So what's a reputable router brand nowadays?
I've been noticing a lot of bad rap for TP-Link and Huawei lately. What are good alternatives then?
48 comments
Great question; rephrasing it for personal needs: in terms of durability, what is the 2022 equivalent of Linksys WRT54GL [1]? Something that supports open source firmware and will serve me for 5-10 years?
Or, since I have modest needs (ethernet is around 100Mbps; wifi should handle 2 simultaneous Zoom sessions well enough) and I like time-tested solutions: what's a somewhat older but sturdy router that is still worth buying today?
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linksys_WRT54G_series
Or, since I have modest needs (ethernet is around 100Mbps; wifi should handle 2 simultaneous Zoom sessions well enough) and I like time-tested solutions: what's a somewhat older but sturdy router that is still worth buying today?
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linksys_WRT54G_series
Turris Omnia ( https://www.turris.com/en/omnia/overview/ ) kind of fits your bill, but it's more 2020 than 2022. The main downside is that it doesn't support WiFi6, so you're stuck with 3x3 MIMO 802.11ac.
It runs a modified OpenWrt, TurrisOS, which is open source.
They're a bit on the pricey side, so "worth buying" from that perspective will be up to you.
Edit: Turns out there might be a 2022 version which would fit your bill (except the time tested part), but it's not launched yet. https://forum.turris.cz/t/turris-omnia-2022/15995/144 https://twitter.com/turris_cz/status/1448535213626200066
It runs a modified OpenWrt, TurrisOS, which is open source.
They're a bit on the pricey side, so "worth buying" from that perspective will be up to you.
Edit: Turns out there might be a 2022 version which would fit your bill (except the time tested part), but it's not launched yet. https://forum.turris.cz/t/turris-omnia-2022/15995/144 https://twitter.com/turris_cz/status/1448535213626200066
PC engines APU2:
https://www.pcengines.ch/apu2.htm
https://www.pcengines.ch/apu2.htm
I would hesitate to trust a whole brand. This is an area where almost everything is bad. Check for something with OpenWrt support and then get that exact supported model. I do the same with phones and LineageOS support.
The Netgear R6220 has been pretty good to me (I have several), but I will not ever tell someone to just "get a Netgear router".
The Netgear R6220 has been pretty good to me (I have several), but I will not ever tell someone to just "get a Netgear router".
what is the most speedy openwrt supporting router in 2022?
Netgear R7800.
But, security..
The firmware of the stock router is irrelevant because you overwrite it before putting the device into production.
I've had no issues with tplink routers, their hardware is good.
Secret is to check the openwrt database for compatibility before purchase, power up the router, confirm its not dead on arrival, then flash the openwrt firmware.
Best bit is the router config is just flat files - you can transfer them from old to new router and have it up and running in no time even if they are different models/brands.
Secret is to check the openwrt database for compatibility before purchase, power up the router, confirm its not dead on arrival, then flash the openwrt firmware.
Best bit is the router config is just flat files - you can transfer them from old to new router and have it up and running in no time even if they are different models/brands.
Asus Routers have served me well over the last 10 years.
Currently using a Asus AX88U with gigabit fiber. Great coverage throughout a two story house.
Currently using a Asus AX88U with gigabit fiber. Great coverage throughout a two story house.
I'm a big fan of ubiquiti; their UDM-Pro has been quite enjoyable to run as my home router. It's not quite as powerful as some other brands but it probably does the best job of blending ease of use with advanced features.
i'll second ubiquiti. great bang for your buck. i use an edgerouter pro
I'll third them, though I have mixed feelings about the company itself (their decisions have sometimes been a bit unaligned with what I would prefer).
Currently using an ER-X with two Unifi APs.
Best thing about this level of hardware is uptime. Unlike many consumer/retail routers I've used previously, this thing has months/years of uptime at a time.
When something fails on my network, I can almost always assume the router is not involved in the problem.
I could see myself going for a OpenSense/PFSense custom build at some point for more power and even more options, but EdgeRouter hardware right now has enough configuration settings for me, but there is one configuration the ER-X doesn't have exactly enough power for- which is QoS.
Trying to QoS my 300mbps results in about a 1/3 speed reduction because it's pegging the CPU pretty hard. (QoS causes hardware-offloading to be turned off).
Currently using an ER-X with two Unifi APs.
Best thing about this level of hardware is uptime. Unlike many consumer/retail routers I've used previously, this thing has months/years of uptime at a time.
When something fails on my network, I can almost always assume the router is not involved in the problem.
I could see myself going for a OpenSense/PFSense custom build at some point for more power and even more options, but EdgeRouter hardware right now has enough configuration settings for me, but there is one configuration the ER-X doesn't have exactly enough power for- which is QoS.
Trying to QoS my 300mbps results in about a 1/3 speed reduction because it's pegging the CPU pretty hard. (QoS causes hardware-offloading to be turned off).
Stay away from the EdgeMax (EdgeRouter and EdgeSwitch) products. Ubiquiti stopped releasing updates for the EdgeRouter line in June 2021 and for the EdgeSwitch line in September, 2021. They appear to have dropped all development efforts for these products.
I wish Netgear would stop being so Broadcom centric. Broadcom is such a shit ass dead useless company, basically actively hostile to open source. Anyone can take tbis crown any day, but the r7800, the Nighthawk X4S (2017), is still basically "the" openwrt router, & there's just flat nothing, not a single thing since 2017 that really competes & is viable. There's almost nothing that's 802.11ac compatible, much less wifi6, just a couple good but low end MediaTek units, & the world awaits some change & progress in tbis deadlocked sad unmoving sob story of broad unavailability.
Microtik is good value for money. All the features of an expensive CISCO at fraction the cost.
Been hearing about MikroTik for years from couple of a friends who do a lot of network related projects. Only good stuff, so when I will need a good home router in the future I will most likely go with MikroTik.
Big warning though that those are not made to be userfriendly to set up. They are a network nerds dream when it comes to features per dollar, but not easy to configure and updates can be wonky.
Mikrotik
https://mikrotik.com/
Depends what you call a "router".
If it doesn't need WiFi built-in then the answer is simple. Buy a quality box from a decent indie e.g. Deciso[1]. Either run what it comes with (generally OPNsense), or install your own BSD-based OS and configure to your personal preferences.
If you're looking for an all-in-one with Wifi included, then maybe something from Microtik ? But I don't know really, I keep my Wifi seperate (HP Aruba make FANTASTIC WiFi boxes, not as cheap as the usual junk, but fantastically configurable to an extraordinary level of granularity and robust, you really DO get what you pay for).
I would not touch Ubiquiti with a barge pole. IMHO their day in the spotlight has passed. They have been in a spiral of decline for a while. See also the way they handled that whole security thing in recent history. Plus also Ubiquiti is "web-ui or bust", if you are a techie that likes control you might find that too limiting.
[1]https://www.deciso.com/product-catalog/
If it doesn't need WiFi built-in then the answer is simple. Buy a quality box from a decent indie e.g. Deciso[1]. Either run what it comes with (generally OPNsense), or install your own BSD-based OS and configure to your personal preferences.
If you're looking for an all-in-one with Wifi included, then maybe something from Microtik ? But I don't know really, I keep my Wifi seperate (HP Aruba make FANTASTIC WiFi boxes, not as cheap as the usual junk, but fantastically configurable to an extraordinary level of granularity and robust, you really DO get what you pay for).
I would not touch Ubiquiti with a barge pole. IMHO their day in the spotlight has passed. They have been in a spiral of decline for a while. See also the way they handled that whole security thing in recent history. Plus also Ubiquiti is "web-ui or bust", if you are a techie that likes control you might find that too limiting.
[1]https://www.deciso.com/product-catalog/
I quite like the Ubiquiti 10x. If you have other stuff to do than learn the full CLI of your router, their web interface isn't awful.
You do have to spend some time turning off all the stuff that's exposed on the default wan interface though.
You do have to spend some time turning off all the stuff that's exposed on the default wan interface though.
Wow you weren’t kidding about pricing from Aruba - they sell wireless access points that are more expensive than the latest iMac!
> Wow you weren’t kidding about pricing from Aruba - they sell wireless access points that are more expensive than the latest iMac!
Yeah, most of them were accessible price-wise before the whole COVID-induced semiconductor shortage came along.
Now most vendors have hiked their prices and unfortunately HP went up too, 30-40% for some models.
But for home use, the lower (but not bottom !) end models should be fine. Just be sure to check the EOL sheets first because HP refreshed their line last year (I think) to reduce some of the duplication in the ranges so don't buy the EOL models.
Yeah, most of them were accessible price-wise before the whole COVID-induced semiconductor shortage came along.
Now most vendors have hiked their prices and unfortunately HP went up too, 30-40% for some models.
But for home use, the lower (but not bottom !) end models should be fine. Just be sure to check the EOL sheets first because HP refreshed their line last year (I think) to reduce some of the duplication in the ranges so don't buy the EOL models.
Aruba's Instant On range is a direct competitor to Unifi. It also doesn't require a controller.
> Aruba's Instant On range is a direct competitor to Unifi.
This is correct.
(Although I can't vouch for it as I've never used it, my comments above were strictly related to the "full-fat" version of Aruba).
> It also doesn't require a controller.
Your implication that "full-fat" HP Aruba always requires an external controller is not correct.
All current "full-fat" APs can operate either controller-less or with controller (IIRC in North America you need to be careful what part number you order, outside North America they all ship controller-less out of the box).
Indeed, "full-fat" controller-less mode is very clever indeed. The APs run the controller on-board. When you have multiple APs they will form a cluster, and they will perform an election to determine master, failover is seamless.
This is correct.
(Although I can't vouch for it as I've never used it, my comments above were strictly related to the "full-fat" version of Aruba).
> It also doesn't require a controller.
Your implication that "full-fat" HP Aruba always requires an external controller is not correct.
All current "full-fat" APs can operate either controller-less or with controller (IIRC in North America you need to be careful what part number you order, outside North America they all ship controller-less out of the box).
Indeed, "full-fat" controller-less mode is very clever indeed. The APs run the controller on-board. When you have multiple APs they will form a cluster, and they will perform an election to determine master, failover is seamless.
I am a big fan of pcengines, bring your own os.
https://pcengines.ch/apu2.htm
https://pcengines.ch/apu2.htm
How good is their wifi range?
You'll want separate access points anyway. WiFi evolves faster than Ethernet.
I use an APU4 running OpenBSD for my router. WiFi is tp-link Omada setup. They have pretty much exactly copied the old UniFi interface so there was no learning curve.
I already have a OpenBSD firewall with no Wifi and connect my Wifi Router to that. Since the APU models advertise WiFi I was wondering how good their range is
The APUs don't provide WiFi. You have to get an mPCI-E card to add WiFi support. You'll want to look up the various supported NICs (wle200nx / wle600vx / wle900vx), how well they're supported in your desired operating system, and find appropriate antennas for them.
I have a Seeed mini-router with a Raspberry Pi 4 compute module, 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC flash. *This is a more rare router which comes with OpenWRT pre-installed*, for those who don't like the idea of reflashing a router from stock firmware, to alternative firmware (and super-frustrating minor hardware revisions *not stated on the product packaging* can trip you up, potentially-bricking the router).
Be warned that the wifi onboard the CM4 is weak (like the usable range is only 9ish feet, or 3ish metres), but the CM4 does have a tiny connector to attach a better antenna (not included). There are also 2 USB3 ports, so some sort of better Linux-compatible wifi dongle could be attached there. OpenWRT makes it easy to graphically add such a new network device into a quickly-usable network interface.
The linux kernel version at present is 5.4, if you were wondering how recent the driver support would be. And remember, that's aarch64 drivers, not amd64.
Be warned that the wifi onboard the CM4 is weak (like the usable range is only 9ish feet, or 3ish metres), but the CM4 does have a tiny connector to attach a better antenna (not included). There are also 2 USB3 ports, so some sort of better Linux-compatible wifi dongle could be attached there. OpenWRT makes it easy to graphically add such a new network device into a quickly-usable network interface.
The linux kernel version at present is 5.4, if you were wondering how recent the driver support would be. And remember, that's aarch64 drivers, not amd64.
If open-source routers don't interest you, you might try reviewing this site: https://routersecurity.org/
The short answer is the line of routers from Peplink, including their low-end business router, the Pepwave Surf SOHO. The site's owner argues that big box routers put overmuch emphasis on speed at the cost to security; they build a fast router, he feels, but then neglect firmware security updates. I've owned the Surf SOHO since 2017 and have just upgraded to the Peplink Balance 20+ for a little more future-proofing. I can attest that their engineers are still updating the firmware.
The short answer is the line of routers from Peplink, including their low-end business router, the Pepwave Surf SOHO. The site's owner argues that big box routers put overmuch emphasis on speed at the cost to security; they build a fast router, he feels, but then neglect firmware security updates. I've owned the Surf SOHO since 2017 and have just upgraded to the Peplink Balance 20+ for a little more future-proofing. I can attest that their engineers are still updating the firmware.
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I’ve had a good run with asus routers for the last 10 years or so.
I used to flash them with tomato before the fcc ruined that, now I flash them with merlin, very high quality.
They pretty well just work.
Currently running the AC86U
I used to flash them with tomato before the fcc ruined that, now I flash them with merlin, very high quality.
They pretty well just work.
Currently running the AC86U
Someone in a previous thread recommended https://www.linksys.com/nz/wireless-routers/wrt-wireless-rou...
Thank you for all the recommendations HN. I will look into them and research further.
Just to clarify, I'm actually looking for a hybrid of access point and switch to replace my trashy Huawei router my ISP has provided. Apologies for not being so clear on what I meant by "router."
Edit: typo
Just to clarify, I'm actually looking for a hybrid of access point and switch to replace my trashy Huawei router my ISP has provided. Apologies for not being so clear on what I meant by "router."
Edit: typo
In that case, I'll suggest you consider a FRITZ!box from avm (https://en.avm.de/). It might be a "local" thing, but ask any person with IT knowledge in Germany for a router suggestion, you will hear 9 out of 10 this brand. The routers are robust, well designed (or not, some think they are ugly as hell) and secure in comparison to any competitor. Disadvantages are they are not easily hackable for oneself and some things that wrt allows because its open it does not. Then again, the development of the OS it runs on continues and recently they added (experimental) support for Wireguard. (I wonder btw why they are not mentioned here - lack of international support? But I've seen them at least at friends all over europe)
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I'm a big fan of DrayTek.
Not only do they offer all the products I could need (Switches, AP's, Routers....) but their products are well positioned for the enthusiast...super configurable without the "enterprise" price tag.
Similar to MicroTik.
Not only do they offer all the products I could need (Switches, AP's, Routers....) but their products are well positioned for the enthusiast...super configurable without the "enterprise" price tag.
Similar to MicroTik.
What's the purpose of a "good" router? I am using a TP-Link provided my Internet provider and it just works?... Maybe I am missing something.
People are usually looking for a combination of 100% uptime, the ability to configure DNS on your LAN (ssh dhcphostname, and/or pi hole), light virtualization (x86 routers with power consumption similar to a raspberry pi are available), security, etc.
Also, with your TP-Link, your ISP has administrative access to log into your home LAN, and poke around. They might give themselves the right to do so in their TOS, or they might have hired a malicious employee, or suffer a security compromise.
Also, with your TP-Link, your ISP has administrative access to log into your home LAN, and poke around. They might give themselves the right to do so in their TOS, or they might have hired a malicious employee, or suffer a security compromise.
My Asus has been great for 5-6 years now
I like Aruba Instant On. 2nd option is Netgear Orbi from Costco, and third is Linksys Velop.
Asus routers that Asus-Merlin support are great, from personal experience.
I’ve been really happy with my Netgate 6100 running pfsense.
CISCO