New Home Router Advice

[cellophane]

I need to update my router at home as my current one isn't fast enough for my internet speed (d'oh!) I've done some research and every time I think I have it figured out I find something that doesn't really fit the bill. Any advice is welcome.

The Netgear Nighthawk line looked great until I saw it was an app-only setup... The Synology router looks good, but

What I'm looking for:

• Need at least 4 LAN ports (NAS, PC, XBox, Occasional Laptop/Spare) with 500Mb+ speeds. Link aggregation would be nice but not required.
• Basic network configurations (name, security, etc).
• DNS/DHCP Configuration (I have Pi-Hole running through Docker).
• DHCP Reservations.
• WebUI (I don't want an app-only UI); Windows UI is fine but I'm curmudgeonly.
• Traffic Controls- Port Forwarding, QoS, etc.
• Don't really care about Mesh. I don't do any wireless gaming and my house is not that big.
• I don't really need storage on the router, everything is on the NAS.
• WRT support would be awesome but not crucial.
• Would like to stay at or under +/-$200.

Thanks!
🍻

[Chuck E Ducky]

I have the Night Hawk Gaming Router and didn’t have to setup any APP. It was pretty straightforward. I purchased my own modem and that made a world of a difference for my connection speeds. I feel like it’s harder for my provider to nerf my connection. But the Night Hawk works great I lost my short range downstairs after I installed a pergo floor but I basically covered the entire 2nd floor with foil due to the padding used. It’s got great range otherwise. Even the fast short range works really good. I set it up so my long range only allows a certain speed so it won’t slow my gaming connections if they are running at the same time. It’s got a bunch of hardwire connections in the back to.

However nothing beats wired connections. My new house I’m having Cat 6 run everywhere.

[BenoitOWN]

When my Apple airport express died after a few years I switched to this:
https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Dual-Ban...dp/B00FB45SI4/

now I don’t know if it meets all your specs so you will have to look it up.

[cellophane]

I have the Night Hawk Gaming Router and didn’t have to setup any APP. It was pretty straightforward.

Maybe it is just the new ones that use the app? I'll have to do some more digging on those.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I’m on the same page as you. I won’t buy products that require me download an APP. It’s just a scam to get your info to sell it add companies at this point. I wouldn’t have purchased it if it required an APP just to function.

[Cunha]

I'd get one from costco so you can return it when it inevitably fails.

[Cdn_Cuda]

I use Ubiquiti at work. They make some really good stuff that is very easy to use. Not sure if they have household routers but highly recommend them.

[Siress]

Networking is a challenge... so much jargon, so many potential configurations and variables...

If I understood your request, you really don't need anything close to $200 if wifi is optional. For that kind of coin, I'd recommend something like this so you can implement some serious gateway work with PfSense. Folks use these with full gigabit service. Just make sure to get an intel NIC:

[Grendel]

I have been using the Linksys Max-Stream AC4000 MU-MIMO Tri-Band Wireless Smart WiFi Router (EA9300) for a while and have been perfectly happy with it. I rarely need to reboot it.
I am using all 4 ethernet ports (one connected to another 4 port router) and a NAS

Currently under $200

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B071DKY952/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[cellophane]

Networking is a challenge... so much jargon, so many potential configurations and variables...

If I understood your request, you really don't need anything close to $200 if wifi is optional. For that kind of coin, I'd recommend something like this so you can implement some serious gateway work with PfSense.

Tell me about it. It used to be simple...

I do want WiFi, I just don't need a Mesh or the ability to stream 4k video and the like. If I'm doing any real work that needs internet access I'll either use my desktop or plug in my laptop. The Surface doesn't have an Ethernet port, but I don't have much on it that needs that much bandwidth other than software updates from time to time.

Thanks- I'll take a look at those and see how much more confusing it all gets 😂

side note: when did routers get so ugly?! some of these things are ridiculous!

[Seajay]

Ugly, you mean glorious! More antennae's the better! There was a time when internal antennae's was the thing then they learned they suck.

I got a Asus RT 66u B1 and it is fantastic, for $89. Does everything the RT68 does just slightly less power, same 2 core logic and such. The "B1" is important, as the 66u is not the same hardware.
It has fantastic range, minus anything that blocks a wifi signal.

App is optional, otherwise it is a old school webpage interface.

[Siress]

I also use an Asus as my primary router these days; RT-AX58U. I bought it in a time of urgent need, and it was the most reasonable option on the shelf in best buy. I like it, but I generally only use routers running opensource firmware, predominately DD-WRT.