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Ask HN: Home Wifi Routers

10 points by markwillis82 ↗ HN
After spending a few hours resetting my Virgin Media router to find out I cannot change the DNS servers, I've decided it's time to invest in some new hardware.

Can anyone recommend a good wifi router that has good wi-fi coverage but also a good admin experience, i.e. for setting up dns/dhcp/routing (Ideally if I can make a few devices not have internet access but be on the LAN that would be perfect)

Thanks

11 comments

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starbugs
If your budget allows for it, I'd recommend getting a Unifi Security Gateway (USG) along with a Unifi AP AC Pro or AP AC Lite depending on your Wifi needs.

My experience with these Ubiquiti Networks devices has been great so far. The APs are extremely stable and it's easy and reliable to extend Wifi networks by adding new devices later if needed. Also, I personally prefer one device doing one thing, i.e. having the AP not do the routing. The USG will act as a DHCP and firewall in this setup.

With regard to the admin experience: With the Ubiquiti devices, you don't have an admin interface on the device. You use a controller which runs on a client or server that you already have. The controller software is sophisticated. You could run it on a docker host on your NAS or on your local laptop or desktop. This way you can manage the whole network without having to rely on one device.

* Unifi Security Gateway: https://www.ubnt.com/unifi-routing/usg/

* Unifi AP AC Lite: https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap-ac-lite/

* Unifi AP AC Pro: https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap-ac-pro/

markwillis82
Interesting, I have been looking at unifi for some time - but it is quite the investment
starbugs
Yes, it's not cheap at first glance. But when you realize that you don't have any maintenance issues anymore and there is no need to buy a new router every few years, it becomes apparent that it has paid off.

Not having all the functionality in one device helps a lot as well. Not satisfied with your AP anymore? Buy a new one. No need to change anything about the router and other network infrastructure.

teslabox
If you're on a tight budget, your best bet is to look for a OpenWRT- or DD-WRT-capable router at your local thrift stores. I'm using a linksys/cisco consumer router as a wireless bridge. DD-WRT apparently supports more of the closed-source chipsets.

I have an EdgeRouter POE and a UAP-lite - might've gotten the cheaper edgerouter if I'd realized the UAP single-pack comes with a power injector. I wouldn't buy the edgerouter POE again, as it uses non-standard passive POE. If I want to be "safe" about the cables I'm running, I'm going to have to buy this device: http://tycononline.com/TP-POE-2456D-24VDC-Passive-POE-IN-to-...

EdgeRouter X + UAP-lite would be around $130.

msh
The most annoying thing about unifi is that you have to host their management interface somewhere (could be a rpi or something), so the devices does not have a webinterface where you can manage them.

You can install it on your personal computer, but you loose some functionality and you would only be able to configure the devices from that specific computer.

Thats holding me back from going with unifi wifi even if I am very happy with their edgerouter series.

Unfortunately I cant really find good competitors to unifi in the same price range.

summadat
What you’re looking for is the CloudKey. It is the local Controller and can be accessed via “the Cloud” if needed, but not mandatory. I tried running the Java controller on my Mac, it worked but sucked. Having an independent dedicated piece of hardware is worth every penny IMO.

https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-cloud-key/

msh
Yeah, but that's another device to pay for unfortunately.
summadat
To each, their own. In my case, the ease of use was worth every penny. If I take my hourly rate and apply that to how long I spent trying to setup a controller on a raspberry pi, then I could’ve bought 2 or 3 CloudKeys.
starbugs
Interesting. For me, it's exactly the opposite. I hate web interfaces which are embedded in a device with passion. Maybe that's because I have never seen a good one.

Before I switched to Unifi I had a couple of these devices. Managing each of them with their own crappy web interface was a nightmare.

But I guess this boils down to being a matter of taste in the end. After all, the Unifi product line is not primarily targeted at home users.

hackermailman
Note, anybody interested in these, you only have to run the controller once during setup. My controller consists of a dusty laptop I haven't used in 2 years sitting in my closet powered off with my UAP happily running without a single problem since setup. You can ssh into the UAP devices and do firmware upgrades or change configurations without the controller. https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi-Wireless/Firmware-upgrad...

I have an EdgeRouter Lite ($100 or so) and an older UAP regular/non-pro Wifi AP.

matt_the_bass
I’ve recently switched to the Google WiFi Reuters. I have to say they are pretty easy to use and work great. By default they send usage data to google but one can disable that.

They have pretty advanced setting if desired though by default everything is vanilla.

Though I recommend them, They do _not_ offer some devices LAN without WAN.