Router vs Access Point

[Noyu]

Hi! Currently here in my country most (if not all) ISPs provide 2-in-1 modem/router combo devices to supply internet to our households.

An example would be for my ISP, which provides a Technicolor TC7200.d2  which is both a cable modem and a wireless router.

 

Generally, I would almost always recommend to my peers to get a DISCRETE third-party router, and set the modem on bridge mode so that all routing happens on the third-party router. This gives the user better control over his/her network.

 

Just lately, I've realized (I read a post here from LTT) that for some people, a Wireless Gigabit Access Point MAY BE a cheaper and better solution to improve their network. Unfortunately I have minimal knowledge about these devices when it comes to chipset performance.

 

However I've noticed that some access points are either just as expensive or even more expensive than their router counterparts.

 

 

An example is the TP-Link C1200 (PhP 3,600) vs the TP-Link EAP225 (PhP 4,500).

Around 20$ difference in cost.

 

Should I just buy the C1200, and set it up as AP only?

Or is it still better to bridge and transfer routing works to the C1200?

Should the EAP225 even be considered?

 

[Noyu]

2 minutes ago, Alexsolo said:

Buy a dedicated Ubiquiti AP, you can configure on the go, reset from anywhere, they're 100% manageable and reliable in my experience, plus they have a nice look to them.

but they're also really expensive (almost double the price vs. 3P routers with the same wireless throughput).

[scottyseng]

18 minutes ago, Noyu said:

but they're also really expensive (almost double the price vs. 3P routers with the same wireless throughput).

Hmm, they're pretty comparable in price in the US.

 

The other major thing with Ubiquiti is the handoff feature. You can set up multiple APs and they'll hand off to each other no problem. If you have mixed brands of routers / APs, the WiFi might not hand off as it should.

 

Personally, I would just say to replace the ISP cable / modem with a normal modem and get your own router / APs as needed. I'm running two Ubiquiti AC-Pros and have the USG Pro-4 incoming. The other main advantage with not having combo'd devices is that you can figure out which exact part of the network is bad. Usually in the router / modem combos, the modem part died but the router part was still good, but you'd still have to replace the whole thing anyway.

 

If you find a good deal on a router combo though, there's nothing really wrong with using it as an access point only.

[Noyu]

2 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

Hmm, they're pretty comparable in price in the US.

It's probably a demand/supply problem here in my country.

 

3 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

Personally, I would just say to replace the ISP cable / modem with a normal modem and get your own router / APs as needed.

That's the thing. We're not allowed to replace the ISP combo unit as the subscription is MAC address locked.

 

We already asked the ISP about this and they only allow bridge mode, to give flexibility to the consumer.

 

So it's either,

• Case#1: buy a router, set the combo unit to bridged mode, and let the router do the routing
• Case#2: buy a router, set the router to AP-only, let the combo unit do everything.
• Case#3: buy an AP, let the combo unit do everything

BTW, this is all hypothetical for future reference. Personally I have my network as per Case#1. But I may be throwing out the router as it only has 100Mbps ethernet ports this affects my future plan to add a NAS.

 

My upgrade plan (for now) is to still follow Case#1, but replacing my current router to one with gigabit.

[scottyseng]

Just now, Noyu said:

My upgrade plan (for now) is to still follow Case#1, but replacing my current router to one with gigabit.

Yeah, I think plan 1 is probably what most people would do. A solid router combo is pretty good. My cousin has the Netgear Nighthawk X6 and it covers his house without any issues.

 

I'd only really get into ubiquiti gear if you want to really tinker a lot (Or have a lot of wireless area to cover). I want to learn more about networking so I decided to go for it.

 

Still sucks you can't replace the ISP combo. Oh well.