[TriLUG] Off-Topic are WIFI routers just getting worse

[tj via TriLUG]

I always use non-stock firmware.
the last purchase was T-mobile Asus AC68 for $60, this is rock solid N
coverage. AC is not great due on running at 5GHz.
I scored 2 years ago nighthawk AC1900 for $90 at Walmart and running
non-stock firmware.

those  are running AP only since I am  running "linux" router in VM.


On Tue, Mar 28, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Kevin Howell via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org
> wrote:

> There is one interesting behavior to be aware of with non-stock firmware.
> A lot of routers have either proprietary kernel modules or software hacks
> used to increase throughput (at the cost of other things). Example:
> https://lists.openwrt.org/pipermail/openwrt-devel/2013-August/021112.html
>
> So in some cases you'll get *worse* performance for certain use cases when
> switching to other firmware.
>
> If you're shopping for a new router, it's worth doing some research to
> know what you're getting into, especially if you're considering non-stock
> firmware... Most of the custom firmwares have decent pages on hardware,
> letting you know what quirks the hardware has, how the support is etc. (Ex.
> openwrt table of hardware: https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/start).
> https://wikidevi.com is also useful if you want to start at a lower level
> (find a well-supported chipset, and then find hardware built with that
> chipset).
>
> Hope this helps,
> Kevin Howell
> On 03/23/2017 12:00 PM, John Vaughters via TriLUG wrote:
>
>> +1 on changing default firmware.
>> I bought some refurbished NETGEAR W2000?? for $20-30 anyway, they were N
>> routers that were supported by dd-wrt and I was able to tune the output
>> power to the needs of the configuration of location and user experience. Of
>> course you always risk bricking the device and burning up your radio when
>> you do such things, but I have not had those issues and I am on 7+ years of
>> great router service. So great, I barely have touched them since I got the
>> configuration right, and even moved to a new house and just plugged them in
>> and off they went doing their thing. I cannot say all refurbished routers
>> are great though, I did the same thing with some Cisco cheap routers for
>> family and at least one of them completely flaked out without any changes
>> to the radio output either. Just luck of the draw. Out of about 10 or so
>> routers, 1 having an issue is not bad though considering the price.
>>
>>      On Thursday, March 23, 2017 11:19 AM, Keith Woodie via TriLUG <
>> trilug at trilug.org> wrote:
>>
>>   I would also recommend non-default firmware also.  I have an Asus that
>> I am running merlin on.  It actually fixed some issues I had.
>>
>> I haven’t used any mesh routers yet, but if anyone has had experience
>> with the Google or Eero routers I would like to hear their thoughts.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>>
>> Keith Woodie
>> kwoodie at gmail.com
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mar 23, 2017, at 11:16 AM, Kevin Howell via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> I've noticed that a lot of newer routers come preconfigured with
>>> WPA:TKIP&WPA2:AES (mixed mode). This is done for compatibility-sake, but my
>>> experience has been that wireless often performs poorly when configured
>>> this way. When at relatives/friends houses, I usually reconfigure (with
>>> permission) them to use *just* WPA2/AES. It has made a difference for me
>>> and my family/friends, but YMMV.
>>>
>>> Hope this helps,
>>> Kevin Howell
>>> On 03/22/2017 09:09 PM, Ken M via TriLUG wrote:
>>>
>>>> So I recently bought another wifi router. Because of some changes to the
>>>> setup here I needed a WIFI repeater as well.  They are both belkin, the
>>>> repeater as well as the router itself.  I didn't buy the bargain
>>>> basement model.  It is an ac1200 I think, sorry not in front of me.
>>>>
>>>> Anyway it just stinks, always an issue.  I had a linksys before that,
>>>> and although it sucked it was better.  Before that I had a crappy d-link
>>>> and it was better than all of them.
>>>>
>>>> Sorry to be "rant-ish" but it just seems no matter what I spend the next
>>>> wifi router is always worse than the one it replaced.  Is it just me?
>>>>
>>>> Ken
>>>>
>>>
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>>
>
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