for testing and seeing if there's any interference with signal?

Today, when router arrived, I plugged it in, used speedtest app on my samsung phone, and the speed was almost as good as on my pc. Then I moved to my living room where my, also samsung, TV is (wifi connected), tested again, and speed was a little over 200 Mbps. Later afternoon I tested again and it barely got to 40Mbps. TV is ~5m away from main router (two walls between).

[+BudMan MVC]

On 01/12/2021 at 14:21, yoco said:

which is named Asus

Its always a good idea to change the ssid away from default.  What if your neighbor happens to get the same router    Maybe not all that bad if your neighbor is across the street or something.  But in something like an apartment complex it can for sure be problematic.  Some routers have gone to doing like defaultXXXX where XXXX is some unique sort of something so that you don't run into that problem.

 

From security point of view its also good idea to use unique ssid so that your ssid is not in any rainbow tables that could be leveraged to bruteforce your wifi.  Now shouldn't really be a concern if using a good psk, etc.

 

Does the router list what your client connects at?  Is it possible asus is both 2.4 and 5 and the other one 5g is the 3rd band?

 

I can see exactly if client is using 2.4 or 5 and what the phy rates are

 

 

To do "interference" sort of scan you would really need a specific tool (spectrum analyzer) if the interference is coming from non wifi sort of thing.  But for another wifi router sure there are apps to show you what other wifi is in the area that are on the same channel as yours or overlapping your channels.

 

The home version for example

https://www.acrylicwifi.com/en/wlan-wifi-wireless-network-software-tools/

 

Here is example of spectrum analyzer that could be used to troubleshoot wifi issues

http://rfexplorer.com/models/

 

Prob way over the top for typical home users   But there are such tools that are low enough in price to be doable for your enthusiast sort of person.

[yoco]

Not sure if I have the same list. I can only see client list that says "wired, 2.4GHz, 5GHz". Each has client name, Ip address, mac address, TX rate, Rx rate, access time.

[ESC@PE]

@yoco i read this whole thread, curious to know how this story ended!

@BudMan Can you recommend a good wireless router please?

[yoco]

On 27/01/2022 at 03:23, ESC@PE said:

@yoco i read this whole thread, curious to know how this story ended!

@BudMan Can you recommend a good wireless router please?

Replaced my old Asus router with Asus RT-AX580U. Connected all devices with 5GHz WiFi and it works great so far. I wanted to buy another AX router to replace Archer 6 in 1st floor living room, but I'm honestly surprised at how good Archer 6 is doing so far. Connection is great.

[+BudMan MVC]

On 27/01/2022 at 01:30, yoco said:

good wireless router please?

I would never buy a combo device - I would buy Access Points for wifi.. So no really can not say which wifi router is "good"..

 

My son has the google wifi, he seems happy with it - is it "good" when I was last out there wifi worked.  But you can not do vlans with it, can not really get any info on what is going on that I would be interested in seeing.   You can not actually access the "router" aspect of it - it either connects to the internet or it doesn't and you manage it from some google page, etc. I personally would never in a million years run such a setup   But he was happy with it, etc.

 

Pretty much any wifi router you buy would work - they most likely will not be supported in a year or 2 anyway - because they want you to buy their latest shiny toy, etc.   But generally speaking - by a current wifi router and it should handle your wifi needs.  Will you have coverage in every corner of your home?  Will you be able to create network segments to isolate your iot device from your devices from your streaming sticks, etc. No most likely not..   But these are things many users are not concerned with - they want to plug it in.. And hey netflix works on the tv..   And they like to see a big number when they stand 3 feet away from the thing and run a speedtest on their phone

 

They might like to tell their buddies - mine has 8 antennas hanging off of it and has "qos" so my stuff works better - not knowing what qos even is, or does it support ofdma or how many streams is it mu-mimo or mimo or can it use the dfs channels.  But they can tell you how big the number is on the side of the box mine is 5600 yours is only 3200.. Without a clue to what any of that means and that they are just marketing nonsense anyway, mine is a tri band.. When they have a roku and their phone on the wifi etc..

[spaceelf]

On 27/01/2022 at 07:06, BudMan said:

IPretty much any wifi router you buy would work - they most likely will not be supported in a year or 2 anyway

Original Eeros are running on their sixth or seventh year of support I believe?  The usual sources of info aren't working for me on that topic.  Five for original Google Wifi routers.

 

I don't expect much from most router manufacturers but I'm fairly sure the big names are usually better than that now.

[ESC@PE]

@BudMan Thanks. So something like this: https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Nighthawk-Gaming-6-Stream-Router/dp/B08FWNNWTB/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=nighthawk+router&qid=1643289542&sprefix=nighthawk%2Caps%2C63&sr=8-5 would be overkill? I guess now I'd be looking for something with WiFi 6 but what other key abilities should i be looking for?

[spaceelf]

On 27/01/2022 at 07:20, ESC@PE said:

@BudMan Thanks. So something like this: https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Nighthawk-Gaming-6-Stream-Router/dp/B08FWNNWTB/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=nighthawk+router&qid=1643289542&sprefix=nighthawk%2Caps%2C63&sr=8-5 would be overkill? I guess now I'd be looking for something with WiFi 6 but what other key abilities should i be looking for?

I have that thing.  It's a good router but the firmware has issues and they're very slow on getting firmware updates out (though Netduma has promised this is changing this year.)

 

It works great but it doesn't really feel like the premium product they charge for.

 

I'm back on my Eero 6es until we move to the new house.  It's just easier.

[ESC@PE]

On 27/01/2022 at 08:26, Done said:

I have that thing.  It's a good router but the firmware has issues and they're very slow on getting firmware updates out (though Netduma has promised this is changing this year.)

 

It works great but it doesn't really feel like the premium product they charge for.

 

I'm back on my Eero 6es until we move to the new house.  It's just easier.

What do you think you'll get once you move?

[spaceelf]

On 27/01/2022 at 07:29, ESC@PE said:

What do you think you'll get once you move?

I'm planning to switch back to the XR1000 but until I test it at the new place I'm not making any promises.  They might have a newer firmware out, it's a smaller house...