NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Help in choosing a new router for 35+ device home network
My home network I think has outgrown itself! From just a few devices I am now at over 35 devices - at least 8 computers, phones, rokus, 4 extenders, lots of Ring devices, etc. While there are only two of us at this location, the Ring put us over the edge, I suspect, and now we are seeing a lot of buffering, browsers not finishing screen refreshes, etc. I have checked with my internet provider, and the performance issue is on the router side. Here is what we have in Netgear devices:
Router - R6000. Bless its heart, it was never meant to take the load and it's trying!
Extenders - 2 in extender mode, 2 in access point mode, AC1200
We have a very spread out house and an outbuilding with 7 rokus, one extender in access point to extend wifi to outbuilding, another in access point mode to extend better for some of 7 Ring cameras, two in extender mode to help with a more remote Ring device and to help inside theBut main building.
All this happened slowly. Had an R8000 nighthawk router a year or so ago and prior to Ring installation, but it died in 13 months and I went back to a less expensive router because I didn't see any performance differences that made it worth the extra cost for such a short life span.
But with the addition of the Ring devices, the network has slowed. I would prefer not to throw out the extenders I have but desperately need advice on which router to upgrade to. Any help from this expert community would be appreciated!! I don't mind spending the money for value but don't want it more complex than required. Not a heavy gamer, just light gaming.
4 Replies
Usually when people are using more than 1 extender, I highly encourage them to move to an actual mesh system like netgear Orbi.
If you're needing 2x extenders and 2x-AP's, when you look at mesh systems, i'd look closely at the tribands. Their option of using both dedicated wired backhaul and a wireless backhaul will offer much better stability, speeds, and lower latency.
Plus thne you can add satellites as needed for addional coverage.
Thank you for your expertise! Just looking at Netgear products was pretty confusing even though I have a computing background (but not wifi expert), and I appreciate the help.
Are you thinking AC3000 or AX3000? Would I have to toss the current extenders I own?
I am assuming you can set up the satellites for wireless or wired?
I don't mind spending the money but of course don't want more than I need. It it unlikely we will expand much beyond what we have now.
Which version would you need? I tend to over engineer because even though you think you'll have plenty for what you're doing, something always changes or needs more speed or..... so better to have a little more than what you need versus just enough.
Your extenders/ap's can be used but it won't integrate with orbi. so whether you use them or not, would just be personal preference. Or if you wanted a backup network or even a network to put things like IoT devices (smart switches, etc) on.
And orbi can use both wired and/or wireless backhaul. I've got a mixture of them setup at any given time at my home.
