Hello all,

I currently have a:

TP-LINK
N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router
Model No. TL-WDR3600

(as reported from its admin page)

and have had it for a few years. It has always had a problem with locking up every two weeks or so, where the wi-fi would stop working, then the wired connections would pack up. A quick 30 second on & off sorted it. Not ideal, but live-withable. Apparently it is a known bug, but there have been no firmware updates for 5 years or so.

Recently the issues have become more frequent. Sometimes the wi-fi will pack up but the wired connections are fine for days, something I only noticed after I was out of range of the mains connected wi-fi extender I have to service the garage with signal.

It does one thing which has proven to be very useful: the USB ports can be used to host a network folder, and to serve films for the media players, etc. I would like this feature in a new router. Other than that, no special requirements.

Can anyone recommend a make / model, or recommend a make / to to absolutely avoid?

Are current routers a mature sort of technology where an older model will do fine?

TP-LINK is the current make, are these any better now than they were when I bought my existing router?

Should I be looking at a different selection of equipment to do what I want, i.e. a "bog standard" wi-fi router with a Raspberry Pi to act as the network folder / media server?

Thank you all in advance for any help, it is very much appreciated. I know next to nothing about networking.

David Paste.

On Friday, September 11, 2020 at 1:18:31 PM UTC+2, wrote:
Hello all,

I currently have a:

TP-LINK
N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router
Model No. TL-WDR3600

(as reported from its admin page)

and have had it for a few years. It has always had a problem with locking up every two weeks or so, where the wi-fi would stop working, then the wired connections would pack up. A quick 30 second on & off sorted it. Not ideal, but live-withable. Apparently it is a known bug, but there have been no firmware updates for 5 years or so.

Recently the issues have become more frequent. Sometimes the wi-fi will pack up but the wired connections are fine for days, something I only noticed after I was out of range of the mains connected wi-fi extender I have to service the garage with signal.

It does one thing which has proven to be very useful: the USB ports can be used to host a network folder, and to serve films for the media players, etc. I would like this feature in a new router. Other than that, no special requirements.

Can anyone recommend a make / model, or recommend a make / to to absolutely avoid?

Are current routers a mature sort of technology where an older model will do fine?

TP-LINK is the current make, are these any better now than they were when I bought my existing router?

Should I be looking at a different selection of equipment to do what I want, i.e. a "bog standard" wi-fi router with a Raspberry Pi to act as the network folder / media server?

Thank you all in advance for any help, it is very much appreciated. I know next to nothing about networking.

David Paste.

If you are sufficiently 'techie', you might wish to try putting OpenWrt on it.

https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wdr3600

The most recent OpenWrt firmware update was a couple of days ago (Version 19.07.4) , and the OpenWrt firmware often resolves issues not dealt with by the original manufacturer.

I will not try to provide simplified instructions. Careful reading of the web-page above and the link to the installation instructions for a related device ( https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wdr4300#installation ) should be sufficient.

Sid.

On 11/09/2020 12:18, David Paste wrote:
Hello all,

I currently have a:

TP-LINK
N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router
Model No. TL-WDR3600

(as reported from its admin page)

and have had it for a few years. It has always had a problem with locking up every two weeks or so, where the wi-fi would stop working, then the wired connections would pack up. A quick 30 second on & off sorted it. Not ideal, but live-withable. Apparently it is a known bug, but there have been no firmware updates for 5 years or so.

Recently the issues have become more frequent. Sometimes the wi-fi will pack up but the wired connections are fine for days, something I only noticed after I was out of range of the mains connected wi-fi extender I have to service the garage with signal.

I've never had any problem with my TP-Link TD-W9970 N300:
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/5728882 £34.99.

It does one thing which has proven to be very useful: the USB ports can be used to host a network folder, and to serve films for the media players, etc. I would like this feature in a new router. Other than that, no special requirements.

I don't know whether it does that. You can download the manual from the
Argos site if you want.

--
Max Demian

On 11/09/2020 12:44, Sidney Endon-Lee wrote:

If you are sufficiently 'techie', you might wish to try putting OpenWrt on it.

https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wdr3600

The most recent OpenWrt firmware update was a couple of days ago (Version 19.07.4) , and the OpenWrt firmware often resolves issues not dealt with by the original manufacturer.

I will not try to provide simplified instructions. Careful reading of the web-page above and the link to the installation instructions for a related device ( https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wdr4300#installation ) should be sufficient.

Sid.


Open source router firmware can be brilliant. As well as OpenWRT, there
is also Tomato, mature, very stable.

AIUI Tomato is slightly more user friendly than OpenWRT.

In message ,
David Paste writes

Can anyone recommend a make / model, or recommend a make / to to
absolutely avoid?

I am using a Fritzbox 7530 with Repeater (large, old house with solid
granite walls) and am very pleased with both. The 7530 has a USB socket
into which is plugged a 4TB external hard drive as NAS, allowing sharing
of films or whatever with the family, via wi-fi. No stuttering or lag.

See recent threads here which helped me set everything up, although as
you already have a similar setup, you probably won't need help.
--
Graeme

Sidney Endon-Lee formulated on Friday :
If you are sufficiently 'techie', you might wish to try putting OpenWrt on
it.

https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wdr3600

Seconded...

I have that on my main router, which is ex-BT and it is absolutely rock
stable. It remains connected for years without issue, but it is quite
easy to add a line of code to have it reboot once per day/week.

On Friday, 11 September 2020 12:44:22 UTC+1, Sidney Endon-Lee wrote:

If you are sufficiently 'techie',

I'm not!

you might wish to try putting OpenWrt on it.

I'm going to do it anyway! Wish me luck.

Stupid question time:

Is this third-party firmware OK to use with banking websites, online purchases, etc?

Thanks.

David Paste wrote:

Is this third-party firmware OK to use with banking websites, online purchases, etc?

yes, security for websites happens between e.g. your browser and the
bank's server, the router doesn't enter into it ...

On Friday, 11 September 2020 20:52:55 UTC+1, Andy Burns wrote:

yes, security for websites happens between e.g. your browser and the
bank's server, the router doesn't enter into it ...

Thank you very much!

On Friday, 11 September 2020 12:44:22 UTC+1, Sidney Endon-Lee wrote:

If you are sufficiently 'techie', you might wish to try putting OpenWrt on it.

UPDATE: I have braved the murky waters and installed it. Seems to work, who'd have thought it!

Just got to let it work for a while now, see if the failing issues have gone.

Thanks for your input!

Those mains plug in devices, besides being probably illegal under the
wireless telegraphy act for interference, have been known to upset devices
running from the mains due to the high levels of RF coming in via the mains
itself. Sometimes you can cure this by a ferrite on the mains cabling of the
appliance.
There are a lot of routers around just now which offer the facilities you
want, Mine is fine, but I'd suggest not using an older one if your internet
speed is over a few megs, since they cannot cope with the input from your
isps router in modem mode very well, causing weird lock ups and the like.
Brian

--
--
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Sidney Endon-Lee" wrote in message
...
On Friday, September 11, 2020 at 1:18:31 PM UTC+2, wrote:
Hello all,

I currently have a:

TP-LINK
N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router
Model No. TL-WDR3600

(as reported from its admin page)

and have had it for a few years. It has always had a problem with locking
up every two weeks or so, where the wi-fi would stop working, then the
wired connections would pack up. A quick 30 second on & off sorted it. Not
ideal, but live-withable. Apparently it is a known bug, but there have
been no firmware updates for 5 years or so.

Recently the issues have become more frequent. Sometimes the wi-fi will
pack up but the wired connections are fine for days, something I only
noticed after I was out of range of the mains connected wi-fi extender I
have to service the garage with signal.

It does one thing which has proven to be very useful: the USB ports can be
used to host a network folder, and to serve films for the media players,
etc. I would like this feature in a new router. Other than that, no
special requirements.

Can anyone recommend a make / model, or recommend a make / to to
absolutely avoid?

Are current routers a mature sort of technology where an older model will
do fine?

TP-LINK is the current make, are these any better now than they were when
I bought my existing router?

Should I be looking at a different selection of equipment to do what I
want, i.e. a "bog standard" wi-fi router with a Raspberry Pi to act as the
network folder / media server?

Thank you all in advance for any help, it is very much appreciated. I know
next to nothing about networking.

David Paste.

If you are sufficiently 'techie', you might wish to try putting OpenWrt on
it.

https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wdr3600

The most recent OpenWrt firmware update was a couple of days ago (Version
19.07.4) , and the OpenWrt firmware often resolves issues not dealt with by
the original manufacturer.

I will not try to provide simplified instructions. Careful reading of the
web-page above and the link to the installation instructions for a related
device ( https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wdr4300#installation ) should be
sufficient.

Sid.

On 11/09/2020 12:18, David Paste wrote:
Hello all,

I currently have a:

TP-LINK
N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router
Model No. TL-WDR3600

(as reported from its admin page)

and have had it for a few years. It has always had a problem with locking up every two weeks or so, where the wi-fi would stop working, then the wired connections would pack up. A quick 30 second on & off sorted it. Not ideal, but live-withable. Apparently it is a known bug, but there have been no firmware updates for 5 years or so.

Recently the issues have become more frequent. Sometimes the wi-fi will pack up but the wired connections are fine for days, something I only noticed after I was out of range of the mains connected wi-fi extender I have to service the garage with signal.

It does one thing which has proven to be very useful: the USB ports can be used to host a network folder, and to serve films for the media players, etc. I would like this feature in a new router. Other than that, no special requirements.

Can anyone recommend a make / model, or recommend a make / to to absolutely avoid?

Are current routers a mature sort of technology where an older model will do fine?

TP-LINK is the current make, are these any better now than they were when I bought my existing router?

Should I be looking at a different selection of equipment to do what I want, i.e. a "bog standard" wi-fi router with a Raspberry Pi to act as the network folder / media server?

Thank you all in advance for any help, it is very much appreciated. I know next to nothing about networking.

David Paste.

I am running with a Draytek Vigor 2762 - sort of /top of the range
domestic/entry level SOHO/ type stuff.

Everything it says it does that I have tested, it does. It has not
missed a beat.

It is ADSL and FTTP/cable capable, and has two phone ports for VOIP
It is not cheap however.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DrayTek-Vig.../dp/B07C4WN9GG


--
New Socialism consists essentially in being seen to have your heart in
the right place whilst your head is in the clouds and your hand is in
someone else's pocket.

On Saturday, 12 September 2020 09:34:47 UTC+1, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

I am running with a Draytek Vigor 2762 - sort of /top of the range
domestic/entry level SOHO/ type stuff.

Everything it says it does that I have tested, it does. It has not
missed a beat.

It is ADSL and FTTP/cable capable, and has two phone ports for VOIP
It is not cheap however.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DrayTek-Vig.../dp/B07C4WN9GG


Thank you. This OpenWRT firmware seems OK so far, but the facilities for FTP and media serving is an effing nightmare.

One day I will run a proper ethernet cable out to the garage.


On Saturday, 12 September 2020 08:41:18 UTC+1, Brian Gaff (Sofa) wrote
Those mains plug in devices, besides being probably illegal under the
wireless telegraphy act for interference, have been known to upset devices
running from the mains due to the high levels of RF coming in via the mains
itself. Sometimes you can cure this by a ferrite on the mains cabling of the
appliance.
There are a lot of routers around just now which offer the facilities you
want, Mine is fine, but I'd suggest not using an older one if your internet
speed is over a few megs, since they cannot cope with the input from your
isps router in modem mode very well, causing weird lock ups and the like.
Brian

On Friday, 11 September 2020 12:44:22 UTC+1, Sidney Endon-Lee wrote:
On Friday, September 11, 2020 at 1:18:31 PM UTC+2, wrote:
Hello all,

I currently have a:

TP-LINK
N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router
Model No. TL-WDR3600

(as reported from its admin page)

and have had it for a few years. It has always had a problem with locking up every two weeks or so, where the wi-fi would stop working, then the wired connections would pack up. A quick 30 second on & off sorted it. Not ideal, but live-withable. Apparently it is a known bug, but there have been no firmware updates for 5 years or so.

Recently the issues have become more frequent. Sometimes the wi-fi will pack up but the wired connections are fine for days, something I only noticed after I was out of range of the mains connected wi-fi extender I have to service the garage with signal.

It does one thing which has proven to be very useful: the USB ports can be used to host a network folder, and to serve films for the media players, etc. I would like this feature in a new router. Other than that, no special requirements.

Can anyone recommend a make / model, or recommend a make / to to absolutely avoid?

Are current routers a mature sort of technology where an older model will do fine?

TP-LINK is the current make, are these any better now than they were when I bought my existing router?

Should I be looking at a different selection of equipment to do what I want, i.e. a "bog standard" wi-fi router with a Raspberry Pi to act as the network folder / media server?

Thank you all in advance for any help, it is very much appreciated. I know next to nothing about networking.

David Paste.

If you are sufficiently 'techie', you might wish to try putting OpenWrt on it.

https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wdr3600

The most recent OpenWrt firmware update was a couple of days ago (Version 19.07.4) , and the OpenWrt firmware often resolves issues not dealt with by the original manufacturer.

I will not try to provide simplified instructions. Careful reading of the web-page above and the link to the installation instructions for a related device ( https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wdr4300#installation ) should be sufficient.

Sid.

The OpenWRT firmware is doing well so far but the add-ons for FTP and media serving are useless for me, I am nowhere near competent enough to make it happen. I have tried following various instructions, installing usb drivers, NTFS things, to no avail. It really isn't user-friendly for the average chump, beyond putting the basic firmware on the router.

(I am not complaining to you, these are just my experiences!)

I will try to get a simple GUI driven rasperry pi answer to the FTP and media serving (if such a thing exists).

On Sunday, 13 September 2020 15:46:11 UTC+1, David Paste wrote:

Thank you. This OpenWRT firmware seems OK so far, but the
facilities for FTP and media serving is an effing nightmare.


Further update to this story:

I decided to remove the FTP and DLNA facilities from the OpenWRT
firmware and just have it as a regular wifi router. It performed
admirably for several weeks when the WAN port crapped out. I
don't know why. I tested the cat5 cables, etc, hoping it was
that. Ah well, can't win them all.