So I am thinking of getting a new WiFi router for my home. Right now I have the last gen Airport Extreme. It's dual band but connecting to the 5Ghz band can be spotty. I'm in an apartment and the AE is three rooms away from the bedroom/mancave I'm usually in. My iPhone SE 2nd Gen has always had issues connecting with the AE but my previous iPhone 6S never did. I know Apple won't support the AE forever so someday I'll have to get a new router regardless. What are some good recommendations for routers that work well with Apple devices but also easy to set up?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Best WiFi router for Mac?
- Thread starter bigpoppamac31
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I use a couple of Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien Routers in a mesh setup. No issues with Apple devices - multiple ipads, iphones, macbooks, and an Apple TV all connected and working fine.
One of these? https://www.amazon.ca/AmpliFi-Ubiqu...mzn1.fos.c021cf91-aacd-4a27-9bf5-80aba3271009
That's very pricy. I'm hoping to keep the price under $150.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
What is the size and layout of your house? Additionally, where are you planning to place the router? Your budget is 150 Canadian Dollars I presume? The community may be interested in knowing about your most demanding application, such as streaming 4K YouTube videos. So we can give better suggestions.
So I just replaced my wifi network last week. I had a system of 4 Airport Extremes (802.11ac models) and used ethernet for the backhaul.
I ended up replacing them all with an Orbi wifi 6E mesh system (base plus two satellites). Going with the 6E model added a substantial amount to the price, but given how long I'd owned the Airports, I figured the 6E system would be good for a while.
Even letting the satellites use the wifi backhaul (a separate dedicated 5GHz channel), I've gotten as high as 629Mbit/sec on my M1 iPad Pro. That's more than twice the speed I was getting from the old Airports. And while I've got ethernet going to a lot of rooms, there's a couple that don't have ethernet going to them, one of which is a perfect location for one of the satellites to improve wifi coverage and fill-in some of the signal gaps my old Airport network had. So even using the wifi backhaul I'm getting better speeds and coverage than I was using ethernet backhauls on the old Airports.
The Orbi also has a couple additional features like an IoT network (a 2.4GHz only band) and a guest network, neither of which I really intend to use.
System packaging was good and it the satellites came pre-paired with the basestation out of the box, so set up was extremely easy. I did have to dig into the settings to switch the Orbi into Access Point (bridge) mode instead of "router" mode, as otherwise I'd have a double NAT situation which I didn't want to have to deal with, but had done the same to the Apple Airports as well.
The only issue I really had took me a solid day to figure out -- for whatever reason, the 2.4GHz channel that the Orbi selected on the Auto channel mode was causing problems with my Hue lights. I couldn't figure out why some were working and some were very glitchy. I manually switched the 2.4GHz network to channel 1 (was set to "Auto") and the Hue lights began responding again. My Airports, whichever channel they automatically chose, never caused any problems. Either way, it's working well after the 2.4GHz channel change and I'm far enough from my neighbors that I don't need to worry about channel interference from their systems.
I plan on buying my wife a new laptop this summer (likely the 15" MacBook Air, if rumors are to be believed), so she'll be able to take advantage of the 6GHz 6E network.
I ended up replacing them all with an Orbi wifi 6E mesh system (base plus two satellites). Going with the 6E model added a substantial amount to the price, but given how long I'd owned the Airports, I figured the 6E system would be good for a while.
Even letting the satellites use the wifi backhaul (a separate dedicated 5GHz channel), I've gotten as high as 629Mbit/sec on my M1 iPad Pro. That's more than twice the speed I was getting from the old Airports. And while I've got ethernet going to a lot of rooms, there's a couple that don't have ethernet going to them, one of which is a perfect location for one of the satellites to improve wifi coverage and fill-in some of the signal gaps my old Airport network had. So even using the wifi backhaul I'm getting better speeds and coverage than I was using ethernet backhauls on the old Airports.
The Orbi also has a couple additional features like an IoT network (a 2.4GHz only band) and a guest network, neither of which I really intend to use.
System packaging was good and it the satellites came pre-paired with the basestation out of the box, so set up was extremely easy. I did have to dig into the settings to switch the Orbi into Access Point (bridge) mode instead of "router" mode, as otherwise I'd have a double NAT situation which I didn't want to have to deal with, but had done the same to the Apple Airports as well.
The only issue I really had took me a solid day to figure out -- for whatever reason, the 2.4GHz channel that the Orbi selected on the Auto channel mode was causing problems with my Hue lights. I couldn't figure out why some were working and some were very glitchy. I manually switched the 2.4GHz network to channel 1 (was set to "Auto") and the Hue lights began responding again. My Airports, whichever channel they automatically chose, never caused any problems. Either way, it's working well after the 2.4GHz channel change and I'm far enough from my neighbors that I don't need to worry about channel interference from their systems.
I plan on buying my wife a new laptop this summer (likely the 15" MacBook Air, if rumors are to be believed), so she'll be able to take advantage of the 6GHz 6E network.
The pic below is the layout of my apartment. It's an older building which was built in the 1970s so more solid walls throughout (perhaps concrete?). The modem from my ISP and the AE are in the living room on the wall between that room and the small bedroom. I'm mainly in the middle sized bedroom (top right corner) which I use for my "man cave". I don't do any heavy video or photo editing. Mainly web browsing, email, watching YouTube, Apple TV, AirPlay for music.
Attachments
Apple devices are similar to others in that they utilize industry-standard Wi-Fi protocols.
Due to the layout, the Wi-Fi signal must penetrate multiple concrete walls.
I would suggest purchasing a mesh Wi-Fi system and placing one of the units near your room. This will help us overcome the physical limitation.
You could choose one from those popular brands. They target the consumer market and usually have easy-to-set-up functions built into their models. Moreover, they typically offer decent, if not excellent, customer support.
TP-Link and others offer powerline wifi (through household electrical outlets) that may be worth considering.
Best powerline extenders for 2025
The best powerline extenders give you internet access anywhere there’s an AC outlet
www.tomsguide.com
They're out of favor with some due to fact that Amazon now owns the company but overall, I've been happy with Eero's. I have them setup as a mesh network and have no issues around my 2,500 sqft home.
I surprised not suggested the Synology RT660AX as you main router and make your own mesh using their WRX560 to make your own Wi-Fi 6 mesh!
My ISP provides a modem/router but I did not find the signal to be very strong. We called them a few years ago and had them disable the router portion as I have the AE.
Well with the Apple routers they had their own software on the Mac to help the user to set up the router. I was nice and easy to use. Do other brands have something similar?
I was on Amazon and was looking at routers such as this one. https://www.amazon.ca/TP-Link-AC190...fos.b06bdbbe-20fd-4ebc-88cf-fa04f1ca0da8&th=1
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Yes, though not that elegant.
When setting up your new router, I recommend using the web interface and avoiding any cloud-based features. Additionally, refrain from registering an account. If you require assistance, you can still refer to the manual or contact their support team.
The router in the link should provide a good 2.4GHz signal, but the 5GHz signal may be patchy. You may need to reposition the router to allow for fewer walls to block the signal.This is just my speculation, as I am not aware of the actual materials used in the construction of the building. Therefore, your costs and results may differ.
The Orbi system has an iOS/iPadOS app that helps you set things up, or you can dig in to more sophisticated settings by directing a web browser to the base station's IP address. The web-based config page, which you would use on a Mac, has a "basic" settings page as well which pretty much mirrors what's on the iOS app.
So, no macOS-specific app for Orbi, but everything is easily accessible otherwise.
Not sure about the other systems people have mentioned. After a couple weeks, I'm pretty satisfied with my Orbi system. Excellent coverage and speed, and no stability issues at all so far.
We only have Apple in our home and business (we have a lodging business) and we have a tp-link AX5400 Wi-Fi 6 router and we have an additional Ubiquiti Unifi Access Points for our guests that mostly have apple phones and laptops and it runs smoothly. But I do not know what interference you could experience elsewhere as we are in the middle of the forest on top of a mountain so there are no other buildings with people and routers etc anywhere remotely close.
I have a 6600, 2600 and 2200 in a mesh configuration. I use Apple devices and I don't have a lot of issues.
I guarantee you there are no concrete walls in your apartment (other than possibly the outside walls, and even then, they're probably brick - which is very different than concrete in the context of what we're talking about).
With an apartment that small you shouldn't even need a two-piece mesh setup, though it would probably provide the best results. You probably just need (any) new router.
Routers are "throw-away" devices. Most people in the know recommend replacing them around every two to three years at most. And despite the spec sheets all the vendors provide, they're pretty much all the same as far as how they work. I like the eero brand for its easy setup and configuration (via an app on my phone), but there are plenty of good ones out there.
As someone mentioned above, you'll be doing yourself a favor if you have your ISP's modem set to NOT provide the WiFi signal - as then you're just using up bandwidth to supply essentially two routers. If you have a choice, get a modem that is ONLY a modem, not a gateway/wi-fi modem. I bought my own for $60 or so and it works great in combo with my eero router.
With an apartment that small you shouldn't even need a two-piece mesh setup, though it would probably provide the best results. You probably just need (any) new router.
Routers are "throw-away" devices. Most people in the know recommend replacing them around every two to three years at most. And despite the spec sheets all the vendors provide, they're pretty much all the same as far as how they work. I like the eero brand for its easy setup and configuration (via an app on my phone), but there are plenty of good ones out there.
As someone mentioned above, you'll be doing yourself a favor if you have your ISP's modem set to NOT provide the WiFi signal - as then you're just using up bandwidth to supply essentially two routers. If you have a choice, get a modem that is ONLY a modem, not a gateway/wi-fi modem. I bought my own for $60 or so and it works great in combo with my eero router.