I have a 5th gen. Airport Extreme, which does n. The current 6th gen. Airport Extreme does ac. Since that is the last model Apple will sell, is that a good enough reason to buy? Where is that technology going in the future?

Yes, buy, but no reason to hurry. Spend your money on a Time Capsule instead.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

I'am considering a Portal as my next wifi router

Portal WiFi Router review

Quote
mstats
I'am considering a Portal as my next wifi router

Portal WiFi Router review

Will have to investigate that one; right now, eero is at the top of my list for an 802.11ac mesh setup. Its only real downside (beyond $$$) is that it doesn't have any real ethernet ports at the initial/base station (which (with my current Airport Extreme)I have at my entertainment setup, so the AppleTV, Roku, and PS3 are wired-in (so no taxation on the wifi network, per se).

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2016 09:56AM by Zoidberg.

Speedy,

I wouldn't go near a Time Capsule. While the idea of them is nice, a quality router combined with a quality NAS box is a better choice. At my office, we're using an Airport Extreme in conjunction with a Netgear Readynas and it's rock solid. The Readynas handles Time Machine and also offers a slew of other options via built-in apps including DLNA, Plex and support for surveillance cams!

Robert

I'm wondering the same thing JEBB. Apple's AirPort base stations have served me well since my first one 16 years ago! Also, I'm like Robert about the one with built in drives. I don't like that kind of thingamajigs.

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That old man - he don't think like no old man...
Now I wouldn't want to be within 400 - 500 yards of one of them nuclear bombs when it goes off! WW1 Vet Old Man
"He's pinned under an outcropping of rock. Lucky for him, the rock kept the dirt from burying him alive."
If idiots could fly, this place would be an airport. And I'd be a TSA agent.
A bonified member of The Mystic Knights of The Sea, George P. Stevens, President. Andy Brown, Treasurer, Algonquin J. Calhoun, Legal Consultant.

.....might be going to extremes......

....Apple said they will halt development but seem to be still selling....no official announcement from them, so not sure if they will stop selling them or just stop updating them......

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Not enough info.

Use case?

If a time capsule covers you for time machine and networking, works great.

I have the Portal for other reasons, does different things. Best router for connectivity for me so far.

"Review: Comparing Google Wifi to other mesh networking heavyweights"


[arstechnica.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2016 12:47PM by btfc.

Quote
Speedy
Yes, buy, but no reason to hurry. Spend your money on a Time Capsule instead.

The Time Capsule has been a wonderful addition to my network. Automatic backups of four computers in an compact, good looking device = peace of mind + convenience.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2016 12:55PM by Article Accelerator.

Who here was saying dont buy something unless you need it ;)

I think the TC is a great idea, and the current ones are DIY with a new larger drive. If you just need a wireless backup router, cant go wrong.

And super simple, plug an go.

Of course, if you have additional needs/wants like Robert, perhaps multiple units would work better. Although expect to spend more. I believe the least expensive ReadyNAS box is $250, with no drives. Or course, there are other NAS solutions for less, but just a fwiw.

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

I saw this at Costco. Same price as EERO.

Netgear Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi System

It was $500 for the router and 2 satellites.

At Best Buy it's $380 (on sale) for one router, one satellite. Add another satellite for $250.

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I just replaced my 6th gen Time Capsule & two 5th AEBS all connected using a MoCA backbone with the Netgear Orbi.

The two AEBS were acting flaky after ~6 years and were N only speeds.

Actually, I'm still using the Time Capsule for backup only now. I chose this over Eero for two reasons - better, faster WiFi and 4 ethernet ports at each point.

Removed the MoCA completely as that was an 85 Mbps bottleneck within the house.

I bought the Netgear Orbi @ Costco for $500 for the router & 2 satellites. The 2nd satellite is needed as I have a long, skinny house layout with 2 floors, but it is probably overkill for most houses under <3k sqft.

I consistently get 133 Mbps downloads (per my Comcast plan) at every corner of the house now. I haven't tested WiFi-LAN speeds yet, but Airplay & Facetime are noticeably better, more consistent.

Wirecutter and Small Net builder have extensive writeups / comparisons:

[thewirecutter.com]

[www.smallnetbuilder.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2016 04:11PM by bhaveshp.

Wow, $500 for a router. Seems wild.

The last one I bought for my mom was a belkin at Target for $35 for her townhome. Worked great and simple to setup.

I have the wireless router that comes with my ATT Uverse, 45+ Mbps wireless everywhere in the house and backyard. (its a small house and yard)

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

A great router I now on sale at T-mobile. ASUS version is $150 on Amazon, T-mobile version is $100-40 discount

Well, the system I mentioned isn't "a router," it's a router and 2 satellite repeaters.

How much is an AirPort Extreme and two Expresses?

$200
$100
$100
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$400

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