OP
Done, thank you Chris and everyone, you guys all really helped! And I'm glad that is over, I've been looking at routers off & on for months!
Home Wi-Fi router and / or mesh purchase help
- Thread starter Jerry Bransford
- Start date
A nice router and a good internet connection are some of the nicest upgrades I've done for daily life, especially with everything being virtual nowadays from the virus. I have a 250 mbps connection for just me along with a nicer router in my apartment. I haven't waited for anything to load in quite a while which is nice since I don't have cable and stream quite a bit.
Since jerry already bought one ill leave this for others that need help. I updated my wifi 2 months ago and went with Ubiquiti. Its the saavy mid arm level of wifi networks. You can power your whole neighborhood if you wanted. Unlimited expand-ability and reliable. They are a little more expensive but the flexibility to fit your home is un-matched.
https://unifi-network.ui.com/wi-fi
https://unifi-network.ui.com/wi-fi
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My computer is on an extender as the AT&T supplied MODEM/router is on the other side of the house. It often works just fine, but other times it hangs up, stalls, is slow, etc. I really need to get a cat 6 cable put in my Library directly to the router, but as that project would be a PITA, it hasn't happened. Running a Netgear extender. I only really need a couple or three mega-BPS when things are working right.
Happy we were all able to help. I think you’ll be happy with your decision.
OP
Chris when can you be here to install it? It's arriving tomorrow. 
(I'm getting lazy in my old age lol)
(I'm getting lazy in my old age lol)
These work very well when a hard line is needed.
NETGEAR Powerline Adapter 2000 Mbps (2) Gigabit Ethernet Ports with Passthrough + Extra Outlet (PLP2000), Model Number: PLP2000-100PAS
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0778Y6K6N/?tag=wranglerorg-20
KMET
TJ Enthusiast
Did this too! Single story house (Long) used two UniFi AP AC PRO's, Netgate appliance, pfSense/pfblockerNG-devel, Vlan cameras w/ filtered connections, set guest WiFi. Done! Can once again stream live/Recorded TV outside (HDHR prime 3 & Kodi) without buffering.
I'm very happy with my Google WiFi mesh router.
I don't actually use it in mesh configuration because a single station covers my ~2000sqft two story house and garage well enough. And adding more pucks is supposed to be very simple... Just plug them in and press a button.
And Google is a leader in internet security and software development so I'm very confident there are very few firmware vulnerabilities, and they get fixed promptly when they do pop up. The software side of things was number one on my list because that's all a router is, and many vendors will release a nice piece of hardware that rarely receives software updates.
It's dead simple to manage. It does require a smartphone app (for some reason there is no web interface, perhaps a web interface wouldn't fit their security model). You can manage it remotely.
And it has all the features I've needed. Port forwarding, bandwidth management, a dedicated guest Wifi network, etc.
They have since come out with the Google Nest Wifi which does the same thing for more money but you can still get the older Google WiFi pucks like I have for <$100 ea.
It doesn't do WiFi 6. But that's still pretty rare. But it does do 802.11ac. I just tested it and I got 285Mbps from my router to my smartphone through a couple of interior walls.
Keep in mind your internet plan is probably going to be the limiting factor on speed regardless of what you go with.
Sorry @Jerry Bransford I should have read the whole thread. Then I would have seen you already made a decision. Sounds like you made a fine choice. Good luck!
I second the Goodle wifi. The Nighthawk didn't give me the coverage I needed in a 3-level 5,000+ sf home. I picked up the Google mesh wifi with 4 stations at Costco. Range was great and it never needs resetting like I've encountered with other routers. I still had my desktop hardwired so I could get full use of the AT&T fiber gigabit connection.
Yeah I haven't had to reset it once. I forgot you even had to do that with routers until I recently helped a friend get Xfinity cable internet. They rented the cable modem/wireless router combo black box from Comcast. That was really frustrating in comparison. Had to reboot it once in the middle of trying to get something important done, it didn't have all the management features, its management interface was slow and frustrating.
I'm still learning but I too have the AP AC PRO's. Looking into the cameras now since I have the CKG2+
KMET
TJ Enthusiast
Had to Google CKG2+... Always learning!
My cams are old Swann 3mp, wanna say from 2010?
I can actually walk for about an hour and still have excellent WiFi!...Should include that's using my treadmill. Okay, If being truthful I really only last for about 10 minutes...Okay, factoring my age / prostate, it's about 7 minutes to pee.... So... It's 3 minutes on treadmill. Still....Excellent WiFi.
FWIW, I have a netgear router connected to the Google mesh setup. What I like about it i can easily kick off devices as well as set up a passwordless connection for guests and then turn it off when they leave. It can also set bandwidth between devices connected to passwords and guests.
I went with mesh because I want to use it outside too.
I went with mesh because I want to use it outside too.
Linksys and Netgear listed above should be fine. I personally run a mixed setup at home. Any smart device i have hard wired to the network, just because I'm weird like that. Even a firestick. No lagging and my wireless network is separated logically from the LAN.
Ideally, if you can control the radius on the WiFi a mesh setup would be preferred. I have nosy neighborhood kids trying to jump on my network and download content that Verizon fines for. This is why I had to put a clamp on things.
Ideally, if you can control the radius on the WiFi a mesh setup would be preferred. I have nosy neighborhood kids trying to jump on my network and download content that Verizon fines for. This is why I had to put a clamp on things.
OP
What do you guys with the Netgear Nighthawk think about doing the initial setup with their Nighthawk App? They seem to be pushing it for that use. I'll be installing it later today.
I never used the app honestly, but I am very tech savvy. I’m sure the app works fine though.
I use the app. It works great and I can control it from anywhere (which having a teen that breaks rules comes in handy).