Router suggestion at around ₹5k?

[Skye]

Hello,

My Archer A6 V3 finally died yesterday and it does not want to turn on anymore. It had died a few times in the past but always turned on after a few hours. So, I assume it has finally bid good bye to me.

So, I am looking for a new router and can spend around 5k at max, but would still prefer a good cheaper option.

I am thinking about Archer C6 which is available at 2.5k right now. However, I was wondering if I should consider buying Wi-Fi 6 router now? I am not sure if it is needed though.

I might switch to 500 Mbps plan on JioFiber, so will C6 be fine with that? Or do I need Wi-Fi 6 router for proper performance?

Usually, only 5-6 devices are connected to the router. At max, it goes 8 devices at a time.

Will Wi-Fi 6 routers, such as AX10 and AX23 worth it?

 

[XLR8R]

Both V1 and V2 of Archer AX53 have identical hardware, except V2 has less RAM and therefore also lower power consumption.
WireGuard VPN should have no hardware restriction on V1, probably just a firmware lock.
AX55 is more or less the same internal hardware and performs the same.

To answer some questions:

1. Wifi 6 routers are better in general, both for WiFi 6 supported devices and WiFi 5 supported devices. This is because these chips in these routers are more efficient with better hardware, better transmission circuits and better signal processing algorithms.
2. However, some WiFi 5 routers may be better than some WiFi 6 routers, depending on the specific combination of chips and antennas used in the router.
3. The maximum theoretical speed matters, as this is generally achieved using multiple spatial streams. Even if your device cannot support the maximum speed of say 2400 Mbps or something, the method by which the router generates such signals will still improve coverage and performance through a combination of noise suppression using the "waste waves" (strawman simplistic way of saying it) and beamforming.
4. Generally, routers with external RF frontend chips are better. This is most TP-Link routers priced at 3500 or above. But this is not a certainty.
5. Broadcom-based routers generally have more features, slightly better speed and good compatibility, but forget about OpenWRT on these platforms. However, DD-WRT runs on some of these.

 

[tr1k0N4]

Great summarisation, brdr @XLR8R

@Zuke can you test Wireguard speeds though? If you don't have CG-NAT lol

 

[Skye]

@tr1k0N4 I am on JioFiber, so I can't say I am not on CG-NAT.

 

[tr1k0N4]

Oh damnnnnn yeah, I forgot lol you're on Jio my bad!

 

[Blue Leaf]

@Zuke Congratulations on the purchase. Since the AX53 does not support any 3rd party open source firmware currently I would recommend you to install Pi-Hole and block anything DNS related that you don't like being sent from your router. TP-Link is known for sharing data with 3rd party companies.

Source -
TP-Link Said to be Sharing all Router Traffic with Third Party
What personal data is your TP-Link router collecting?

 

[Skye]

@Blue Leaf Didn't know that. I am not sure if there is anything DNS related I don't want them to send to Avira, but setting up Pi-Hole would be too much of an headache for me, right now.

Might think about it later.

 

[XLR8R]

In general TP-Link and Tenda routers have these traffic sharing concerns. Other brands are fine (Asus, D-Link, Netgear and even Mercusys)

 

[sathish399]

Get Deco X20 using for 2 years no issue a mesh router with wifi 6 costing around 4.9k in Amazon

 

[abhishek.t]

@tr1k0N4 have you set a different region (during setup) to get channel 100?

 

[supukabi]

@Blue Leaf @XLR8R isn’t it concerning?