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Best long range? wifi router

Wallace

Wallace

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 9, 2003
104
3
Michigan
I currently have an older (the flat one) AirPort Extreme router. In general im pretty happy with it since it reliably and easy to use. Only downfall is the range. I don't have a large house but in in the corner of certain rooms the wifi signal is weak which leads to slow internet speeds.

Can someone recommend a great wifi router which has a long range, is reliable, easy to setup and works well with Apple products?

Seems like there a ton of new products out there from Linksys, Acer etc. out there.

Thanks!
 
You might be better off investigating the new "mesh" systems out there, such as:
- Netgear Orbi
- Linksys Velop
- Google wifi
- eero
- luma
etc.

Note: The Orbi is the only one that sets up from a web page (although Velop can be "gotten to" that way as well). All the others are setup via a "smart device" such as an iPhone, iPad, Android device, etc.
 
With most wifi repeaters, it all depends on where the repeater is placed.

Let's say the wifi is great 10 ft from the router and is bad at 40ft, terrible at 50ft and non-existent at 60ft.
If you place a repeater at 40ft, you are just taking a bad signal and extending that same bad signal further out.

While they can work, it would just have to be implemented properly.
 
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mmomega said:
With most wifi repeaters, it all depends on where the repeater is placed.

Let's say the wifi is great 10 ft from the router and is bad at 40ft, terrible at 50ft and non-existent at 60ft.
If you place a repeater at 40ft, you are just taking a bad signal and extending that same bad signal further out.

While they can work, it would just have to be implemented properly.
Click to expand...
Of course. I use more than one for My needs,two in the house,and one on the outside of a wall,to get wifi signal in the most frequented part of the garden.
 
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Stefan johansson said:
Of course. I use more than one for My needs,two in the house,and one on the outside of a wall,to get wifi signal in the most frequented part of the garden.
Click to expand...

And I wasn't saying you didn't know this because I didn't either several years ago but many people don't. So I'm just simply trying to share my experience and advice on things I've picked up on over the years.

I went from 1 Aiport Base Station(3rd gen) to a 2nd and wirelessly extending and that's when I found out something wasn't right, still.
So I then just out of curiosity sake ran an ethernet cable between and hardwire bridged them and that is when the performance came that I thought was acceptable. Then my wife said when are we getting this wire off the floor :) so I ran cable through the attic. Then I discovered other dead spots in the house so I picked up a 3rd AEBS.
Now I'll also add that I picked up these 2nd and 3rd AEBS off of eBay for $40 for 1 and $35 for the other. I just checked right now and there is a 5th gen (flat) for $20.50.

I eventually moved on from the flat AEBS to the 802.11AC tall model and 2 Base stations were able to cover what 3 of the flat models were able to. I sold my old equipment and moved on, getting a little better equipment and slowly adding on until I ended up having a wireless network I am happy with.
 
Wallace said:
I currently have an older (the flat one) AirPort Extreme router. In general im pretty happy with it since it reliably and easy to use. Only downfall is the range. I don't have a large house but in in the corner of certain rooms the wifi signal is weak which leads to slow internet speeds.

Can someone recommend a great wifi router which has a long range, is reliable, easy to setup and works well with Apple products?

Seems like there a ton of new products out there from Linksys, Acer etc. out there.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Mesh Product is what you need to stretch. I gave up on trying to make one router reach my 2300 sq ft one story on one acre. So, I got the EERO Pro Mesh system with the 3 pucks. I have strong wifi throughout my whole house with no issues. I had NetGear Orbi before it, and it was a nightmare of firmware issues which I still see them having.
 
I moved home last year to a house 3 times the size as my previous - hence my Time Capsule (newest version) had to be sold. I tried several wifi routers and none would extend across my entire house. Hence I replaced it with the Netgear Orbi and never looked back. Fantastic range, fantastic speeds. Well happy!

 
Ifti said:
I moved home last year to a house 3 times the size as my previous - hence my Time Capsule (newest version) had to be sold. I tried several wifi routers and none would extend across my entire house. Hence I replaced it with the Netgear Orbi and never looked back. Fantastic range, fantastic speeds. Well happy!

Click to expand...

Yeah, those are junk. So many people have issues with the firmware on them and working with Apple devices. I had issues with iOS and Android devices when I had it. After 6 months I ditched it and went EERO and been happy since.
 
4RunnerHeaven said:
Yeah, those are junk. So many people have issues with the firmware on them and working with Apple devices. I had issues with iOS and Android devices when I had it. After 6 months I ditched it and went EERO and been happy since.
Click to expand...

I have 3 iPhones, 4 iPads, 2 MacBooks, 2 Windows laptops, and 2 smart TVs connected.
No issues whatsoever after 8 months use - never even needed a reboot etc at all. Has been spot on since day one. Granted I don't upgrade firmware unless I really need to, but they have been fantastic for me.
I wanted raw speed, and the Orbi, with its dedicated backhaul is superior to the Eero in this regard.
I guess its whatever works best for you at the end of the day, but the Orbi has been wonderful for me!
 
Some folks have nuthin' but trouble with the Orbi.
For others, it runs like a champ.

When I was considering "mesh", I was "leaning towards the Orbi" at first.
But, after reading about the problems some were having, I picked the Velop instead.

It also has a "third, dedicated" channel for backhaul.
Setup was a challenge (I use no iOS or Android "smart" devices), but once running, it's fine.
 
I did read all the negative comments on the net before purchasing the Orbi but thought I'd give it a shot anyway, with the option of returning it if it didn't work out.
Fortunately I was one of the ones who got lucky I guess - runs perfect as I stated above. Saying that - I've never checked for, or updated firmware since I've had it, just in case!! lol
 
I've been very happy with Google Wifi - sure they're only AC1200 and not as powerful, but they're reliable, easy to set up and manage via the dedicated app.
 
Ifti said:
I did read all the negative comments on the net before purchasing the Orbi but thought I'd give it a shot anyway, with the option of returning it if it didn't work out.
Fortunately I was one of the ones who got lucky I guess - runs perfect as I stated above. Saying that - I've never checked for, or updated firmware since I've had it, just in case!! lol
Click to expand...

Mine ran ok for 6 months till all went down hill and I couldn't get rid of then. Thankfully Best Buy took it back.
 
Deploy separate Access Points (no router function), and cable them directly back to your home network switch or router. Place a couple in strategic locations in your house. I have found that the Engenius products in this line to be superior. Their signal far surpasses an AEBS.

I have my CenturyLink modem-router-dhcpserver as the entry point. The router and dhcp function are disabled, so it acts only as a modem. Bridge mode over to my router for routing functions, and three Engenius AP's are hardwired into the network. One AP is out in the far back yard (RV area), and the other two at each end of the central house. DHCP provided by a FreeBSD server, all hardwired into the network for best performance. There are lots of options out there.
 
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