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cristineg's avatar
cristineg
Follower
Apr 07, 2022

Netgear Nighthawk R7000 vs R8000

I recently bought an R7000 and installed FreshTomato firmware on it and I'm very happy with the setup (but could I be happier? I've got nothing to compare to). I bought it to fix an issue with the crap router provided by the ISP and, to make a long story short, the landlord has said he will reimburse me for another router for £30-50 (I paid ~£30 for my R7000) and install that as a 2nd AP this year, as long as I set it up as a "normal" router before I leave (1 year tennancy - student house). That way we get "double" wifi coverage this year and future tenants don't have to deal with the crap provided by the ISP (but "only" one router).
Now, my question is whether to get an R8000 or another R7000. The routers will be used in opposite corners of the house and one will be used as a "dumb" AP only (with Cat5e wired connection to the first router).

I'm asking because a) I cannot find much relevant advice that isn't out-of-date by now and b) there's a lot of conflicting advice out there regarding these two routers. I can get either router for about the same price used (and I'm not paying anyway) so that's not a factor really.

So, do I get another R7000, or do I get the R8000?

Thanks in advance

1 Reply

  • michaelkenward's avatar
    michaelkenward
    Guru - Experienced User

    cristineg wrote:

    I recently bought an R7000 and installed FreshTomato firmware on it....

     


    Netgear does not support third party firmware. And there aren't many experts in that around here.

     


    So, do I get another R7000, or do I get the R8000?

     


    An impossible question to answer, especially as you don't seem to need any more routers.That just complicates the network setup and management and costs more than necessary.

     

    Why not look for something that does what you want, which, I gather, is better wifi coverage.

     

    Try here:

     

    WiFi Range Extenders: Boost Your WiFi Range | NETGEAR