Recommend me a router

Forums › New Zealand Broadband › Recommend me a router

jackfry

225 posts

Master Geek

#193600 16-Mar-2016 14:22

Hi,

So currently I'm using the ISP provided router and it's not very reliable. I'm plugging it directly into my ONT. I recently tried using a TP-Link TL-WR841N, but couldn't seem to get it to work. Could anyone recommend me one for under $150?

Thanks :)

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2502 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1514523 16-Mar-2016 14:23

Maybe you could state the requirements.

Spark FibreMAX using Mikrotik CCR1009-8G-1S-1S+. UAP, UAP AC Pro, UAP AC Pro Mesh, Apple TV 4, Apple TV 4K, iPad Air 1, iPhone 6s, VodaTV Gen 2. If it doesn't move then it's data cabled.

Kiwifruta

1241 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1514524 16-Mar-2016 14:23

What are your requirements?

Are you happy to flash alternative firmware to the router?

DarkShadow

1628 posts

Uber Geek

#1514525 16-Mar-2016 14:24

Which ISP?

jackfry

225 posts

Master Geek

#1514526 16-Mar-2016 14:25

Don't really have any requirements apart from it not crashing every day as my ISP one currently does. I don't mind flashing firmware.

sbiddle

29027 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#1514528 16-Mar-2016 14:25

Without knowing your requirements it's impossible to answer your question.

jackfry

225 posts

Master Geek

#1514530 16-Mar-2016 14:27

sbiddle:

Without knowing your requirements it's impossible to answer your question.

Just needs to be reliable

venomio

152 posts

Master Geek

#1514542 16-Mar-2016 14:44

WiFi AP too? Or just to connect into the ONT?

A good article written by @sbiddle if you want to learn a bit more about what you might need: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/sbiddle/8744

Depending on your ISP, what you can have will also change, but most NZ ISPs will have a requirement that your router support VLAN Tagging, or else it won't work.

sbiddle

29027 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#1514545 16-Mar-2016 14:48

jackfry:

sbiddle:

Without knowing your requirements it's impossible to answer your question.

Just needs to be reliable

So we've established you're hungry for dinner and you want meat.. That unfortunately isn't a lot of help when it comes to recommending a device.

Do you need WiFi?

If so you need 2.4GHz and 5GHz?

Do you need VLAN tagging?

Do you need Gigabit?

Do you need the ability to run 3rd party firmware?

There is no such thing as a perfect router, nor a "best" device. It all comes down to requirements.

Hammerer

2163 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1514550 16-Mar-2016 15:04

Theoretically, reliability is a measure of success. So what makes the router service successful for you? The requirement that it not crash every day is no help to provide a recommendation because most routers do that anyway provided they are configured correctly.

People are asking for more information so they can apply their expertise in recommending a good solution for you. They might want to know stuff like the following:

What is the router replacing, i.e. which ISP, which plan, and what is the make and model of the router? There might be a known issue with a solution.
What devices will use it and how?
Wifi? 2.4GHz and/or 5Ghz radio bands? Range? Construction and size of house/building?
Cabled? 100 or 1000/Gigabit LAN?
...
Firewall?
Parental controls?
...

Edit: I should have pressed the post button a lot quicker instead of musing on the fact that it is much easier to produce a solution when the parameters are well-defined. Having too many options seems to cause more problems than having constrained choice.

chevrolux

4542 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1514554 16-Mar-2016 15:11

Who's your ISP and what have you got at the moment? Frankly for $150 you won't be getting much better than what Spark/Vodafone supply - the Huawei box they are pumping out is pretty dam good for the price point ie free.

People on here like that Netcomm AC unit - i can't stand them personally, only due to Netcomm's terrible software.

Otherwise those fancy looking TP-Link (Archer something or other) units seem to be quite liked too.

Of course you could always just scroll back through the COUNTLESS threads on here asking the EXACT SAME QUESTION...... and take some advice from them.

jackfry

225 posts

Master Geek

#1514561 16-Mar-2016 15:19

Hammerer:

Theoretically, reliability is a measure of success. So what makes the router service successful for you? The requirement that it not crash every day is no help to provide a recommendation because most routers do that anyway provided they are configured correctly.

People are asking for more information so they can apply their expertise in recommending a good solution for you. They might want to know stuff like the following:

What is the router replacing, i.e. which ISP, which plan, and what is the make and model of the router? There might be a known issue with a solution.
What devices will use it and how?
Wifi? 2.4GHz and/or 5Ghz radio bands? Range? Construction and size of house/building?
Cabled? 100 or 1000/Gigabit LAN?
...
Firewall?
Parental controls?
...
Edit: I should have pressed the post button a lot quicker instead of musing on the fact that it is much easier to produce a solution when the parameters are well-defined. Having too many options seems to cause more problems than having constrained choice.

Current router is: technicolor tg587n v3, Spark ISP, 100/20. Two computers wired and a 8 port switch. Gigabit is preferred. Wifi isn't that important, only a few phones and a chromecast gen 2 will be using it. Nothing else is really that important to do with firewall or parental control.

jackfry

225 posts

Master Geek

#1514565 16-Mar-2016 15:22

Was looking at the TP-Link Archer C2 (http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=2552826), would that work for me if it was directly wired into the ONT?

venomio

152 posts

Master Geek

#1514566 16-Mar-2016 15:25

Spark requires VLAN tagging, so no.

The Archer C2 doesn't support VLAN tagging.

Bigpipe and MyRepublic should be the only UFB providers that don't require VLAN tagging in NZ. EDIT: Actually there's a few more here.

If you just want a single "all-in-one" box, something like this would work for the price point you're thinking: D-Link DSL-2877AL

Your best bet is to look around for a router that can support VLAN tagging (there's a mountain of resource here on Geekzone and on the net), but as people stated, at ~$150 there isn't that much options (if at all?).

KrazyKid

875 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#1514570 16-Mar-2016 15:35

What about a second hand Fritzbox 7490? Should get that around the $150 mark.

Probable even someone here who can sell you one.

It has AC wireless (fine at shorter ranges) so makes full use of the chromecast 2. My chromecast 2 works a treat across the room from the fritzbox.

Kiwifruta

1241 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1514583 16-Mar-2016 16:16

How about http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=NETUBI1008&name=Ubiquiti-AIRROUTER-HP-802.11n-Wireless-Router-High?

or http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=NETTPL1043&name=TP-LINK-TL-WR1043ND-300Mbps-Ultimate-Wireless-N-Gi

or dual band http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=NETTPL4205&name=TP-LINK-ARCHER-C5-version-1.0--1.2-(Models-may-var (flash with OpenWrt for VLAN tagging support)

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