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Ask HN: Please recommend a router without need for a cloud account

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Re: Ask HN: Please recommend a router without need for a cloud account

#112

Post by mistrial9 »

bennyp101 wrote: post #27

None of my TPLink, Netgear, or ASUS routers have ever needed a cloud account - I guess this is a new/regional thing? I use Mikrotik hAP2 (~£60/$80) - if you are comfortable with that sort of thing, otherwise I guess anything that supports OpenWRT as others have said. Have you got examples of ones that need a cloud account? I'm intrigued now

in California I see that the AT&T supplied DSL-modem/router requires sign in (stored in firmware configs), and takes over the DNS functions (details forthcoming). I am very concerned about future "required" hardware like this.. the excuses will be around security, but look at the history of economic incentives.

Re: Ask HN: Please recommend a router without need for a cloud account

#113

Post by ramphastidae »

howdydoo wrote: post #105
ramphastidae wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMHO, skip OpenWRT. It is much more difficult to get working correctly than HN likes to admit. There’s a non-trivial chance you will spend hours and hours reflashing your router and reading forum posts until you eventually brick it. It’s just like Raspberry Pis. Theoretically the right choice but practically speaking a huge time sink and poor, unstable experience that is best left to hobbiest tinkering or networking…

Nothing in life has a 100% success rate. But I think the fact that most people recommend OpenWrt, shows that most people don't have these crazy problems. Buy well-supported hardware, follow the directions carefully, and you'll be just fine.

Certainly. But I had a very difficult time. I purchased an ASUS router recommended by the OpenWRT website, followed directions but struggled for hours, and eventually bricked it only to find out later via searching forum posts that some routers with that model number are not supported if they were made in a specific year (of course, this was discovered via trial and error by other frustrated forum members, no one had updated the original recommendations to reflect this, and installing the recommended firmware destroyed the router irreversibly).

Re: Ask HN: Please recommend a router without need for a cloud account

#114

Post by Faaak »

ramphastidae wrote: post #104
Faaak wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really see what you're talking about. I've flashed all of my routers and _never_ had a problem. Maybe the thing that took me the most time was to decide which version to use or whether I should use openwrt vs tomato vs other competitors

Your post history says you use Dvorak and Vim, and were tinkering with your school’s network at 15, so I think my point stands :)

Well, indeed you're right on this point but on the second hand flashing a router is just selecting the firmware and clicking on "Flash". I never had a bricked router. I didn't flash a lot, but at least 6 or so. Maybe I was lucky

Re: Ask HN: Please recommend a router without need for a cloud account

#115

Post by aspectmin »

I spend a LOT of time trying different routers. I've pretty much settled on the Asus routers - 58U, 88U. Out of the box they're pretty good, but once you load them with the Asus Merlin firmware, they're rock solid.

I've visited a lot of homes to help troubleshoot internet connections, and the ones I've converted to this combination have gone silent (much more stable connections/wifi).

Re: Ask HN: Please recommend a router without need for a cloud account

#116

Post by PaulKeeble »

shadowoflight wrote: post #94
dredmorbius wrote: post #9

Any system capable of running OpenWRT. https://openwrt.org/supported_devices You might find / inquire about specific devices at the OpenWRT subreddit: https://old.reddit.com/r/openwrt/ The Turris Omnia is priced above your preferred range, but is effectively a small server and has excellent capabilities. It runs a specifically-tuned and live-upgradable version of OpenWRT: https://www.turris.com/en/omnia/overview/

I'd personally recommend FreshTomato[0] over OpenWRT, as it has a more approachable UI, is still open-source, and (in my experience) tends to run a bit smoother while needing less babysitting. [0]: https://freshtomato.org/

It has serious updating issues however requiring you to completely setup the router every time you update and the update process is entirely manual. I like FreshTomato I have used it for some years but the wifi performance sucks and the constant clearing of settings just grates over time.

This is something commercial routers get right, updates keep your settings. This requirement will cause you to delay if you use any of the complexity of the router and that leaves you open to attacks. IMO its not a great choice today due to this one fatal flaw.

Re: Ask HN: Please recommend a router without need for a cloud account

#117

Post by droningparrot »

dredmorbius wrote: post #9

Any system capable of running OpenWRT. https://openwrt.org/supported_devices You might find / inquire about specific devices at the OpenWRT subreddit: https://old.reddit.com/r/openwrt/ The Turris Omnia is priced above your preferred range, but is effectively a small server and has excellent capabilities. It runs a specifically-tuned and live-upgradable version of OpenWRT: https://www.turris.com/en/omnia/overview/

I've had good experiences running OpenWRT on the TP-Link Archer C7. It's a popular router and I've been able to find plenty of them used for around $40

Re: Ask HN: Please recommend a router without need for a cloud account

#119

Post by fartcannon »

ramphastidae wrote: post #74
dredmorbius wrote: post #9

Any system capable of running OpenWRT. https://openwrt.org/supported_devices You might find / inquire about specific devices at the OpenWRT subreddit: https://old.reddit.com/r/openwrt/ The Turris Omnia is priced above your preferred range, but is effectively a small server and has excellent capabilities. It runs a specifically-tuned and live-upgradable version of OpenWRT: https://www.turris.com/en/omnia/overview/

IMHO, skip OpenWRT. It is much more difficult to get working correctly than HN likes to admit. There’s a non-trivial chance you will spend hours and hours reflashing your router and reading forum posts until you eventually brick it. It’s just like Raspberry Pis. Theoretically the right choice but practically speaking a huge time sink and poor, unstable experience that is best left to hobbiest tinkering or networking…

Forgive me if this sounds arrogant, but I think the general HN user is capable of handling the relatively simple UI based download and flash required to use OpenWRT. Likewise, using a raspberry pi is probably trivial for most developers. If not, I'm being under paid.
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