Router advice for an idiot

DaveStatteo · December 2, 2021

1. I'm sure these questions get asked all the time, sorry for adding to it
2. I have 0 idea about networking but can probably humble my way through things if need be

So my current connection is 50mbps/20mbps (yay Australia) and I'm using a ubiquiti air cube as my router, it's been fine for 2 years but it will now randomly drop out about once a week and I have to power cycle the air cube to get a stable connection again.

So I am looking for some advice on what to upgrade to. I live in a pretty average 2 bedroom apartment expect all the walls are double brick. What would be a good router that will be fine for me now but also if I move in the next year or 2 will either be fine for a bigger space or easy to set up a mesh network with?

some extra info:

I currently run an ethernet cable from the sitting room where the modem is to my office in the opposite corner of the apartment. If there is any way to not run this ethernet through the entire apartment with minimal ping increase that would be fantastic because I do play competitive games, but if that's impossible then keeping the ethernet is fine

If possible I'd like the router to be as discrete as possible

If there is a solution that solves all my problems I'm happy to spend whatever is necessary

Thanks,
Dave

Falcon1986 · December 5, 2021

On 12/2/2021 at 6:04 PM, DaveStatteo said:

I'm using a ubiquiti air cube as my router, it's been fine for 2 years but it will now randomly drop out about once a week and I have to power cycle the air cube to get a stable connection again.

Is this the airCube-AC or ISP version? I'm quite surprised since this little router has been working fine for several applications where I needed an inconspicuous yet functional wireless router/AP.

Have you applied the latest firmware?

Are you in an environment with lots of wireless interference from neighbourhood WiFi? Run a spectrum analysis with WiFiman.

On 12/2/2021 at 6:04 PM, DaveStatteo said:

I live in a pretty average 2 bedroom apartment expect all the walls are double brick. What would be a good router that will be fine for me now but also if I move in the next year or 2 will either be fine for a bigger space or easy to set up a mesh network with?

Concrete/brick and steel-reinforced concrete add significant challenges to any WiFi setup. The aim shouldn't be to find a single device that magically outputs such a strong signal that it is able to penetrate such walls; this is not realistic. A more realistic approach is to increase the number of wireless APs at strategic locations so as to optimize coverage despite the concrete walls.

Since you're expecting to move and want to move the setup as well, my advice would be to look into what Asus has to offer. Their hardware tends to work together so it's easy to expand any network fairly easily.

On 12/2/2021 at 6:04 PM, DaveStatteo said:

If there is any way to not run this ethernet through the entire apartment with minimal ping increase that would be fantastic because I do play competitive games, but if that's impossible then keeping the ethernet is fine

Any ethernet cable is going to be better than a wireless signal, especially for what you're doing. The benefit of this is that you can add wireless APs around to increase coverage with a direct wired uplink to a primary router. This will always be better than any mesh system or wireless extender setup.

On 12/2/2021 at 6:04 PM, DaveStatteo said:

If possible I'd like the router to be as discrete as possible

Most standalone all-in-one wireless router solutions are not going to be inconspicuous. They have to be visible or else you're seriously limiting the WiFi output of you choose to tuck it away somewhere. That being said, you can look into the mesh systems but run the "satellites" in AP mode with an ethernet uplink if you don't mind the cylinder/disc-shaped units.

The less conspicuous solutions are dedicated ceiling/wall-mounted APs that are wired to a central router with cloud/SD-WAN management. Personally, I wouldn't make that kind of an investment for an apartment, especially if running cables and drilling holes isn't going to be an option.