ASUS - RT-AC5300

Anyone suggesting you continue to use the spectrum router is a spectrum rep who drinks way too much of the Kool Aid lmao. I use an ASUS RT-AC5300 and have been for the last like 3 years with no problem.

Anyone suggesting you continue to use the spectrum router is a spectrum rep who drinks way too much of the Kool Aid lmao. I use an ASUS RT-AC5300 and have been for the last like 3 years with no problem.

ASUS ROG products are a complete joke. If they spent the same amount on building a better router that they do on marketing they'd be much better off. You can search ASUS under my username for all my grievances. But they abandon all their ROG products after 1 year. After you buy that $699 router if you need warranty or it has a bug (like mine) where it'll stop dropping macs onto ethernet after a few weeks you just get to deal with it. $699 would be better spent literally anywhere else but ASUS. If you are spending that much you won't be happy with consumer devices anymore. You may want to look into ubiquti or rukus wifi and a custom router.

Given only the two choices. I would personally go with the EE router even knowing nothing about it. My experience with the two ASUS products I purchased did not meet the advertised capabilities. 1st being an RIVEB Motherboard. (Pile of crap) 2nd being a RT-AC5300. 3 RMA's, 2 failures, 3rd hasnt died, I turned the transmit power down but it's a different sku. The default band steering disconnects clients like crazy and must be disabled and it has a bug in the latest firmware that stops dropping macs on the wire. Also all advertised speeds are with no features on, you'll notice almost no reviewer will test with QoS or the firewall on. The newer ARM based routers may be fine at 1.6gbps but for the RT-AC5300 applying a shaper and firewall obliterated throughout to below 500mbps. Also if you want to use any of the traffic analyzer bandwidth graphs or per IP data use you have to accept an EULA that clearly says they will send all your connection data to trendmicro and they will sell it to advertisers. You'll start to get targeted ads for anything you access in your house. For more details search for: "asus trendmicro traffic analyzer"

I'm no expert at all in networks. I use Asus tri band routera running Merlin firmware. I have one router at the far end of the house on the 1at floor and the second router at the opposite end on the second floor. The signal extends to the yard and fully covers the house with Wi-Fi 6. House is close to 3k square feet. I have the routers hardwired since that provided the best connection. If you go the Merlin website you'll see what routers are supported.

I've had zero problems with M1 for many years. Only went down once, and that was for scheduled maintenance in the middle of the night. Also, it's not just your internet plan that could be the cause of any issues. If your router isn't good enough, or is in a terrible position, or is overheating, or the bomb shelter is between your laptop and the router, you are gonna have issues no matter what plan you have. I have a standard 1Gbps plan but an Asus gaming router with ethernet cables going to the 3 heaviest users in the home – PS5, living TV and bedroom TV. I also set up a second router using Asus AImesh to provide wifi signal to one of the further corners of the house.

I've been using AiMesh since the beginning, and it was rocky at first, but now I'm currently quite happy with it. One solid main router and two APs outside. What unifi did you get to replace your setup and do you think it was worth the cost?

Asus AiMesh - Yea TP-Link Deco - Yes TP-Link Easy Mesh - Not sure

I use Asus routers in my Ai mesh network and it gives me complete control over everything and I've loved it. I use that coupled with family link from Google and I feel like I've done my job as a parent blocking as much bullshit as I can for my kids.  But don't worry, their friends who's parents don't care about a single thing they consume will come along and ruin your hard work. Or your kids will be kids and find loop holes, which they always do. But you still tried. 

Asus AiMesh can be configured without an app and uses local credentials for management.

I went from DD-WRT for years to ASUS AiMesh and have been on Unifi equipment for a good four years now. I never have any issues with roaming (3600+ home) and I can fine tune whenever necessary (rare). I love the Unifi and don't plan on moving away any time soon. If you want peace of mind, I definitely also recommend Unifi.

As has been said, plug in everything you can. For a basic option, the Asus routers with AiMesh are a pretty simple solution. Start with one on the second floor centrally located and see if you need more. Use inSSIDer to see how your signal strength is as what kind of interference you have and set settings accordingly. If you’re not reaching all corners, add another compatible Asus and put them on floors 1 and 3 (both wired connection to WAN jack)

Avoid tp-link and any other CCP networking equipment. Don't intentionally put stuff with backdoors in them just to save a few bucks. Unifi is great but it's expensive and you really should use it wired. If you're just looking for plug and play mesh Asus has good offerings. Their AI mesh system works well