Budget Router Shopping | Plan A Failed, Plan B Needed, Plan C Dreaded.

SorryBella · April 19

Hey, so today my used TP-Link Archer C7 AC1750 arrived... And subsequently sent to a refund ticket. The seller practically lied to my face multiple times and sent me the product that is not what was promised. But first let me give you some context in why i decided to refund it beyond the obvious. I have issue with my internet infrastructure for a while now, and while my internet plan is a definite limiter of my setup, the wifi coverage is also another. The TP-Link TL-WA901ND that i have constantly crashes and needs restarting by someone in the house and the connection is really bad in few places where we need actual internet the most. And so with that i decided that i want to kill two birds with one stone and reinforce my own local internet set, this also have an additional benefit in that any new internet providers i go with when i moved out of the house, i am ready with something good to connect it with. so with those in mind i lined up these as my criteria.

5 gigabit port (4+1 WAN is also valid). While i know a separate switch and AP combo would be a better way for me to create an expandable infrastructure, i personally want to miniaturize it. Bringing 2 devices around a house move is just asking for trouble personally, but if you can convince me to get 5 gigabit port switch and a random router that can fit these criteria and budget, im all ears.
WRT/LuCI-able. I want a guaranteed capability for me to be able to use DNS Encryption, MAC Address Whitelisting, and DDOS Protection. And having something tweakable would also be a bonus hence this criteria.
Dual band AC, preferably with MU-MIMO support. Pretty self explanatory really.
Less than 70 USD new or used. This is pretty much all i got personally on money, and what my mum would cover in terms of the rest of the budget. I would love for it to be less so i can budget for Helldivers 2.
Optionally 16mb ROM. 8mb is the minimum, but if you can get me 16 to be inline with openWRT requirement that would be really appreciated for stability.
Easy to find in SEA market, Indonesia specifically.

And overall, the Archer C7 wouldve fit it perfectly, atleast the used ones were. I found one listing of it in Indonesia that sells it as a version 5, but when it came into the door it was a V1.1 that is not at all like it was on the listing. It came with a broken wireless switch as well, so i ended up refunding it. Thats the plan A. My plan C was to purchase the TP-Link Archer C54. This is highly ubiquitous, but its 4/32 flash setup means that it basically locks me out of any form of firmware customization. The other would be the TP-Link Archer AX23, but this would be high on the bugdet. Id like to know if anyone have other recommendations. Linksys and Netgear is kind of out of the contention, so does Ubiquiti. All 3 are taxed pretty hard in ID which inflates its price massively.

ImWilly · April 19

4 hours ago, SorryBella said:

The other would be the TP-Link Archer AX23, but this would be high on the bugdet

Seems still within USD70 though

You can try the lower variant (AX23 is AX1800) but still good router that supports OpenWRT firmware such as TP-Link Archer AX10 or AX12

You're in luck, cause TP-Link Archer AX12 (AX1500) does support OpenWRT custom and on great sale (not sponsored, LOL)

Here's the LINK

Based on that price, it's +-70% of AX23 full price

Please note though, most personal use of router only has MAC whitelist feature. So OpenWRT firmware is a must if you really want DNS encryption and DDOS feature

4 hours ago, SorryBella said:

All 3 are taxed pretty hard in ID which inflates its price massively

All thanks to the almighty and great MENKOMINFO, for their SDPPI regulations to "protect" us from signal that could interfere with either daily use and governmental/enterprise use, and with mere price of +-Rp50 million for certification (test lab not included) and it only covers for one factory plant. So if some product are produced in other factory/country, that's additional +-Rp50 million. (these prices are for import product only)

It's like the crappy "SNI" certification made by MENPERIN, instead of trusting international standard ISO and FCC/CE, our beloved and great government decides to make it's own and copying some of the international standard and label it as it's own.

SorryBella · April 19

3 hours ago, ImWilly said:

AX12

I was thinking that, and a Gigabit switch later on as 3 is kinda all i need and it was on the compatibility page, but i cant find the prebuilt image for it and really dont wanna risk making a bad firmware. I want someone to take the blow of my software incompetence. The others ive found that could work are these:

Green Light (Pretty much on the money on what i need, and the only sketchy part is the OpenWRT installation):

Yellow Light (Also on the money with some caveats):

Linksys EA8100 | Rp. 1.030.000: It has all the feature sets, but reading up on post purchase review suggests that people have issues with ISP compatibility and Linksys application on pairing it.
Xiaomi AX3600 | Rp. 1.150.000 (not gonna put the listing because i really dont wanna get sniped on it): Its... Used. Pretty much gonna put me in the same predicament as the Archer C7 but for more money. Although if it end up being a fully working model, it would be insanely overkill for anything i do with a router ever, and it would be pretty much a router i run until i die or budget Wifi 9 routers come out.

Red Light (8/64, but ubiquitous and WRTable, and fit the rest that i need):

ImWilly · April 19

1 hour ago, SorryBella said:

Green Light (Pretty much on the money on what i need, and the only sketchy part is the OpenWRT installation):

If that's the case, then D-LINK DIR-878 should be the best choice

Apart from OpenWRT site that confirms support to the latest 23.05.3 firmware, it has the best acclaimed Wi-Fi speed compared to the other options and safe to say checked all boxes of your requirement

Assuming the used market send a working D-LINK DIR-878 with good price, that could be the very best deal of router with a fraction of it's price

SorryBella · April 19

8 hours ago, ImWilly said:

If that's the case, then D-LINK DIR-878 should be the best choice

Apart from OpenWRT site that confirms support to the latest 23.05.3 firmware, it has the best acclaimed Wi-Fi speed compared to the other options and safe to say checked all boxes of your requirement

Assuming the used market send a working D-LINK DIR-878 with good price, that could be the very best deal of router with a fraction of it's price

Its just the fact that im heavily bitter with D Link products, i know something is going to be wrong with it out of the box that cuts performance. But i cant find any with 878 and 842 so far.