NetGear Nighthawk R7000 on The Outs

Fergy1987 on 07/10/2024 - 12:15

So it looks like my R7000 is on the outs. The speeds on 2.4ghz seems to be far lower than 5ghz.
Occasionally I have to restart the router because I can only see the 2.4ghz network and not the 5ghz. Just seems like I'm constantly restarting it to fix it all the time

I know nothing about this stuff but I was wondering if I would be better off getting the router from my ISP for the cost of delivery rather than have to spend to get a new router.
They seem to have a TPLink VX420-G2H. Seeing as I'm only on wifi 5 would this be a better option than my current router?

I'm happy to buy a new one but everyone seems to suggest the Asus ax86u which seems crazy expensive.

What would offer me better performance than my nighthawk for say $200?

Thanks

Computing Wireless Router

Comments

  • JimmyF on 07/10/2024 - 12:18
    +1

    Just seems like I'm constantly restarting it to fix it all the time

    Could be on the way out but first, if you have the time. Check you're on the latest firmware, then do a factory reset. See if this helps fix your issue.

  • HamBoi69 on 07/10/2024 - 12:20
    +1

    Sounds like your router’s in full diva mode!! But in all seriousness OP, yes, the ASUS is best.

  • Brotality on 07/10/2024 - 12:24
    +2

    The speeds on 2.4ghz seems to be far lower than 5ghz

    That is normal, 2.4 has longer range, can go through a few walls, but if you're close to the router/AP, 5Ghz will be a lot faster.

    Just seems like I'm constantly restarting it to fix it all the time

    I've only heard bad things about nighthawk, but I've never tried them, perhaps others here with more experience with them might have some more insights. My first instinct is to check if the firmware on the router is up to date, I've seen updates fix many small issues.

    What would offer me better performance than my nighthawk for say $200?

    We can't answer that without knowing some of the basics, what kind of NBN do you have? (FTTN, HFC, FTTP, etc) How fast is your internet? How big of an area do you want to cover?

    • Fergy1987 on 07/10/2024 - 12:26

      Currently on FTTP, on 100/20 plan, cover a 4 bedroom house. Single storey. Dont really want to mess around with mesh and stuff, will probably be out of my budget anyway

      • Brotality on 07/10/2024 - 12:36

        If you don't plan going over 250mbps, mesh might actually work well for you.

        Amazon has their entire eero line up on discount and the base pack is now unbeatable value at $150
        https://www.amazon.com.au/Introducing-Amazon-eero-router-3-p…

        I'm not normally a mesh guy, but I can't think of another solution that would cover your entire house well for under $200.

        eero is pretty much plug and play with FTTP and the process of adding more units is dead simple.

        • scrimshaw on 07/10/2024 - 12:45

          Just FYI that link goes to the very basic eero model with only Wifi 5. It's an AC1300 model and is technically lower-spec than the Netgear R7000 (AC1900)

          The Wifi 6 model is considerably more expensive

          • eero: Wifi 5 - dual band AC1300
          • eero 6: Wifi 6 - dual band AX1800
          • eero 6+: Wifi 6 - dual band AX3000, 160Mhz channel width supported
          • eero Pro 6E: Wifi 6E - tri band AX(E)4200, 160Mhz channel width supported
          • eero Max 7: Wifi 7 - tri band BE20800, 320Mhz channel width supported, + a few other Wifi 7 features.

          Amazon Prime sale starts tomorrow so I would wait and see what deals show up. I expect some ASUS / TP-Link routers should go on sale.

          • Brotality on 07/10/2024 - 13:33

            @scrimshaw: Excellent Level of detail.

            I was trying to stick with the OP's budget. And I was thinking since the plan is only 100/20, while its wifi 5, it should still be able able to do full speed while having better coverage around the house.

            Ideally eero Pro 3 pack around $389 would be my choice, but thats more than 2.5x the cost of the entry level model which will probably provide a similar experience for OP.

            I believe the current prices are the Prime Day early deals. I've checked camel camel camel and I believe they are at their all time low at the moment.

  • frondono on 07/10/2024 - 12:47
    +1

    gl.inet flint 2 looks pretty good and can be picked up for around $180 at the moment.

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/869228

  • Markusaus on 07/10/2024 - 13:08
    +1

    My R7000 got retired due to the same symptoms. Not a bad result for a 10 year router that was brilliant in its day…

    I switched to a second hand telstra smart modem gen 2 with two mesh satellite units to simply assess whether these suit my situation better now that everyone else around me, which has resulted in a highly congested wifi range. Its been brilliant!!

    Now looking at Prime Day for a replacement (must have usb for me) as I need to return the second hand loaner units

  • highon2str on 07/10/2024 - 13:42

    Power adaptors are a weak link with routers, considering many run 24/7. Might be worth trying a known good power adaptor before binning the router itself. I've brought a few supposedly "faulty" routers back to life with new power supplies.

  • scotty on 07/10/2024 - 13:51

    My R7000 is still running as the main router at home, however it has the same WiFi issue so I'm having a Tenda mesh running in AP mode connecting to it. The R7000 is running dd-wrt and is having too many custom PHP & bash scripts accumulated over the years — it would be pain to migrate off to a new router :(

  • techno2000 on 07/10/2024 - 14:46

    My R7000 which I got in a great deal(pricematched in officeworks for half price) gave me solid service for many many years and is retired at the moment in my cupboard. I am using the Asus AX86U now.

  • munecito on 07/10/2024 - 18:22

    GL.inet Flint 2 or if money is tight a Flint V1.

    I retired the Nighthawk because it does not receive any more patches and the GL-inet uses a fraction of the power. Plus comes with a slimmed down version of Open-WRT and can run the vailla version as well.

    • Fergy1987 on 07/10/2024 - 18:49

      What is the benefits of things like openwrt and stuff? Ive never had a router and thought i needed a custom firmware.

      Is it just something for people who have a more complex setup than just plug it in and connect devices to it?

      • munecito on 07/10/2024 - 18:54

        First is that the router is not pinging back to servers somewhere. TP-link routers are famous for pinging back to servers in China constantly.

        Second, if you ever need to open ports, do forwarding, run a server from home or run a full house VPN, create VLANs, run Tailscale to have a self hosted server or webpage and a long list of etcs they are able to do that.

        But the GL-Inet routers are also quite cheap and can be run as a normal plug and play router for people that don't need the other capabilities.

        https://openwrt.org/reasons_to_use_openwrt

      • munecito on 07/10/2024 - 19:07

        The other thing that I actively despise about ISP provided routers is that most of them can be controlled back from their end without your intervention.

        I know that happened at my parents place with an Exetel provided modem/router which lost its configuration and I could not do anything on my end, but after a phone call they pushed a package with configuration. That is great for technology illiterate people but it means that a malicious packagae can be also installed by someone that gains access.

        One thing that I forgot to ask @Fergy1987 is your connection to the internet still via ADSL? If it is the the GL-inet won't work as they are only routers, not modem-routers. They can work with a connection provided by ethernet but not by phone line.

  • Fergy1987 on 08/10/2024 - 07:45

    Bought the Ax86u pro on sale today. Will see how it goes.

    Is there anything i should know in the process of changing over routers? Should i use the same IP as the current router and same SSIDs for the wifi?

    Hoping its pretty much just plug and play

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