Input regarding WiFi router purchase

mfsinger · Nov 8, 2017

First off, I'm not sure where to post this as I'm looking for input regarding the purchase of a wifi router. It's networking but it's hardware. Apologies in advance if I chose incorrectly.

I live in an older farmhouse that was built around 1902. It isn't big but it does have a second floor. I've been an Apple user since 2005 and I've always just bought their routers since everything just integrates. The current device is a AirPort Extreme 802.11ac. Right now, I don't know which model but honestly I don't think it matters. It seems they've sort of ignored the networking division for awhile. The router is sitting as neutrally as possible on the first floor but my coverage isn't great. I've run a ethernet cable to the second floor and setup a switch so I can just hardwire things like my TV and PS4. There's a total of three of us living in the house and the device count is around 16 right now (iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs, Samsung TV's, and Mac computers). I'm not a big online gamer but we do watch Netflix, although, it is super rare that two people are streaming at the same time. At times I need to transfer large-ish files but they are no more than 1-3 GB's and it's usually me downloading them to work on.

I think my biggest issue is that the current device just doesn't have a strong enough spread. It is older so I think it might be dying anyway. As for price, I am OK with spending a chunk but I don't want overkill. About a year ago I picked up a Netgear router which I think was the R8000. I had a few issues with having to reboot it more than I thought I should have. Then when the security concerns started coming in, I gave up and returned it. I'm sure every manufacturer experiences issues but it felt like Netgear was constantly sending out an email saying "there's no fix so roll back your firmware... and you'll have to setup everything again".

For what it's worth, we have Charter/Spectrum cable service which, according to DSLreports, gets me about 62GBps. I test every now and then out of annoyance. It gives grades on various things and I usually get a D on Buffer Bloat (whatever that is) and an A+ on quality. There was a time when I kept up with technology but sadly don't as much. I take care of my elderly parents who both are entering the dementia phase so it's difficult to know what's what. And now we've got these mesh things. I guess I should also mention here that the square footage of the house is probably less than 1800.

Thanks in advance.

RealBeast · Nov 8, 2017

Welcome to Tom's Hardware.

Your AirPort Extreme 802.11ac isn't a bad router, it just may need some tweaking and maybe add an access point (an inexpensive TP-Link dual band 2.4/5GHz router set up as an AP would suffice upstairs) because a second floor is usually not well covered by any wireless router.

The tweaks would be to divide up the 2.4GHz N, 5 GHz N and AC bands between users by using specific SSIDs and coordinating who uses which. Also insure that a/b/g are disabled and that you are using WPA2 AES encryption as it enhances speed over using older a/b/g device support.

If you get an AP router I can walk you through the setup, it would simply attach to the switch upstairs with one of the LAN ports and turn off DHCP on the AP unit (the AirExtreme will handle all routing) and give it a static address in the network range but outside the AirExtreme DHCP address range so that the AP doesn't get a duplicate address with a device.

mfsinger · Nov 9, 2017

Thanks. I understood all of this.... mostly. The encryption only gives me 4 options. I can Google that later to see the difference. Basically, it's WPA 2 in Personal or Enterprise and WPA/WPA2 in Personal and Enterprise. I've always used WPA2 Personal. I have some other questions regarding the switch and cabling I'm using. I didn't even think about it until after I posted this question. But your response also made me realize that I'm not as concerned about the wifi on the second floor. I'm the only person up there and the only devices that need it (iPhone, iPad, Amazon Echo, and Nintendo 3DS) aren't having issues. Where I am seeing problems is the amount of spread I get on the first floor. One of our older computers, a Mac Mini, sits no more than 30' feet away from the router but it is behind a wall. It has issues every now and then but I'm also thinking the computer itself might be starting to choke. It will be replaced in a few days so no worries there. I have noticed that when I'm out on the deck, I get very little wifi signal yet I can look through a window and see the router sitting on the table. The distance is less than 30' but there's a wall with big glass windows again.

I'm really starting to think my router is just slowly dying. I have those other questions but since they are related to a switch and cabling, I don't think it's appropriate to ask in the same thread. Forum rules aren't my strong suit as I don't use them often. Normally I figure all this stuff out on my own but dealing with two parents who are slowly entering into dementia at an early age can be overwhelming. I'll wait for your response before I proceed. Thanks again. Your previous answer has actually helped me to focus in better.

RealBeast · Nov 9, 2017

Yes, the WPA2 Personal as they call it is the version of AES for you to use.

You can discuss all your network related issues in this thread to keep it in one place as they are closely related.

It's not surprising that you cannot get good wireless through a window. You will do better with 2.4GHz, but a window (particularly if it has any tint or dual panes) is plenty of matter to attenuate a 5GHz signal enough to be useless.

If your issue is on one floor, you may want to add an AP on that floor -- your issues don't sound like a failing router, just one that cannot do everything you want since all matter attenuates signals to some degree. The newer expensive fancy routers are no better than a R7000 or RT-N68U (and your router is not quite as good as them but for a 4 year old-ish it isn't terrible).

All of the newer MU-MIMO, beamforming, 6-8 antenna routers are pretty much no better than the two I mentioned because clients do not have the technology to use the newer features, which often don't work in any case. So since your current router is doing a good job routing and a mediocre job providing wireless it really probably just needs an inexpensive dual band router to add as an AP on the first floor.

Outside is a little tougher unless the new AP is very close to the outside area.

On my main floor I have a router and two APs and then a ceiling mount AP on the patio to give adequate coverage, although it is a larger area than you cover. Ever notice in hotels and airports all the APs all over the place? That's because that is a very effective way to cover areas compared to using high end more powerful devices, and for example many of those APs have their signal turned down to avoid interference with other APs on the same channel. You just need to stagger the 2.4GHz channels by area to prevent overlap.

And almost forgot -- don't use 2.4GHz N 40MHz wide channels. That consumes 82% of the entire 2.4GHz, which guarantees interference between the three normally non-overlapping channels (1, 6, and 11).

mfsinger · Nov 9, 2017

OK, so I got it on the AP and it makes sense. I was just trying to keep network devices to a minimum. Outdoor coverage isn't super important right now and becoming less so as the temp drops.

My other question is regarding Cat 5 vs Cat 6. Does it really make that much of a difference? The switch I'm using on the second floor is a really old Netgear GS608 if memory serves me correct. I know there are some higher quality units out there. I noticed Netgear had a Night Hawk with management. The management portion isn't as important so much as it's ability to pass data. The three devices that connect via this switch are my PS4, Samsung TV, and Apple TV. The switch connects to my router via a 50' Cat 5 cable that I bought about 6 years ago. I am going to replace the switch anyway as I have a small private network on the second floor that never accesses the outside world. The switch will work great for that. I can get a basic non-managed switch like the Netgear GS605V5 for about $50 or the 8 port Night Hawk for $86. Cost matters not. My thought was get the bigger ports anyway. But once I do this, does it really matter if I swap out the cables for Cat 6?

I'm also going to go the AP route. I'll look into one while I'm grabbing the switch. I just have to figure out which way to run the cable. Thanks again.

RealBeast · Nov 11, 2017

CAT5e and CAT6 provide equal (gigabit) performance and I use either depending on the better price at the time for any project although I have a few spare 1000 ft. spools of each as I like to buy things on sale that I will need.

My choice would be for 8 port Tp-Link TL-SG108 or Netgear GS-108 and for 16 port Netgear GS-116. All perform excellent, are unmanaged switches, all metal so cool passively very well, and are at a reasonable price. Used many of each and never had issues. They all lifetime warranties.

mfsinger · Nov 13, 2017

RealBeast :

Thanks for all the answers. I'll research and go from here. I appreciate your time.

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