20 Best Router For Fiber Optic Internet (2023 Updated)

For the money, this midrange gigabit router delivers a lot and has good 5-GHz performance. TL;DR If you don’t have lofty goals for your home network—the USB-A 2. 0 ports on the back aren’t the best for sharing media and its overall performance isn’t good enough for folks with heavy bandwidth demands—and just need a reliable router, the Archer C7 AC1750 is the best you can buy at this price.

There’s only two people in our household, eight devices (two laptops, one desktop computer, two phones, a tablet, as well as one printer and a Nest thermostat) and we have pretty average needs when it comes to WiFi performance (Zoom, Netflix, and web browsing on Comcast Xfinity’s 50 Mbps plan).

After reading a ton of reviews (it was on many “Top Routers for 2018 lists” and was the most affordable one) of which routers would work best with Xfinity and our NetGear CM400 modem, I decided this one had the best value for what we needed.

(P. S. It currently has 49,662 4. 5 star reviews on Amazon). The good: Setup is quick and easy, its performance on the 5-GHz band is good for its price (ideal for streaming 4K), it has two USB ports for connecting peripherals (eg, create a media server to easily share your USB drive content), 4 Gigabit LAN ports with quick access to multiple connected wired devices (would work great as a gaming router), there’s an on/off switch for wireless transmissions (essentially turning it into a wired router for when you go on vacation and want it to stop broadcasting), it includes parental controls, and the Tether app is great.

Also, you can generate a QR code from the router’s admin page, print the code, and put it somewhere easily accessible so that when you have guests over, they can easily connect to the internet by just scanning the code.

I’ve had the router for over a month now and have yet to experience any dropped signals. The not-so-good: If you plan on connecting peripherals that require faster data speeds, this router uses the older and slower 2.

0 spec, the performance on the 2. 4-GHz band is lacking, it doesn’t include automatic firmware updates, and doesn’t have MU-MIMO for efficiently managing network traffic. Also, it lacks Amazon Alexa comparability (this wasn’t a problem for us, but if you want Alexa compatibility, get the nearly-identical Archer A7 AC1750).

I Googled its specs: Wi-Fi Spec: 802. 11ac/Dual Band Number of Antennas/Removable: 6/3 are removable Ports: 4 Gbps LAN, 2 USB 2. 0 Peak 802. 11ac performance: 1750 Mbps (450 Mbps for 2. 4-GHz, 1,300 Mbps for 5-GHz at 5 feet) Range: 110 feet Size: 1.

4- by 9. 5- by 6. 0-inches This was my first TP-Link router and I was impressed with how easy the setup was — it couldn’t have been easier! The router’s login page is very user friendly. This is a great router for most people and I highly recommend it!.

TP Link AC 2300 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi Router — Archer C2300 I’ve had to use several routers to have connectivity in my houses over the past 20 years and I’m pretty good at setting them up to work with my internet connections.

I recently moved from a home that had a metal roof and was on a slab so getting a good signal was difficult but we had 100+ mbps speed. I moved 5 months ago and all we are able to get in my rural town in Maine is DSL with a max speed of 25mg.

The router is a dual band 5 GHz and 2. 4 GHz which is overkill for my data speed, but Maine is trying to provide fiber optic speeds in many rural communities in the near future. There are many features I like with this modem.

First it has 4 gigabyte Ethernet ports which means I can run lines to laptops, desktop computer and smart TV without losing speed using the wireless connection. There is also the WAN port that goes directly from your modem into the router.

We are a couple of seniors, but rely heavily on our electronics. Not only do we have 2 desktops, 3 laptops, 2 iPhones, 2 Kindle tablets, iPad, and Samsung Galaxy but we stream videos from Netflix, Prime, and STARZ.

All of these need to be connected through a router or wirelessly. This TP Link router has the ability to use something called “beamforming” to send the WiFi signal to the device that needs it for a stronger signal.

I don’t profess to know what all the technical stuff means or does. I just want to be able to plug in the product, connect the wires, and have everything work. I get easily frustrated when things don’t work as expected and this was not the case with this particular router (yay).

Anti virus and parental controls that you set up are included as well as a guest network for when people come to visit. they can log into an “open” connection with an easier password that you create and it will not interfere with your secure system for all of your home computers, protecting your data from being taken off your computer.

The router has 3 external antennas that you can bend and point in different directions for the best signal. There is also an internal antenna which all has to do with getting the best signal strength in which to get online.

I didn’t have any trouble setting the router up because it has some sort of “smart connect” that scopes out your available devices and lists them for you to connect to. As usual the most difficult thing was reading and tiny serial number under the router.

I have used several brands of routers over the years and one of my chief complaints is having to pay for tech support after the warranty is up. I’m not able to judge their customer service or tech support because it was a breeze to get it up and running.

One of the pluses for this specific router is the gold label on the front that says TP Link wireless router was rated #1 in customer service in 2019 by JD Power (a big, recognized name in the field).

So far I’m impressed. I look forward to when fiber optic lines come to my town so I can take advantage of the blazing speeds! Until then I’m happy that I have a consistent signal that doesn’t drop and I’m not rebooting my modem / router several times a week because if dropped signal!.

I bought the Pro 6 three pack and a Pro extender during a recent sale to replace four Google Wifi and a Nest Wifi point that had been having trouble keeping up with the new bandwidth requirements of 4K video and multiple people on Zoom at the same time.

Why so much mesh? We live in a 1910 house that’s tall (three stories) and skinny with old, thick plaster walls, including a kitchen with metal lathe plaster and tin paneling that sits like a giant Faraday cage in the middle of the first floor just waiting to block electromagnetic waves to the small addition in the back of the house where the kids play video games.

So far, I’m happy with the eero Pro 6: setup was simple using the app, and connection speeds are generally five to ten times faster throughout the house for wireless devices that support newer protocols.

The eero devices (other than the extender) are all wired via Cat6 to maximize performance. I didn’t face the more serious inability to connect some 2. 4GHz devices that some people have reported, though I did have to manually enter my SSID into my Kasa 2.

4GHz wifi switches in order for them to see the network. My Racchio irrigation controller also found the network on its own, though I know some people have reported problems with that particular device.

Coverage seems generally better than with the Google devices, thus my ability to go from five points to three plus an extender. Where I previously needed a Google point in my attic to get adequate coverage for my office, the eero on the floor below now provides four or five times better speed.

(No more, “You’re connection is causing problems” messages from our company video conferencing system, which is nice. ) I have 1GB Verizon fiber, and the eero consistently reports max download and upload speeds between 760Mbps and 900Mbps.

My newer devices (like my iPhone 12) peak at about about 370Mbps over wifi, which I find more than acceptable given that I have about 60 wifi devices on the network and another dozen or so wired. The Google system was clearly struggling to keep up at times, and my upload and download speeds regularly fell into the 30-50Mbps range.

One thing that seemed to help the eero (and you network managers out there probably already knew this, but I just figured it out): In a couple locations, I have the eero connected via it’s second port to a gigabit switch that’s handling other wired devices (such as Hue and Eufy hubs).

I found that overall network performance seemed to improve if I connected the wall port to the eero , and then the eero to the switch, rather than connecting the switch to the wall port, and then attaching the eero to the switch.

I’m not sure exactly why this helps, but it definitely seemed to improve overall throughput. I’ll update as I get more sophisticated in how I use the eero (reconnecting my NAS as a person cloud, for instance, and as I get more firmware updates), but so far, I’m pretty pleased.

Hopefully writing this review hasn’t jinxed me.

Bought the 3-pack and also added another 1. Very good and pretty much as advertised. Super easy setup. We got these to deal with some dead spots and because it allowed us to have rooms where we needed to plug in PCs that didn’t have wifi (or wifi wasn’t a good option) and the 2 available Ethernet slots per unit were the perfect solution.

Got rid of the 50 foot ugly cables we had running around the baseboards of the house. The only 3 negatives which lost it the 5-star rating are that the security features are causing some devices to lose wifi here and there (only for a few seconds), the same security (which has nice features) is only free for 30 days (annoying, and not worth continuing), and the speed.

The last one may be a big thing for some, so I’ll explain. We have 1GB service. Our hardline devices generally get about 750-800 on speedtest. net. Our wifi devices were getting about 500. Now with the Eero (which replaced the “upgraded” spectrum hardware), we are at slightly less than those numbers.

So for us, killing the dead zones and adding 8 ethernet ports around the house were worth losing a few percent on the speed. But again, starting with 1GB service allows you not to worry about losing some in translation.

For those who may be at 200, 100 or lower, it could be an issue. Bottom line: I totally recommend this for effectively expanding wifi in larger areas, and for giving yourself those sometimes valuable Ethernet ports without running cables.

If you’re getting this to speed up your wifi, I would be cautious.

My primary season for purchasing was additional coverage and speed, throughput. Our house is larger requiring pods to expand coverage, speed. After doing a lot of research on multiple mesh wifi systems, reading user reviews, and watching various YouTube videos I finally decided on Eero 6 Pro.

The 3-pack, drop in price also sealed the deal. My setup before purchasing: Xfinity Pro Plan: 1200Mbps (down) 40Mbps (up) with two Xfinity branded “pods” to extend coverage in cold spots. I appreciated the ease of adding the pods to my network, but speeds were at best 8-9Mbps down/1-2Mbps (up) with almost non-existent upload speeds.

Immediately after setup of the Eero system, I could see an immediate increase in speeds in far reaches of our home, including the garage. My coverage and download speeds after install are the following: 2nd Floor: 237Mbps (down)/41Mbps (up) 1st Floor: 579Mbps (down)/41Mbps (up) Garage: 272Mbps (down)/41Mbps (up) This may have been overkill buying this system, but with the inclusion of Wi-Fi 6 made more sense and will cover our needs for the next (hopefully) several years.

The app was easy to use, easy to setup and controls give you may options. For power users, this may not be enough, but for most this will work just fine. I love the inclusion of the guest network with the ability to use a QR code or text when sharing.

I have been a Netgear Orbi fan for years, however I have now had multiple terrible experiences with them forcing firmware “upgrades” which have created instability, dropouts and enormous frustration.

This occurred again recently on my top of the line RBR850 WiFi 6 system that cost over $1800. I tried everything to reset and downgrade firmware (which then does a forced upgrade again overnight) – after hours wasted and huge disturbance in my work from home I gave up.

Researched all the reviews and to my surprise Asus ZenWifi AX came out on top. Being a total Apple environment I was skeptical of a PC vendor who is unknown in the world of networking – but boy was I wrong! Straight out of the box this system was a dream to set up and their iOS App is much better than Netgear’s, as is their web interface.

Works perfectly with iPhone, iPad, M1 Mac’s etc. It was a bit problematic working out how to get VLAN setup right for my iiNet NBN HFC connection (the provided iiNet profile doesn’t work). But following instructions on iiNet website got it up and running perfectly: https://help.

iinet. net. au/how-set-asus-rt-ac68u-nbn-hfc A two device system is delivering better speed in most of the house (challenging 3 level terrace) than the 4 x Orbi RBS850’s previously. Only downside is peak speed right next to the access point is not quite as high as Orbi (I’m on Gigabit super fast HFC and get about 700Mbits on Asus, vs.

closer to 750 on Orbi). However the Orbi would drop off quickly and be terrible through walls etc. Whereas Asus is still getting 200Mbits in places where Orbi was a dead zone. Most importantly it is *stable* – no dropouts, reboots lost satellite connections, multiple reset and re-pair attempts and endless Orbi frustration.

Sorry Netgear, your crown has been taken by the new upstart. Well done Asus (now *please* just don’t stuff it up with future buggy updates).

As a consumer router with a cat6 LTE modem it is an adequate product. Both my wife and I telework for major corporations and performs to task. Because we live on a farm outside of cable and fiber internet coverage I’ve had to teach myself the ins and outs of LTE modems.

This is the first integrated router/modem I’ve used. Previously used a cat3 AC341U modem connected to a Nighthawk AC1750 using a Cradlepoint CBA750B bridge router. The detail over information available to evaluate connection quality is disappointing.

I would expect a product with older technology (cat6 modems are several years old) that purports to be capable of carrier aggregation to at least have the ability to show me what bands it sees and which it is using.

More specifically I should be able to see detected signal strength and signal quality for each band detected. Ideally there should be an advanced function to allow for band locking. I’ll be the first to admit that I was spoiled with the detail level of the Cradlepoint bridge routers interface.

But that detail level greatly aided me on several occasions to diagnose issues with my carrier provider were their issue vs being an issue with my equipment/network. Event logging being one of those things I no longer have.

We live in a area with no internet, none! So I Purchased this router because it said it worked with ATT Sim cards. It does not! Twice went to the ATT store and they activated 2 different sim cards for me and neither worked to give us a hotspot.

Finally one ATT agent attempted to set up router manually and it came up requesting a TMobile login. The app for Nighthawk is terrible! You can’t do anything on the app until you have internet connection, well what about the people who have no internet and trying to set it up?!? Frustrating! No paperwork or manual in the box, had to go back to website and look up PDF for manual to find out that you needed LTE antennas.

Oh, which you have to order 3rd party, because Netgear doesn’t sell them. Overall this was a terrible experience! Equipment didn’t work, wasn’t provided with everything needed to use with LTE only. The to top it all off and weeks of trying to get this thing to work and it didn’t, I called to return it and they tried to tell me that I only had 14 days! They did finally let me return it, but only because I told them how it says compatible with ATT and it clearly isn’t.

Why don’t you make a simple router that works for hotspots for all us rural people who don’t have WiFi of fiber.

This was the second mesh setup I tried after first buying the Asus Zenwifi XT8 Wifi6 Mesh setup. I was replacing a TP-Link router which worked great for about 5 years (favorite router to that point, recommended at least 5 different times to people) but it was starting to show its age and couldn’t keep up with the growing number of smart home devices on our network and bandwidth requirements (was an older 802.

11ac model so of course). The Amplifi Alien was my preferred option to begin with, but went with the Asus based on fairly even reviews, the dedicated wireless backhaul of the Asus, and the Asus being much cheaper.

My experience with the Asus was great to start (the first few days). But I ended up spending time weekly trying to get it working right (I’m a techie so know what I’m doing), and finally gave up after complaints from the family that “its worse than the old router” and 6 months of unending troubleshooting, reverting firmwares, resetting to factory settings every few weeks to try again, etc.

etc. etc. So I finally gave up and bought two of the Amplifi Aliens to replace it, and couldn’t be happier. It worked great to start, but a little tuning and it’s been rock solid and performing great.

I went in a bit nervous as this is billed as “the Apple of routers”, so I was worried about the lack of configuration options (advanced users, do your research in case it’s missing something you need).

But the simplicity I see as a huge positive, even as a tech saavy user. 95% of people don’t need all the bells and whistles, so for the rest of us this is refreshing and does “just work”. You aren’t chasing weird issues all the time with this thing.

Even things like my wireless surround that I had to mess with to prevent interference between it and the router, just worked. This has become my favorite router of all time, and I couldn’t be happier.

It’s fast, has great coverage, is dead simple to administer and customize, and it has everything most people need and then some. I haven’t missed the dedicated wireless backhaul. Yes, it’s a little pricier than some, but still competitive or even cheaper than it’s high end competition (looking at you, Orbi).

If you are on the fence and comparing to others, buy the Amplifi Aliens. You can thank me later.

Working in IT administration as well as being apart of infrastructure and wireless support I have seen access points, backhauls, superior setups, and overall multi purpose network equipment that promised the world and would never let you down.

Vastly, I have either replaced sed equipment or support it onto life support. No device made good on their promise of support or out of the box simplicity. I remember first thoughts of opening this and prepped my setup that consist of the laptop, manual configuration of IPV4, ethernet cables, and ensuring the default web portal address.

I laughed at the mere statement of using an app which NEVER WORKS to configure a router. This blew all of that away. The app is king and truly gives you simple options to lay out the topology of your existing network.

I lived in a 1950s Victorian that is covered in plaster and thick walls. The house would laugh at EVERY router and wireless extender I brought to it…until now. Now the house and I both are just completely blown away.

Wireless laughably blows throw any wall, finds all of the devices (both wireless and wired), gives you the ability to identify them and manage each of them, and covers the dead areas with immediate wireless access.

I was able to even get superior coverage in my garage and bring back ALL of my Blink cameras. This WiFi 6 Mesh system is just a future proof amazing device that EVERYONE that has problems with connectivity should buy; and not just the router but the mesh point.

I used my Trendnet wireless extender for the garage now and it sees my Alien AP (yes my setup is bride mode since I cannot use the Alien as a router due to not supporting DDNS…Cmon Unbiquiti Networks!) and connects anything that needs a boost of wireless access to it.

I truly believe I do not need that wireless extender but I’d rather overkill than wait for problems. I highly recommend this mesh router system and plead with anyone who doubts it that your dollars are well spent.

If you do it know how to layout your topology then ask for help because it is NOT this products fault for short sightedness.

I’ve renovated my home a few years back and although I love the additional space added on, I created problems that I could not have anticipated. My home went from approximately 3,000 sq ft. , built in the 80’s, to 4,500 sq ft.

Great for space, but a NIGHTMARE for Wi-Fi coverage. The additional walls, plumbing, insulation, sound proofing and electrical system befuddled any Wi-Fi system or extender I could find. I caught a YouTube video on the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 and decided to pick up the Amplifi Alein Mesh Wi-Fi system and BOOM, I instantly had better Wi-Fi speeds than I’ve ever seen at any time in this house.

I started with Router and Mesh Point package (Router downstairs and Mesh Point Upstairs in the Master Bedroom). For reference, I have Xfinity internet with 1G down and 50Mbps up. In the room with the Router, I get up to 952 Mbps down and about 44 Mbps up – and that’s with the kids FaceTiming or playing video games with their friends at the same time.

The bedroom with the Mesh unit upstairs gets 552 MPS down and 41. 2 MPS up. On the new portion of the house, the coverage dropped to 34 Mbps at the furthest point which is a back bedroom. Fine for basic Wi-Fi use I guess, but not good enough for our needs.

During the toughest part of Covid last year, there were at least 3 of us on Zoom sessions at times. Coordinating schedules to ensure zero dropouts, was out of the question (and this is why I love this system), so I opted to purchase 2 additional stand-alone units over the next few months to use as mesh points and cover the entire house and INSTANT improvement took place.

We had zero drops on Zoom calls and the slowest speed I get in any room is 322Mbps down and 38. 9 Mbps up. It’s amazing. According to the Amplifi app, I currently have 30 devices connected to the system and everything’s working blazingly fast.

Now, if I can figure out how to get this kind of speed to the furthest part of my backyard, I may never go back to the office! Seriously, if Amplify Alien comes up with an outdoor system, it’s over for anyone else.

It’s that good.

The Nighthawk R6900v2 that I bought a few days ago is quite an upgrade from the ancient ASUS RT-N16, meaning that it’s much faster and had far greater range. I finally have full Wi-Fi coverage throughout my house, as well as my yard.

The only con I have is that in order to opt-out of Netgear’s data aggregation, one must send them an email, rather than simply including an opt-out button within the router’s settings. That is really the only gripe I have with my Nighthawk router.

Well, that plus setting it up the first time revealed some major glitches (not accepting my password after upgrading the firmware via their app – I had to reset the router back to factory defaults) but I got it all sorted out.

eventually. Once the headache of setting up the router has been completed, it is a competent piece of equipment. Even though both the Nighthawk and old ASUS RT-N16 have gigabit LAN ports, I have found that using the Internet is noticeably faster with the Nighthawk; it’s not my imagination either.

🙂 Would I recommend the Nighthawk R6900v2 router in spite of its setup warts? Indeed I would!.