Please recommend me a good VDSL modem + router

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Please recommend me a good VDSL modem + router

mr_shady

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#181092 2-Oct-2015 04:06

Hi guys have been doing a fair bit of research but to my surprise there doesn't really seem to be much out there for my needs or if there is they have bad reviews. I am looking to buy a VDSL modem + router, that is voip compatible and has excellent coverage to cover a big 4 bedroom house including out in the yards (eg someone could check the mail while talking on the phone). I would like something that could handle someone talking on the phone and HD streaming at the same time with ease basically I am after I bit of a beast haha. I have I budget of upto $300-400 but if I could find something a lot cheaper than that will do the job then I certainly wont mind. The netgear range looks like exactly what I'm after however their vdsl modem + routers have shockingly bad reviews.. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as honestly after a few days of researching I haven't really gotten anywhere! Lol, thanks.

sbiddle

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#1398409 2-Oct-2015 06:30

Without knowing your exact property it's hard to comment but expecting a single router to cover a large house and outdoors as well is probably a totally unrealistic option. To deliver optimum performance such a setup is likely to require multiple AP's.

Jase2985

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#1398418 2-Oct-2015 07:11

i doubt you will find a singe device that can do all you describe, you will likely need the modem/router and a second access point to cover everything.

we have a modest 3 bedroom and our device is at one end of the house and covers the living areas and outside but the front of the house has very low/no signal, and devices are very slow so i put in a second access point and everything is so much faster

darylblake

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#1398429 2-Oct-2015 08:04

+1 on Sbiddles comment.

But FWIW I have a small house at the mo, and I am currently in the process of building a 235 sqm 4 bedroom 2 story place.
I have a Draytek DV130 (a remarkably solid unit) once I had updated the firmware and popped it in bridge mode. And a Microtik RB2011iL-IN with my wifi done by a well placed Unifi Access Point. But when i move to the larger house I am gonna look at getting a couple of the new Unifi AC access points which have not been released here yet AFAIK.

All in one units are ok because they will be a lot easier to set up than the Mikrotik. But normally All in one units are pooly placed for wifi. People place them near phone or where their master filter is because thats just what you do. Normally this is a poor place to pop an access point. Mine is mounted on the roof in the middle of a 100sqm house and it get a great signal everywhere (provided I dont have too many units using it at once).

Best cheap way to have a good home network is to:
1) Cable everything you can, e.g. Smart TVs/AppleTv's and desktop PC's should all be on cable so it puts less stress on the wifi.
2) Place access points in good locations, away from interference.

I find that when i watch netflix in my bedroom on the wifi on my ROKU2, it works fine about 90% of the time and I get HD. But if my daughter is in the lounge streaming to the IPAD as well, it has to retransmit sometimes.. Which is why cabling in everything that wont move is a great way to stop home network problems.

You could opt for an all in one unit + an extra access point.. if you need good wifi throughout the house. The pros of the all in one modems is they are a LOT easier to set up. Or if you know or want to learn how to configure a mikrotik or edgerouter you can do a setup like mine.

freitasm

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#1398433 2-Oct-2015 08:13

You could try the Dlink Viper. Easy to setup and use. They also have new extenders that work with it.

michaelmurfy

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#1398439 2-Oct-2015 08:22

Go have a look at the Xclaim XI-3 made by Ruckus. They're $305 from PBTech and very very good with providing decent WiFi. You can simply connect this to your existing router via Ethernet and adopt it in their cloud portal (a simple process).

Honestly without a doubt the best way to get decent WiFi and absolutely slaughters my Netgear R700 previously stated to have good WiFi. Ruckus also make some of the best WiFi gear.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

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mr_shady

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#1401402 6-Oct-2015 23:51

Thanks for the recommendations guys ok maybe I went overboard with the whole getting range out in the yard part lol. Just looking for something reliable, has good range and can handle times of high data usage efficiently like when someone is on the phone and someone else is streaming (will be an almost daily scenario in our house). I currently have vodafones techicolor tg789 and am looking for something better than that which I don't think would be too hard lol. Anyway think I came across the perfect router for what I'm after however it hasn't been released in NZ.. yet. :(

http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/cat-15_Archer-VR900.html

xpd

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#1401472 7-Oct-2015 08:38

I'm using V/fones HG659 (wifi turned off) and a Unifi AP, covers our entire section, inside and out. For $80 2nd hand, was a great investment :) And runs PoE, so only need the single cable to install where I want it.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

darylblake

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#1401871 7-Oct-2015 16:35

Yeh that modem should work pretty sweet, its got 4x gigabit ports. Just get a good wifi unit and turn off the wifi on the modem off to reduce noise.

Get something dual band 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz and place it in a really good spot, run a cat5e/cat6 cable back to that vodafone modem you got.

That Ruckus unit michaelmurfy suggested would be awesome but I suspect it wont be cheap.. But you don't get good wifi by going cheap. The other option is looking at the google onhub. I have not had much feedback on it so far but they are supposedly advertising it as high quality wifi. With the Ruckus you know you are buying a business grade piece of wifi equipment, which is why it is expensive.

I think you should spend the money on decent access point (or two) and place it in a good spot, rather than replacing that modem which probably works sweet for routing and internet.