Need suggestions for a top tier router, no knee-jerk replies plz

I've had the absolute WORST day in recent memory when it comes to routers, I just can't find one that does its job properly.

I originally bought an Asus AC68R router, mainly for a DLNA device. I know i will eventually wear out the port on my Samsung smartv by adding/deleting files, so this seemed like a good idea. Initially I was very pleased, had a great signal, no stuttering problems, etc.

Then I noticed a red ring around my ext hdd in the GUI.

I unmounted it, ran scandisk, unmounted again...still red circle. Tried another drive, same problem. (Made by same company, Buffalo Tech)

The true horror began when I called Asus "technical support". It made me miss the days of HP tech support. (I won't bore you with the details, he basically asked me 3 questions (f/w, reset factory, can see drive from pc) and basically said SOL. $235 for sol, less than a week old?!

PASS.

My second foray into routing today was a Linksys ac1900 ea6000 (whatever the number was) and plainly put would not show my tv show folder! Even though I had that folder checked in the external storage tab. Just WOULD NOT even show the folder.Called tech support...

Anybody know where this is going?

I have a samsung tv that can stream .mkv files, have my choice of languages & subtitles, yet this "tech" blames my tv. I said even if it was the files, I should at least see the folder!

Strike 2.

As i type this I'm currently using a Netgear Nighthawk r7000. I can't even see the DLNA as a source!

Called tech support, yes they blamed it on my tv too.

A virtually DRM free tv is the source for all my woes apparently, that seems to be the new "your guess is as good as mine" excuse.

Not interested in the new WRT model that looks like the famous 54G we all cut our teeth on due to..."tech support" will consist of the same ppl from earlier. But seeing as how I have been through routing hell today, I ask you, dear ats, two favors:

One, a router that actually does what it advertises it can do. (Including onboard DLNA obviously, with a usb 3 port)

Two, tech support where I don't have to constantly spell my name P-H-O-E-N-E-T-I-C-A-L-L-Y.

Thanks in advance for the help.

I never had any luck using DLNA ever. I always ended up with heat issues, even with extra cooling on the unit.

I finally settled on a lower powered computer running Linux in the corner used strictly as a NAS.

I can add more drives to it as necessary and it works great!

It's awesome to not have to use my Blurays, DVDs and CDs more than once.

As for routing, my ISPs cable modem has routing built-in, and I have an older router in storage if I need extra capacity.

Let DLNA die a slow painful death.

IDK my cable company gave me one and it's fine?

from your story I believe you said your on your third router but you still have the same problem, I would assume then that it's Not the routers fault, just as an example, my mom has a Samsung TV and I have a Sharp Aquos.

I could not insert a simple USB thumb drive into her tv and find it, on my tv I put it in and found it no problem, also you could have a problem with the settings on each one of the routers you've tried to set up, but that's a long shot.

that's all I got, don't get frustrated, take a breather for a while and come back to the problem from a different angle, always works for me.




Peace

Might look into using alternative firmware (DD-WRT or Tomato)...

Netgear's F/W sucks apparently.

A review below mentions that Netgears software is their biggest issue.

DD-WRT and Tomato are known for fixing many router issues.

Tomato has worked well here for 3 years on an old WRT54GL...

All, I haven't checked back recently but I see several people that have asked what router I would recommend in lieu of the R7000. To be honest, my answer is "if you're looking at AC1900 routers, you might as well wait".

The reality is that they all have issues of one type or another, some more difficult to deal with than others. I tried the Linksys EA6900 (not enough range compared to the R7000) and the Asus AC68U (great router using 3rd party firmware but still has minor issues) before settling on the Linksys WRT1900AC. What it really boils down to is that I became enamored with the R7000 performance, which led to me returning the EA6900. In return, I became enamored with with EA6900's GUI and simplicity, which led me to returning the Asus.

With the WRT1900AC, I feel like I'm getting the best of both worlds - performance and simplicity. BUT. The WRT1900AC has issues too. Lots of reports on the Internet of people with random reboot issues. My router has been running for almost 4 weeks without issue but if I access the GUI for any length of time and change settings, it crashes. In short, if you're asking me for a recommendation, I would go with either the Asus AC68U (and check out the RMerlin firmware at Smallnetbuilder.com) or the Linksys WRT1900AC.

www.amazon.com...=cm_cd_pg_pg3?ie=UTF8&asin=B00F0DD0I6&cdForum=Fx5LTN4371K89B&cdPage=3&cdThread=Tx2D3OZ3YVAYRYE&store=pc #wasThisHelpful

Drakonas says:
Hi Heather,
I had a proposal that might get your R7000 working like the $1500 router is should be worth.

Try setting up DD-WRT on it. It's free! www.dd-wrt.com...

DD-WRT is the most popular, most supportive, and most up-to-date custom firmware for routers today. It is constantly being updated and features are always being considered and implemented.

DD-WRT, once installed properly, also has a history of fixing most of its supported routers' problems, including instabilities like required wireless reboots (my uptime has reached upwards of 3 months straight on a WNDR-3800 - would've been more except for occasional power outages), random wireless disconnects (a lot of routers' firmware process more than necessary, or are inefficient), and even overloads or improper handling of traffic.

DD-WRT is open-source, and runs a small linux distribution off of your router. They even have guides for implementing a smaller-footprint package manager onto your router via telnet or ssh. Besides those possibilities, DD-WRT includes many business-class features for all of its supported routers, a lot of which can only be found in today's $1500+ networking hardware.

DD-WRT's features that I should note to you include, but are not limited to, the following:
* Bug fixes in Broadcom-based Linksys, Netgear & Asus firmware (meaning your R7000

)
* Improved Network Stability & Network Status Information (Very useful for catching unwanted users)
* Access restrictions: Time, Website, Program & User-based.
* OpenVPN, PPTP, & L2TP VPN Client/Server Integration: OpenVPN & PPTP Server options as well.
* Bandwidth Graphing/Statistics: Real-time, daily & monthly.
* WPS 100% disabled by default: Fixes WPS's major flaw that allows easy access inside a wireless network.
* Dynamic DNS service integration
* Telnet/SSH Support
* Wake-on-LAN interface and scheduler: (Wi-Fi or Ethernet)
* Advanced Port Forwarding: Create port forwards, redirects, & triggers with included UPnP (Universal Plug and Play)
* Samba file-share/CIFS client
* JFFS2 Support: Use a flash drive as storage for added software, which saves the chance at corrupting the flash ROM.
* Security-driven: DD-WRT provides some of the best security for routers. No more unwanted friends.
* Community-driven: Use widely popular tutorials for implementing features like network-wide adblocking.

You can see a good overview of the main features, as well as more reasons for considering DD-WRT, here:
www.flashrouters.com...

As a friend, I really recommend you try it. The R7000 is 100% supported by DD-WRT. Netgear has a history of actually supplying the DD-WRT team with needed information for adding support. The WNDR-3700 series routers are also heavily supported and are widely popular with DD-WRT.

Seriously, try it. I'm sure it won't let you down. Just make sure you do your research. Getting something wrong can not only cost you the router, but more importantly it can cause unknown problems to happen later on. I stupidly flashed WNDR-3700 firmware on a 3800, because I confused the model numbers. Thankfully the 3800 is exactly the same as a 3700v2, except it has 128mb of ram. Still, I think the improper flashing may have dropped the range of the router permanently. I recommend you read up everything, even step-by-step instructions. The community is large enough, especially for the R7000.

Hopefully I didn't overdo my comment... I think I sounded more like a salesman than help. *Laughs.

www.amazon.com...=cm_cd_pg_next?ie=UTF8&asin=B00F0DD0I6&cdForum=Fx5LTN4371K89B&cdPage=4&cdThread=Tx2D3OZ3YVAYRYE&store=p c#wasThisHelpful

FarmerBob says:

One needs to read the "Peacock Papers" before you do anything with DD-WRT and in the forums they'll tell you to do the same before posting problems that have arisen due to not knowing the software or what you are doing. I have been using DD-WRT since the 3300 hit and had a horrible DNSMasq problem that was resolved with DD-WRT. Also one drawback, DD-WRT has no or little IPv6 support and the lead dev's don't think it's necessary. I just read a thread on this today. I use DD-WRT on all devices that it will run on, but unfortunately it's a somewhat "controlled" albeit, a far better software package for Netgear hardware. I am still running troubleshooting with Netgear myself and the only positive of OEM software is IPv6 support. Nothing else though and it's becoming more and more apparent that the Netgear software is their biggest problem. And it doesn't seem that this is something will ever evolve. Oh and there is also Tomato and a couple other Open Source FW/SW's. I have always said that Netgear has the best hardware and the worst software.

www.amazon.com...=cm_cd_pg_next?ie=UTF8&asin=B00F0DD0I6&cdForum=Fx5LTN4371K89B&cdPage=4&cdThread=Tx2D3OZ3YVAYRYE&store=p c#wasThisHelpful

Have you looked into higher "gain" (more efficient) antennas for your router? If the one(s) on the router screw in, you can replace them with better antennas and/or antennas that are connected by a cable to the router and thus more flexible in their placement, even though the one I've seen have short cables (a foot and a half to 3 to 4 feet, in metric, 45cm to 120cm). Three "9db" antennas from Amazon using the standard connecting threading normal home routers use cost about $20. Nine decibels (9db) means they are 8 times more efficient in transmitting the signal than the "normal" stock antennas.

www.youtube.com...

a reply to: Murgatroid
i read that post by heather & her follow up on amazon. i use amazon as a free consumer reports website.


having said that i did flash the asus with merlin, but it still had a problem with mounting the drives. (the old gui wouldn't load more than 1 drive at a time, though it has two ports!)

you ask me, i think the ac architecture just isn't ready yet.

a reply to: schadenfreude
I kinda had a feeling you knew your way around routers but I wasn't sure...

It's a weak point for me, just never to learn it.

Concerning the ac architecture...

Same reason we back tracked from 'N' to 'G' using the old WRT54GL, for the reliability's sake.

Solved all the constant issues we had with Dlink & the 'N' architecture...

i use a buffalo there so cheap when they go out i dont feel bad replacing it once every 2 years and i torture it.

So this is it, really?

Wow, any of you work for Netgear?

lol

So this is it, really?

Wow, any of you work for Netgear?

lol