(Part 2) Best products from r/wifi

Yeah, I say return that shit, you got taken in by very misleading marketing.

A wireless router can't transmit data any faster than what the client it's talking to is capable of.

Most modern clients are only capable of the 867Mbps or 1300Mbps max 802.11ac PHY rates, which, after typical Wi-Fi overhead, means 500-700 Mbps max throughput, and that's on a clean channel with the client in the same room as the AP, and no other devices taking up any airtime. The max PHY rate you can get drops off dramatically with distance and interference, so if you put a wall or a floor/ceiling between your client and the AP, you'll get far less throughput.

I could go into painful technical detail about how shitty TP-Link's marketing claims are for that router, but unless you're really ready to nerd out about wireless modulation and coding schemes, let me just leave it at this: Your "red beast" isn't going to improve over the "550 wireless, 900 wired" performance of your existing rented router unless you have clients capable of one or more of the following unusual speed-boosting technologies:

1. Support for 4 spatial streams. One ASUS PCIe WNIC for desktops supports this, but it's not common in laptops or tablets or phones because small devices don't have enough room for 4 separate antennas spaced out enough to be useful. Support for 4 spacial streams also adds power consumption (lessens battery life), increases thermal load (fans would have to run more, or throttle the CPU, GPU, or Wi-Fi more), and adds cost.
   
2. Support for using nonstandard 1024-QAM modulation with 802.11ac. 1024-QAM is part of the brand-new, just-barely-started-shipping 802.11ax/"Wi-Fi 6" standard, but some vendors added nonstandard 1024-QAM support to their 802.11ac devices. Your "red beast" doesn't actually support 802.11ax, so this speed boost only works with client devices that support this weird nonstandard mode. As it turns out, that same ASUS PCE-AC88 I linked to above happens to be one of the few WNICs that supports this. It seems Broadcom added nonstandard 1024-QAM support to one or two of their highest-end 802.11ac chipsets a couple years ago, so there are a few Broadcom-based client devices or WNIC cards that support it. I'm not aware of whether any other chipset vendors support it, or whether the support is interoperable between vendors (since it hasn't been standardized by the IEEE and the Wi-Fi Alliance doesn't certify compatibility for it).

After testing five(!) different adapters I settled on the Kinivo WID340 300Mbps Dual Band Wireless N USB Adapter. This one had the easiest / best / most universal installation and configuration, as well as the best overall connection and transfer rates. They also have some pretty amazing people on their support staff, and were very helpful when I had issues on one of my machines that was running Windows 8.1 with crapped-up "security updates".

That's a big home for sure. I can imagine if the router is at the center, that you don't get good coverage on the far ends of the house.

Typically, combo modem/router setups are far less powerful than a dedicated device.

I think based on what you've explained, you would benefit from a mesh type router system like the Google Wi-Fi system or this TP-Link system.

You can easily do what you explained with multiple APs, but if you're not experienced with home networking, it can get complicated. From my understanding of the mesh systems (I don't currently have one), they work better than standard network extenders/repeaters and are much easier to setup.

Edit:
If you want to hardwire some devices, I'd just put the modem and main router setup as close to those devices as you can. If needed, you could get separate APs to plug those devices in via Ethernet but plugging the ethernet into the main router is best. Plugging it into another AP can only still provide as good of a connection to the internet as the Wi-Fi connection is at that APs location.

You can do this with the mesh systems too.

There are a few scenarios here:

1. Is the wireless broadcast protected (WPA, WPA2)? If yes, take note.
   
2. Is other authentication needed beyond that (captive portal)? If yes, take note.
   
   You will need the answer to these two questions. If 'yes' only to number one above you are good to go. If 'yes' to both number one and two you will likely need to get your new wireless repeater approved by the network admin first.
   
   NOTE: I own a company in Arizona that provides WiFi services specifically to Apartment properties and Hospitality
   
   If you're in AZ let me know the name of the property maybe my company services it. If not, we can make it better.
   
   A device like this should do the trick (it needs to have a good signal from the nearest access point to work properly):
   https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Wi-Fi-Extender-Essentials-EX2700/dp/B014YN7LVE/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1484879755&sr=1-3&keywords=wireless%2Brepeater&th=1
   

I have been looking at a Power Over Ethernet amplified directional antenna. Haven't used this specific product yet, but a directional antenna should allow one to focus on the access point to get good gain. I did set something like this up for a friend years ago with USB, and it worked fine bolting the antenna on a piling and aiming carefully. You'll need to know what band you are trying to receive. Two options from Amazon: 1.) 2.4 GHz and 2.) 5 GHz

Ethernet's good because it gives you a long run digital connection to the antenna avoiding RF losses, the other option is Amplified USB for runs over 15 feet. For under 15 feet you can use regular USB.

A great place to start is seeing what modems your ISP accepts. http://mynewmodem.xfinity.com/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KW9T39C/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

That one is on the list and looks good, good speeds and 4 Ethernet ports. That's the modem and router in one, and should work for just about all cable internet companies.

Sadly, it seems like at&t doesn't allow 3rd party modems (they're willing to lose customers over $10/mo I guess) so if you switch your fancy new device will be useless.

Splitting the 2 functions into 2 devices (modem and wireless router) has the benefit of keeping your WiFi setup the same no matter who your ISP is (because the modem just connects the router to the internet). However the cost of 2 devices is obviously higher than one device. You can get a cable modem for ~$120 and a pretty good router for ~$70 (Linksys certified refurbished is great there)

If you switch to at&t with split devices, you will still have to rent a modem (although it may be slightly less per month for just the modem instead of the combo device)

Thanks!

What do you think of this little guy? It doesn't seem to have router functionality, but that's alright.

Oh, this might be even better, as it seems to support router fx.

Example:

Linksys Velop AC2200 Tri-band Whole Home WiFi Intelligent Mesh System, 2-Pack, Easy Setup, Maximize WiFi Range & Speed for all your devices https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSSUG2H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_EZ49BbFQWT880

There are lots of them. just search mesh wifi on Amazon. But I would highly recommend Ethernet over any wifi solutions

A dual band 802.11ac router is not very expensive. Here is a $58USD example. Apple devices will pretty much always choose the fat 5GHz channels even when the 2.4GHz RSSI is significantly better. Getting devices on to 5GHz would free up airtime for the 2.4GHz-only devices.

The next thing to try would be to do a factory reset of your router (save your config first) to see if that helps.

If not, then time to shop for a new one. The standard recommendation for an all-in-one is the TP-Link Archer C8. If you're ready to get your feet wet and learn more about networking and the ability to do more, then folks recommend a Ubiquiti [Edgerouter-X](https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap-ac-lite/) and UAP-AC-LITE access point.

Yes you can find cheaper :

https://www.amazon.com/Touchstone-Residential-Gateway-802-11n-TG862G/dp/B008KRLZCW/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSTB5KW/

Good luck with Comcast

Thanks! It turns out my device uses rp-sma to attach the antenna, and I found this item on Amazon to connect it. Much appreciated!

just asking, because driver support. any WiFi USB dongle should work, although you probably want to get one with an external antenna and 5ghz support.

something like this or that

Maybe a set of powerline adapter like these?

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-AV1000Mbps-Powerline-WiFi-Extender/dp/B0725LPTZR/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=powerline%2Bwifi&qid=1567703303&s=electronics&sr=1-4&th=1

Like a TP-Link EAP225?

Your best option is to connect them both by an Ethernet cable and run the second router as a Wifi Access Point.

In doing so you will have to take precautions for electrical grounding problems, given that both homes will have different electrical panels, etc.

Here is an example of a Surge protecting adapter:

https://www.amazon.com/Qooltek-Ethernet-Protector-Lighting-Protection/dp/B00UYXRDU8/ref=pd_sbs_147_t_2/136-1763447-5920729?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00UYXRDU8&pd_rd_r=7deea161-8afa-4061-a13e-8c84e1e45075&pd_rd_w=g2VJK&pd_rd_wg=gHVlS&pf_rd_p=5cfcfe89-300f-47d2-b1ad-a4e27203a02a&pf_rd_r=J5ZM8JR21S6E4PHFQ8R4&psc=1&refRID=J5ZM8JR21S6E4PHFQ8R4

Buy this: MOTOROLA 8x4 Cable Modem, Model MB7220, 343 Mbps DOCSIS 3.0, Certified by Comcast XFINITY, Time Warner Cable, Cox, BrightHouse, and More (No Wireless) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019ZY1ZWS/

Buy this: TP-Link AC1750 Smart WiFi Router - Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Internet Router for Home, Works with Alexa, VPN Server, Parental Control&QoS(Archer A7) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079JD7F7G/

If big house; buy this instead: Netgear Orbi Whole Home Mesh WiFi System with Advanced Cyber Threat Protection, 3-Pack (RBK53S-100NAS) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RXNRZ4L/