Too early for wirelessAX router?

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Kaos Kid
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Too early for wirelessAX router?

Post by Kaos Kid »

Been researching routers, some of the newest with wireless AX look promising with MU-MIMO and anywhere between 8 and 12 streams...to be honest I doubt I'll have any AX adapters for a while yet, so I would just be using it on AC and N mode. The only problem with getting an older router is that they appear to be just that--older. I can't see paying $200-$300 or more on a router that is already 3-5 years old, which is what looks to be available on Amazon. On the other hand, so many people who seem knowledgeable have been advising against wireless AX since they are mainly in draft AX and so I would just be paying to be a beta tester and there is no guarantee that todays draft AX routers may not be ready yet and end up needing upgrades to be truly AX or even fully backwards compatible with AC/N. Whadda think about the current router situation?

I've been eyeing the Netgear Nighthawk AX-8 RAX80

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQDZXA4/?c ... _lig_dp_it

and the ASUS RT-AX88U

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HM6KJN8/?c ... _lig_dp_it

If you think it's too early for WIFI 6, give me some compelling reasons to stick with older AC tech, hopefully from your personal experience since I've read most of what is out there on the net...but I'd love to hear a personal review about the hardware. I'm getting close to cutting the cord and would like a router that will have zero problems with range in my 1500sq/ft ranch home, with router in the basement. Floors are OSD/Carpet/Vinyl, walls are typical wood frame/drywall. Furnace (with air returns) and water heater in a central location in basement so there will be a possibility of a little blockage directly opposite side from router in that area (basement is framed but never got around to walling it so still pretty open).

Thanks!
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KnightRid
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Re: Too early for wirelessAX router?

Post by KnightRid »

New tech is awesome, until you have nothing that supports it in your house ;)

I see absolutely no reason to go with AX right now unless you are planning to upgrade a bunch of stuff to use it within a short period of time. It looks promising but it will do nothing to help you on AC or N compared to a normal AC router. Range is dependent on your house, setup and which adapters you have so without the AX adapters......

Remember when you are looking at the TOP END AC routers you may want to compare them to the TOP END AX routers - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PNR2VMD/?c ... N87U2Q3WT9

I honestly think you would be better getting a lower end AC router (what mbps are you pushing at one time? 1700mbps is a lot!) and if it works all over the house great, if not, just add another one or a repeater, or two.

I am still using a Linksys E4200 router as I still have nothing that uses AC. I use a ASUS EA-N66 repeater downstairs to pull the wireless down here and then have it wired to a switch so I can have the local network run through gbps for the NAS. I am not 100% wireless and unless wireless tech gets amazing where it will eliminate gbps wired (or 10gbps, etc) I will never be. 1 simple wire gets me more speed than anything floating through the air can, except under really perfect circumstances.
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Re: Too early for wirelessAX router?

Post by Ledesma »

When do you expect AX to become the norm, so to speak? Or at least for it to have a reason to exist for more than just the hard core enthusiasts.
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Re: Too early for wirelessAX router?

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Ledesma wrote: Wed May 15, 2019 6:34 am When do you expect AX to become the norm, so to speak? Or at least for it to have a reason to exist for more than just the hard core enthusiasts.
I am guessing the earliest will be when the next gen consoles come out, likely winter 2020 (i am guessing from articles I read). If the Xbox is going totally digital (stupid IMHO) then you will need the best speed to get the games as they are getting HUGE and it will drive demand for the better routers to handle the saturation with downloading and doing other things in the same house. If laptops start incorporating wifi 6 by the end of the year then I can see demand rising earlier than the end of next year but it wont trickle down to the lower end laptops (that most people buy) until pricing gets to the point they can do it for the low cost they use wifi 5 for. You wont see the $300 laptop with a $250 wifi 6 card in it lol.

Samsung 10 has wifi 6 (ax) but I think that may even be the only cell phone at this point. I dont even see the need for it to be on a cell phone as the apps aren't big enough to demand it nor do streaming movies send full 4k res, they compress it. Better range would be the only boon I would think for cell phones.
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Re: Too early for wirelessAX router?

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Thought I'd give you a follow up...I pulled the trigger on the Netgear Nighthawk AX8, and so far I like it. I have older adapters, the Realtek based n600 ones work fine with it, even an old Rosewill N300 single band that works fine with it. Funny how only my Edimax AC1200 USB3 adapter
gets moody sometimes, but after switching on QoS and turning off SmartConnect it plays nicely too. Back in my MBR bathroom where I used to be lucky to get 20-30 Mbps with disconnects and buffering with my old DIR850L I now get 125Mbps with my MotoG6 phone, and my Edimax and N600 dualband adapters on the floor above the router (it is in basement) get between 180/190Mbps (my Spectrum service is rated at 200Mbps so not bad considering it's wifi not hardwired). My box in basement that IS hardwired gets 200Mbps as well. My kids say that even though the router is in the basement with concrete walls, they can get wifi on their Moto G6s 75 feet or more away from our house. So far, so good. I love getting all the bandwidth that I pay for.

This emboldened me to get my first ROKU box this past weekend, I got the Ultimate 4660X (4661 SKU just means it includes the headphones) for a great deal (Newegg had it as a shell shocker deal for $79.99 including JBL headphones and Best Buy price matched it so Yaaaay!) I actually get a better picture through it using the Spectrum App than I get through the set top boxes that Spectrum charges me $7/month for, so it will pay for itself in a year. I will get the other TVs their own rokus as well once I get proficient with it but of course the hard part is converting my wife to using it, we have had Charter through their various incarnations since all the way back in 1984, but the way they screw me on TV pricing without giving me a loyal customer discount I am looking to go with a streaming service that will get Fox Sports Midwest, ESPN, and NBCSN for the Cards and Blues games, don't really care about anything else. As soon as I get the rokus for all the TVS I'm cutting the cord from Spectrum.

Note: I had a technician out to test my lines the other day, he told me that Spectrum is moving towards streaming by the end of the year or early next year, and won't even be giving out set top boxes anymore (they suck anyway) so you all should be looking to rokus for some other streaming media soon. Dumb move I think, since they will lose a bunch of seniors that will be to confused to be able to set up streaming boxes and will just give up and go back to OTA. I myself will not pay Spectrums ridiculous pricing anymore. I will keep their internet for now since it will suit my needs, but as soon as Gigabit gets to my area I will go with the best deal. Sorry Spectrum, but I'm tired of being thrown under the bus every month on my cable bill. (currently $200/month for no movie channels, internet, and landline). They are stepping on their own d*cks and will regret it I'm sure.
Last edited by Kaos Kid on Thu Jul 04, 2019 3:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Too early for wirelessAX router?

Post by KnightRid »

It is great you are getting WAY better signal now! now when those AX wireless cards start coming out (when oh when) then you can transfer between computers so fast you cant even blink or you will miss it!
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Re: Too early for wirelessAX router?

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Kaos Kid wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2019 6:46 pm

Note: I had a technician out to test my lines the other day, he told me that Spectrum is moving towards streaming by the end of the year or early next year, and won't even be giving out set top boxes anymore (they suck anyway) so you all should be looking to rokus for some other streaming media soon. Dumb move I think, since they will lose a bunch of seniors that will be to confused to be able to set up streaming boxes and will just give up and go back to OTA. I myself will not pay Spectrums ridiculous pricing anymore. I will keep their internet for now since it will suit my needs, but as soon as Gigabit gets to my area I will go with the best deal. Sorry Spectrum, but I'm tired of being thrown under the bus every month on my cable bill. (currently $200/month for no movie channels, internet, and landline). They are stepping on their own d*cks and will regret it I'm sure.
There may be a way around your $200 bill!!!
Try asking for someone who can help terminate your service acct. Usually they will connect you with someone who will do whatever is needed to keep you on the books!

If that does not work, try having someone else to use their name to set up a new subscriber acct with all the current promos! And cancel your acct.

I have done both successfully!
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