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The last time I was in the market for a 'cheap' router, I settled on Mikrotik. Very cheap, and incredible features. Configuration should not be a mystery for th

The last time I was in the market for a 'cheap' router, I settled on Mikrotik. Very cheap, and incredible features. Configuration should not be a mystery for the average HN poster. Mine is router only, no wifi, but I have heard good things about wifi versions too. Not sure what to recommend for non tech-savvy users though. The overwhelming majority of routers in the market that are targeted to consumers are hot garbage. Some TP-Link models? Maybe... Google(if are ok with your most important device being from them)? Are Linksys still good? My last one was a WRT54G. It was ok out of the box, pretty good with custom firmware (that takes it outside the end-user territory once again).

merlinscholz 6y ago
For normal consumers, at least in Germany, AVM's FritzBox is the standard. They are such a solid product that about half of the big ISPs provide branded versions of them to their customers.
- mattbee 6y ago
  Yes, Zen in the UK supply them, and I was surprised how good they are. The web & mobile app UI are well-designed, and it's updated automatically every couple of months.
second--shift 6y ago
Mikrotik fan checking in here - my "cheap" recommendation to anyone is the current hAP lite - USB powered, sub $30 shipped to your door. Web fig is as simple as can be; the most basic model still has all the features in 'Advanced' mode though.
nucleardog 6y ago
Even for non-technical users, the MikroTik routers ship set up how a consumer would expect it I think. The configuration after a reset/as shipped (at least on all my old models) is a local network at 192.168.88.0/24 with NAT and DHCP set up, wireless enabled and bridged to lan, etc. Only time it's going to get a bit dicey is if they want to customize the configuration (e.g., forward ports). But for 90% of people that's not going to be an issue.
- MikusR 6y ago
  Forward ports is probably the only consumer feature not available in the quickset.
  - alyandon 6y ago
    My biggest struggle with my Mikrotik was discovering how much consumer grade routers do behind the scenes automagically that commercial grade routers will not. For instance, I wanted working NAT reflection and since my external IPv4 address is dynamic I wanted to construct a static ruleset that didn't specifically reference it. The solution there required me to exclude traffic destined for my LAN address range in my dnat forwarding rules to get it working properly. Fun stuff.
rawgabbit 6y ago
TP Link originated from mainland Chinese in Shenzhen. https://www.eweek.com/networking/china-s-tp-link-refreshes-branding-to-move-into-u.s.-market https://www.eweek.com/networking/china-s-tp-link-refreshes-b...

merlinscholz 6y ago

For normal consumers, at least in Germany, AVM's FritzBox is the standard. They are such a solid product that about half of the big ISPs provide branded versions of them to their customers.

mattbee 6y ago
Yes, Zen in the UK supply them, and I was surprised how good they are. The web & mobile app UI are well-designed, and it's updated automatically every couple of months.

second--shift 6y ago

Mikrotik fan checking in here - my "cheap" recommendation to anyone is the current hAP lite - USB powered, sub $30 shipped to your door. Web fig is as simple as can be; the most basic model still has all the features in 'Advanced' mode though.

nucleardog 6y ago

Even for non-technical users, the MikroTik routers ship set up how a consumer would expect it I think. The configuration after a reset/as shipped (at least on all my old models) is a local network at 192.168.88.0/24 with NAT and DHCP set up, wireless enabled and bridged to lan, etc. Only time it's going to get a bit dicey is if they want to customize the configuration (e.g., forward ports). But for 90% of people that's not going to be an issue.

MikusR 6y ago
Forward ports is probably the only consumer feature not available in the quickset.
- alyandon 6y ago
  My biggest struggle with my Mikrotik was discovering how much consumer grade routers do behind the scenes automagically that commercial grade routers will not. For instance, I wanted working NAT reflection and since my external IPv4 address is dynamic I wanted to construct a static ruleset that didn't specifically reference it. The solution there required me to exclude traffic destined for my LAN address range in my dnat forwarding rules to get it working properly. Fun stuff.

rawgabbit 6y ago

TP Link originated from mainland Chinese in Shenzhen. https://www.eweek.com/networking/china-s-tp-link-refreshes-branding-to-move-into-u.s.-market https://www.eweek.com/networking/china-s-tp-link-refreshes-b...