Netgear ac1900 router any good?

Triggreef · Nov 23, 2017

need a new router that's going to be compatable with apex. Mine is very old and i think it loses connectivity here and there and makes it hard for streaming from fire stick. Need something that will work for everything. Have a good extender already but still rather not have to continue using that. House is 3400 square feet so need decent range.

Looking at this one because its on sale for black Friday for $89 and has pretty good reviews

Maritimer · Nov 23, 2017

#reefsquad, #Mods ... any thoughts on this router? (Or a location for this thread where the right eyes will spot it?) I haven't got the Apex experience to answer, unfortunately . . .

~Bruce

Daltrey · Nov 23, 2017

Ive had that one for a couple of years now and it has been outstanding. Picks up fine anywhere in my 2400 square foot house and even in back by the pool. Three kids with gaming computers and streaming rokus on 4 tvs and no issues plus alot of home automation on wifi. In total at least 30-40 devices in our house on wifi.

glb · Nov 24, 2017

I have a NetGear (can’t remember model) extender that works great with my Apex Jr. It has two antennas and works great from inside the stand. The cost of mine sounds comparable to what you’re looking at.

DLHDesign · Nov 24, 2017

Triggreef said:
House is 3400 square feet so need decent range.

Odds are high that no single router will cover the complete house - not without dead spots, at least. Walls and ceilings/floors disrupt the signal, so it's not just a matter of a router's maximum range, really.

In terms of "Apex compatibility", there's not going to be a specific device that is better/worse for the Apex. The controller will register itself on the router (or the network, technically) the same as any other device - such as a laptop or cell phone - would do. The best way to connect your Apex is using a hardline. That is; you are able to follow wire(s) running from the controller all the way to your modem (and then, conceptually, out the house, etc.). This will give you the best chance of having a stable connection at all times.

One thing that's emerging on the market now is "mesh networks". These operate much like a router and a bunch of repeaters, but have some different software involved that acts to make a more stable network out of the mesh (doing better at "handing off" a device from one node to another, for example). One example of this is the Google Wifi. I'm running these in my house and don't have any dead spots that I've found. I still have my Apex hardwired, however - it's traffic demands are such that any wireless signal (even full strength) will likely result in outages. As it is, I still get "phantom disconnects" (reports of power loss that are quickly restored) from time to time...