Request: I’m looking for something with high reliability rather than high speed. It needs to support 30+ devices.
Additional information: My house is about 30m (100ft) long, and the internet comes in by ethernet at one end of it. I’m happy to use a Wi-Fi extender if needed.
Context:
I’ve been having issues with both my current and previous routers. Devices are randomly unable to communicate over the network for several seconds at a time. Both ethernet and Wi-Fi are affected.
I live in Australia, so even the slowest router should be more than fast enough.
I have a large number of automated devices that need to stay connected at all times - even 5 second network dropouts are difficult to deal with. Internet dropouts are handled gracefully.
Any suggestions are gratefully received.
Probably better to run a cable to have a router on both sides of the house. Wifi extenders are notoriously unreliable.
I second this. You need physical ethernet cable for the length of your house. Hard-wire anything that needs uninterrupted access. Then install multiple WiFi access points as needed for WiFi coverage. All WiFi access points can use the same WiFi SSID name. Note the difference between a “router” that connects to your internet provider and may also provide WiFi, vs a WiFi “access point” which only provides WiFi. You need one router and multiple access points connected to each other via physical ethernet cable. Keep in mind that even the best WiFi, being a wireless radio connection, will occasionally have dropouts due to radio interference. Prefer 5GHz channels over 2.4GHz channels for less interference. Another commenter recommended the Ubiquiti UniFI line, and I agree. Just avoid the cloud-based login that they try to push, and use a local-only login.
Edit: the “buy it for life” option is hard-wired (CAT-6 or better) ethernet everywhere. Wireless is convenient, but ultimately less reliable.
If you have old coax cable already in your walls, MOCA 2.5 devices can be used to turn them into 1 Gig Ethernet.