What's your internet speed?

I've been using this router for a couple years and it's great.

It covers a large area by itself and can easilysupport 16+ devices all connected at the same time without noticeable slow down.[PC, PS4, 2 phones, laptop, tablets, smart home devices, ect.)

I've been extremely happy with my Asus RT-AC86U. Mounted in the middle of my 2300sf house, it hits all the corners and the small backyard with no issue, and it supports several DFS channels which got me away from interference from neighbors. I normally have about a dozen devices connected, and regularly see 600+ Mbit wirelessly.

It's currently $185.25 at Amazon.

New one will probably be better performance. Considering you're getting fiber optic, I'd recommend getting a router that supports Gigabit Ethernet.

This is the router I'm currently using. It works well using cables but you may not want to stick adhesive wire/cord clips all over your house. If you want gigabit (1 Gbps) speeds with WiFi, you'll probably have to spend at least $500 on a router.

I bought this last year and couldn’t be happier:

Asus RT-AC86U/CA Dual Band Wireless Router

It doesn’t have Wi-Fi 6 but unless you’re gaming or have a large house it won’t make a difference.

I turned off Sasktel’s Wi-Fi and returned the Optimum access point. Everything in my house works better now and never have Wi-Fi issues.

Mesh is not necessary. Just get a sufficiently-powered router and you'll do just fine. I bought this 3 1/2 years ago and I've rebooted it maybe half a dozen times in that period, with no dead zones anywhere in my 3000 sq ft 2 story home.

from what i read there is no need to future proof until wifi 6e is readily available. i just bought this asus (which was probably overkill, but i wanted merlin and/or openwrt custom firmware as an option) to support my gig internet, and the only device that i can get gig speeds over wifi is my galaxy s9 phone and my firestick. every other wireless device in the house is from the mid 2010s and brings in 1/3rd of the speeds.

conclusion: i'd go for a router that will support custom firmware even if it's 'older' tech.

Depends, do you need a mesh network? What kind of coverage are you needing? If you can get away with 1 router this is always a solid choice. If you're going to upgrade the router you might as well snag a modem as well.

I have the ASUS RT-AC86U and it works awesome in my two story, four bedroom, 2500 sq. ft. house. I would expect it to work even better in your 2BR apartment. It's loaded with features and works flawlessly. It's a tad pricey at $148.

https://www.amazon.com/Dual-band-Dual-core-AiProtection-Compatible-RT-AC86U/dp/B0752FD3XJ/ref=sr\_1\_5?crid=2J6DQWRG2AUZT&dchild=1&keywords=Asus+wireless+router&qid=1635163683&qsid=133-6531612-2647545&sprefix=asus+wireless+rout...

I hope it will work, but if it wouldnt i would probably try new router. What do you think of this one? From what i found by far, its pretty good for gaming. Do you think its worth the money? https://www.amazon.com/Dual-band-Dual-core-AiProtection-Compatible-RT-AC86U/dp/B0752FD3XJ

Getting a pair (or more) of something like these lets you set up a mesh network easily -- 'AiMesh' is their own name for it. You can connect them via wifi, via ethernet or both.

Yes, a Wave 2 4x4 router would definitely be my choice, otherwise you're wasting potential in that card!

I'm using an Asus RT-AC86U router, and I'm completely satisfied with it. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat. Currently $186.64 on Amazon in the US.

It's mounted on the wall near the middle of my ~2200sf house, and the signal is good and strong throughout. Right now, from ~50 feet away, through a couple of walls, I just tested a little over 500 Mbit, and I get that pretty consistently. That's on a laptop with 3x3 Wifi. Right near the router, I've seen over 700.

I would go with this as an AC router: ASUS AC2900 WiFi Dual-band Gigabit Wireless Router with 1.8GHz Dual-core Processor and AiProtection Network Security Powered by Trend Micro, AiMesh Whole Home WiFi System Compatible (RT-AC86U) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0752FD3XJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-fFODbSPKP637

Grab a Asus RT AC-86U aka AC2900. Dont mix this up with its older and less powerful brother 68U. I had the 68U and it worked well and I am really excited for the upgrade.

The go for 120-140 used on amazon/ebay and have a dual core 1.8 Ghz processor which is absolutely killer for vpn purposes. You can also upgrade to Merlin firmware (based on stock with tweaks and approved by ASUS) and get even more tweaks for this router. And to top all that off this can be used in a mesh system with other ASUS routers. Give it a go! Cant go wrong with amazon return policy.

I have found the ASUS line to be very OpenVPN friendly, and great to work with all around. I thought they would max out at 15-20mbps through OpenVPN, which was true when I got mine a couple years ago, but I was recently enlightened that the AC86U can do about 200mbps through OpenVPN. That looks like a great option.

Honestly, in an apartment, mesh probably won't help, and it may actually make things a lot worse if the spectrum is congested, which it probably is in an apartment. I suspect that in terms of range, a quality conventional router with external antennas like the one I linked above will be more than adequate in virtually any apartment.

I'm in a single-story house (all wood frame construction with drywall), and have no issues at all anywhere in the house with a conventional router. I get as far away as 50 feet from the router with multiple walls between, or out in the small back yard, and still get a strong signal. I mounted mine on the wall to minimize interference, but that may not be necessary.

However... in my previous apartment, which is constructed similarly and is smaller than this current house, I did have issues, chiefly because of interference from my neighbors, of which there were many.

Most consumer routers only support a few channels. (They may list 8 separate channels in the 5GHz band, for example, but the current Wifi standard will normally use 4 of them as one wide channel. So you really only have two channels on most routers -- and so do all your neighbors. So you're fighting over those same two slices of bandwidth.

The router I ended up buying was an Asus RT-AC86U (currently $176), and I specifically chose it because it's one of the few consumer routers that support what are called the DFS channels. Those channels are sometimes used by things like airport weather radar, and if you're close to one of those antennas, it'll boot you off the channel. But if you're not (and most people aren't), you'll likely find that you have those channels available and all to yourself.

The Asus is a better router in most ways, but it's also triple the price of the TP-link above. But if you suspect interference from neighbors (a dense apartment building?), it might be worth the higher cost. If you want to check before buying, use a program like InSSIDer if you want to see what channels are in use around you. If you see lots of networks on channels 36-48 and 149-161, the Asus would be a smart choice, and set it to channel 52 or 100.

Sorry for the wall of text, but hopefully that helps! The DFS link above explains the reasons for the channel congestion better than I can.

Anything with 802.11ac. With 3x3 802.11ac assuming both your client (computer or device) supports 3x3 MIMO, you may get around 450Mbps~500Mbps max over 5Ghz 802.11ac WiFi. If you have 4x4 you can go a bit faster maybe in the 800's
I suggest the Asus RT-86U which is a fairly new router (replaces the older RT-68U) with 3 external antennas and one internal antenna for the 4'th of the 4x MIMO so you'll get good range, but that 4th MIMO at closer range if you even have something that use 4x4 (most things don't.) It's a fine product and one of the best performing without going overkill (which you're welcome to do.)

https://www.amazon.com/RT-AC86U-Wireless-Dual-Core-Processor-AiProtection/dp/B0752FD3XJ/
https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RT-AC86U/

If you want gigabit networking, you'll have to use ethernet. It's the only way. You can get a wireless adapter with 4x4 MIMO that you can add to your PC if you need wireless. https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/Wireless-Adapters-Products/

I know these things talk about greater than 1Gbps networking, but there's just no way. With 4x4 802.11ac 5Ghz you can come close, but you'll find you're getting sub 500Mbps most of the time even at close range. I've tried lots of wireless APs and never done much better. I think I got a 600Mbps with a Ubiquity Wireless AP doing 3x3 MIMO and 6ft.

If $200 is too expensive, then I there are less expensive models that will work nearly as well but at this price you'll do about as well as you can without going to tri-band which is sort of a waste unless you're really using a second channel for high bandwidth streaming. A dual-band really does all you should need.

Stay away from mesh networking systems as they give you coverage at the expense of speed performance and what you need is short-range high performance if I'm not mistaken. Also, you can get 12dbi replacement external antennas for the ASUS on Amazon that will greatly extend your (at least 2.4Ghz) wifi range if you need it. I have them and it knocked out my dead spots.

Check out https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews for reviews and more info on routers.

I hope this helps. Shopping for a router is a can of worms. I've worked with a lot of routers in my line of work and I just really like the ASUS for price, performance, and feature set. I keep getting new routers and going back to the Asus. Netgear is the only other brand I'd recommend, personally. A good deal on a high end Netger is worth considering. Check out the reviews on Smallnetbuilder before you buy.

The Asus RT-AC86U has been absolutely rock-solid reliable for me. I replaced a Netgear R7900 with it, and found it much better. No more slowdowns, no need for reboots, nothing. It just works flawlessly, and supports several DFS channels, so I can get an 80MHz channel all to myself. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. Currently $189.99 from Amazon.

Here's my personal favorite: Asus AC2900

It's a bargain at just $113.65 on sale.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0752FD3XJ/?psc=1

It has a Broadcom dual-cpu chip with built-in HW encryption so it's no load on the cpu to run a VPN tunnel.

The Merlin WRT software is easy to install and has tons of features. Highly recommended: https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/features

I am running the Diversion ad-blocker on the router instead of pi-hole or AdGuard. Works great.

I was running pfsense for a while, but with Merlin WRT software, this router does everything I need a router to do.

Under $200 will be hard. An RT-AC86U likely your best chance. On sale right now on Amazon for $149. Great router but no AX.

https://www.amazon.ca/Asus-RT-AC86U-Dual-Wireless-Router/dp/B0752FD3XJ/

https://www.amazon.ca/Asus-RT-AC86U-Dual-Wireless-Router/dp/B0752FD3XJ?th=1&linkCode=sl1&tag=lilymcalli0ba-20&linkId=b37b0d3b670d36a12c9e849d6e6b2bb0&language=en\_CA&ref\_=as\_li\_ss\_tl

I use this one.

I'd say it's pretty decent in coverage as it's in the kitchen but still works decently enough upstairs.

 

^Item Info | Bot Info | Trigger

 

^Item Info | Bot Info | Trigger

Just to confirm, is this the router you're using?

When using airlink you should be in the same room as the router and the router should be dedicated only to airlink. So honestly, any 5ghz router will be fine since the more expensive models are about range, penetrating walls and supporting multiple devices. All things you don't need to care about.

Here's a couple in the sale.

Asus 2900 - $113 - 20%

Asus 1900 - $71 -20%

This router might be perfect for you and your budget https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0752FD3XJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_8QYCH1Z8M88ZN8C1J3MD?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/asus-rt-ac86u-ac2900-router

https://www.amazon.com/Dual-band-Dual-core-AiProtection-Compatible-RT-AC86U/dp/B0752FD3XJ

Theres probably better ones out there now with how fast tech moves seeing that I got this 2 or so years ago. I just did some research on gaming routers and what not and at the time this was a solid one for my needs.

Deal link: Amazon (additional 15% off coupon on app)

Want additional discounts and coupon codes?

Download newly launched Android App - ShoppingSaga

Category-wise subreddits for Amazon Deals:

Discord Server: Instant deal notifications on our Discord Server!

Amazon Canada Deals: /r/OnlineDealsCanada

Disclaimer: The deal links are affiliated. We may earn a small share on qualifying purchases. It does not affect the deal price in any way.

Deal link: Amazon

Deal link: Amazon

>https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0752FD3XJ/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1&fpw=alm

I don't think the ARcher is better then my current router ?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0752FD3XJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1&fpw=alm

is my cuurent router

So would any of the RT Asus routers on Amazon do this as a feature?

https://www.amazon.com/Tri-Band-Supporting-AiProtection-Accelerator-RT-AC5300/dp/B0752FD3XJ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1535864879&sr=8-6&keywords=asus%2Brouter&th=1

​

I don't need xfinity to trust what data my router records. It proves that the company is incompetent and cannot track data accurately. If I can track all of my data locally, then there is a problem with their tracking non local. It is enough to get surcharges for my bill removed or create legal action from a large customer base. I talked to a comcast tech that came out today and he stated he has been getting the same call for the same reason all week. People are all of the sudden hitting their 90% cap when they have never been close before and have not changed their habits. It smells like a great big scam to get people to sign up for unlimited.

https://smile.amazon.com/Dual-band-Dual-core-AiProtection-Compatible-RT-AC86U/dp/B0752FD3XJ/ref=psdc_300189_t2_B00MPI5N7U

That is just a router, not a modem.

If you wanted to bring your own modem, not knowing who your provider is or exactly what type of service you are on, I'd recommend something like: this

But you might want to just start with the router and having your ISP put their modem into bridge mode.

I have gone through various battles with the BGW210 (back when I had AT&T and also doing installs at folks places that have fiber)...

Most user-friendly and performant solution would be a combo of Asus routers that leverage their AI Mesh (wired backhaul if possible) and on the BGW210 setting the Firewall to IP-Passthrough ... I had a pretty stable experience with the ASUS AC86u (I had two running the mesh in my 3 story home)

Now I run three Ubiquiti NanoHDs and a small homelab rack (overkill) so as others have spotted im not going to just say do what I did.

Whatever solution you use, I would suggest doing the IP Passthrough, eliminating the hard-to-configure BGW210, and putting your actual router solution on a different subnet (not conflicting with the BGW210's 192.169.1.254 ... sometimes a Netgear will auto config itself to the 10.x.x.x a-class and thats no bueno... something like 192.168.10.1 or something before you plug it up and pass your WAN IP through to it)... also turn off that thing's wifi radios before you ignore it for eternity

If you live near a Microcenter they sell those 86u's in two packs, well under $500

Depending on coverage gaps you might need 3 APs, obviously you know your home best. Good luck with everything.

If you use services that buffer, like netflix and amazon video etc, you won't notice much of a speed difference on ethernet, but you will on wireless devices when you don't get a router that has MU-MIMO (Multi-User Multi-In-Multi-Out).

Unfortunately, there are not many routers available that are in that price range. A lot of the good routers are over $100 and go up from there.

Here is an example from Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/Dual-band-Dual-core-AiProtection-Compatible-RT-AC86U/dp/B0752FD3XJ/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=AC2900&qid=1590720543&refinements=p_89%3AASUS&rnid=2528832011&sr=8-2

that particular model is one of the better lower cost routers that is designed for heavy wireless and high speed internet. So it's quite a bit more but ... it really depends on what exactly you are doing on the network for it to hit whatever limits.

Just note, that if you are all say, downloading a large file at the same time (not streaming) the router splits the bandwidth evenly. So even with 330mbps internet, each of the 4 ethernet users would have 82.5mbps roughly. Then each wireless device is also added into it for the length of whatever they are doing.

I just replaced a Netgear Nighthawk R7900 that was running into congestion problems with my neighbors. Despite offering 8 "channels," it really only has 2 channels because 802.11ac essentially bonds 4 channels together. And those 2 channels have lots of traffic from my neighbors.

I just installed an Asus RT-AC86U to replace it, because it supports additional 5GHz channels (called the "DFS channels") that the Netgear router didn't, and which are completely unused in my neighborhood. The difference has been incredible; Wifi speeds in my living room have tripled because I'm not longer getting interference with my neighbors. Once I set it to use Channel 100 (one of the vacant ones in my area), I'm regularly testing over 400 Mbit over wifi to my iPhone, which is very fast.

Many consumer routers don't support these additional channels, but it's worth choosing one that does. Here's a list of them from an excellent article about WiFi and the marketing games the manufacturers play: https://www.duckware.com/tech/wifi-in-the-us.html#routers

Amazon has the Asus I just got for $189: https://www.amazon.com/Dual-band-Dual-core-AiProtection-Compatible-RT-AC86U/dp/B0752FD3XJ

My computer is hardwired to the router and Apple 4k is over wifi and my router is a Asus RT-AC86U.

Get this router:

https://www.amazon.com/Dual-band-Dual-core-AiProtection-Compatible-RT-AC86U/dp/B0752FD3XJ/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=asus+router+rt-ac68u&pd_rd_r=6d79be60-e8c2-4447-97b9-08848a335a4b&pd_rd_w=Nuw09&pd_rd_wg=O5xDr&pf_rd_p=bbfc4166-8a66-...

“Junk”

I was doing nice things but obviously I’m done with that. I prefer not to burn bridges but if someone else wants to take that route I’m not going to try to put out the flames. I’m not trying to do anything out of malice, I’m just now willing to do anything to legally get my money back consequences to them be damned. They made their bed and they can lie in it. I’m neutral to them now. The emotional part of me that doesn’t listen to reason still cared a bit when I wrote the original post but seeing how she’s treated my friend (OP of this post) has changed that real fast.

If it wasn’t explicitly said that I would get the deposit back at the end of July when the lease ran out it was heavily implied and understood.

The mention of nice things was irrelevant to the legal aspect of the situation, it was just to try to say that this situation isn’t one that I created through my own actions. Not trying to give myself good boy points because they’re meaningless.