Looking for a good wifi router to replace my airport extreme

[212rikanmofo]

Lately I've been getting a lot of random drop outs with my wifi. We have a 2 story home about 3500sq feet and the apple airport extreme router is at the other end of the house. Never had so many random dropouts before until now. I'm primarily using the 2.4ghz wifi connection vs the 5ghz one. Because the 5ghz signal is extremely weak. I'd have to be up close to the router for it to be of any use.

Not sure what's going on, but it has made using the internet extremely frustrating and I would like to upgrade to something better, that's faster, more reliable and stable. I haven't been keeping up with wifi network equipment ever since I bought the apple airport extreme. Not sure what to get. I heard stuff about mesh networks and all that but kind of confused on what to get. Our home uses mainly apple devices, I also have a NAS for streaming plex. I have an 8 port switch connected to the airport router for hardwired connections like ps5, gaming pc, nas, etc.

I want something that will work well with all my existing devices. Since I use mostly apple stuff, i want to be sure its compatible. Speed and low latency is my main concern.

 

[Bigwaff]

You are going to be inundated with options for any budget as home consumer router equipment from the last 10 years is all very good. Differentiators will be security features, parental controls, mesh support for starters. Either you simply pick the first one you see on the shelf at Best Buy or spend days mulling over online reviews and reading posts recommending this one or that one. To that end, here is my recommendation - Gryphon mesh system. I have young children.

Gryphon

Gryphon is parental control router and internet safety system. Gryphon fights screen time addiction, prevents access to inappropriate websites, blocks adult content, and limit access to apps during homework and bedtime. Gryphon also provides security against hackers, malware, and personal...

gryphonconnect.com

Edit: You can find these routers for very reasonable prices used on eBay.

 

[ChrisA]

Lately I've been getting a lot of random drop outs with my wifi. We have a 2 story home about 3500sq feet and the apple airport extreme router is at the other end of the house. Never had so many random dropouts before until now. I'm primarily using the 2.4ghz wifi connection vs the 5ghz one. Because the 5ghz signal is extremely weak. I'd have to be up close to the router for it to be of any use.

Not sure what's going on, but it has made using the internet extremely frustrating and I would like to upgrade to something better, that's faster, more reliable and stable. I haven't been keeping up with wifi network equipment ever since I bought the apple airport extreme. Not sure what to get. I heard stuff about mesh networks and all that but kind of confused on what to get. Our home uses mainly apple devices, I also have a NAS for streaming plex. I have an 8 port switch connected to the airport router for hardwired connections like ps5, gaming pc, nas, etc.

I want something that will work well with all my existing devices. Since I use mostly apple stuff, i want to be sure its compatible. Speed and low latency is my main concern.

Many routers can work for you, but the best solution is to pull Ethernet wire. Then connect a second and third router to the frist one with wire. One router is not going to work as well. Yes, there are wireless mesh routers but the links between them they use up bandwidth. I like Asus because any routes can be used as part of a mmesh node. Yes any routers even an old you you buy on eBay. And iti s one of the few companies thy let you run with no need to create a cloud account on their company servers.

Put one router in each end of the house

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Do you have ethernet available throughout the house?
Or... just in a few places (which places)?

SOME mesh systems have "wired backhaul" (using ethernet).
This results in better performance...

 

[212rikanmofo]

My house is wired for ethernet. But my wifi speeds are around 45 Mbps Down and 32 Mbps Up, which is extremely slow. Especially for streaming 4K movies and such. I also need it for streaming games using steam link over wifi too. So I was looking for something to replace my aging Airport Extreme router. I was looking at the Netgear Nighthawk RS700S and thinking about purchasing this one, and then use my old airport extreme router as an extender. Would that be possible? If it can be used to improve network speed that would be great but if not then hopefully the Nighthawk will be more than enough I hope. I heard mesh systems are only good for range, but lack in speed. To me speed is important as I need it for streaming and such. Anyone hear own the Nighthawk series modem and can offer some feedback? It's currently on sale for $499 now.

 

[ilikeavocados5893]

UniFi Dream Router 7. It's basically what an AirPort Extreme would look like today if Apple still made routers because all the Apple networking engineers went to work for Ubiquiti.

 

[ChrisA]

My house is wired for ethernet. But my wifi speeds are around 45 Mbps Down and 32 Mbps Up, which is extremely slow. Especially for streaming 4K movies and such. I also need it for streaming games using steam link over wifi too. So I was looking for something to replace my aging Airport Extreme router. I was looking at the Netgear Nighthawk RS700S and thinking about purchasing this one, and then use my old airport extreme router as an extender. Would that be possible? If it can be used to improve network speed that would be great but if not then hopefully the Nighthawk will be more than enough I hope. I heard mesh systems are only good for range, but lack in speed. To me speed is important as I need it for streaming and such. Anyone hear own the Nighthawk series modem and can offer some feedback? It's currently on sale for $499 now.

It will work MUCH better if you pick jusr one company and stay with it. You will need one than one router, liley three in a huse like yours (3,5 sq ft, 2 floors) and it will work best if the routes use wired backhaul.

When shopping, look to see if the company allows you to even use their product without making an account on their server. Then look to see if their "mesh" requires special routers. You do not want to be stuck in a few years having to replace everything, because when they stop making them and you want to expand again.

I went with Asus but there are others, possible better. Look at Ubiqity acess points. Or even Synology. I like Asus's prices better.

Don't mix brands because you want a unified user interface for loading firmware to mesh nodes and unified diagnostic pages and so on.

Why did your network work before and not now? Because your neighbors did this, they all now have 3 or 4 routers in their house and the "air" is getting crowded. Another reason for wired backhaul

 

[drrich2]

I was looking at the Netgear Nighthawk RS700S and thinking about purchasing this one, and then use my old airport extreme router as an extender. Would that be possible? If it can be used to improve network speed that would be great but if not then hopefully the Nighthawk will be more than enough I hope. I heard mesh systems are only good for range, but lack in speed. To me speed is important as I need it for streaming and such.

Mesh Routers VS Powerline Adapters And Wi-Fi Extenders – Buyers Guide 2021​

Range Extender or Mesh Network? Advice From an Expert on Which Delivers Better Wi-Fi Coverage​

I don't think an extender is a good idea, as you may see from those 2 articles.

Lately I've been getting a lot of random drop outs with my wifi. We have a 2 story home about 3500sq feet and the apple airport extreme router is at the other end of the house.

I'm thinking Wifi 7 mesh system.

Wi-Fi Mesh Networking Systems: Buying Advice, Tips, and News

My house is wired for ethernet. But my wifi speeds are around 45 Mbps Down and 32 Mbps Up, which is extremely slow.

That's pitiful download (but pretty fast upload compared to mine) speed. I have a cable modem and via ethernet cable I can get around 480 Mbps download and 10-11 Mbps upload speed on a 400 Mbps service plan (Spectrum). Are you by any chance in a very rural area using DSL or a (non-Space X) satellite Internet option?

If you don't know your ISP service plan to be so slow, you need to figure out why it's that slow. It's either your ISP, modem or router. If you connect your computer to your modem by direct ethernet cable without the router in between them and run a speed test, what speed do you get?

Equipment gets old. I had as several year old Netgear cable modem/router combo. but it wasn't giving me the speeds I was paying for; upgrading to a Motorola cable modem and TP Link 6E router provided much faster speeds.

Regarding the Netgear Nighthawk RS700S you asked about, here's the Amazon page. Wow, around $600.

"NETGEAR Nighthawk Tri-Band WiFi 7 Router (RS700S) - Security Features, BE19000 Wireless Speed (up to 19 Gbps) – 10 Gig Internet Port - Covers up to 3,500 sq. ft. – 1-Year Armor & Free Expert Help"​

'Up to' doesn't mean 'good, reliable coverage throughout.' Especially in the real world, where people have walls and things. Not sure how yours being a 2-story home may bring things in more compactly to the router's location, but still...

I'm no router guru so take this with a grain of salt, but I would not 'bet the farm' on a $600 single unit device. I'd rather get a 2 or 3 unit mesh router system.

 

[drrich2]

Oh, in that Amazon page on the router you asked about, I just noticed in the top listed review from April 13, 2025 by T. Owens, this bit: "One thing to note. We have Windows, Android, and IOS devices in my home. I had to turn off "Smart Connect" to get my Apple devices to connect. Smart Connect attempts to connect a device to either 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz, or 6Ghz bands depending on the type of device, and it's distance from the router. Apple TV, and Ipads don't like it. Simply turn it off in the Netgear app, and your good to go."

I don't know if that's still a 'thing,' or how common it is, but thought if you get one it might save you some headaches to know what he said.

And under that, Abel Saucedo May 2025 said: "After upgrading to the Netgear RS700, our internet experience has completely transformed especially in our 4,000 square foot, tri-level home. We were constantly battling dead zones and weak signals with our old router, especially on the top and bottom floors. But the RS700 handled that challenge like a pro. From the basement to the third floor, we now have full bars and fast, reliable connectivity throughout the entire house."

So hey, maybe it would work for you.