Fast(!) WiFi router with TM support

[leman]

As my gigabit symmetric internet is being delivered next month, I am looking for a new router that would be able to take best possible advantage of it. I own a latest-gem time capsule, which has been working well, but I don't think its up for the job.

Ideally, I'd want a router with some NAS functionality, that is:

— Very fast 802.11ac and -n speeds
— Very fast ethernet
— Native Time Machine support
— Other features like rich QoS, background downloader etc. are welcome
— Attached storage performance as fast as possible!


I have been reading about the following models that seem to fit the bill

— Asus AC2400 RT-AC87U
— Netgear R7000

Anyone got some first-hand experience with those routers, especially with fast internet speeds? Or maybe there are some other models that you would recommend?

 

[ColdCase]

No router besides the Apple products are approved for TM support. They all will be problematic at best. For best reliability, turn off the routing function on your TC and just use it as a TM destination.

 

[leman]

Thank you for your answer.

I would still love to hear from someone who has actually hand-on experience with one of these routers.

 

[Rud3Bwoy]

well i had the apple router nothing but problems for xbox live randomly disconnecting outside of it i had good performance to be honest

i now got the linksys wrt1900ac

more reliable and handles my speeds just great wired and 5ghz network

300/20 mb connection here

 

[Altemose]

I have the AirPort Extreme with accompanying hard drive. Works great. Fantastic performance and rock solid reliability.

 

[brentsg]

I have had perfect experiences with the Airport Extreme products, both N and AC. No issues whatsoever with Xbox Live, PSN, PC gaming, etc.

Oh yeah and good time machine support!

 

[Rud3Bwoy]

I have had perfect experiences with the Airport Extreme products, both N and AC. No issues whatsoever with Xbox Live, PSN, PC gaming, etc.

Oh yeah and good time machine support!

lucky you,i just returned a time machine capsule 2tb with wifi,nothing but issues on xbox live disconnecting outside of it was good,i have now got the linksys wrt1900ac better range,better options within the router and no issues with my xbox live,also great performance on 5ghz network haven't gotten to test the 2.4 as i have all my devices on 5 ghz

 

[ColdCase]

lucky you,i just returned a time machine capsule 2tb with wifi,nothing but issues on xbox live disconnecting outside of it was good,i have now got the linksys wrt1900ac better range,better options within the router and no issues with my xbox live,also great performance on 5ghz network haven't gotten to test the 2.4 as i have all my devices on 5 ghz

My neighbor had nothing but issues with the linksys wrt1900ac. Needed rebooting once a day as routine maintenance... he returned it and picked up a new AEBS and has been much happier, the AEBS just flies in comparison. Come to think of it, he also had an issue with an Xbox, but his replacement Xbox has been working just fine..

YMMV...

 

[brentsg]

lucky you,i just returned a time machine capsule 2tb with wifi,nothing but issues on xbox live disconnecting outside of it was good,i have now got the linksys wrt1900ac better range,better options within the router and no issues with my xbox live,also great performance on 5ghz network haven't gotten to test the 2.4 as i have all my devices on 5 ghz

I know, but it's not luck. I saw your post and felt compelled to respond because what you experienced isn't the norm. Did you forward all of the necessary ports for Xbox Live?

I currently have a USA 360, a Japanese 360, and an Xbox One all working great wirelessly for both streaming and gaming. Yours isn't an issue that is a common problem. I don't doubt your experience, but it's not something that should scare someone away from a purchase.

 

[Rud3Bwoy]

I know, but it's not luck. I saw your post and felt compelled to respond because what you experienced isn't the norm. Did you forward all of the necessary ports for Xbox Live?

I currently have a USA 360, a Japanese 360, and an Xbox One all working great wirelessly for both streaming and gaming. Yours isn't an issue that is a common problem. I don't doubt your experience, but it's not something that should scare someone away from a purchase.

it had nothing to do with the ports not strict nat,my nat was open no issues also tried a dhcp didn't work xbox would consantly cut off once or twice a day,since switching routers not one disconnect yet on my network

----------

My neighbor had nothing but issues with the linksys wrt1900ac. Needed rebooting once a day as routine maintenance... he returned it and picked up a new AEBS and has been much happier, the AEBS just flies in comparison. Come to think of it, he also had an issue with an Xbox, but his replacement Xbox has been working just fine..

YMMV...

no router should need a daily reset for it to work,that right there shows it was a faulty router if it needed rebooting,as where the apple router everything worked just fine except my xbox but my sister also reported random disconnects and didn't believe her until i started having issues,apple/microsoft imyself tried everything and nothing worked so i just returned it and got back my 300

 

[ColdCase]

no router should need a daily reset for it to work,that right there shows it was a faulty router if it needed rebooting,as where the apple router everything worked just fine except my xbox but my sister also reported random disconnects and didn't believe her until i started having issues,apple/microsoft imyself tried everything and nothing worked so i just returned it and got back my 300

Yeah a faulty router design....

The Microsoft config utility seems to have a few issues. I assumed you tried WPA and allowed Taredo ports, either set up port forwarding or created a DMZ, set the DNS server manually in the Xbox to work around the Xbox bug. Seems to be several users with success, thats what the neighbor did to get his working... but just using a microsoft blessed router may be easier.... except for the other baggage.

 

[Rud3Bwoy]

Yeah a faulty router design....

The Microsoft config utility seems to have a few issues. I assumed you tried WPA and allowed Taredo ports, either set up port forwarding or created a DMZ, set the DNS server manually in the Xbox to work around the Xbox bug. Seems to be several users with success, thats what the neighbor did to get his working... but just using a microsoft blessed router may be easier.... except for the other baggage.

None of those fixed the issue xbl would still randomly disconnect .but glad I went this router much better router overall than the apple router anyway .never again touching an apple router only netgear Asus and linksys

 

[maratus]

I'm using Asus RT-n66u and an old Macbook Air with a bunch of HDDs connected over Ethernet as a TM/iTunes/Plex server. I get stable 100 MB/s over wire and 30 MB/s over 802.11n (not even ac!) for real world AFP transfers.

 

[stuartrozier]

my wd my book live supports TM, its built into the software,

also,

i was able to create a drive on my windows pc (if you have a spare comp) .. and it reads it from my mac, and TM works perfectly with it