12 ms·

OnHub is one of the best routers I've ever owned. I've been buying custom router hardware for years -- I even went as far as building my own OpenBSD / PFsense r

by rdegges 10y ago

OnHub is one of the best routers I've ever owned. I've been buying custom router hardware for years -- I even went as far as building my own OpenBSD / PFsense router way back when, but nothing I've ever built (or bought!) has given me the same reliability / stability / speed as the OnHub. I'm seriously impressed with it. Also: the OnHub management app for mobile is AMAZING. It is so cool. Awesome product. Really great to see them put more effort into it and support integrations with IFTTT :D

thrownaway2424 10y ago
I haven't seen my OnHub since I turned it on last year. This puts it well ahead of all other wifi access points I have owned.
- jhoechtl 10y ago
  I haven't seen my Asus ac68 ever since. Reading these comments all the way down leaves the impression as the hefty overpriced OnHub is the only reliable wifi router on earth.
  - semi-extrinsic 10y ago
    I haven't seen my $50 Buffalo N300 since I bought it, flashed and configured dd-wrt on it about 2 years ago.
    - thrownaway2424 10y ago
      Your N300 is not getting security updates, but my OnHub is.
      - semi-extrinsic 10y ago
        Pray tell, security updates for what? My router has all WAN-side management features etc. turned off, WPS is turned off and it has a long random WPA passphrase. Unless someone breaks into my apartment, there just isn't a significant potential for security risks that I'm aware of.
        delroth 10y ago
        Unless you also disable execution of Javascript on all the devices that connect to your network (including your phones, set-top boxes, etc.), these devices can be used to attack your router from the LAN. Just use Javascript to autosubmit a form with action="http://192.168.1.1/exploitable/endpoint/" http://192.168.1.1/exploitable/endpoint/" (you can autodetect the IP, look for Javascript port scanners on Google) and you're in. And before you say that DD-WRT is not $WEIRD_CHINESE_BRAND and obviously doesn't have such vulnerabilities on its HTTP interface that can be accessed without auth, see https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-9341/product_id-16564/Dd-wrt-Dd-wrt.html https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-9341... for some real examples, including "getting root by sending an HTTP query that doesn't require any authentication". In fact, for that remote root exploit, disabling Javascript execution wouldn't even help that much, because it can be triggered through e.g. <img src="..."/> on any HTML page you visit (with some guessing required for the IP address, but there are only so many IPs people commonly use for their gateway).
        shiftpgdn 10y ago
        DD-WRT allows you to set access control lists. A simple protection would be only allow device with X MAC address to see the admin page(s). That device could be a virtual machine that only exists to manage the router.
        greggman 10y ago
        How is that any more secure? Are you sure every native app on your phone isn't sending the correct network packets to your router to reconfigure it? Seems like in either case all you need is a password to protect either in a secure enough way. Or isolate the router config on its own vlan
        slrz 10y ago
        Or simply disable the freakin' web interface if people just can't get it secure? You should still apply security fixes for (relevant) kernel and sshd issues, of course.
        dzhiurgis 10y ago
  - stordoff 10y ago
    Same here - Asus RT-AC68U running DD-WRT has a current uptime >100 days and noticed no problems with it during that. The only downside is lack of auto-updates, but for my setup I'm not too concerned about that (WAN-side management features are disabled, and is behind another router anyway; occasional manual updates mostly mitigate LAN-side attacks [and web UI is usually disabled which prevents most of them anyway])
cmrdporcupine 10y ago
Thanks. I work on the iOS mobile app, it's nice to hear positive feedback. Out of curiosity, are you using Android or iOS?
- rdegges 10y ago
  Using the Android app on my Nexus 6p. Absolutely love it. Please pass along kudos to the Android / onHub teams! <33
untog 10y ago
Curious: what do you do with the management app? I have an Apple Airport thing and had a similar experience - years of buying cheap routers then suddenly I had one that "just works". To the point that I haven't had to open/use the administration panel in an absolute age.
- potatolicious 10y ago
  The management app is a pretty neat way to set up a router - it certainly beats futzing around with a shitty HTML UI. Other than that I've found it useful for testing WiFi signal strength - in old brick buildings you can get unintuitive dead spots, and the app lets you put your phone somewhere and test signal quality.
  - greggman 10y ago
    Actually I have the opposite experience. I need to use my routers at events for all kinds of situations. If the router uses html I can configure it regardless of os and having to go find an app. I also often use the router without internet (only need lan) which means no internet to download an app Apps to configure routers are an anti-feature IMO
- cmrdporcupine 10y ago
  The app also gives you insights into what's happening with your OnHub -- per device traffic sums, speed tests, alerts, etc. And we're constantly improving it. IMHO that's the real win with the OnHub; the router itself is constantly upgraded with up to date firmware with security updates and new features. And the mobile app that administrates it is constantly getting new features. Maybe I should transfer to marketing.
  - umsm 10y ago
    I completely agree with untog. Apple's Airport device is so seamless that it's a pleasure to use. What kind of firmware / security updates do you get with OnHub? Aren't firmware updates dangerous if everything is working perfectly (the possibility to introduce issues)?
wmf 10y ago
The app looks cool but it doesn't really do much (not that I need it to do anything).
dan_quixote 10y ago
Single data point on custom router build reliability: I've been using IPFire/pfSense on a little passively cooled Celeron box for a couple years. It reliably hits the theoretical gigabit limit ~800Mb/s and has never once failed even while running intrusion detection. Coupled with a ~$150 wireless router-turned-access point, I have never had a single reliability issue.
- matt_wulfeck 10y ago
  Have you ever measured combined power usage of your two devices?
  - sethrin 10y ago
    In what circumstances do you foresee the power usage of networking equipment as having more than a notional impact on one's life? (Serious question)
    - sirtaj 10y ago
      For one: if you live in a place with unreliable power supply (as I do), it dictates how much backup time you get from your UPS.
      - sethrin 10y ago
        To clarify, when the power goes out, you are still able to get online? Otherwise it would seem like it would be somewhat pointless to have the networking equipment plugged into the UPS. I have worked online during a power outage using a cellular internet adapter, but obviously no UPS or router was involved there.
        what_ever 10y ago
        Power outages can be very local. So yes, you can use internet using UPS backup.
mrbill 10y ago
Same here.. Long string of custom built routers, pfsense with wifi, OpenWRT, etc... even at one point a very expensive Cisco industrial-class 2.4/5 AP. Now I have an Ubiquiti Edgerouter Lite as my "core" router, and the OnHub acting as just-an-AP in bridge mode. It Just Works, and works better than any piece of wireless gear I've had before. My only "complaint" would be that I'm forced to use a mobile app for configuration - although in the OnHub subreddit, it was said a while back that a basic web UI was in development.
- NegativeLatency 10y ago
  Why not get a ubiquity AP?
  - mrbill 10y ago
    I had a Ubiquiti Unifi-LR (flashed with normal OpenWRT so I didn't have to use their Java-based management software for ONE access point) that worked great, but the OnHub works even better. The -LR was 802.11n-only. The Unifi-AC runs about $269, more than the OnHub. Looks like they now have a Unifi-AC-LITE, which is sub-$100, but it wasn't available when I got the OnHub that I know of.
seanp2k2 10y ago
Interesting. I was running pfsense since 2006 on a P4 box with PCI Intel pro NICs + WRT54G on DD-WRT, then on an AMD Geode-based HP thin client with an expansion board to give it PCI-E to use a Pro1000/MT card + Cisco Aironet 1200 from eBay that someone flashed LWAP FW onto and couldn't fix so they sold it as parts/not working ($50 IIRC, had to track down the right firmware, took a day of messing with it), and finally now an ERLite + Airport Express + Ubiquiti AP AC Pro. Power usage on the P4 sucked (>100w idle). The eBay thin clients did much better, usually around 20-40w, and the ERLite is lowest (and it's fanless). I ran a Cisco 2651XM for a while before any of this, but it maxed out doing NAT slower than my home connection was. Honestly though, I was just super excited to get something off-the-shelf for $100 that was stable, supported, low-power, and didn't require much administration. Messing with this stuff was a fun hobby and I learned a lot, but now I don't have as much time and it just needs to work.
- untog 10y ago
  > Messing with this stuff was a fun hobby and I learned a lot, but now I don't have as much time and it just needs to work. Fact of life right there. When I was younger I assembled my own PCs, researching the best CPU, case, etc. etc... these days I have a Macbook that I can't even open. Makes me a little sad, but I need something that I can rely on - and I don't really have the time to research and construct my own machine. I miss it a little, though. While is why it's really fun to play around with Arduino stuff. Reduces it down to harmless hobby level.
deelowe 10y ago
Can you explain this further? I'm running pfsense now and it's rock solid. Always has been. So, in that case are you saying that onhub is faster somehow?
daurnimator 10y ago
FWIW, I recently bought mikrotik hardware, and my god... it's so much better than the regular stuff I've been using for years. You need to be rather technical to use it IMO, but they're such a step above the rest you'd be mad not to buy one. e.g. model to get at the moment for home use: hAP ac. it's a 5 gigabit port router with ac wifi.
hiddennetwork 10y ago
What bothers me about this device is the necessity to have a live Google account, which takes in everything I surf in real time. I have serious reservations about this.
- ajonit 10y ago
  Create an account just for this router and fwd incoming mails to your main email.
nunez 10y ago
Have you ever tried using an Apple AirPort Extreme? That's the router we're running with at home and it's been damn amazing. I haven't had to touch the thing since I bought it 1.5 years ago, and it's only been off three times during the time I've had it (all due to power outages). It's also ridiculously fast; I get almost all of my allocated throughput over Wi-Fi. It's amazing.

by rdegges 10y ago

thrownaway2424 10y ago

I haven't seen my OnHub since I turned it on last year. This puts it well ahead of all other wifi access points I have owned.

jhoechtl 10y ago
I haven't seen my Asus ac68 ever since. Reading these comments all the way down leaves the impression as the hefty overpriced OnHub is the only reliable wifi router on earth.
- semi-extrinsic 10y ago
  I haven't seen my $50 Buffalo N300 since I bought it, flashed and configured dd-wrt on it about 2 years ago.
  - thrownaway2424 10y ago
    Your N300 is not getting security updates, but my OnHub is.
    - semi-extrinsic 10y ago
      Pray tell, security updates for what? My router has all WAN-side management features etc. turned off, WPS is turned off and it has a long random WPA passphrase. Unless someone breaks into my apartment, there just isn't a significant potential for security risks that I'm aware of.
      - delroth 10y ago
        Unless you also disable execution of Javascript on all the devices that connect to your network (including your phones, set-top boxes, etc.), these devices can be used to attack your router from the LAN. Just use Javascript to autosubmit a form with action="http://192.168.1.1/exploitable/endpoint/" http://192.168.1.1/exploitable/endpoint/" (you can autodetect the IP, look for Javascript port scanners on Google) and you're in. And before you say that DD-WRT is not $WEIRD_CHINESE_BRAND and obviously doesn't have such vulnerabilities on its HTTP interface that can be accessed without auth, see https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-9341/product_id-16564/Dd-wrt-Dd-wrt.html https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-9341... for some real examples, including "getting root by sending an HTTP query that doesn't require any authentication". In fact, for that remote root exploit, disabling Javascript execution wouldn't even help that much, because it can be triggered through e.g. <img src="..."/> on any HTML page you visit (with some guessing required for the IP address, but there are only so many IPs people commonly use for their gateway).
        shiftpgdn 10y ago
        DD-WRT allows you to set access control lists. A simple protection would be only allow device with X MAC address to see the admin page(s). That device could be a virtual machine that only exists to manage the router.
        greggman 10y ago
        How is that any more secure? Are you sure every native app on your phone isn't sending the correct network packets to your router to reconfigure it? Seems like in either case all you need is a password to protect either in a secure enough way. Or isolate the router config on its own vlan
        slrz 10y ago
        Or simply disable the freakin' web interface if people just can't get it secure? You should still apply security fixes for (relevant) kernel and sshd issues, of course.
        dzhiurgis 10y ago
- stordoff 10y ago
  Same here - Asus RT-AC68U running DD-WRT has a current uptime >100 days and noticed no problems with it during that. The only downside is lack of auto-updates, but for my setup I'm not too concerned about that (WAN-side management features are disabled, and is behind another router anyway; occasional manual updates mostly mitigate LAN-side attacks [and web UI is usually disabled which prevents most of them anyway])

cmrdporcupine 10y ago

Thanks. I work on the iOS mobile app, it's nice to hear positive feedback. Out of curiosity, are you using Android or iOS?

rdegges 10y ago
Using the Android app on my Nexus 6p. Absolutely love it. Please pass along kudos to the Android / onHub teams! <33

untog 10y ago

Curious: what do you do with the management app? I have an Apple Airport thing and had a similar experience - years of buying cheap routers then suddenly I had one that "just works". To the point that I haven't had to open/use the administration panel in an absolute age.

potatolicious 10y ago
The management app is a pretty neat way to set up a router - it certainly beats futzing around with a shitty HTML UI. Other than that I've found it useful for testing WiFi signal strength - in old brick buildings you can get unintuitive dead spots, and the app lets you put your phone somewhere and test signal quality.
- greggman 10y ago
  Actually I have the opposite experience. I need to use my routers at events for all kinds of situations. If the router uses html I can configure it regardless of os and having to go find an app. I also often use the router without internet (only need lan) which means no internet to download an app Apps to configure routers are an anti-feature IMO
cmrdporcupine 10y ago
The app also gives you insights into what's happening with your OnHub -- per device traffic sums, speed tests, alerts, etc. And we're constantly improving it. IMHO that's the real win with the OnHub; the router itself is constantly upgraded with up to date firmware with security updates and new features. And the mobile app that administrates it is constantly getting new features. Maybe I should transfer to marketing.
- umsm 10y ago
  I completely agree with untog. Apple's Airport device is so seamless that it's a pleasure to use. What kind of firmware / security updates do you get with OnHub? Aren't firmware updates dangerous if everything is working perfectly (the possibility to introduce issues)?

wmf 10y ago

The app looks cool but it doesn't really do much (not that I need it to do anything).

dan_quixote 10y ago

Single data point on custom router build reliability: I've been using IPFire/pfSense on a little passively cooled Celeron box for a couple years. It reliably hits the theoretical gigabit limit ~800Mb/s and has never once failed even while running intrusion detection. Coupled with a ~$150 wireless router-turned-access point, I have never had a single reliability issue.

matt_wulfeck 10y ago
Have you ever measured combined power usage of your two devices?
- sethrin 10y ago
  In what circumstances do you foresee the power usage of networking equipment as having more than a notional impact on one's life? (Serious question)
  - sirtaj 10y ago
    For one: if you live in a place with unreliable power supply (as I do), it dictates how much backup time you get from your UPS.
    - sethrin 10y ago
      To clarify, when the power goes out, you are still able to get online? Otherwise it would seem like it would be somewhat pointless to have the networking equipment plugged into the UPS. I have worked online during a power outage using a cellular internet adapter, but obviously no UPS or router was involved there.
      - what_ever 10y ago
        Power outages can be very local. So yes, you can use internet using UPS backup.

mrbill 10y ago

Same here.. Long string of custom built routers, pfsense with wifi, OpenWRT, etc... even at one point a very expensive Cisco industrial-class 2.4/5 AP. Now I have an Ubiquiti Edgerouter Lite as my "core" router, and the OnHub acting as just-an-AP in bridge mode. It Just Works, and works better than any piece of wireless gear I've had before. My only "complaint" would be that I'm forced to use a mobile app for configuration - although in the OnHub subreddit, it was said a while back that a basic web UI was in development.

NegativeLatency 10y ago
Why not get a ubiquity AP?
- mrbill 10y ago
  I had a Ubiquiti Unifi-LR (flashed with normal OpenWRT so I didn't have to use their Java-based management software for ONE access point) that worked great, but the OnHub works even better. The -LR was 802.11n-only. The Unifi-AC runs about $269, more than the OnHub. Looks like they now have a Unifi-AC-LITE, which is sub-$100, but it wasn't available when I got the OnHub that I know of.

seanp2k2 10y ago

Interesting. I was running pfsense since 2006 on a P4 box with PCI Intel pro NICs + WRT54G on DD-WRT, then on an AMD Geode-based HP thin client with an expansion board to give it PCI-E to use a Pro1000/MT card + Cisco Aironet 1200 from eBay that someone flashed LWAP FW onto and couldn't fix so they sold it as parts/not working ($50 IIRC, had to track down the right firmware, took a day of messing with it), and finally now an ERLite + Airport Express + Ubiquiti AP AC Pro. Power usage on the P4 sucked (>100w idle). The eBay thin clients did much better, usually around 20-40w, and the ERLite is lowest (and it's fanless). I ran a Cisco 2651XM for a while before any of this, but it maxed out doing NAT slower than my home connection was. Honestly though, I was just super excited to get something off-the-shelf for $100 that was stable, supported, low-power, and didn't require much administration. Messing with this stuff was a fun hobby and I learned a lot, but now I don't have as much time and it just needs to work.

untog 10y ago
> Messing with this stuff was a fun hobby and I learned a lot, but now I don't have as much time and it just needs to work. Fact of life right there. When I was younger I assembled my own PCs, researching the best CPU, case, etc. etc... these days I have a Macbook that I can't even open. Makes me a little sad, but I need something that I can rely on - and I don't really have the time to research and construct my own machine. I miss it a little, though. While is why it's really fun to play around with Arduino stuff. Reduces it down to harmless hobby level.

deelowe 10y ago

Can you explain this further? I'm running pfsense now and it's rock solid. Always has been. So, in that case are you saying that onhub is faster somehow?

daurnimator 10y ago

FWIW, I recently bought mikrotik hardware, and my god... it's so much better than the regular stuff I've been using for years. You need to be rather technical to use it IMO, but they're such a step above the rest you'd be mad not to buy one. e.g. model to get at the moment for home use: hAP ac. it's a 5 gigabit port router with ac wifi.

hiddennetwork 10y ago

What bothers me about this device is the necessity to have a live Google account, which takes in everything I surf in real time. I have serious reservations about this.

ajonit 10y ago
Create an account just for this router and fwd incoming mails to your main email.

nunez 10y ago

Have you ever tried using an Apple AirPort Extreme? That's the router we're running with at home and it's been damn amazing. I haven't had to touch the thing since I bought it 1.5 years ago, and it's only been off three times during the time I've had it (all due to power outages). It's also ridiculously fast; I get almost all of my allocated throughput over Wi-Fi. It's amazing.