Recommendations for Routers/Should I go Mesh?

[Richywilson]

Hey everyone,

 

I'm looking for some recommendations for a good router. Over the past year I've been getting into smart tech which has meant that additional stress was put on my ISP supplied modem which appears to not be able to handle it. I don't have a big home but I find devices dropping off the network especially smart switches in low coverage areas like under the bed (most of which need to be on the 2.4ghz range) and there's disruptions which means that even things like my Laptop can't connect to the 2.4ghz sometimes despite having full coverage which i assume is due to interference and the 5Ghz struggles to reach my room. My internet itself is fantastic, I have gigabit speeds to my home so I'm in need of an upgrade that improves my coverage but also allows for a tonne of devices connected at the same time, at the moment I'm running about 20-25 devices. 

 

I was initially considering the Ubiquiti AMPLIFI AFi-HD Mesh Wi-Fi System https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NETUBI0208/Ubiquiti-AMPLIFI-AFi-HD-Mesh-Wi-Fi-System---3-Pack however although coverage is good I've read it doesn't have Mu-Mimo which appears to be important for having a smart home. 

 

Looking for options available in New Zealand if anyone  more experienced than me can give me a good recommendation or just point out what I need to be looking for.

[VinsinityKT]

I like the Netgear Orbi system. I got the pro model. You can also get a Orbi speaker satellite if that is something you are interested in.

[Richywilson]

4 minutes ago, VinsinityKT said:

I like the Netgear Orbi system. I got the pro model. You can also get a Orbi speaker satellite if that is something you are interested in.

Is that this? https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NETNGR2202/NETGEAR-Orbi-RBK20-Whole-Home-Mesh-WiFi-System-MU The specifications show 4 ethernet ports although I can't see 4 in the photos

[VinsinityKT]

2 minutes ago, Richywilson said:

Is that this? https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NETNGR2202/NETGEAR-Orbi-RBK20-Whole-Home-Mesh-WiFi-System-MU The specifications show 4 ethernet ports although I can't see 4 in the photos

Yes, that's it. If you get the pro model, you get 4 Ethernet ports. For this one, you get 1 ethernet and 1 internet port to the modem on the main router and on the satellite you get the two ethernet ports. I have no idea why it says 4 on that website though. 

[Richywilson]

7 minutes ago, VinsinityKT said:

Yes, that's it. If you get the pro model, you get 4 Ethernet ports. For this one, you get 1 ethernet and 1 internet port to the modem on the main router and on the satellite you get the two ethernet ports. I have no idea why it says 4 on that website though. 

And have you had any issues with 20+ devices? The Ubiquiti one appears to be able to connect to a lot of devices at once, there's a video of a guy just running around his house proving this but without the Mu-Mimo which some people say is important others not, I'm not entirely sure on it. Also may I ask what speeds you average? 

[VinsinityKT]

3 minutes ago, Richywilson said:

And have you had any issues with 20+ devices? The Ubiquiti one appears to be able to connect to a lot of devices at once, there's a video of a guy just running around his house proving this but without the Mu-Mimo which some people say is important others not, I'm not entirely sure on it. Also may I ask what speeds you average? 

I just realized that you were looking at a cheaper model as well. The RBK50 has the 4 Ethernet ports. The RBK20 only has backhaul link speed of 866 Mbps while RBK50 is 1733 Mbps. So that is something for you to consider. My Orbi Pro is identical to the RBK50 in many ways, mainly speed. Pro is rated for business use but I have been on a normal Orbi mesh network before at gatherings. I have around 20 devices connected and have hit closer to 50 when hosting parties. You could probably ask the orbi community about that. It does have mu-mimo support. I have a gigabit connection that I can consistently hit on my devices. 

[Richywilson]

58 minutes ago, VinsinityKT said:

I just realized that you were looking at a cheaper model as well. The RBK50 has the 4 Ethernet ports. The RBK20 only has backhaul link speed of 866 Mbps while RBK50 is 1733 Mbps. So that is something for you to consider. My Orbi Pro is identical to the RBK50 in many ways, mainly speed. Pro is rated for business use but I have been on a normal Orbi mesh network before at gatherings. I have around 20 devices connected and have hit closer to 50 when hosting parties. You could probably ask the orbi community about that. It does have mu-mimo support. I have a gigabit connection that I can consistently hit on my devices. 

Just continued on watching reviews and the RBK looks good, also comparing it to this https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NETAS4086/ASUS-RT-AC86U-MU-MIMO-Gigabit-WiFi-Gaming-Router-D?pg=3#review

 

They both appear on several best router reviews. My only concern with the ASUS is although it has mesh compatibility, you do need a separate ASUS router for that and I'm not 100% sure of the coverage in the dead spots the netgear would be able to achieve with just the one router despite the improvement