I have about a three year-old Arris surfboard and an Asus router.

They're a little old in the tooth; I'll get another surfboard, but I need a new recommendation for a router, since they don't make Asus any longer.

I'm not a router expert by any means, but I don't think many people are using traditional routers any more... most homes have switched to mesh networks which offer better wifi coverage and the ability to hard wire things such as TVs and gaming consoles.

I use the TP Link - Deco brand and it's really good. Just saw some at Costco the other day for a really good price. A pack of 3 is enough for most homes.

jr15aggie said:

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I'm not a router expert by any means, but I don't think many people are using traditional routers any more... most homes have switched to mesh networks which offer better wifi coverage and the ability to hard wire things such as TVs and gaming consoles.

I use the TP Link - Deco brand and it's really good. Just saw some at Costco the other day for a really good price. A pack of 3 is enough for most homes.

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Yeah, mesh is fine; it's just my wife and I, and I don't game anymore, so mesh is kind of pointless for us.

I like having a high-powered router so I can get a signal when I'm in the backyard in our one and a half acres.

Also, our house is not very big, making mesh a little more impractical for us.

I find it helpful to have a node at each TV. Even if you don't game, using a hard wire to stream movies has been helpful to free up the wifi for other uses. Maybe not a huge deal if it's just you and your wife, but definitely is when you have multiple people in the house using WiFi for random things.

I will also say that one of the reason I love the mesh system is the range we get outside by the pool. Because of our node placements we get full outside coverage front and back.

Anyway, happy hunting and I hope you get something that works well.

I was always a "powerful router" guy until ended up with an eero when I switched internet providers and ended up buying several more of them to place around the house. Have been very happy with their performance and coverage.

Was it ezee fiber? I've been giving them a look over the past week or so. They just finished installing in our hood and seem like a good deal over AT&T.

Trying to decide I'd rather use their provided eero max 7 and build on that ecosystem, or continue with my existing AP setup (TP link EAP670).

If I get 2Gb into the house I think I may swap my other hardware from gigabit to 2.5 to future proof. Switches and routers with 2.5Gb ports seem expensive though.

I like the gl.inet routers. They run a user friendly version of open wrt. They also have adguard built in and you can set it up as vpn server or client. When you use it to connect to as a VPN client you can select which devices go through the VPN. So I have mine set up to route my tv through the VPN so I get around blackouts for MLB.tv without forcing my entire home to go through the vpn.

I also like that I can limit the speed if each device. I run all my iot devices on the guest network and limit their speed to 128kbps so even if they get compromised they would be useless to the botnet

I have the deco setup as well. In furthest room, went from 20mps to 200mps.

zooguy96 said:

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jr15aggie said:

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I'm not a router expert by any means, but I don't think many people are using traditional routers any more... most homes have switched to mesh networks which offer better wifi coverage and the ability to hard wire things such as TVs and gaming consoles.

I use the TP Link - Deco brand and it's really good. Just saw some at Costco the other day for a really good price. A pack of 3 is enough for most homes.

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Yeah, mesh is fine; it's just my wife and I, and I don't game anymore, so mesh is kind of pointless for us.

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Um, "mesh" is being used right here.

Mesh is when multiple devices link to expand your wifi to a larger area but act together in concert versus being just two separate devices. Mesh is kinda like a blanket... you're expanding it. Not the same as 'extender', which just grabs wifi signal and boosts it.

BQAg09 said:

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Was it ezee fiber? I've been giving them a look over the past week or so. They just finished installing in our hood and seem like a good deal over AT&T.

Trying to decide I'd rather use their provided eero max 7 and build on that ecosystem, or continue with my existing AP setup (TP link EAP670).

If I get 2Gb into the house I think I may swap my other hardware from gigabit to 2.5 to future proof. Switches and routers with 2.5Gb ports seem expensive though.

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No, frontier (now Verizon again).

Tp link deco

TP-Link Deco XE75 AXE5400 Tri-Band WiFi 6E Mesh System

I also live on an acre and a half and love this set up. I use the guest network for my outdoor things that need WiFi (password protected and only on the 2.4 band). Works great.

TP-Link Deco 7 Pro BE63 Tri-Band WiFi 7 BE10000 Whole Home Mesh System- 6-Stream 10 Gbps

I bought that mesh router to replace a Google/Nest mesh WiFi router (also previously had Orbi), my brother then bought and replaced a Google/Nest mesh WiFi router and runs two ISPs off it, and a second brother bought and replaced a Google/Nest mesh WiFi router with the same system. Get up to 900 mb/s on my iPhone with it. Both brothers went from awful WiFi to exceptional.

Anyone have any experience using any of these with Starlink? Starlink will be our only / best option where we are moving. Not sure how good their out of the box router is but assuming third party options are better.

To be clear I haven't. Parents have Starlink and only use the provided modem. Starlink makes their own mesh router to add to their existing modem. Doubt it's as good and any router should be capable of handling WiFi/router duties. You need to make sure only one device is handling IP assignment/DHCP that means putting the Starlink modem into bypass (bridge) mode, which from googling will also turn off the WiFi broadcasting from the modem shifting all router/wifi to the third party router.

Gen 2 (2021-2023 year end) did not come with an Ethernet port by default, it was an add on accessory to add it. Gen 2 is the motorized rectangular panel, Gen 3 is stationary rectangular panel. Gen 3 has included Ethernet ports. Just an FYI if you're already a subscriber moving existing hardware you might need to buy the Ethernet port accessory.

YouBet said:

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Anyone have any experience using any of these with Starlink? Starlink will be our only / best option where we are moving. Not sure how good their out of the box router is but assuming third party options are better.

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I am using mine with Starlink and have long had any issues. With the set of three mesh routers, I was able to eliminate the few blind spots I had with my Starlink router.

Edit to say I have the Gen 3 router with Starlink and it is actually pretty good. I had 2 rooms that couldn't get a good signal (my office if the door was shut and our kids room when they visit from college). With the 3 Deco units we have excellent speeds throughout our entire house (both floors and in our detached garage).

Brand new customer, so I'll be using Gen 3 with their fastest service. I will likely have to start with the SL router out of box and move to mesh a little later. More complicated thing for me is getting the Starlink installed on roof and then figuring out cable into house. Likely have to get someone to do that for me.

I have the residential Max plan as well. The installation was pretty simple depending on where you need to run the cable to inside the house.

I used the wall mount and then bought these grommets (https://a.co/d/07lP5r1j) to fill the hole I cut out for routing the cable. Once everything was set up I went back and sealed the grommet to prevent any insect and/or water intrusion.

Will note this. I might have an existing option to run cable but not sure.

I've done four of the Gen 3 Starlinks this year for my company. I would highly suggest that if you are going to mount it, figure out if you can mount it on the side of the house on brick if possible. But obviously, you'll need to check for obstructions and the angle the satellite will need to be at beforehand. My installations, thankfully, have been a lot simpler.

Littlesarge said:

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I've done four of the Gen 3 Starlinks this year for my company. I would highly suggest that if you are going to mount it, figure out if you can mount it on the side of the house on brick if possible. But obviously, you'll need to check for obstructions and the angle the satellite will need to be at beforehand. My installations, thankfully, have been a lot simpler.

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Actually, we will have a flat roof with 100% unobstructed sky so won't have to do a side mount I don't think. I might just need to do some kind of raised mount on the roof with some ballast to hold it down unless I just want to nail it down on roof.

When I've done the roof mounts, usually they're pretty flat, and I end up using two stone blocks to level and hold them down with some tapcons. Now it depends obviously on where you want to take it. For running the cable, I try to find a way I can run it on the side of the building and seal it up there, since it will have better protection from causing any damage in comparison to the roof due to the weather. Be prepared to go up later, maybe two or three times, to adjust the angle and to configure the router.

satexas said:

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If you want top-of-line quality gear, and aren't on a super-tight budget, Ubiquiti (UNIFI / ui.com) is tops.

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Ubiquiti is the only answer these days.

YouBet said:

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Brand new customer, so I'll be using Gen 3 with their fastest service. I will likely have to start with the SL router out of box and move to mesh a little later. More complicated thing for me is getting the Starlink installed on roof and then figuring out cable into house. Likely have to get someone to do that for me.

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Handled this scenario for my parents out on the far end of Blue Ridge Dr in CS.

Basically, you have to first see where it needs to be mounted on the roof because it really needs to see the northern star/sky for the most part. Then you need to understand that the cable from the dish to your included router only goes so far so you need to figure out whether you want to penetrate through the roof, which I did with my parents or whether you want to penetrate through the side of the house. You really don't want the Starlink modem/router in the attic.

Going through the roof is not difficult or scary because they make a mount that mounts on the roof that tucks underneath your shingle flaps and the professional installer will use a dab of tar and it's pretty damn waterproof.

I see a lot of debate on here about what router to use, and should you use the router that comes with your service? The answer is always hell no.

Not just hell no but oh hell, no big time.

You always want to control your own fate… I won't get into a lecture of privacy, but please don't fall into the lazy public and not have a private router that sits behind their router protecting you. If you have a few dollars, the way to go is ubiquity…. Aka UI.com.

One nice thing about ubiquity and buying a dream machine router is the fact that you can manage the router on your phone and always see the status of it and get alerts, and all of its tools… and it's easy to use and it has more technology in it than anything else at a home/small business price. It even has access control built into it for digital entry, DVR if you want to add cameras and put a hard drive, etc..

TP link, Netgear, that's all crap for lower budgets…. Homes or people that just don't need to stretch their limits and that's fine…. But ubiquity is above everything else…

I bought Netgear's Orbi 970 router and a satellite when we moved into this house thinking it was a great system... and it's good, but it's not great.


I bought Ubiquiti gear when needing to add cameras, and wish I had saved the Orbi money to spend on Ubiquiti access points - I'd have better performance and coverage for less money.

Mesh or multiple access points is going to out perform a single "high power" router.

For more clarity, this is a flat roof on an adobe style house in New Mexico. Don't have shingles. The roof is TPO (thermoplastic olefin). So I'm guessing I'll have to go in through a wall unless there is somehow existing access points on the roof for cabling. I have no idea. Whole new world for me with house like this so I'm learning as I go.

YouBet said:

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For more clarity, this is a flat roof on an adobe style house in New Mexico. Don't have shingles. The roof is TPO (thermoplastic olefin). So I'm guessing I'll have to go in through a wall unless there is somehow existing access points on the roof for cabling. I have no idea. Whole new world for me with house like this so I'm learning as I go.

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Yes, if you have a flat roof, it sounds like you're gonna have to do a side penetration, and probably even mount the dish on the side like an old school satellite dish mount. Nothing wrong with that, and you don't have a roof pitch to block you from the northern sky…. So a side mount isn't as scary. Wall mounts are typically uglier as they're easier to see, but in your case, it is what it is.

There are a million different Starlink mounts out there… you'll have no trouble finding one that fits your situation.

gumby579 said:

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satexas said:

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If you want top-of-line quality gear, and aren't on a super-tight budget, Ubiquiti (UNIFI / ui.com) is tops.

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Ubiquiti is the only answer these days.

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There firewalls are useless. No packet inspection or NAT. AP's are good for the price point and their switches are pretty. Great for home use but if you put them in your business you will be replacing them soon.

AgCMT said:

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gumby579 said:

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satexas said:

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If you want top-of-line quality gear, and aren't on a super-tight budget, Ubiquiti (UNIFI / ui.com) is tops.

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Ubiquiti is the only answer these days.

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There firewalls are useless. No packet inspection or NAT. AP's are good for the price point and their switches are pretty. Great for home use but if you put them in your business you will be replacing them soon.

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HUH? What in the holey moley are you even talking about. A router without NAT? No packet inspection?

We're talking about Dream Machine series routers, which are literally the #1 small and medium business deployed unit for a reason.

Please don't de-educate this forum with this nonsense.

Russ your clueless

Everyone may want to wait on a new router.

The FCC banned new foreign made routers and is banning any updates on current foreign made routers in your home after March 2027.

I just upgraded my house with three Asus BT10 units. I ran new cable so I have a 10gbe wired backhaul. I am getting ready to add an additional NAS that has a 10gbe RJ45 port to have faster backups and even edit photos and light video editing directly on the NAS.

I saw the news and I am out of my return window so i feel stuck waiting on policy clarification. TP link switches and routers have been on the administrations radar for a while. I already bought a nice 10gbe switch and a couple 2.5gbe switches. I am worried my switches (not tp-link) may be next.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/can-i-still-use-my-wifi-router-everything-you-need-to-know-about-fcc-ban

Koko Chingo said:

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Everyone may want to wait on a new router.

The FCC banned new foreign made routers and is banning any updates on current foreign made routers in your home after March 2027.

I just upgraded my house with three Asus BT10 units. I ran new cable so I have a 10gbe wired backhaul. I am getting ready to add an additional NAS that has a 10gbe RJ45 port to have faster backups and even edit photos and light video editing directly on the NAS.

I saw the news and I am out of my return window so i feel stuck waiting on policy clarification. TP link switches and routers have been on the administrations radar for a while. I already bought a nice 10gbe switch and a couple 2.5gbe switches. I am worried my switches (not tp-link) may be next.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/can-i-still-use-my-wifi-router-everything-you-need-to-know-about-fcc-ban

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Routers are going to start getting expensive.

The bizarre thing is that the announcement does not appear to include commercial routers:

Quote:

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WASHINGTON, March 23, 2026Today, the Federal Communications Commission updated its Covered List to include all consumer-grade routers produced in foreign countries.

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However, with that wording, it could also include commercial routers.

Expensive, commercial routers are by far the more important targets and have had plenty of security vulnerabilities. One venerable brand, for instance, had an embedded password for some time that could be used to log into the router by attackers.

My router preference is to make my own router using a regular computer running the OpenBSD operating system. It takes some doing, but the results are quite good.

I'm thinking of getting a computer with build-in wifi so I can configure it as a wifi router as well.

I forgot about the router ban. Ironically, I think the Starlink router is one of the few that might avoid this since it's mostly made here. I guess I'll take my existing Orbi with me now which I was going to replace because it's old.

YouBet said:

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I forgot about the router ban. Ironically, I think the Starlink router is one of the few that might avoid this since it's mostly made here. I guess I'll take my existing Orbi with me now which I was going to replace because it's old.

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It might not be a bad idea to plan ahead and buy new routers now for future use.