slow Linksys Router

R

ran

Senior Member
My old Linksys died so I got this EA6900 for half price thru their site. Techs helped set it up, no new updates. I checked and only 35 speed, old router was 66+ (on a Charter Cable Modem 1 GB). Now the furthest laptop (Win 10) seems to drop out often. My Win 10 PC about half as far is fine. (this is on CAT5E that I ran about 2007) Wife is screaming for a new Router.
I spent $100 for that Linksys. I will need a little wireless in the future (Smart Phone and my Win 7 Laptop). help guys. thanks
 
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OK, so what is a good router for home use? I am reading reviews on CNET and others, do not want to blow a lot of this. maybe under $150 or so.
 
ive been using the asus rt-ac68u router, works fine and dual band, i got it off ebay and it was like new, used but still new for 60 bucks. if your good with networking, you can use 2 routers to really expand the signal through the home.
 
Network & Security guy here...i'd definitely stay away from Belkin & Trendnet. Linksys is OK but Asus & Netgear are best for home use. I personally have an Asus ACRH13...fantastic reviews on Amazon for its stability, speed, and price! Got it for $80, love it. You can set up house-wide VPN with it out of the box, multiple wifi connections, has dual band wifi, and AC wifi band. No point in having a router with a ton of features if it keeps going down ;)

I get 120mbps down/30 up on wifi. ON ethernet, I get 300mbps down, 30up.
 
oooo, glad this came up. I've been having issues with mine too. I plug my appletv and playstation in and they are doing about 30mb (on a Comcast 75mbp plan) but my wireless connections are poo. like 5-10mb. I am too lazy to call them and figure out why its slower than expected. I have one of those Motorola surfboard combo router/modem. I picked it up at best buy for around $100 few years back because Comcast charges $7-10/month to rent a modem. when I upgrade do I stay clear of the combo router/modem or are these ok
 
Used commercial hardware, open source like pfsense, or a ubiqulity edge router would be my recommendation.

I do this for a living and its been over 15 years since I bought consumer stuff like a Linksys.

Its also been 15 years since I ever had to power cycle a router.

You need a bit of nerd in you but a used Cisco ASA or a Fortigate is generally what I run at home.
 
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leftyguns21 said:
oooo, glad this came up. I've been having issues with mine too. I plug my appletv and playstation in and they are doing about 30mb (on a Comcast 75mbp plan) but my wireless connections are poo. like 5-10mb. I am too lazy to call them and figure out why its slower than expected. I have one of those Motorola surfboard combo router/modem. I picked it up at best buy for around $100 few years back because Comcast charges $7-10/month to rent a modem. when I upgrade do I stay clear of the combo router/modem or are these ok
Click to expand...

I'd deff get a separate wifi router(see my post above for recommendations). Was using a motorola surfboard router/modem combo and the wifi speeds were AGONIZINGLY slow lol
 
BrianSD_42 said:
This one has been great for me:

Linksys WRT1900AC Dual-Band Smart Wi-Fi Wireless Router

https://m.costco.com/Linksys-WRT1900AC-Dual-Band-Smart-Wi-Fi-Wireless-Router.product.100286828.html

And you can get a refund if you have any issue, even years down the road ... because Costco. There are no perfect routers with perfect reviews. The best ypu can hope for is a great router and a cash refund if it breaks, even 4 or 5 years later.
Click to expand...

I have the WRT1900ACS which is a little more $ It has been great. Better range outdoors and I haven't had a single problem with it in a year or more since I bought it. Pay a little more now and be happy with the results.
 
TK-422 said:
I have the WRT1900ACS which is a little more $ It has been great. Better range outdoors and I haven't had a single problem with it in a year or more since I bought it. Pay a little more now and be happy with the results.
Click to expand...


While WRT1900ACS has a dual core processor of 1.6 GHz and a RAM of 512 Mbps, the processor in WRT1900AC is 1.2 GHz and a RAM of 256Mbps.


Actually dude I am quite happy with the results and btw, no I would not notice an increased speed if I had bought the ACS vs the AC since:
* I live in a single story apartment
* There are only 2 or 3 devices using internet at the same time ever
* The ACS has increased performance potential for sure but I get nowhere close to maxing out the AC. In fact even with streaming HD on the Xbox going on the 1.2Ghz CPUs are sitting idle.

I wish you were my customer because I love it when people think they have to buy the best and fastest product out there. It's great for business.

With that said, for folks with a large place and several kids you should probably buy the upgraded one. In my case I felt pretty good about it since Costco had it $60 off today's price and they have that sweet warranty.
 
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BrianSD_42 said:

While WRT1900ACS has a dual core processor of 1.6 GHz and a RAM of 512 Mbps, the processor in WRT1900AC is 1.2 GHz and a RAM of 256Mbps.


Actually dude I am quite happy with the results and btw, no I would not notice an increased speed if I had bought the ACS vs the AC since:
* I live in a single story apartment
* There are only 2 or 3 devices using internet at the same time ever
* The ACS has increased performance potential for sure but I get nowhere close to maxing out the AC. In fact even with streaming HD on the Xbox going on the 1.2Ghz CPUs are sitting idle.

I wish you were my customer because I love it when people think they have to buy the best and fastest product out there. It's great for business.

With that said, for folks with a large place and several kids you should probably buy the upgraded one. In my case I felt pretty good about it since Costco had it $60 off today's price and they have that sweet warranty.
Click to expand...

If Costco had it at the time I bought mine I would have went with it. I had a EA2700 that I got tired of having to turn the WiFi on my phone off and on again every few days to get it to pass data. Now I use it for my Christmas light display on it own subnet.

Amazon had a deal of the day on it so I went with it. Still an expensive router for the nostalgia of a WRT54G.

I usually have around 8-15 devices on WiFi at most. I also have a separate login for 2.5 or 5Ghz. I prefer Ethernet if I can get a cable to it.
 
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Bumbo said:
Used commercial hardware, open source like pfsense, or a ubiqulity edge router would be my recommendation.

I do this for a living and its been over 15 years since I bought consumer stuff like a Linksys.

Its also been 15 years since I ever had to power cycle a router.

You need a bit of nerd in you but a used Cisco ASA or a Fortigate is generally what I run at home.
Click to expand...

Do you run a FTP server at the house as well? I'm almost finished building one now...
 
giguchan said:
Do you run a FTP server at the house as well? I'm almost finished building one now...
Click to expand...

At the risk of sounding like a complete nerd on a car forum...

Very cool, what are you using to host your own FTP server? There are many open source (free) solutions out there that do an amazing job. If you ever need any help with VPN or secure remote connection just send me a PM.

Yes, but FTP is an understatement... I have my own private cloud. :lock1:

Some of it is for my own personal use... but most of what I have is to help support my small business which I run out of my house, but it started as a hobby.

I run multiple servers using VMware vSphere and a small SAN (storage area network) using some rack mounted Synology units.

https://www.synology.com/en-us/products/RS3617xs+

I do some application hosting, managed backup, and disaster recovery planning for other small businesses.

I also utilize cloud services from Google, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon AWS.

Fun fact... My wifes 4th Gen 4Runner is what I used to pick up my very first 24U server cage 10 years ago for $100. If that didn't happen I might not be where I am today.
 
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Besides the slower speed, the furthest laptop seems to drop off a lot. Win 10 PC and Win 7 laptop are closer and seem fine, no drop outs. ?? I switched the cables runs, two go to the same wall, and I tried both with her laptop, same problem. This is 2006 CAT5e that I ran and tied down, maybe a 40' run. It is a Win 10 upgrade laptop, relatively new. Will look into another router soon.
thanks guys.
 
ran said:
Besides the slower speed, the furthest laptop seems to drop off a lot. Win 10 PC and Win 7 laptop are closer and seem fine, no drop outs. ?? I switched the cables runs, two go to the same wall, and I tried both with her laptop, same problem. This is 2006 CAT5e that I ran and tied down, maybe a 40' run. It is a Win 10 upgrade laptop, relatively new. Will look into another router soon.
thanks guys.
Click to expand...

I am a bit fuzzy on what you are trying to say...

When you say drop off a lot, are you referring to a wireless or wired connection when it was happening? With wireless the further away you go, the more latency you have. Its also good to note that its a 2 way communication, just because the laptop shows a connection doesn't mean the router can see it. Its often a problem with high power access points with laptops that dont have good radio performance as the packets cant get back to where they need to go.

A wired connection should not have this issue. Doesn't matter if its 10 feet or 100 feet, you should be able to achieve proper wire speed.

If it is not the router or the laptop you could just have a bad cable or bad termination at the keystone jack... You would be amazed at the types of problems you can have with bad termination.

Its also a possibility that the laptop itself has an adapter issue, but starting with the router isn't a bad idea if you want a new one anyways. If you can trouble shoot more it would not be difficult to actually isolate the deice or issue if you can consistently replicate it.
 
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All computers are hardwired for now. If I trusted the router, I may go smart phone and laptop on wireless. ON the far jack, I switched out the 6' cable to the CAT 5E jack, yes this jack could be replaced next, I have 3 more here. I'll tackle that next. back soon. thanks for the help. ran
 
ran said:
All computers are hardwired for now. If I trusted the router, I may go smart phone and laptop on wireless. ON the far jack, I switched out the 6' cable to the CAT 5E jack, yes this jack could be replaced next, I have 3 more here. I'll tackle that next. back soon. thanks for the help. ran
Click to expand...

You could always plug in an inexpensive gigE switch and take the router out of the loop and test across the network, PC to PC.

Are you following the cat5e TIA/EIA-568 A or B standard when punching down the jacks?

The twisted pair should remain twisted as close to the termination point as possible otherwise you can have crosstalk issues even if all the colors match up which can cause packet loss or intermittent connection issues.

A good cable tester allows you to see any cross talk or wiring issues... if you were closer I would let you borrow my Fluke.
 
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