Question

It’s been a rough week since my Apple TV started to buffer and my daughter and wife made me go out last Sunday morning to change our internet setup. I’ve had 3 AirPort Extremes networked (wired) supporting over 100+ devices for 7 years flawlessly. Walmart was my only option at 8:00am so I was stuck to choose between Google, TPLink, or Linksys Velop. I ended up choosing the Triband. Hours went by on Sunday as my wife and 3 kiddos depended on my to deliver their livelihoods on the internet, and to no avail. Alexas and googles throughout the house kept nagging me about the internet. It’s now Thursday, and I finally threw in the towel. Linksys has been dependable in the past, but what a disappointment. I had 6 nodes, and I tried every method to install but nada. Tech support said they were bunk ‍♂️. So now I’m back on the Apple network that’s appears to be on its last leg. Any recommendations? I feel like I’ve been out of the loop about routers for almost a decade and it all seems like a gimmick to me. ‍♂️ I use Fios that can go up to a gig. I don’t game, only watch movies and my kiddos use their iPads. Eeros maybe? Thanks

Answer 1

For 100+ devices I would look at the UNIFI PRO HDs.  

Answer 2

I have had good luck with Amplifi and I have setup the Google mesh for a few friends with success.  

Answer 3

What 100+ devices are you running? I'm at like 35ish. lol

Comments

@sibship sounds like you need a home automation hub! Lol. I have like 3 wifi plugs, but over 50 z wave n zigbee switches/bulbs/outlets. so much more reliable not going through wifi.  

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@contactor You have not moved to a class B network for your IoT yet? I average about 97 Wifi things connected and most of my automation is Z-Wave and Zigbee Not to mention about anything that can be wire is. Note USG load is with IPS on.  

Answer 4

Definitely Ubiquiti.  

Answer 5

You want easy setup, a great app and something that works well? From my experience Eero does it all.  

Comments

Oh. I started with Linksys and ran into the same install issues and returned them. Eero was quick and painless.  

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@sibship Having kids you can shut their internet access off on demand and at certain times. Also you can subscribe to their online filter program to prevent kids going on unsafe websites. Number 1 reason though I went with Eero was because the system is pretty discreet.  

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@sibship I’ve been running eero mesh for the past few months with around 50 clients and have had great luck so far. I’m a big fan.  

Answer 6

Uniquiti- entire network

Answer 7

I threw my velops in the trash and replaced with a UniFi Pro and now have zero issues!  

Answer 8

Ubiquiti Inc produce good stuff, check 'em out

Answer 9

You can pick up some extremes dirt cheap to get you by.  

Answer 10

Araknis using OVRC

Answer 11

I currently have MikroTik. It works great once you get it properly set up, but it has a steep learning curve. I picked up a Unifi Pro AP and it works great. I love the interface so much I am going to completely switch over.  

Answer 12

Your daughter and wife. Made you.?  

Comments

@sibship Are you kidding?  

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@sibship if you don't take control she's gonna leave you bro. Best of luck to you.  

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@sibship I understand. When American wives behave this way be wary. We teach our women very different values than elsewhere in the world, and enable their behavior in our media and court system. You seem like a nice guy - American women eat them alive.  

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@sibship as long as she’s not watching “snapped” you’re probably ok .  

Answer 13

These posts come up often, and ubiquiti is almost always the ‘general’ answer. Most small businesses and even some larger companies are switching over to ubiquiti.  

Answer 14

Had same issues until I switched to ubiquiti. Cheap enough and once setup you can forget about it

Answer 15

If your wondering about Eero I Have done quite a few installs. Easy to set up and has been reliable. If you go that route Get the pro models and hardwire them.  

Answer 16

So what were your issues with velop? I have 5 nodes (3 tri and 2 dual band) and have no issues.  

Comments

Wow that’s a bummer.  

Answer 17

What's your budget? Eero -> ubiquiti -> ruckus

Comments

@sibship I'd hardware a couple eero and add additional ones as needed. I think with the number of clients you have on your network the Apple's could still work but you'd have to add another. I think you're maxing out the number if wireless devices each can support. I'd also check what the DHCP range is set to on the Airports, if you truly have a hundred devices on there a lot of pre-configured routers have a limited table.  

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@sibship Oh yea, those things are sweating. Another airport and you'd probably alleviate some congestion but at that point there's plenty of better networking product out there. The one thing I would check is under the network tab in airport utility and make sure that you're not simply exceeding the number of available addresses.  

Answer 18

There's alot of great stuff out there . JUST NO MESH CRAP

Answer 19

AMPLIFI from ubiquiti will murder this  

Answer 20

You have that many nodes and you are messing around with consumer-grade gear? Ubiquity, but I would stay away from "Amplifi" stuff.  

Answer 21

Unifi USG and one AP-Pro

Answer 22

Ip conflict?  

Answer 23

What Broad band u got i am guessing u from USA the max upload we can get at mo with virgin is about 36 meg 500 up would be sweet.  

Answer 24

I got also FIOS, 1Gb connected to a dream machine pro and 2 AP PRO.  

Answer 25

Im a fios user with apple AppleTV’s and alexas, however, i I use the orbi rbk33 and have no issues. Are tou you still using the isp provided router/modem? If so, are the wifi WiFi radios turned off?  

Answer 26

Ubiquiti if you can run cables. You will never notice anything slow. Enterprise grade network and features with a Best Buy price.  

Answer 27

Definitely recommend ubiquity here. Also came from Apple devices. I currently have 3x AP-Pro and 1x AP-AC-Pro for WiFi, and both their 24 port switch and USG router+firewall. I haven’t had family network complaints that weren’t broadband provider related in a few years now. Rock solid.  

Answer 28

I recommend Ubiquiti WiFi without hesitation. Setup may not be 100% plug and play, some options will cause problems, but if you do your research you will get great results. I used to have Apple as well.  

Answer 29

I just replaced my velop system (3 nodes) that I've had for about 3 years. Purchased the gen 2 eero pro with beacons (2 pro stations and 4 beacons) on sale from Bestbuy, plus some bestbuy rewards for about $500 out the door. Overkill for sure, but I'm getting triple the speed at the end points that I was with the velop and with better connections between the various nodes. very pleased

Answer 30

I have an Orbi mesh network set up and I love it .  

Comments

Same here, hasn't missed a beat for me with heavy use.  

Answer 31

Bufferbloat -  
https://www.techjunkie.com/bufferbl...work/

Comments

Thanks so much for this post. I'd never heard of bufferbloat, but it seems to perfectly describe the issue that I and my ISP have been chasing for months. Now I have hope.  

Answer 32

I have Ubiquiti UniFi and also have been happy with it. Their new UniFi Dream Machine + Beacons is a nice consumer friendly version.  
https://youtu.be/7-QvRq6vvf0

Comments

Paul, Ubiquiti is simply the best.  

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Overall I have been very happy with mine. Unfortunately I wish I could get faster speeds, but that is Charters fault :)

Answer 33

Go get the Orbi mesh set up and replace the wife. Should take care of all of your issues.  

Comments

Love my Orbi setup, rock solid fast speeds throughout my home. Hasn't let me down in 3 years

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Kevin, good call! My wife and kids are less a P. I. T. A. since getting Orbi mesh! Solid WiFi!  

Answer 34

100+ devices?  

Comments

@sibship wow! That’s a ton of devices. You’re going to want to go with an enterprise system of some sort

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@sibship right, however each device still pings the router at a predetermined interval to say “I’m still here”.