10 or 12 year old router

[Kvn_Walker]

Good luck getting many updates with a TP Link router. I bought one that cost over $200, and I remember the company stating "the next update will enable mesh capability!"

That was in 2019. The next update never came. It's now a paperweight that I need to get around to selling on ebay. If I'm lucky I'll get 50 bucks.

ASUS is really good with updates, and even some of their routers that are over 5 years old still get updates. Their software interface is also one of the best.

Wifi 6 is more of a marketing point than a selling point. The industry is already eyeing Wifi 7, when there's not much of anything taking advantage of 6.

 

[highfigh]

Good luck getting many updates with a TP Link router. I bought one that cost over $200, and I remember the company stating "the next update will enable mesh capability!"

That was in 2019. The next update never came. It's now a paperweight that I need to get around to selling on ebay. If I'm lucky I'll get 50 bucks.

ASUS is really good with updates, and even some of their routers that are over 5 years old still get updates. Their software interface is also one of the best.

Wifi 6 is more of a marketing point than a selling point. The industry is already eyeing Wifi 7, when there's not much of anything taking advantage of 6.

WiFi6 and 7 are for consumers, to make them think it's new but it's just 802.11ax, which existed before they changed the name. They really need to stop doing that.

I would avoid trying to use a router that's more than a few years old just because they become obsolete- if it's an n router and didn't do ax when it was new, no update is likely to make it do ax.

The industry was eyeing Cat7 for more than a decade and Cat5e is still used extensively when extremely high throughput isn't needed. There's really no need for Cat6 in many cases, unless someone wants to look 20 years ahead and by that point, we'll be using fiber for a lot more applications (not the OSI layer).

 

[Trebdp83]

It really does just add to the confusion. AC was fine. AX was fine.

 

[j_garcia]

I do see more throughput with Wifi6 so far, but the main benefit is on the supported devices. I get ~480mbps over wifi on my phone. PS5, which says it supports Wifi6 does not show faster speed, but I can tell that it does download faster. The FireTV4K Max also uses Wifi 6 and it does seem much faster than my old Fire. I thought about waiting for 7, but 6 is barely adopting now, and I don't think 7 will really take hold for some time in consumer devices.

 

[lovinthehd]

I wire old homes that were built more than 100 years ago- what makes your place more difficult? I wire equipment that's hundreds of feet apart.

How do you tackle walls in between router/device, especially several of them?

 

[Squishman]

This one works. Seems to work well. All I was looking for! You guys are talking all kinds of Greek to me. ha.
In case anyone remembers, I had an issue with a Nvidia Shield Pro where the unit was not getting the signal from the remote. I had to switch to the top o' the line Fire Stick. I wonder now if that issue was my 100 year old (ok, 12 y.o.) router and not the Nvidia. Probably not, but maybe. Water under the bridge now.

 

[lovinthehd]

This one works. Seems to work well. All I was looking for! You guys are talking all kinds of Greek to me. ha.
In case anyone remembers, I had an issue with a Nvidia Shield Pro where the unit was not getting the signal from the remote. I had to switch to the top o' the line Fire Stick. I wonder now if that issue was my 100 year old (ok, 12 y.o.) router and not the Nvidia. Probably not, but maybe. Water under the bridge now.

Glad its all working for you....sometimes ya just gotta get stuff within the same general age range these days....

 

[highfigh]

How do you tackle walls in between router/device, especially several of them?

Access points, hardwired. It's really the only way to get the distant devices to connect. Mesh hardware work great, as long as they can be placed so they pick up the signal from at least one other device of its type, but walls can be built using materials and techniques that kill RF.

I have mentioned a job that was done at a place I call 'The house where WiFi goes to die'. I called a couple of network hardware manufacturers and described this place and some cheerfully told me that their stuff would work great, yada, yada, yada. The guy in EERO tech support said "I think you should use someone else's equipment" after I asked for his thoughts. I thanked him for his honesty and got to work looking for a way to hardwire all of the Crapple Airport devices that the homeowner wouldn't give up. I explained that they aren't good, WILL be a problem and he didn't listen. The next house I did for this couple has EERO and it works much better, although the house's construction is totally different. That house has plaster on the walls & ceilings on all levels with wire mesh holding it in place- since the mesh is in contact with the electrical junction boxes, it really eats the signal. Even with the doorway connecting the kitchen and dining room, the signal dropped 30dB when entering the dining room- the kitchen had its own access point.

Fishing cable is a challenge in many houses- on a slab foundation, it either has to go up & over or outside and around. If the house is on a slab and has a flat roof without any attic space, it can only go outside and around if it's going to be hardwired. Most of the houses I work on are on the larger size and old (80-120 years) -many are difficult WRT fishing cabling but there's usually a way to get it from point to point. If I'm working on a newer house, it's usually during the new construction phase or a remodel, so my options for cable routing are different.

I have tried the network over powerline devices and didn't have much luck and I really don't like repeaters because they don't provide the high speed that's available directly from a hardwired device (because it can't 'catch & release' the data as quickly as if it were a direct connection). I have seen claims that the speed is as fast, but I haven't experienced this. Mesh devices like EERO are different because they're connected wirelessly to the network and they aren't repeating- they need one device to be hardwired, but the rest can be wireless and the models with ethernet ports can be configured as a router or an access point, which is great if a good existing router will remain or an ISP like ATT doesn't allow setting their stuff to bridge mode/disable NAT. Their app is great, too- it allows seeing activity, updating, blocking IP addresses if someone is supposed to be offline, speed tests (separate from the screen that shows the previous week's performance) and for adding more devices. You could also see if the network is online, which devices are connected and it has a troubleshooting area, which is good if someone has a Dyson Vacuum (or something else that only operates on the 2.4GHz band)- the 5GHz band can be turned off for connecting the devices (smart switches/outlets, etc) and it resumes after 15 minutes. I haven't used other brands because I like the EERO and they have been flawless for me.

 

[highfigh]

I posted "WiFi 6 & 7 are for consumers" but should have typed 'the WiFi 6 & 7 designations are for consumers'.

 

[cpp]

WiFi6 and 7 are for consumers, to make them think it's new but it's just 802.11ax, which existed before they changed the name. They really need to stop doing that.

I would avoid trying to use a router that's more than a few years old just because they become obsolete- if it's an n router and didn't do ax when it was new, no update is likely to make it do ax.

The industry was eyeing Cat7 for more than a decade and Cat5e is still used extensively when extremely high throughput isn't needed. There's really no need for Cat6 in many cases, unless someone wants to look 20 years ahead and by that point, we'll be using fiber for a lot more applications (not the OSI layer).

So true

the Wi-Fi Alliance decided to rename Wi-Fi generations with simple version numbers. So the current generation of Wi-Fi, 802.11ac, turned into Wi-Fi 5. This new generation, previously called 802.11ax, is now Wi-Fi 6. Just to further confuse consumers. Wi-Fi 7 is really 802.be which is in development .https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi

 

[eagleray]

Do you have a laptop or desktop? Open your browser and go to 'speedtest.net' or 'speedof.me' and do the test. You can do the same with your smart phone- same addresses.

If you have smart outlets/switches, a Dyson (or similar) vacuum or many other devices that connect to WiFi, get a different router- the Spectrum WiFi 6 tower A) only has three ethernet ports, B) can only be adjusted using a phone app and C) the 5GHz band can't be turned off in order to connect those smart devices.

Some devices can connect, but it's not as easy as if you can turn off the 5GHz band and use the 2.4GHz band.

Nothing new comes with g or b (802.11b, 802.11g)- they all come with at least n speed. Don't sweat these details, just make sure the router is placed in a central location in the house and not in a corner of the basement, behind the furnace or other things that can block the signal. Hardwire EVERYTHING that has an ethernet port- wired is for performance, WiFi is for convenience.

I have been using EERO routers- they use an app for setup, but it does a whole lot more than the Spectrum router (you can only change the network name and password), you can turn off the 5GHz band and it will go back to normal in fifteen minutes. You can use the app to monitor the network, block devices, reboot/turn it off and perform updates if you don't like those happening automatically. Also, you can use the app to run a speed test or see the speed over the previous days. If you need to cover a large area, these work great because they form a 'mesh' network, which is kind of like having a group of people holding hands, then shaking one of them and causing the others to move in response. Roaming is much smoother than with many routers (especially if you have an iPhone) and you can set it up as an access point if you want to keep the existing router- you do need to put it in bridge mode, but it'snot hard to do. If you want help, you can call their tech support number (it's shown in the app) and it doesn't take long.

The new Spectrum hardware is better than a lot of it was, but it's not as good as EERO and some other brands. When I do speed tests on EERO WiFi 10.0.0.1 Piso Wifi Vendo, I see the speed being paid for- that's not what I used to see with Spectrum routers, but it depends on how new it is. I have the WiFi6 and it's decent- the WiFi speed is generally over 200Mbps, so it's definitely better than what I had before.

Hello.

I think my router is 10 years old. I have some connection issues sometimes. As in, I will have internet and then it will die. Then come back. Is my dino router ready to go?

Yes, I have tried updating firmware. They stopped doing updates like 5 years ago for it LOL.

I have restarted and reset it also. So I am pretty sure it is because this thing is ancient. A little side note i suppose: I can only find like 2 servers on COD (pc). I think it is because this thing is so old it can handle that many requests.

New router needed? Or new modem? New something? lol

Thanks all.

 

[lovinthehd]

Hello.

I think my router is 10 years old. I have some connection issues sometimes. As in, I will have internet and then it will die. Then come back. Is my dino router ready to go?

Yes, I have tried updating firmware. They stopped doing updates like 5 years ago for it LOL.

I have restarted and reset it also. So I am pretty sure it is because this thing is ancient. A little side note i suppose: I can only find like 2 servers on COD (pc). I think it is because this thing is so old it can handle that many requests.

New router needed? Or new modem? New something? lol

Thanks all.

So you're on a dial-up modem or dsl or ?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Hello.

I think my router is 10 years old. I have some connection issues sometimes. As in, I will have internet and then it will die. Then come back. Is my dino router ready to go?

Yes, I have tried updating firmware. They stopped doing updates like 5 years ago for it LOL.

I have restarted and reset it also. So I am pretty sure it is because this thing is ancient. A little side note i suppose: I can only find like 2 servers on COD (pc). I think it is because this thing is so old it can handle that many requests.

New router needed? Or new modem? New something? lol

Thanks all.

Did you conclude that the internet dies, is rebooting the modem OR router bringing it back?
I've seen similar issues on the old Linksys wrt54g routers with stock firmware.
If your budget is tight, you may consider switching the firmware on it to 3rd party, like OpenWRT.

 

[highfigh]

So you're on a dial-up modem or dsl or ?

800 BAUD?

 

[highfigh]

Hello.

I think my router is 10 years old. I have some connection issues sometimes. As in, I will have internet and then it will die. Then come back. Is my dino router ready to go?

Yes, I have tried updating firmware. They stopped doing updates like 5 years ago for it LOL.

I have restarted and reset it also. So I am pretty sure it is because this thing is ancient. A little side note i suppose: I can only find like 2 servers on COD (pc). I think it is because this thing is so old it can handle that many requests.

New router needed? Or new modem? New something? lol

Thanks all.

Your router is geriatric, at best. The network protocols have changed drastically in that time.

Open your browser and type 'speedtest.net', then click on GO- post the results (you can share the screen).

 

[Squishman]

This is what I have. Is this good? Connected via wifi.

 

[Eppie]

http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest

 

[Trell]

Another Internet speed test is from Netflix: https://fast.com/

 

[Trell]

This is what I have. Is this good? Connected via wifi.

Depends on what speeds you’re paying for. With that low upload speed I guess your Internet connection is cable.

 

[Squishman]

Yeah cable. Good thing I don't need to upload much!