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Router recommendation
Hello everyone, I wonder whether you can help me choose the right router to replace our 7-year old R8000 AC3200 router, which appears to be failing. We run a home office and have 2 people in th...
Ok, I figured out the problem with the RAXE300. The MAC address for the internet connection was the problem. It wouldn’t let me use the default one, then it wouldn’t connect at all. But there was one stored in the R8000 and using that one, I finally get the proper speed.
As for the connection to our neighbours, we’ll have to see how it works over the next few days.
AB2002 wrote:
The access point in the other building is connected by WiFi to the R8000. It is a wireless router configured as an access point. Yes, it is almost surprising how well it has worked for the past 7 years.
By definition, an access point is wired back to the main router. If it has a wifi connection to the R8000, then it is probably an extender or a router in extender mode. Hard to tell without more details on what it is.
Yes, it is almost surprising how well it has worked for the past 7 years.
I would look for something designed for those circumstances.
What makes you think that the R8000 is the issue rather than this remote device? It could even by a change in the local wifi environment, with someone else moving in on the same channels that you are using.
You’re of course right. The router in the other building must have been set up as an extender. I didn’t do it myself. It was done by a network specialist at the time.
i’m starting to suspect a problem with the R8000 as it does no longer show the internet as being disconnected when I experience the short outages. It took almost 5 minutes to reboot and connect to the internet again last week. It never took that long in the past.
You mentioned it would be better to get a set up that is designed for these circumstances. I do not know what that would be and the Netgear dealer didn’t offer any other suggestions either with the exception of the Orbi system.
AB2002 wrote:
You mentioned it would be better to get a set up that is designed for these circumstances. I do not know what that would be and the Netgear dealer didn’t offer any other suggestions either with the exception of the Orbi system.
The trouble is that Netgear doesn't make extenders designed for those "long distance" connections. The Orbit might be perfect if it works, but I doubt if Netgear would guarantee to cover that distance. Sources on "wifi range" are confusing.
The specs say that it would be suitable for "large homes". But that is because it comes with satellites that can spread the wifi. The Orbi range used to include an Outdoor satellite but that seems to have died the death.
AB2002 wrote:
You’re of course right. The router in the other building must have been set up as an extender. I didn’t do it myself. It was done by a network specialist at the time.
I'm a little doubtful of this "specialist," as anyone who knows anything about Wi-Fi isn't going to recommend that setup for a business environment. Business class setups should be designed for stability. The extra money you put into them is worth it.
Pay someone to bury and underground rated ethernet wire between the 2 buildings and connect them properly. Or buy a point-to-point system and mount them properly for a reliable connection. it should't be setup by a "specialist" with one in each window at the max of wifi connection. That's sketchy at best.
Then pickup a decent mesh system to have them connected.
Sadly, Netgear EOL'd the Orbi Pro's (hopefully, a new one will come out), but a solid mesh consumer one would work fine or switching to an insight managed version would be great for a business.
Avoid the "it should connect" options for a business. There shouldn't be downtime or instabilities on a connection your business relies on.
I appreciate your response and that certainly would be the proper way to go, no doubt. To clarify through it’s actually just our neighbour using our internet for household purposes and this setup has worked flawlessly with the R8000 for the past 7 years. I even checked the speed the were getting from the R8000 over the weekend and at 150ft distance, the full 50mbps down and 10 up came through without a problem.
Picked up a new RAXE300 yesterday and waisted an entire day to get it to work properly. It seems to throttle the internet to a fifth of the speed our ISP provides. Hooked up the R8000 again, full speed. Unfortunately sometimes the R8000 drops the connections altogether, or I wouldn’t have looked for something new right now. Beyond disappointed in the new Nighthawk.
Spent hours chatting and on the phone with Netgear, so far no solution.The issue is within 6ft from the router. Sigh. Tempted to find an unused old R8000 again.
Ok, I figured out the problem with the RAXE300. The MAC address for the internet connection was the problem. It wouldn’t let me use the default one, then it wouldn’t connect at all. But there was one stored in the R8000 and using that one, I finally get the proper speed.
As for the connection to our neighbours, we’ll have to see how it works over the next few days.
