[Shadychevyowner]

It's been about 4 years and every year I am having to replace my router due to random drop connections/really slow speeds. These things never seem to last. I have multiple wireless items connecting to them (3 Computers, 3+ Phones, 2 tablets, and 1 Printer). Im not sure if it is my super slow DSL(1-3Mbps) that makes my router work harder to manage the internet to all these devices but it is the fastest available in my area. Normally there is 1 computer always streaming something from HBO or Netflix.

My last routers were

An old Linksys dual band
Asus N66U with DD-WRT
TP-Link C8

I dont know if its possible that they overheat from trying to manage slow internet data speeds to so many devices constantly but they dont seem to last. My N66U with DD-WRT lasted the longest bc i managed another 3 month after setting it up to reboot the router every 12 hrs.

Any recommendation on a router or a setup that will last more then a year? My DSL modem has been a tank through the last 10 years but the routers are starting to make me mad.

 

[JackCY]

Wireless... yeah you may be overloading that or the connection itself your ISP is junk.
Should be easy to test, do a wired connection as directly as you can removing router and what ever else you have there in between your PC and the ISP port.

Ubiquiti or other more business oriented devices may fare better. Also check your devices for utilization, CPU, RAM, the cheapest routers tend to be maxed out quickly using a few devices but that's with faster way faster connections. Any junk can handle 1-3mbps.

 

[Shadychevyowner]

I usually have the modem in bridge mode and set the router up as PPPoE to connect to the internet and works great for 10-11 months then starts freaking out. I set the modem back to manage the connection and it buys me another month maybe two of it running great again then Im having to restart it every couple hours. I replace it and the cycle starts over again.

I not sure but it seems that the router having to send alot of tiny packets to multiple items kills it quick. Yes my ISP blows and it is the best I can get due to location, but I have connected many times directly to the modem and it always works how it is meant to. The routers on the other hand dont last very long. Ive spent $500+ on routers in only 4 years. Its bad enough I spend 60.99 for my bad Verizon DSL but down the street there is no internet at all for people.

 

[TriWheel]

Mikrotik.

 

[NexusRed]

Can only comment on the Asus N66U with stock firmware. had it for about 3 years and never had any sort of issues with it. How is your cabling and power to the router? I suspect there is something else going on.

 

[Shadychevyowner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NexusRed

Can only comment on the Asus N66U with stock firmware. had it for about 3 years and never had any sort of issues with it. How is your cabling and power to the router? I suspect there is something else going on.

My router and modem are by each other. Only 4" of cable connect them. What i think happens is with such a slow WAN and multiple items connecting to it that it has to send so many tiny packets trying to keep all the devices happy. But I also think it must overheat the router vs sending bigger packets less times.

Almost like mailing your bills in $1 payments vs sending a $100 payment. Sure the money gets there but it is a lot more work sending it $1 at a time.

So my move seems to I should probably move to a more business class router with a wireless access point?

 

[TriWheel]

Why dont you google the brand I mentioned?

Lynksys and DLink are a lot of trash.

In fact, any router from newegg is trash.

 

[Shadychevyowner]

Yes I have google both places you guys have talked about. It seems that my best bet may be to buy the fastest router I can and wire an AP or two to cover the area I need for wireless. This is the last time I hope to be fixing this thing. So if you have any experience with an exact setup please let me know.

 

[XanderTheGoober]

I currently have a very stable home network. First off I have my important network gear (modem, gateway, AP, etc) on a battery backup with line conditioning so the equipment is always fed clean power.
Here's my gear-
modem: ISP provided
router/gateway: Unifi Security Gateway
AP: Unifi AP AC LR
Server (running unifi and other apps)

I rarely have hiccups and when I do they are 95% of the time solved by power cycling the modem itself.
Ubiquiti APs are relatively easy to setup and they are reliable, not to mention for enterprise gear they are very affordable. The advantage with an AP would be you would never have to reconfigure your wireless, even if your router crapped out.

i am no network guru but this unifi gear has been rock solid so far.
probably worth checking out.
I would also highly encourage you to put a battery backup on your router and modem, make sure it has AVR (automatic voltage regulation) or line conditioning.

 

[Shadychevyowner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanderTheGoober

I would also highly encourage you to put a battery backup on your router and modem, make sure it has AVR (automatic voltage regulation) or line conditioning.

I didnt think of that but could be one of my issues hurting my routers. Power goes off here at least 1 time a week due to wind/trees sometimes flickering on/off multiple times during storms. All my computers are on battery backups but not the router and modem.

 

[XanderTheGoober]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shadychevyowner

I didnt think of that but could be one of my issues hurting my routers. Power goes off here at least 1 time a week due to wind/trees sometimes flickering on/off multiple times during storms. All my computers are on battery backups but not the router and modem.

If your local power is that flaky the battery backup is the very first option you should explore.
This is an affordable UPS, very similar to the one in my network closet at home.
https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP685AVR-System-Outlets-Compact/dp/B00095W91O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1508341235&sr=8-3&keywords=AVR+ups
If you're looking for better quality then look at an APC UPS with AVR. like this but this one is way overkill, although it would run your router and modem for likely over 40 minutes.
https://www.amazon.com/APC-Back-UPS-Battery-Protector-BR1500G/dp/B003Y24DEU/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1508341286&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=APC+UPS&psc=1

of course it goes without saying these are not your only options.

 

[EniGma1987]

You could try something new, buy an "APU2" box and put something like pfsense, Untangle, ipfire, etc etc on it and have that be your router. See if it lasts a lot longer as it should be a lot more robust.

 

[MooMoo]

As people said before, looks like the fault is your local power, not the routers itself.
As Asus N66U has plenty of power to handle slow 1-3Mbps, it just sounds stupid that it would overheat because of so slow speeds, all it does is use less of the "power".
I do own Asus N66U myself and it does run kinda hot, but it isn't problem atleast what I've experienced and read.

 

[Dt_Freak1]

i think its probably a bad power grid causing you to break routers. at my house i have charter spectrum with a factory provided modem, we use a netgear nighthawk x6 ac 3200 tri band router and have had it hooked up for a year already with no issues. they arent cheap but they are nice.

 

[spice003]

i have ASUS RT-N16 which still works after 6-7 years with slow internet, so definetlty not your router, if you live in area that gets a lot of thunder storms then that could be ruining your equipment. I recommend getting a UPS

 

[The Pook]

My Linksys WRT54G lasted forever. Replaced it about two years ago with a D-Link DIR-636L because it was cheap and had wireless N ... no issues.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TriWheel

...In fact, any router from newegg is trash.

Horse feathers! I've had no problems with the Netgear router I bought from Newegg.

 

[battlenut]

currently use a netgear nighthawk, for like 2 years now. no issues. Or you could give the Linksys velop system a try, I recently added that to my nighthawk to cover the rest of the house. no issues with that either but I am no expert.