Looking to upgrade our home router. Current router is a Netgear Nighthawk that reboots itself several times a day. Need something reliable as school restarts. 3000 sq ft, 3-level home, ~40 devices, no gaming, but lots of video streaming. Thanks a bunch! Please share links if you have them.
That’s vague, there’s lots of Netgear Nighthawk models
I have a Netgear R7000 which never reboots unless I click the reboot button… it’s reliable.
(it is running 3rd party firmware)
-power outages don’t count as “self reboots”
At 3,000 SFT and 3-levels, with 40 devices, I would recommend the Netgear Orbi - make sure to get the “Tri-Band” and MU-MIMO support (all of their mesh routers support MU-MIMO). I would set up a 3 unit mesh, with ethernet backhaul (ethernet connecting the base unit to the 2 satellites) for best results.
I have the Orbi AX6000 - and it works really great, but it is very expensive - $1,100 for the 3-unit ($700 for the 2-unit). I have a ton of devices (7 streaming devices plus cameras, laptops, smart devices, tablets & phones - almost 60 total devices right now).
The Orbi WiFi System - 3 Pack (RBK43) - runs $349.99 new and refurbs run $269.00 (tri-band + MU-MIMO). The reason I didn’t go with these is they only had one ethernet port on each satellite (you can put an ethernet switch to expand it). The AX6000 is nice - but I don’t have the WIFI-6 devices…so a lot of speed is wasted.
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I am using the eero pro second generation with no problems.
Apparently this is a known issue with some bad router firmware… Two folks at Tablo HQ ran into the same thing.
You could try flashing it with some third party firmware but if you’re due for an upgrade anyways there are lots of good options on the market.
I second Netgear Orbi, or possibly another mesh wifi system. I am very happy with my netgear orbi mesh system.
https://store.ui.com/ vlans — router ,switch, 2+ wifi AC ap
The UniFi Dream Machine is on my list for the next time I need to upgrade network gear.
Have had 3 Netgear routers in a row over 20 years or so. First 2 were rock solid. This one ($220), an R7800 has been a disappointment. For that price I expected it to be easy to use, have great firmware and coverage should be great. It has been none of that. I do have work experience with cheaper and more expensive routers.
To make the device solid, it appears that you must shut down many of the advanced features. I have done this. You can name devices on your network but it only saves the names if you name them in a certain place in the firmware. All other places where you save the name only keeps for that session. Only found this out by trial and error. Looking through devices on your network is cumbersome as it only shows 2 per page instead of a list. I can go into greater detail, if anyone wants to hear. User forums, as always, give Netgear ample things to fix but they do not. In fact, many of these problems only originated after firmware upgrades.
I would recommend some other brand. It has only been 3 years so dear wife is not wild about a new router.
Thank you for allowing me to rant.
2 posts on here have said that 3rd party firmware is the way to go. This may be the only solution once you have purchased the router. What does this say about a company that they must rely on others to fix their product? Again, thanks for allowing this rant.
Research! First! I’ve been reading new Netgear may have hard coded not to allow firmware flashing. Having said that, Netgear is not the only brands which has a following of 3rd party firmware “upgrades”!
Although many how-to make it look so simple, it’s not for everyone. Make sure you have more than some idea what you’re doing and getting into before taking the step.
There are great advantages to open source 3rd party firmware! Getting the wrong one, or not doing it just right can turn a router into a door stop aka brick.
It’s not that easy to screw up, but it only takes one time. So I’m just passing this on for other who may come along later.
Primary goal - generate profits! Awesome marketing with wicked designs. Toss around Cybersecurity - we’ll protect you, so you don’t have to? App (your router) for enhanced features?
Avoid specific network terms, don’t confuse consumers. -This is general, not just one vendor.
djk44883 I remember researching the R7800 for a long time before buying. I remember reading 3rd party reviews (several) on how great it was.
I would never buy a router with the idea that I will have to install a 3rd party firmware. You did not suggest this. I am just saying.
I think that you and I are in agreement, that we cannot rely on Router manufacturers to have good firmware updates. So, my solution is that I should, in the future, buy cheaper routers that do the basics that I want, today. With the intent of replacing every 2 to 3 years.
Does that sound like a plan?
Or… but quality used routers from ebay. I paid around $50 for my R7000 knowing I was going to flash it. In the unlikely event something didn’t work right, I wasn’t out for a big lost (yea, fifty bucks is a hit). And flash them with good firmware updates!
Generally a router doesn’t “wear out” in as much as it no longer fits someone’s needs when they sell it it. I’ve gone through, and still have, a couple of used linksys and another netgear routers purchased from ebay, flashed with dd-wrt, on the netgear, fresh tomato.
For ~$50 you can get a functioning and reliable router… and you can not. You can get open source firmware for no out of pocket, although the often accept donations.
That’s plan A and this would be plan B 
Your plan works. I am not familiar with the R7000 but I see them for $50 or so on Ebay. You could purchase one and flash it with a $0 3rd party firmware. If it didn’t work, not a big loss.
If you don’t want to flash, I see TP-link, Asus, D-link and Linksys (to name a few) brand new routers for under $100. Replace in a few years when the firmware updates no long fix the problem and the warranty is gone.
Either plan is better than the $220 I paid for my router 3 years ago.
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I just upgraded to the Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro. It will do 3gb wan throughput with full IPS/IDS. I also use unifi for wireless and Cameras in my house. So far it has worked flawlessly.
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40 devices!?!?!?!?!? 
Did I read that correctly?! 40 devices?
It’s sort of funny. My Wifi works great, runs the distance, zero complaints in the household. It’s old school 2.4Ghz G. People want ultra mega zing zong fast Wifi that travels a room or so (and not much further)… and then they load it up with a gazillion Wifi devices and then wonder why they have crummy Wifi.
To use an old school term… it’s called “right sizing”.
Growing up in the hi-fidelity world (music was our thing). We learned that the “wattage” isn’t what matters. It’s whether your system is well matched. So, jumbo drivers requiring a Delorian at 88mph to power it, connected to a moderately priced system…well, not going to work well.
Just an observation.
I have close to that number of network devices, as well.
Kinda scary, I know. 
Once you start to populate your home with things like toothbrushes, washers, dryers, and refrigerators that connect to the interweb, you can easily get to 40+ devices on a local network.