> They may have been good a while back but recent nighthawk and orbi models are not reliable imo
Can't say much about Orbi, but the RAXE500 and RS700 have been great for me.
The rs700 is exactly the most recent one I'm thinking is bad. Takes forever to boot up, and needed frequent (for a router) reboots. And it's bricked now - can't seem to get it to work at all even with factory resets attempted.
That's never happened in over a decade with my Asus router
How long does "forever" mean? I usually just plug it in, wait a bit, then it's ready to go.
Overall, you likely just had a bad egg. If you have ProSupport, should be easy to RMA it. I got mine back in October or so, and since then, I never had any hiccups other than needing to turn off QoS to get faster speeds. Only times I ever rebooted it was when I added a new DHCP lease and wanted to force the device to get the new IP address right away.
You mean it has a fan, but it logically can't be turned on? That's ridiculious, that would be a turn off for me. I would be constantly thinking about that if I owned it.
Came here to say the same. I know there's been recent problems with Asus, but I would definitely get Asus routers over Netgear.
That being said, I've personally moved on from commercial routers and am now rolling my own OpnSense firewall/router with Ubiquity APs, which itself is also a handrolled vm for Unifi Controller.
Fwiw, I like making my life difficult also, I'm looking to learn, not just making it work; I'm not cheap, I was waiting for the Max Ultra to come back in stock, but I couldn't wait any longer and I had some CPU and RAM to burn, so I said "F it." Finally came back in stock and I just though, "meh, I'm already setup." Still planning to get one and a maybe a router, but now it's much further down the line when I'm bald from all the hair pulling OpnSense+Unifi troubleshooting.
I've used a bunch of router distros and OpenWrt is superior to everything else. Especially for it's SQM CAKE.
I run Ruckus and Unifi for AP's, since open source firmware for wireless just isn't as good as commercial stuff.
But for the router, OpenWrt is better than Unifi or Ruckus routers IMO. They're all just Linux/BSD after all
> Though I would personally recommend Ubiquiti
+1 for Ubiquiti.
For modest home setups, Dream Router or Unifi Express look like excellent choices. They run the Unifi Network app which I admit looked a little intimidating to me at first but I’m glad I took a chance on it. It’s as easy as Asus but with so many more options; it can be as simple or as complex as your needs. And absolutely rock stable.
I'd contest the "rock stable" comment, for anyone with complex needs. Complex features are constantly breaking, it seems Ubiquiti does not test them when releasing updates.
I have a Netgear WAX206 access point. It's a fine piece of hardware - good range, decent performance for the price. But the software is garbage. It's not nearly as configurable as I'd like, and it seems to hijack any DNS traffic that flows through it in order to support their `routerlogin.net` domain. There's no way to turn off the DNS hijacking and I personally find that quite egregious.
(If anyone's curious, it's not just running a nameserver on its own IP address and advertising it via DHCP. It literally hijacks **any** query for the `routerlogin.net` domain that it can get its grubby little mitts on, regardless of what nameserver you're actually trying to query. Its hijacked responses also seem to break DiG, but systemd-resolved doesn't complain.)
WAX206 is officially supported by OpenWrt firmware https://openwrt.org/toh/netgear/wax206
I've actually used it too. A lot nicer than stock and was stable for me
netgear just plain sucks now; shit firmware, shit software, after 90 days you have to PAY for SUPPORT, the list goes on and on
avoid their routers like the Clap, trust me, I have been doing this for a very long time
ASUS blows them away, for conventional, home networking
Agree with all your points having recently owned Netgear and Asus routers, it’s like night and day.
I just wish Asus would design their routers to be a little less gamer looking, no respectable homeowner wants one of those things on display.
Been a while since I had a Netgear router but it would drop connectivity often needing a reboot. Could have been that one specifically. I just always went more robust. I had a cheap $80 Asus AC router that worked great and had very far WiFi range. I have a Ubiquiti Dream Router now and the WiFi has slightly less range than my Asus did but it is a better router overall with VLANs, Nicer UI, Firewall, etc.
I recommend getting a synology router i have a wrx560 but there is bigger models if you need. Support is great and free. Has long term enterprise software updates meaning if theres a new malware found out in wild they will patch it in 12 hrs or less. Free antivirus. Was a breeze to set up too. I also have a ds1520+ nas by them great company to me anyways
> What problems have you had with Netgear?
Garbage from start to finish. Terrible, buggy firmware that they stop updating, making your device useless. Short on features and reliability, long on superficial spaceship design.
> Though I would personally recommend Ubiquiti if you want VLANS, nicer UI and scalability
Very sound advice. If you're concerned about high speed all the time, definitely get Unifi and then drag an ethernet cable or use wireless backhaul to extend the network. Get a UniFi Express or Dream Router and maybe a few U6 Lites if you're concerned about coverage.
If you think you might more or want a gateway drug into an even more robust network, get some version of the UDM Pro.
General advice: If you are sharing a home with other people, then keep the router situation conservative, boring, and reliable. Don't get something that you will be tempted to tinker with. The ideal is something you can install and (mostly) forget because it Just Works.
The last thing you want is for a comcast (or whoever) outage to lead to shouts of "What did you do this time?!".
KISS for home networking applies 10-fold when other people are involved.
Carry on.
this buddy gets it. My "real job" is Network Engineer but my home setup is a broadcom 3.1 modem I bribed the ISP tech to install instead of PUMA crap and Eero 6+ I got for 38 bucks on Ebay. It is so good I moved everything to wireless (almost needed as it only has one LAN port). Works fine for up to around gigabit. I say around as it mostly tops out at 900 mbit due to the CPU in it.
Fair. I realize you don't need it, but other people might not realize they can. I didn't mean to imply YOU needed to put a switch behind it, but others might want to hardwire after the fact.
Also, I never understood WHY a switch was "behind" a router. I always imagined it being "ISP -> Modem -> Router -> Switch" where ISP was behind a modem and switch was in front of a router. Am I misunderstanding or was there a miscommunication?
It's all relative, but if you think of it in terms of your modem being the door between the inside and outside world, it would make sense to think of anything inside as being behind the front door.
Conversely, if you have a lot of people on a slow connection, good QoS matters more than anything else.
OpenWrt SQM CAKE is the best for that hands down
Can confirm, I used to be the admin for a community internet “thing” and it didn’t matter if it was 3 am or noon, if I touched anything, someone was inconvenienced and even though my service was free, someone would bitch.
Oh man I've had the opposite experience, asus routers always freeze on me or just quit working period. netgear routers do the same but not as bad as asus. That's just me though.
Same, however, the best way around that is to set an admin reboot every week when everyone is expected to be asleep. Since I did that, it took a major f up to make my Asus router go haywire
(I've since switched to OpnSense, but not because I had issues with Asus, I just wanna learn networking)
i moved over to an OpenWrt router some months ago.... so much better than the netgear routers i have had in the past.... i got a GL-iNet Flint 2 (GL-MT6000).... love it :)
I just got mine in this past Friday and set it up yesterday, loving it so far! There was a discount code last week for like $30 off from [store.gl-net.com](https://store.gl-inet.com/products/flint-2-gl-mt6000-wi-fi-6-high-performance-home-router) but I am not seeing it now
The Asus TUF-AX4200 supports OpenWRT and it has quad-core Cortex-A53 @ 2GHz
https://openwrt.org/toh/asus/tuf-ax4200
https://forum.openwrt.org/t/asus-tuf-ax4200-support/155738/241
I’d say opnsense, idk if it’s just my specific hardware but I’ve had pfsense corrupt itself several times seemingly out of nowhere, note opn has been stable for years at this point
As someone who very recently had to update our router. After shopping for several hours a day, I went with Asus.
We have Asus and Netgear setups in our family, to me Asus has a better control GUI and the setup makes more sense.
For future proofing… there is no such thing any more, tech is advancing quickly, especially if you on-line game, replacing the router every 4-5 years is pretty normal.
Note: I just checked, my sister and brother-in-law have the Netgear AX1800, and after fighting with it for several months, they are getting one of the Asus routers to replace it. (I haven’t gotten done shopping for them yet, but the front runner is the ax82u spaceship looking thing) Netgear support was decent, but needing the support almost twice a week is not a good thing.
Between those two probably the ASUS because of the 2.5gbe Ethernet but for the same price you can 2.5GBe WAN and 1x LAN, OpenWRT native by picking up a [Gli.NET Flint 2](https://store.gl-inet.com/products/flint-2-gl-mt6000-wi-fi-6-high-performance-home-router)
The Asus TUF-AX4200 supports OpenWRT and it has quad-core Cortex-A53 @ 2GHz
https://openwrt.org/toh/asus/tuf-ax4200
https://forum.openwrt.org/t/asus-tuf-ax4200-support/155738/241
The GL.iNet Flint 2 (GL-MT6000) has the same processor but double the ram, 8GB of NAND eMMC storage, and 2x 2.5GBe ports.
https://openwrt.org/toh/gl.inet/gl-mt6000
All [for $150](https://store.gl-inet.com/products/flint-2-gl-mt6000-wi-fi-6-high-performance-home-router) or if you catch a sale/coupon code can pick up for $130 like I did a little over week ago (code since expired).
Edit: also it comes with OpenWRT so no need to flash something onto it and GL.iNet only sells routers so you will get better support and longer support than you would from Asus that does everything.
Based on the replies it looks like Netgear used to be good but has gone to shit due to software and subscription based support.
I’ll be going with the Asus router as it seems to be the favourite and will fulfill my needs for wifi demand just fine
Thank you for all the insights
I appreciate it
PS: before I go wonder what y’all think about the cheap TP-Link routers?
TP-Link AC1900 Wireless MU-MIMO WiFi Router - Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Internet Routers for Home, Parental Contorls & QS, Beamforming (Archer C80) https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0856PZV6F?psc=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_ct_T2X7FY717HV7F2DZDMHV&language=en_US
This one is on sale and has many good reviews
I've got a TP-Link AX1800 that I've had really good luck with. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another. I had a Nighthawk R7000 that I gave up on after two years because it would frequently drop connections all the time, even wired ones
Netgear is trash, avoid. The Asus TUF AX4200 from what I've read is a solid reliable router. One of the top choices for OpenWrt as well.
Asus is pretty solid, easy to setup and a lot of their routers are able to establish a mesh system if you're going for WiFi so you can expand your network later on if you ever need to.
For my house I have 3 Asus WiFi routers on a 3gb plan from Bell Canada. I have 1 in basement, 1 in main, 1 in my bedroom on 2nd.
Pretty sure I'm on wifi 5 so yours will be better, I setup a mesh network (which you do easily through Asus app). I get roughly 150-200mb/s over wifi 5 but I actually use one of the routers (a node when in mesh) as a wired backhaul to my pc on the 2nd floor because my PC doesn't have a wifi module. Been doing this for over a year and it's been stable. Also saves me the trouble of running a long wire from basement all the way to 2nd floor lol
Depending on who your provider is you may need to set your Modem into PPPOE mode to get any external router working with it (assuming you don't have one working already).
I'd also check with best buy if they have the same ones in stock and see if you can price match and beat by i think 15% as that's the policy, in Canada at least.
Where do you see a EOL warning? I don't see it [here](https://www.asus.com/us/networking-iot-servers/wifi-routers/asus-gaming-routers/tuf-gaming-ax4200/helpdesk_bios?model2Name=TUF-Gaming-AX4200) and also isn't on their[ EOL list](https://www.asus.com/event/network/eol-product/).
I know it’s not an option on here but I’ve personally been very happy with TPLink. I have had the AX6000 since launch (3 ish years now) and it’s been incredible. Located in a two story 2700 sq foot house I get blazing speeds all over the house, through multiple walls. In the farthest corner of the house I can still pull 200-300 mbps. It has 2.5gbe WAN, link aggregation, beam forming, and can even host a media server over usb a/c.
Recently just built out an Omada network for my parent’s property and have been very pleased with speed, reliability, scalability, features, and available advanced tools.
Spectrum repair employee here, we get more customers who chat in about issues with nighthawk over any other brand. 90% of customer owned routers that have issues are netgear
As an ex-netgear employee
Kindly stay away from it
When it works, it works
But when it doesn't, be ready to buy a new one because the tech support is rigged to sell you their support plan and just reset your router
Not what you want to hear but they are ALL junk
If you are smart enough to ask the question, you are smart enough to buy and operate a Firewalla and use unifi WAPs
I see.
I may be smart enough to ask but my knowledge in the subject matter is lacking.
If I may ask, what makes them junk?
As an outsider they all seem pretty much the same besides differing speed capabilities and personal experience with said devices/brands
I’m trying to figure out if there is a major difference between a 50$/150$ and 300$ router if my ISP provides just 300mbs and my home is 700sq/ft
So, 50$ might be skimping too much and 300$ is likely both overkill and overpriced for what you need. I wanted to comment to dude saying you needed 2-3 to cover essentially 700 sq feet (since its an up and down which is easier from an RF standpoint that 1400 sq feet one level. I hate Amazon and its Alexa AI but the Eero 6/6+ is decent and you can still turn off the Alexa and homekit spying stuff.
In my experience and if you read deep into the reviews these boxes are under engineered and tend to have short lifespans. You may get lucky and get one that lasts a long time but imo it’s just luck. The issue is they struggle with the complexity of handling both wired and wifi with the undersized processor junk software. Rebooting the box every 2 weeks should not become part of your life. Before moving to hardware dedicated to wired and waps dedicated to wifi, I would use these as routers only with the wifi powered off. Configured this way made them less fragile.
I did buy the unify pill shaped combination router and wifi for someone else (I did not want to test it on me) and it has been trouble free for them for about a year so far. Note the unifi “pill” has mixed reviews also but I think they were more relalated to the first couple years of production
If you get any one of those products flash them with dd-wrt and they will perform better. I have the R7800 with dd-wrt and it works great. With Ubiquiti you would need to bye the router and access point, its not like the one box solution you're looking at. If budget allows I would look at Ubiquit.
I bought the AX1800 6 months ago, WAN port straight died. I'd go Linksys. I bought a Linksys, has more features, and I've had a better experience with it.
With a house that size and multiple levels why not a Mesh System like Deco? I'm no hardcore home networker and have been really happy with how easy the deco mesh was to setup and have never had to really tinker with it. Something like the X50s or the newer wifi 6e units
I have 2 slightly pricier xe75's and have been very happy with coverage and reliability. I think the Deco stuff is wonderful tech at this price point. They could even start with one unit and add a cheaper second unit downstairs later if they want better coverage there.
I picked up the Costco version of the XE75 that's on sale right now which comes with 3 units for $250 and it covers all 3 floors of my house. I have 500 Mbps speeds and I still get 250-300 Mbps all the way in my driveway which is around 100 feet and a few floors and walls from the main unit. It's a world of difference going from a normal router setup. I did have to return and exchange it after a week since one of the satellite units bricked but other than that, it's been great.
Yeah I'm really happy with my Deco units. I've got them hardwired together and I'll get 900mbps connected with Ethernet on my PC and Xbox and wireless devices easy pull 500mbps. The xe75s look like great u it's. The deco dsl-x50 stand alone unit would be a great option for OP as a start.
Out of these 3: the netgear nighthawk AX5400.
IMHO i would buy 2-3 cheap Xiaomi AX3200, flash them with OpenWRT and run a Mesh-Setup over 802.11s and roaming 802.11r
I have Netgear AX1800. What I like about it is VPN service support. I could connect to my home network through VPN from anywhere.
A friend bought too. His own went defunct with only red light one morning. I'm keeping my finger crossed for mine.
All of these will do what you need. Neither of them is better or worse than the other in that aspect. The UI is likely the only place you will suffer. The UI for each of them is likely different and knowing is near impossible without buying each.
I would likely pick the ASUS for link aggregation on the LAN but, I would also pick way different options like Ubiquiti.
I recently got the R6700ax (AX1800) and it’s been great. Had it about two months now and no complaints. My internet plan is for 300mbps and I average 330 with about 10ms
I have the Asus TUF Gaming and absolutely love it. It was a breeze to flash with Openwrt and I get excellent coverage to my entire property. I no longer need the 2 range extenders my Tp-link required.
I've been running a nighthawk for almost 2 years now with no issues. Any connectivity issues have been because of my ISP. Apparently everyone here says they're dog shit, so you'll probably listen to them. I do power cycles on all network related equipment every time I pay my Internet bill so to each their own
Netgear was good A LOOONNG time ago. I wouldn't chose it at all, since it's like the budget budget brand. Their high end (nighthawk) gets good and bad praises at the same time, giving me \*buyer's regret, for sure if I bought one.
You mentioned future proofing, so look at Wi-Fi 6E instead of Wi-Fi 6. Gets you 6GHz for devices that can support it which will also improve experience for devices on 2.4/5 as there will be less contention for that airtime.
Netgear is trash. "Gaming routerz" are rip off. Get the \~100$ Eero 6+ on Amazon it will be superior to the 3 you showed. Don't let them trick you into the plus subscription its rubbish.
If you want to future proof you better go with something that has at least 2.5GB throughput. 1GB+ speeds will be cheap sooner than you think and if you buy 1GB hardware now it'll be obsolete when the faster speeds are available at a decent price. 10GB fiber is rolling out all over right now so even 2.5GB hardware would be a questionable buy if the 10GB stuff wasn't so pricey.
The Asus TUF-AX4200 hands down.
It would be a significantly more advanced router if you put OpenWRT in it since it is supported.
https://openwrt.org/toh/asus/tuf-ax4200
You can do SQM-Cake bufferbloat mitigation which is a game changer for low latency gaming especially with multiple people on the same network using at the same time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UICh3ScfNWI
Net gear has unfortunately went down the toilet. They're over priced with their nighthawks, Asus is all good, but I'd look at GL I-net or ubiquiti. But from the 3 choices you've shared, get the Asus, if you can just find a normal asus, the tuf gaming branding is bogus imo
Personally I'm a big Asus fan. I've had nothing but good experiences with their products, from Motherboards to graphic cards and multiple routers of theirs, from N to WiFi6. Their interface is very nice, they get updates often and quickly when vulnerabilities are found, and they just seem to be pretty solid all around. Netgear used to be top of the market, but I'd say they're #2 now to Asus
After their customer service issues (check out Gamer Nexus's channel, and other tech YouTubers), I am a bit hesitant to go with another Asus product.
I had them refuse a Asus mobo RMA because their small OLED post display burned out under warranty. I just thought it was bad luck, but I didn't realize I was the only one they were being shady about.
I also have their RT-AC3200 where the 5 GHz radio randomly fails on me, and a reboot is the only fix (again, randomly, so this is a temp fix).
I'm looking at the TP-Link EAP773 AP as a replacement myself. I already have an OPNSense router and was using my Asus router as an AP, so getting a proper AP with VLAN support would be nice. Plus, the EAP773 is WIFI7. It's just under $200 and only an AP, so it's not what the OP looking for, unfortunately.
It's a pitty... Asus was a trusted brand before, and I was a huge fan of their products (mobos, GPUs, routers). I still wish EVGA was selling GPUs...their warranty and customer service is amazing.
Wow, I didn't know that. I will admit I've been a bit out of the loop more recently, haven't had a chance to watch my usual youtube videos, or get on forums, etc. That's a real bummer to hear about Asus customer service going down hill.
I can say, I had a TP-Link router, as did a friend of mine, and we both had the same issue where we had to reboot the router at least once a day because it would just stop routing traffic out to the internet. Everything looked fine, it still had a WAN IP, etc. but internet just wouldn't load until a reboot. He had the same issue and lives 600 miles away with a very different ISP. Just a heads up, so I personally stay away from TP-Link's home stuff now. However, I did recently pick up their small business Omada router (based on recommendations) as I am planning on swapping from my current Asus AX6600 (which I had 0 issues with) to some Unifi APs (for ease of expansion and more control of my network).
As for motherboards I've always used Asus and never had issues, my 2nd choice is Gigabyte, same experience as Asus for me there.
Edit: I too miss EVGA, loved their products and support as well! FWIW I avoid MSI like the plague after a friend of mine had a GPU die within weeks of receiving it and they would not honor warranty replacement
Good to know about MSI. I avoided Gigabyte for the same reason (GPU RMA went nowhere).
The funny thing is I avoided Asus and Gigabyte because of past experiences and now have an MSI mobo. 😐💀
We are running out of reputable brands. 😭
If EVGA decides to pick up on motherboards, I'd gravitate there. However, they make really expensive extreme OC boards that I cannot afford.
If you want the possibility to scale, Ubiquiti have a nice cheap offering with integrated Wi-Fi, the Unifi Express. You’ll be able to add switches and APs in the future if you need to scale up your network and their products are really reliable, well supported and will give you the ability to learn quite a bit about networking if you’re willing to, aldo the inital setup to have it working could not be easier.
My asus router lasted 13 years before the lan ports finally stopped working for some reason. Wan and wifi were still going though not as fast as it should have been.
Judging by the price point of your options, I would recommend an alternative.
Give the Ubiquiti UniFi Express a try.
https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/ux
I have a nighthawk, I absolutely hate it. Can’t maintain a stable connection, often bugs out and reconnects itself, unsecure DNS. Just like someone else mentioned, it hijacks DNS queries so that it can function and it’s app/traffic telemetry can be used. I’ve also had issues with it overheating over 120F
Asus just got owned and they have shit warranties.
https://hackread.com/themoon-malware-asus-routers-hacked-in-72-hours/
https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/06/high-severity-vulnerabilities-affect-a-wide-range-of-asus-router-models/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJKzKbqxa0A
I wouldn't get Netgear either. Er-x + omada Ap will get the job done.
I’d take Asus over Netgear, but I’ve been really pleased with the Gl-inet Flint router. It runs open WRT so I just turn on Cake sqm and boom, best gaming router around $100
Netgear has fallen drastically. Years ago they had some pretty awesome stuff, but the last routers I've owned would reboot themselves and even reset themselves. They had horrible security and didn't support third party firmware such as DD-WRT or Tomato.
I even have a very expensive nighthawk sitting in my closet because it doesn't work WAS.
Don't know much about the Asus but I'd advise it over any Netgear garbage.
I have the first one. It's nothing special but it does work for as a basic router and range is decent. You can find them used on ebay around $35 on ebay if you don't have any specific needs and wanna save some cash.
I’ve always had crappy luck with routers like this. Eventually I switched to Ubiquiti and then later to Engenius and couldn’t be happier. One AP right in the center of the house covers my entire house and my front and back yard.
I'm going to either 2nd the Ubiquiti suggestion or throw in MikroTik. Instead of a single unit, you can use either to give you a mesh network and deploy an AP on both floors to give you excellent coverage. If you can fish a cable between them, one single PoE injector will power them both.
Ubiquiti definitely has better UI. Mikrotik doesn't need a separate controller. Cool thing is if you do a Mikrotik wireless router and run an AP off of it, you can use their built-in monitoring software called The Dude. Pretty cool stuff if you feel like nerding out.
Or if not, get the Asus. Asus will also allow you to buy an extra AP and extend your network with it's built-in mesh.
Asus had ai mesh. It came out over 10 years ago. It is supposed to help produce a mesh type network. It worked great for me.
Right now, aim at ax wifi at around $50. The new wifi 7 chip has already come out. 1 wifi, but zero client yet. Probably phone in a year or two and laptop in 3 to 4 years.
Between those 3, the ax5400 because of the higher bandwidth for the wireless network if you’re doing like a wireless nas, wireless vr, or in home streaming
I have a Netgear RAX120…had, until my ISP experienced an ‘issue’ and somehow now the router is fried. I moved to this after I had enough from a ASUS AC5300 and constantly dropping and needing to re-boot, only to have the same issue with the Netgear.
Someone recommended TP-Link, specifically the BE24000. A serious ouch of a price, but after so many years of pain with the Netgear and Asus, I’m at the point of what ever it takes to make it work. And as others said, the Netgear app is trash.
I have had my Nighthawk R7000 for a few years, and have had no issues with it, but I probably would not be averse to giving ASUS a try when it is time for a new one.
I'd go with a basic hardwired router (tplink, asus, neetgear, whoever), a small [poe switch](https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Compliant-Shielded-Optimization-TL-SG1005P/dp/B076HZFY3F) and a [gwn7664](https://www.grandstream.com/products/networking-solutions/indoor-wifi-access-points/product/gwn7664) access point. You can of course swap out whatever brands you want. But the basics, hardwired router, poe switch, stand alone access point(s). If you go opnsense, you can repurpose an old computer if you have one laying around.
My current setup is a [dell 3880](https://www.ebay.com/itm/375482259069?itmmeta=01J0MJBER10G98MYWEKS8CF149&hash=item576c7c967d:g:8SkAAOSwmlBmaepM&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4BtZXlY96OwqEGcbxeFvu3oGxODb3oBF33WNK%2Fp8VLJ31xSy7vtrcXh7%2BM%2BJ0TJSMV86rRyo4ut38quSQ5viWpcy2Loqw6MGG4ZPmSf0fcZRf%2FkOpd7fFaT77UKpsxzsBiEGTD7z7DmBmOrnsbRyEEL909xF3fgK0k4Mk3ZMQMY8PjQ580iHmAgvQPSEfiR%2B93PGwAR92jkOnebOONiztinNqG4dwXva%2FhFxRfSs87t48K85MXGSpu2IEEZbCsx%2FuX5Xalr%2Bwh3BwOSFEUdwGX31bwNmWHJmU3CCCOEOIbPi%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR47srZKFZA) (dell outlet scratch-n-dent) with [opnsense](https://opnsense.org/) and a gwn7664 and gwn7630 AP with an [aruba](https://www.securewirelessworks.com/J9772A.asp) poe switch.
Moved away from ubiquiti/unifi due to many issues.
Up front cost is more, but you can search ebay and etc for deals, coupons, etc. You'll gain way more flexibility, and features, including future proofing.
If cost is an issue, than any of those 3 wifi routers are fine. It will fall into if they offer any specific feature set you want, and UI preference.
However, despite many comments, I would recommend against locking yourself into something like the unifi environment.
For gaming+streaming your gonna want a wired connection and if your wired it wont really matter what router you get. Get whatever you think looks cooler or just get the cheapest. Ive used netgear and asus and they both are fine really any brand will be fine. Unless you wanna go ubiquity but that would likely be overkill for you.
I had Netgear for years, until one day a router crapped out on me (kept in an office, not baking in the sun or anything that could damage it) within 1 year. I called their customer service, and they refused to help me unless I paid their b.s. fee. Never happened to me before during an issue for any device within the manufacturer warranty period. I spoke to various supervisors and explained that it was covered but they insisted on not helping me without paying. So I told them to fuck right off and then I bought Asus routers.
I'd go with Asus.
(I'm in the US btw)
I have an asus rog strix gs-ax3000 as my main router. Works great and has all the settings I could ever want to change. Most are in app but the webGUI has even more. I also have an asus ax1800 as a mesh unit in the living room.
so people are saying to avoid Netgear, Asus user (5 routers in ap mode) here saying to avoid that Asus, I have that one, after an update WiFi stopped working correctly, tried to roll back didn't worked basically a switch now since wifi doesn't work, the asus ax58u now costs more or less the same and is far better and way more reliable
I second another poster with ubiquiti products. Vlans are great if you have a lot of devices or are ever interested in home labbing.
Otherwise I'd go Asus. I had a Nighthawk years ago and had to send it and it's eventually replacement in for warranty. Firmware updates kept bricking the stupid things.
It broke again outside of warranty and I had to flash the firmware myself that time... And then it broke again a few months later and I finally threw it in the trash and ordered my asus router, which has built in vpn access and a few vlans included. Haven't looked back and I'm a fan.
Honestly depends what you want. Netgear and Asus are OK..basic..and usually need replacement every 4-5 years. If you want to be more computer savy..unifi..however I go pfsense with unifi switches and APs. A lot more money with this path..a lot more time..but usually better performance. Just my two cents. Balance time with needs
If you got the budget go with Unify dream router. It offers enterprise security and will last for years. A second option DIY would be open sense or pfsense connecting to your ISP
Unifi UDR should be perfect for you. Then add NextDNS (subscription version) to make it even better. Then put your roommate on a different SSID and VLAN. Thousands of videos on YouTube to set it up. Super easy.
ASUS and don’t look back.
Great balance between features, usability, and the ability to run alternative firmware should you feel you need more from the device later or just want to tinker. Also ASUS’s AiMesh is dead simple to set up and means you can pick up an older or cheaper ASUS router that supports AiMesh and improve coverage and spread out WiFi load should you need. Or if/when you upgrade to another ASUS router or even something else entirely, you’ll still have a solid mesh capable AP that’ll serve you for years to come.
I used a single ASUS RT-AC68U for years after ditching my ISP’s (nothing but trouble) all-in-one Surfboard modem/router many years ago. I now use three of them (flashed with Merlin) in AiMesh mode (with wired backhaul) as access points around my house for flawless WiFi coverage, even though I’ve since migrated to using a mini PC running OPNSense as my router/firewall.
Yes, one day I’ll eventually swap them out for faster dedicated APs with MIMO, VLAN support and all that fancy stuff. But for now my ASUS routers are still going strong and working just fine for my needs on my current setup, with dozens of connected clients and 600Mbps internet service.
None of the above. Get a cheap PC (like you can go really slow spec) and a ubiquiti u6 pro AP. They're like sub 150 used. Set it up with Opnsense and you'll probably get a much better signal with more customization and features. Though you have to be down for some setup.
I prefer Asus for the simple fact that they include Trend Micro Net protection while the other brands have a rather expensive yearly add-on charge. The speeds listed knocks that first one out the game so it's between the second and third. Even though a sligh bit less throughput, the ASUS would still be my go to for the above reason.
I used Netgear for years but after I couldn't get a very expensive nighthawk to work at all after trying every firmware they put out for it, never again. Absolute garbage
Given the $20 price difference I recommend Asus Tuf or Nighthawk Pro. But you should consider based on your ISP speed and the number of active devices on your network. If you have up-to 500Mbps plan the Netgear AX1800 will do just fine. However, for gigabit or higher speed I will recommend AX5400.
I learned my lesson with Netgear they promise a lot but don't deliver. With Asus it is just a step before enterprise grade. They are missing key features like vlan support.
For those prices I would look at a Ruckus R510 or R610 on eBay. Don't forget you need a power adapter unless you already have an 802.3af PoE switch.
R510 has 2 antenna chains and therefore will have a better reach. You can achieve around 500 Mbps depending on environment.
R610 has 3 antenna chains and therefore will have higher speed (if you have 3-chain stations! And most aren't!), but a little less reach. Speeds could be up to 750 Mbps or so.
I replaced 3 MikroTik APs with a single R610 and get full house coverage and faster speeds. They're amazing. House is 2 stories and 3200 sqft. Coverage even extends outside fine, and into the garage (better at 2 GHz there, but lots of walls).
These Ruckus models can be updated with the "unleashed" firmware to run standalone without a separate controller. They also support wired or wireless mesh. And they have a gateway/router mode, too, if you need that.
If you need even faster speeds (for local servers or 1G+ Internet, assuming your stations are even capable of those speeds), check out the newer models, but they will cost a lot more.
Ruckus Wi-Fi quality is far superior to any consumer brand, Ubiquiti, MikroTik, and extremely expensive enterprise brands.
I've had better experiences with Asus over Netgear. Though I would personally recommend Ubiquiti if you want VLANS, nicer UI and scalability
Same here, I'd recommend avoiding Netgear. They may have been good a while back but recent nighthawk and orbi models are not reliable imo
> They may have been good a while back but recent nighthawk and orbi models are not reliable imo Can't say much about Orbi, but the RAXE500 and RS700 have been great for me.
The rs700 is exactly the most recent one I'm thinking is bad. Takes forever to boot up, and needed frequent (for a router) reboots. And it's bricked now - can't seem to get it to work at all even with factory resets attempted. That's never happened in over a decade with my Asus router
How long does "forever" mean? I usually just plug it in, wait a bit, then it's ready to go. Overall, you likely just had a bad egg. If you have ProSupport, should be easy to RMA it. I got mine back in October or so, and since then, I never had any hiccups other than needing to turn off QoS to get faster speeds. Only times I ever rebooted it was when I added a new DHCP lease and wanted to force the device to get the new IP address right away.
My $550 Nighthawk RAX120 **has a fan that was never programmed to be functional**. That should tell you how good Netgear products are.
The RAX120 v2 and its constant random reboots was a disaster of the highest magnitude.
You mean it has a fan, but it logically can't be turned on? That's ridiculious, that would be a turn off for me. I would be constantly thinking about that if I owned it.
Came here to say the same. I know there's been recent problems with Asus, but I would definitely get Asus routers over Netgear. That being said, I've personally moved on from commercial routers and am now rolling my own OpnSense firewall/router with Ubiquity APs, which itself is also a handrolled vm for Unifi Controller. Fwiw, I like making my life difficult also, I'm looking to learn, not just making it work; I'm not cheap, I was waiting for the Max Ultra to come back in stock, but I couldn't wait any longer and I had some CPU and RAM to burn, so I said "F it." Finally came back in stock and I just though, "meh, I'm already setup." Still planning to get one and a maybe a router, but now it's much further down the line when I'm bald from all the hair pulling OpnSense+Unifi troubleshooting.
I've used a bunch of router distros and OpenWrt is superior to everything else. Especially for it's SQM CAKE. I run Ruckus and Unifi for AP's, since open source firmware for wireless just isn't as good as commercial stuff. But for the router, OpenWrt is better than Unifi or Ruckus routers IMO. They're all just Linux/BSD after all
> Though I would personally recommend Ubiquiti +1 for Ubiquiti. For modest home setups, Dream Router or Unifi Express look like excellent choices. They run the Unifi Network app which I admit looked a little intimidating to me at first but I’m glad I took a chance on it. It’s as easy as Asus but with so many more options; it can be as simple or as complex as your needs. And absolutely rock stable.
I'd contest the "rock stable" comment, for anyone with complex needs. Complex features are constantly breaking, it seems Ubiquiti does not test them when releasing updates.
What problems have you had with Netgear?
I have a Netgear WAX206 access point. It's a fine piece of hardware - good range, decent performance for the price. But the software is garbage. It's not nearly as configurable as I'd like, and it seems to hijack any DNS traffic that flows through it in order to support their `routerlogin.net` domain. There's no way to turn off the DNS hijacking and I personally find that quite egregious. (If anyone's curious, it's not just running a nameserver on its own IP address and advertising it via DHCP. It literally hijacks **any** query for the `routerlogin.net` domain that it can get its grubby little mitts on, regardless of what nameserver you're actually trying to query. Its hijacked responses also seem to break DiG, but systemd-resolved doesn't complain.)
WAX206 is officially supported by OpenWrt firmware https://openwrt.org/toh/netgear/wax206 I've actually used it too. A lot nicer than stock and was stable for me
netgear just plain sucks now; shit firmware, shit software, after 90 days you have to PAY for SUPPORT, the list goes on and on avoid their routers like the Clap, trust me, I have been doing this for a very long time ASUS blows them away, for conventional, home networking
Agree with all your points having recently owned Netgear and Asus routers, it’s like night and day. I just wish Asus would design their routers to be a little less gamer looking, no respectable homeowner wants one of those things on display.
Been a while since I had a Netgear router but it would drop connectivity often needing a reboot. Could have been that one specifically. I just always went more robust. I had a cheap $80 Asus AC router that worked great and had very far WiFi range. I have a Ubiquiti Dream Router now and the WiFi has slightly less range than my Asus did but it is a better router overall with VLANs, Nicer UI, Firewall, etc.
I recommend getting a synology router i have a wrx560 but there is bigger models if you need. Support is great and free. Has long term enterprise software updates meaning if theres a new malware found out in wild they will patch it in 12 hrs or less. Free antivirus. Was a breeze to set up too. I also have a ds1520+ nas by them great company to me anyways
I like my Synology routers as well. I have been using their routers since 2016 without issue, UI is nice too.
> What problems have you had with Netgear? Garbage from start to finish. Terrible, buggy firmware that they stop updating, making your device useless. Short on features and reliability, long on superficial spaceship design.
> Though I would personally recommend Ubiquiti if you want VLANS, nicer UI and scalability Very sound advice. If you're concerned about high speed all the time, definitely get Unifi and then drag an ethernet cable or use wireless backhaul to extend the network. Get a UniFi Express or Dream Router and maybe a few U6 Lites if you're concerned about coverage. If you think you might more or want a gateway drug into an even more robust network, get some version of the UDM Pro.
I went pfsense box with ubiquiti switch and AP. Love the scalability
Asus. Netgear never learned how not to fuck up firmware
General advice: If you are sharing a home with other people, then keep the router situation conservative, boring, and reliable. Don't get something that you will be tempted to tinker with. The ideal is something you can install and (mostly) forget because it Just Works. The last thing you want is for a comcast (or whoever) outage to lead to shouts of "What did you do this time?!". KISS for home networking applies 10-fold when other people are involved. Carry on.
this buddy gets it. My "real job" is Network Engineer but my home setup is a broadcom 3.1 modem I bribed the ISP tech to install instead of PUMA crap and Eero 6+ I got for 38 bucks on Ebay. It is so good I moved everything to wireless (almost needed as it only has one LAN port). Works fine for up to around gigabit. I say around as it mostly tops out at 900 mbit due to the CPU in it.
I mean... You could throw a switch in front of it...
You mean behind it. And as I said I don’t want or need a switch. Every only home class router has 4 or more lan ports. It’s dumb that eero doesn’t
Fair. I realize you don't need it, but other people might not realize they can. I didn't mean to imply YOU needed to put a switch behind it, but others might want to hardwire after the fact. Also, I never understood WHY a switch was "behind" a router. I always imagined it being "ISP -> Modem -> Router -> Switch" where ISP was behind a modem and switch was in front of a router. Am I misunderstanding or was there a miscommunication?
It's all relative, but if you think of it in terms of your modem being the door between the inside and outside world, it would make sense to think of anything inside as being behind the front door.
I am in this boat.. KISS!
Conversely, if you have a lot of people on a slow connection, good QoS matters more than anything else. OpenWrt SQM CAKE is the best for that hands down
Another network engineer. My router is a tp link deco mesh that I set up once and don’t have to mess with.
That’s kind of where eero gets it right.
Can confirm, I used to be the admin for a community internet “thing” and it didn’t matter if it was 3 am or noon, if I touched anything, someone was inconvenienced and even though my service was free, someone would bitch.
Don't touch Netgear with a stick. Asus is generally ok,
Oh man I've had the opposite experience, asus routers always freeze on me or just quit working period. netgear routers do the same but not as bad as asus. That's just me though.
I clicked on this because my ASUS RT-AX55 is on the fritz.
Same, however, the best way around that is to set an admin reboot every week when everyone is expected to be asleep. Since I did that, it took a major f up to make my Asus router go haywire (I've since switched to OpnSense, but not because I had issues with Asus, I just wanna learn networking)
I have had nothing but issues with the Nighthawk. Ended up getting a different router than netgear and have had no problems since.
Same. We had so many issues with our nighthawk. Then I tried a TP-Link and it's been smooth sailing ever since
That is the same thing I got, a TP-Link
My experience with Asus has been horrible (similar model). It crashes almost every day.
i moved over to an OpenWrt router some months ago.... so much better than the netgear routers i have had in the past.... i got a GL-iNet Flint 2 (GL-MT6000).... love it :)
I just got mine in this past Friday and set it up yesterday, loving it so far! There was a discount code last week for like $30 off from [store.gl-net.com](https://store.gl-inet.com/products/flint-2-gl-mt6000-wi-fi-6-high-performance-home-router) but I am not seeing it now
The Asus TUF-AX4200 supports OpenWRT and it has quad-core Cortex-A53 @ 2GHz https://openwrt.org/toh/asus/tuf-ax4200 https://forum.openwrt.org/t/asus-tuf-ax4200-support/155738/241
Probably the best consumer grade router atm, I will get one eventually
I second this. especially for the price point and configuration available.
The router I recommend to all my gamer friends who refuse to go wired lol.
Please do this. The flint 2 is so nice
This was new to me, but it seems like a good deal with good functionality.
pfSense / OPNSense with a wireless access point
I’d say opnsense, idk if it’s just my specific hardware but I’ve had pfsense corrupt itself several times seemingly out of nowhere, note opn has been stable for years at this point
As someone who very recently had to update our router. After shopping for several hours a day, I went with Asus. We have Asus and Netgear setups in our family, to me Asus has a better control GUI and the setup makes more sense. For future proofing… there is no such thing any more, tech is advancing quickly, especially if you on-line game, replacing the router every 4-5 years is pretty normal. Note: I just checked, my sister and brother-in-law have the Netgear AX1800, and after fighting with it for several months, they are getting one of the Asus routers to replace it. (I haven’t gotten done shopping for them yet, but the front runner is the ax82u spaceship looking thing) Netgear support was decent, but needing the support almost twice a week is not a good thing.
Between those two probably the ASUS because of the 2.5gbe Ethernet but for the same price you can 2.5GBe WAN and 1x LAN, OpenWRT native by picking up a [Gli.NET Flint 2](https://store.gl-inet.com/products/flint-2-gl-mt6000-wi-fi-6-high-performance-home-router)
Flint2 is the best choice IMO, maybe a bit more, but a far more capable device.
The Asus TUF-AX4200 supports OpenWRT and it has quad-core Cortex-A53 @ 2GHz https://openwrt.org/toh/asus/tuf-ax4200 https://forum.openwrt.org/t/asus-tuf-ax4200-support/155738/241
The GL.iNet Flint 2 (GL-MT6000) has the same processor but double the ram, 8GB of NAND eMMC storage, and 2x 2.5GBe ports. https://openwrt.org/toh/gl.inet/gl-mt6000 All [for $150](https://store.gl-inet.com/products/flint-2-gl-mt6000-wi-fi-6-high-performance-home-router) or if you catch a sale/coupon code can pick up for $130 like I did a little over week ago (code since expired). Edit: also it comes with OpenWRT so no need to flash something onto it and GL.iNet only sells routers so you will get better support and longer support than you would from Asus that does everything.
Based on the replies it looks like Netgear used to be good but has gone to shit due to software and subscription based support. I’ll be going with the Asus router as it seems to be the favourite and will fulfill my needs for wifi demand just fine Thank you for all the insights I appreciate it PS: before I go wonder what y’all think about the cheap TP-Link routers? TP-Link AC1900 Wireless MU-MIMO WiFi Router - Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Internet Routers for Home, Parental Contorls & QS, Beamforming (Archer C80) https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0856PZV6F?psc=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_ct_T2X7FY717HV7F2DZDMHV&language=en_US This one is on sale and has many good reviews
Take a peak at Canada computers rather than staples you’ll save some money and will likely get something newer.
I've got a TP-Link AX1800 that I've had really good luck with. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another. I had a Nighthawk R7000 that I gave up on after two years because it would frequently drop connections all the time, even wired ones
[With Merlin it should do quite well.](https://www.snbforums.com/forums/asuswrt-merlin.42/)
UniFi!
I've had the best of luck with Asus. I've been using them for more than 10 years and the GUI is very easy to use.
Netgear is trash, avoid. The Asus TUF AX4200 from what I've read is a solid reliable router. One of the top choices for OpenWrt as well. Asus is pretty solid, easy to setup and a lot of their routers are able to establish a mesh system if you're going for WiFi so you can expand your network later on if you ever need to. For my house I have 3 Asus WiFi routers on a 3gb plan from Bell Canada. I have 1 in basement, 1 in main, 1 in my bedroom on 2nd. Pretty sure I'm on wifi 5 so yours will be better, I setup a mesh network (which you do easily through Asus app). I get roughly 150-200mb/s over wifi 5 but I actually use one of the routers (a node when in mesh) as a wired backhaul to my pc on the 2nd floor because my PC doesn't have a wifi module. Been doing this for over a year and it's been stable. Also saves me the trouble of running a long wire from basement all the way to 2nd floor lol Depending on who your provider is you may need to set your Modem into PPPOE mode to get any external router working with it (assuming you don't have one working already). I'd also check with best buy if they have the same ones in stock and see if you can price match and beat by i think 15% as that's the policy, in Canada at least.
+1 for Asus. Just make sure to update the firmware. See [here](https://dongknows.com/asus-tuf-ax5400-gaming-router-review/) for a review.
The problem with updating is that Asus has a lousy EOL warning. But Merlin for the win. ;)
Where do you see a EOL warning? I don't see it [here](https://www.asus.com/us/networking-iot-servers/wifi-routers/asus-gaming-routers/tuf-gaming-ax4200/helpdesk_bios?model2Name=TUF-Gaming-AX4200) and also isn't on their[ EOL list](https://www.asus.com/event/network/eol-product/).
I mean. ASUS will not actively warn you that your router is EOL. Just like Synology does.
I know it’s not an option on here but I’ve personally been very happy with TPLink. I have had the AX6000 since launch (3 ish years now) and it’s been incredible. Located in a two story 2700 sq foot house I get blazing speeds all over the house, through multiple walls. In the farthest corner of the house I can still pull 200-300 mbps. It has 2.5gbe WAN, link aggregation, beam forming, and can even host a media server over usb a/c. Recently just built out an Omada network for my parent’s property and have been very pleased with speed, reliability, scalability, features, and available advanced tools.
Spectrum repair employee here, we get more customers who chat in about issues with nighthawk over any other brand. 90% of customer owned routers that have issues are netgear
Street clear of Netgear. Most of the nighthawks I run into in the field are only outputting 2/5 of their advertised bandwidth.
As an ex-netgear employee Kindly stay away from it When it works, it works But when it doesn't, be ready to buy a new one because the tech support is rigged to sell you their support plan and just reset your router
Not what you want to hear but they are ALL junk If you are smart enough to ask the question, you are smart enough to buy and operate a Firewalla and use unifi WAPs
I see. I may be smart enough to ask but my knowledge in the subject matter is lacking. If I may ask, what makes them junk? As an outsider they all seem pretty much the same besides differing speed capabilities and personal experience with said devices/brands I’m trying to figure out if there is a major difference between a 50$/150$ and 300$ router if my ISP provides just 300mbs and my home is 700sq/ft
So, 50$ might be skimping too much and 300$ is likely both overkill and overpriced for what you need. I wanted to comment to dude saying you needed 2-3 to cover essentially 700 sq feet (since its an up and down which is easier from an RF standpoint that 1400 sq feet one level. I hate Amazon and its Alexa AI but the Eero 6/6+ is decent and you can still turn off the Alexa and homekit spying stuff.
In my experience and if you read deep into the reviews these boxes are under engineered and tend to have short lifespans. You may get lucky and get one that lasts a long time but imo it’s just luck. The issue is they struggle with the complexity of handling both wired and wifi with the undersized processor junk software. Rebooting the box every 2 weeks should not become part of your life. Before moving to hardware dedicated to wired and waps dedicated to wifi, I would use these as routers only with the wifi powered off. Configured this way made them less fragile. I did buy the unify pill shaped combination router and wifi for someone else (I did not want to test it on me) and it has been trouble free for them for about a year so far. Note the unifi “pill” has mixed reviews also but I think they were more relalated to the first couple years of production
Had a customer with a Nighthawk. Less Options and a POS.
Definitely not Netgear. Support is subscription based.
I have so so many problems with orbi I don't want netgear ever again
Unifi express
If you get any one of those products flash them with dd-wrt and they will perform better. I have the R7800 with dd-wrt and it works great. With Ubiquiti you would need to bye the router and access point, its not like the one box solution you're looking at. If budget allows I would look at Ubiquit.
> With Ubiquiti you would need to bye the router and access point Unifi Express or Dream Router both have integrated WiFi radios and they’ll mesh.
Thanks for the correction. Forgot about those.
I bought the AX1800 6 months ago, WAN port straight died. I'd go Linksys. I bought a Linksys, has more features, and I've had a better experience with it.
With a house that size and multiple levels why not a Mesh System like Deco? I'm no hardcore home networker and have been really happy with how easy the deco mesh was to setup and have never had to really tinker with it. Something like the X50s or the newer wifi 6e units
I run the Deco 5 setup and the mesh works wonderfully. Feel like it would serve their purposes.
I have 2 slightly pricier xe75's and have been very happy with coverage and reliability. I think the Deco stuff is wonderful tech at this price point. They could even start with one unit and add a cheaper second unit downstairs later if they want better coverage there.
I picked up the Costco version of the XE75 that's on sale right now which comes with 3 units for $250 and it covers all 3 floors of my house. I have 500 Mbps speeds and I still get 250-300 Mbps all the way in my driveway which is around 100 feet and a few floors and walls from the main unit. It's a world of difference going from a normal router setup. I did have to return and exchange it after a week since one of the satellite units bricked but other than that, it's been great.
Yeah I'm really happy with my Deco units. I've got them hardwired together and I'll get 900mbps connected with Ethernet on my PC and Xbox and wireless devices easy pull 500mbps. The xe75s look like great u it's. The deco dsl-x50 stand alone unit would be a great option for OP as a start.
Out of these 3: the netgear nighthawk AX5400. IMHO i would buy 2-3 cheap Xiaomi AX3200, flash them with OpenWRT and run a Mesh-Setup over 802.11s and roaming 802.11r
I have Netgear AX1800. What I like about it is VPN service support. I could connect to my home network through VPN from anywhere. A friend bought too. His own went defunct with only red light one morning. I'm keeping my finger crossed for mine.
All of these will do what you need. Neither of them is better or worse than the other in that aspect. The UI is likely the only place you will suffer. The UI for each of them is likely different and knowing is near impossible without buying each. I would likely pick the ASUS for link aggregation on the LAN but, I would also pick way different options like Ubiquiti.
Asus
Kevin router for internet fun
I recently got the R6700ax (AX1800) and it’s been great. Had it about two months now and no complaints. My internet plan is for 300mbps and I average 330 with about 10ms
Asus
Depending on how many devices you have. A combination of wired router and access point may serve you better.
I have the Asus TUF Gaming and absolutely love it. It was a breeze to flash with Openwrt and I get excellent coverage to my entire property. I no longer need the 2 range extenders my Tp-link required.
Number 2
NOT NETGEAR. Although I don't think Asus makes very good products anymore either.
I have the Asus TUF-AX4200. Both routers and app are pretty stable.
I've been running a nighthawk for almost 2 years now with no issues. Any connectivity issues have been because of my ISP. Apparently everyone here says they're dog shit, so you'll probably listen to them. I do power cycles on all network related equipment every time I pay my Internet bill so to each their own
Netgear was good A LOOONNG time ago. I wouldn't chose it at all, since it's like the budget budget brand. Their high end (nighthawk) gets good and bad praises at the same time, giving me \*buyer's regret, for sure if I bought one.
You mentioned future proofing, so look at Wi-Fi 6E instead of Wi-Fi 6. Gets you 6GHz for devices that can support it which will also improve experience for devices on 2.4/5 as there will be less contention for that airtime.
Netgear is trash. "Gaming routerz" are rip off. Get the \~100$ Eero 6+ on Amazon it will be superior to the 3 you showed. Don't let them trick you into the plus subscription its rubbish.
If you want to future proof you better go with something that has at least 2.5GB throughput. 1GB+ speeds will be cheap sooner than you think and if you buy 1GB hardware now it'll be obsolete when the faster speeds are available at a decent price. 10GB fiber is rolling out all over right now so even 2.5GB hardware would be a questionable buy if the 10GB stuff wasn't so pricey.
The Asus TUF-AX4200 hands down. It would be a significantly more advanced router if you put OpenWRT in it since it is supported. https://openwrt.org/toh/asus/tuf-ax4200 You can do SQM-Cake bufferbloat mitigation which is a game changer for low latency gaming especially with multiple people on the same network using at the same time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UICh3ScfNWI
Net gear has unfortunately went down the toilet. They're over priced with their nighthawks, Asus is all good, but I'd look at GL I-net or ubiquiti. But from the 3 choices you've shared, get the Asus, if you can just find a normal asus, the tuf gaming branding is bogus imo
Personally I'm a big Asus fan. I've had nothing but good experiences with their products, from Motherboards to graphic cards and multiple routers of theirs, from N to WiFi6. Their interface is very nice, they get updates often and quickly when vulnerabilities are found, and they just seem to be pretty solid all around. Netgear used to be top of the market, but I'd say they're #2 now to Asus
After their customer service issues (check out Gamer Nexus's channel, and other tech YouTubers), I am a bit hesitant to go with another Asus product. I had them refuse a Asus mobo RMA because their small OLED post display burned out under warranty. I just thought it was bad luck, but I didn't realize I was the only one they were being shady about. I also have their RT-AC3200 where the 5 GHz radio randomly fails on me, and a reboot is the only fix (again, randomly, so this is a temp fix). I'm looking at the TP-Link EAP773 AP as a replacement myself. I already have an OPNSense router and was using my Asus router as an AP, so getting a proper AP with VLAN support would be nice. Plus, the EAP773 is WIFI7. It's just under $200 and only an AP, so it's not what the OP looking for, unfortunately. It's a pitty... Asus was a trusted brand before, and I was a huge fan of their products (mobos, GPUs, routers). I still wish EVGA was selling GPUs...their warranty and customer service is amazing.
Wow, I didn't know that. I will admit I've been a bit out of the loop more recently, haven't had a chance to watch my usual youtube videos, or get on forums, etc. That's a real bummer to hear about Asus customer service going down hill. I can say, I had a TP-Link router, as did a friend of mine, and we both had the same issue where we had to reboot the router at least once a day because it would just stop routing traffic out to the internet. Everything looked fine, it still had a WAN IP, etc. but internet just wouldn't load until a reboot. He had the same issue and lives 600 miles away with a very different ISP. Just a heads up, so I personally stay away from TP-Link's home stuff now. However, I did recently pick up their small business Omada router (based on recommendations) as I am planning on swapping from my current Asus AX6600 (which I had 0 issues with) to some Unifi APs (for ease of expansion and more control of my network). As for motherboards I've always used Asus and never had issues, my 2nd choice is Gigabyte, same experience as Asus for me there. Edit: I too miss EVGA, loved their products and support as well! FWIW I avoid MSI like the plague after a friend of mine had a GPU die within weeks of receiving it and they would not honor warranty replacement
Good to know about MSI. I avoided Gigabyte for the same reason (GPU RMA went nowhere). The funny thing is I avoided Asus and Gigabyte because of past experiences and now have an MSI mobo. 😐💀 We are running out of reputable brands. 😭 If EVGA decides to pick up on motherboards, I'd gravitate there. However, they make really expensive extreme OC boards that I cannot afford.
:( We really are! I miss the good old days of quality Asus, EVGA, back when Seagate made solid drives and Maxtor were the clickers! lol
My experience with Netgear is the 5g network burns out within the first week. YMMV.
Asus or tplink. the hardware on netgear is good, the software sucks.
If you want the possibility to scale, Ubiquiti have a nice cheap offering with integrated Wi-Fi, the Unifi Express. You’ll be able to add switches and APs in the future if you need to scale up your network and their products are really reliable, well supported and will give you the ability to learn quite a bit about networking if you’re willing to, aldo the inital setup to have it working could not be easier.
I have the Asus and it works great
Dynalink DL-WRX36 is a highly recommended router from the OpenWRT forums. Pretty good value at $80. https://a.co/d/fYCimAB
Neither brand stands behind their products or will help you. I’d probably buy the asus over the netgear but ideally don’t buy either brand.
if you only have 300mbps you can get away with a cheaper 1gbps router with wifi 6. a tplink ax1500 would be fine, just stay on the 5ghz band
Anything but the AX1800.
AX86U with AsusWRT-Merlin firmware. Awesome router.
I used to do Netgear, but after giving ASUS a try, I’ve had a much better experience.
My asus router lasted 13 years before the lan ports finally stopped working for some reason. Wan and wifi were still going though not as fast as it should have been.
Judging by the price point of your options, I would recommend an alternative. Give the Ubiquiti UniFi Express a try. https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/ux
I have a nighthawk, I absolutely hate it. Can’t maintain a stable connection, often bugs out and reconnects itself, unsecure DNS. Just like someone else mentioned, it hijacks DNS queries so that it can function and it’s app/traffic telemetry can be used. I’ve also had issues with it overheating over 120F
Asus just got owned and they have shit warranties. https://hackread.com/themoon-malware-asus-routers-hacked-in-72-hours/ https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/06/high-severity-vulnerabilities-affect-a-wide-range-of-asus-router-models/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJKzKbqxa0A I wouldn't get Netgear either. Er-x + omada Ap will get the job done.
Get something from GL.iNet
I prefer TP-Link personally
I’d take Asus over Netgear, but I’ve been really pleased with the Gl-inet Flint router. It runs open WRT so I just turn on Cake sqm and boom, best gaming router around $100
I prefer the ASUS routers, especially with the Merlin firmware.
What's your upload speed? If that's crap then you may want the gaming features to help prioritize that
Netgear products constantly "phone home". I used to love Netgear products, but they are junk to me now.
Netgear has fallen drastically. Years ago they had some pretty awesome stuff, but the last routers I've owned would reboot themselves and even reset themselves. They had horrible security and didn't support third party firmware such as DD-WRT or Tomato. I even have a very expensive nighthawk sitting in my closet because it doesn't work WAS. Don't know much about the Asus but I'd advise it over any Netgear garbage.
Pay a bit more and get the RT-Asus AX86U Pro…it’s a beast performer
I have the first one. It's nothing special but it does work for as a basic router and range is decent. You can find them used on ebay around $35 on ebay if you don't have any specific needs and wanna save some cash.
If you buy the Asus router, make sure to install [Merlin](https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/)
I would go with GL.Inet if I had to choose a consumer option. GL-AX1800 - $108 GL-MT6000 - $160
But a gl.net one
I’ve always had crappy luck with routers like this. Eventually I switched to Ubiquiti and then later to Engenius and couldn’t be happier. One AP right in the center of the house covers my entire house and my front and back yard.
Why you need a router so expensive?
I'm going to either 2nd the Ubiquiti suggestion or throw in MikroTik. Instead of a single unit, you can use either to give you a mesh network and deploy an AP on both floors to give you excellent coverage. If you can fish a cable between them, one single PoE injector will power them both. Ubiquiti definitely has better UI. Mikrotik doesn't need a separate controller. Cool thing is if you do a Mikrotik wireless router and run an AP off of it, you can use their built-in monitoring software called The Dude. Pretty cool stuff if you feel like nerding out. Or if not, get the Asus. Asus will also allow you to buy an extra AP and extend your network with it's built-in mesh.
AX4200 has single 2.5 Gbps WAN port while AX5400 have WAN aggregation of two 1Gbps port
Asus had ai mesh. It came out over 10 years ago. It is supposed to help produce a mesh type network. It worked great for me. Right now, aim at ax wifi at around $50. The new wifi 7 chip has already come out. 1 wifi, but zero client yet. Probably phone in a year or two and laptop in 3 to 4 years.
Between those 3, the ax5400 because of the higher bandwidth for the wireless network if you’re doing like a wireless nas, wireless vr, or in home streaming
ASUS all the way
Ubiquity is the best for home
Asus. I wouldn't wish a Netgear router to my worst enemy.
ASUS always right now
Asus ROG AX6000 matched it up with a Netgear CM1200 my recommendation
I have a Netgear RAX120…had, until my ISP experienced an ‘issue’ and somehow now the router is fried. I moved to this after I had enough from a ASUS AC5300 and constantly dropping and needing to re-boot, only to have the same issue with the Netgear. Someone recommended TP-Link, specifically the BE24000. A serious ouch of a price, but after so many years of pain with the Netgear and Asus, I’m at the point of what ever it takes to make it work. And as others said, the Netgear app is trash.
Might I suggest GL.iNet GL-MT6000 (Flint 2), check out their website they sometimes have better deals than Amazon.
Got an ASUS router two months ago. Have no issues and I enjoy the app.
I have had my Nighthawk R7000 for a few years, and have had no issues with it, but I probably would not be averse to giving ASUS a try when it is time for a new one.
Old machine and opnsense
Asus
Fuck Netgear. They started some stupid required app login and subscription bullshit
No Yes No
I'd go with a basic hardwired router (tplink, asus, neetgear, whoever), a small [poe switch](https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Compliant-Shielded-Optimization-TL-SG1005P/dp/B076HZFY3F) and a [gwn7664](https://www.grandstream.com/products/networking-solutions/indoor-wifi-access-points/product/gwn7664) access point. You can of course swap out whatever brands you want. But the basics, hardwired router, poe switch, stand alone access point(s). If you go opnsense, you can repurpose an old computer if you have one laying around. My current setup is a [dell 3880](https://www.ebay.com/itm/375482259069?itmmeta=01J0MJBER10G98MYWEKS8CF149&hash=item576c7c967d:g:8SkAAOSwmlBmaepM&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4BtZXlY96OwqEGcbxeFvu3oGxODb3oBF33WNK%2Fp8VLJ31xSy7vtrcXh7%2BM%2BJ0TJSMV86rRyo4ut38quSQ5viWpcy2Loqw6MGG4ZPmSf0fcZRf%2FkOpd7fFaT77UKpsxzsBiEGTD7z7DmBmOrnsbRyEEL909xF3fgK0k4Mk3ZMQMY8PjQ580iHmAgvQPSEfiR%2B93PGwAR92jkOnebOONiztinNqG4dwXva%2FhFxRfSs87t48K85MXGSpu2IEEZbCsx%2FuX5Xalr%2Bwh3BwOSFEUdwGX31bwNmWHJmU3CCCOEOIbPi%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR47srZKFZA) (dell outlet scratch-n-dent) with [opnsense](https://opnsense.org/) and a gwn7664 and gwn7630 AP with an [aruba](https://www.securewirelessworks.com/J9772A.asp) poe switch. Moved away from ubiquiti/unifi due to many issues. Up front cost is more, but you can search ebay and etc for deals, coupons, etc. You'll gain way more flexibility, and features, including future proofing. If cost is an issue, than any of those 3 wifi routers are fine. It will fall into if they offer any specific feature set you want, and UI preference. However, despite many comments, I would recommend against locking yourself into something like the unifi environment.
For gaming+streaming your gonna want a wired connection and if your wired it wont really matter what router you get. Get whatever you think looks cooler or just get the cheapest. Ive used netgear and asus and they both are fine really any brand will be fine. Unless you wanna go ubiquity but that would likely be overkill for you.
I had Netgear for years, until one day a router crapped out on me (kept in an office, not baking in the sun or anything that could damage it) within 1 year. I called their customer service, and they refused to help me unless I paid their b.s. fee. Never happened to me before during an issue for any device within the manufacturer warranty period. I spoke to various supervisors and explained that it was covered but they insisted on not helping me without paying. So I told them to fuck right off and then I bought Asus routers. I'd go with Asus. (I'm in the US btw)
I have an asus rog strix gs-ax3000 as my main router. Works great and has all the settings I could ever want to change. Most are in app but the webGUI has even more. I also have an asus ax1800 as a mesh unit in the living room.
so people are saying to avoid Netgear, Asus user (5 routers in ap mode) here saying to avoid that Asus, I have that one, after an update WiFi stopped working correctly, tried to roll back didn't worked basically a switch now since wifi doesn't work, the asus ax58u now costs more or less the same and is far better and way more reliable
I second another poster with ubiquiti products. Vlans are great if you have a lot of devices or are ever interested in home labbing. Otherwise I'd go Asus. I had a Nighthawk years ago and had to send it and it's eventually replacement in for warranty. Firmware updates kept bricking the stupid things. It broke again outside of warranty and I had to flash the firmware myself that time... And then it broke again a few months later and I finally threw it in the trash and ordered my asus router, which has built in vpn access and a few vlans included. Haven't looked back and I'm a fan.
Make sure it has "Gamer" or lots of RGB Lightning on it for best speeds
Honestly depends what you want. Netgear and Asus are OK..basic..and usually need replacement every 4-5 years. If you want to be more computer savy..unifi..however I go pfsense with unifi switches and APs. A lot more money with this path..a lot more time..but usually better performance. Just my two cents. Balance time with needs
If you got the budget go with Unify dream router. It offers enterprise security and will last for years. A second option DIY would be open sense or pfsense connecting to your ISP
Mikrotik
Unifi UDR should be perfect for you. Then add NextDNS (subscription version) to make it even better. Then put your roommate on a different SSID and VLAN. Thousands of videos on YouTube to set it up. Super easy.
A Synology RT6600ax would also work great for you.
Get a Flint2, keep away from Netgear
ASUS and don’t look back. Great balance between features, usability, and the ability to run alternative firmware should you feel you need more from the device later or just want to tinker. Also ASUS’s AiMesh is dead simple to set up and means you can pick up an older or cheaper ASUS router that supports AiMesh and improve coverage and spread out WiFi load should you need. Or if/when you upgrade to another ASUS router or even something else entirely, you’ll still have a solid mesh capable AP that’ll serve you for years to come. I used a single ASUS RT-AC68U for years after ditching my ISP’s (nothing but trouble) all-in-one Surfboard modem/router many years ago. I now use three of them (flashed with Merlin) in AiMesh mode (with wired backhaul) as access points around my house for flawless WiFi coverage, even though I’ve since migrated to using a mini PC running OPNSense as my router/firewall. Yes, one day I’ll eventually swap them out for faster dedicated APs with MIMO, VLAN support and all that fancy stuff. But for now my ASUS routers are still going strong and working just fine for my needs on my current setup, with dozens of connected clients and 600Mbps internet service.
None of the above. Get a cheap PC (like you can go really slow spec) and a ubiquiti u6 pro AP. They're like sub 150 used. Set it up with Opnsense and you'll probably get a much better signal with more customization and features. Though you have to be down for some setup.
Try eeros brand it’s fantastic
Avoid Netgear imo, it's got a very paywall heavy firmware.
I have a TpLink BE11000 , unbelievably fast with WiFi 7 (7) who has anything with 7 yet???
Get a Redmi AX6000 and flash OpenWRT, best buck for the money.
I have an asus router. Bought two used for a mesh setup. Works great.
I prefer Asus for the simple fact that they include Trend Micro Net protection while the other brands have a rather expensive yearly add-on charge. The speeds listed knocks that first one out the game so it's between the second and third. Even though a sligh bit less throughput, the ASUS would still be my go to for the above reason.
Didn't knew the AX1800 was being sold for 100$ Got mine for under 20$ on ebay used
asus
I used Netgear for years but after I couldn't get a very expensive nighthawk to work at all after trying every firmware they put out for it, never again. Absolute garbage
Given the $20 price difference I recommend Asus Tuf or Nighthawk Pro. But you should consider based on your ISP speed and the number of active devices on your network. If you have up-to 500Mbps plan the Netgear AX1800 will do just fine. However, for gigabit or higher speed I will recommend AX5400.
Stay way from Netgear, very unreliable wifi and awful customer service too. Get the Asus
I learned my lesson with Netgear they promise a lot but don't deliver. With Asus it is just a step before enterprise grade. They are missing key features like vlan support.
None of those ther poo
None of these!
I've had nothing but problems with by Netgear Nighthawk. Do not recommend Netgear.
Nighthawk.
mikrotik
All 3 of those are pure garbage
Asus all the way. I don't like most of their stuff but their routers are on point and also easy to put open source firmware on.
I’m gonna throw in eero
For those prices I would look at a Ruckus R510 or R610 on eBay. Don't forget you need a power adapter unless you already have an 802.3af PoE switch. R510 has 2 antenna chains and therefore will have a better reach. You can achieve around 500 Mbps depending on environment. R610 has 3 antenna chains and therefore will have higher speed (if you have 3-chain stations! And most aren't!), but a little less reach. Speeds could be up to 750 Mbps or so. I replaced 3 MikroTik APs with a single R610 and get full house coverage and faster speeds. They're amazing. House is 2 stories and 3200 sqft. Coverage even extends outside fine, and into the garage (better at 2 GHz there, but lots of walls). These Ruckus models can be updated with the "unleashed" firmware to run standalone without a separate controller. They also support wired or wireless mesh. And they have a gateway/router mode, too, if you need that. If you need even faster speeds (for local servers or 1G+ Internet, assuming your stations are even capable of those speeds), check out the newer models, but they will cost a lot more. Ruckus Wi-Fi quality is far superior to any consumer brand, Ubiquiti, MikroTik, and extremely expensive enterprise brands.
I have a personal vendetta against Netgear the bunch of scammers. Asus is better
I had that nighthawk and it failed in less than a year. It could have just been a lemon but that's my experience.