Which router do you use?

AstonJ

Following the Is your computer's internet connection wired or wireless? (Poll) I thought it might be an idea to have an accompany thread on routers

Are there any routers you’d recommend? Are you happy with the one you’ve got?
Do you use custom firmware like Merlin? (If so why? If not, any particular reason why?)

If your recommended router excels in any of the below that could be worth mentioning:

Security and privacy (some routers dial home/spy on you)
Low power consumption modes
Eco modes for lower antenna strength (lower radiation)
VPN suitability (like Wireguard)
Anything else worth mentioning/considering?

29 comments

#broadband-routers #router-firmware

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2025-11-03 20:31:03 UTC

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krasenyp

I’m using Mikrotik equipment exclusively. In a place where no ISP provides wired services, I use an SXT LTE6 Kit, powered by a Hex PoE router which in turn is connected to a CRS328 switch. The latter powers over PoE my AP and is planned to power a few cameras.

Post #1

woylie

I have a Turris Omnia, which runs an OS based on OpenWrt out of the box. You can install OpenWrt instead, if you prefer (I’m fine with Turris OS). In either case, you can configure all kinds of packages for VPN, NAS, NextCloud, and much more.

The distributed firewall they mention is disabled by default.

They just announced a newer model called Omnia NG. There’s also a modular system called Mox.

The documentation has much more information about the hardware and software.

Post #2

konstantine

Mikrotik, both as hardware and as cloud VMs. Amazingly versatile, especially with custom scripts.

Post #3

dimitarvp

I use Mikrotik (two routers for two ISPs) but I am getting weary of it because I am not willing the put in the effort to master it. Though I am not keen on spending tons of cash on Ubiquiti either – also heard they are still not as reliable as they should be – so I’ll be with Mikrotik for a while still, unless one day I get super sick of it and start setting my own pfSense + friends on my own hardware. Unlikely for now.

Mikrotik is pretty nice but if you misspell a number somewhere, good luck knowing why your VLAN or anything else does not work. They really could benefit from a few internal checks and validations here and there.

Post #4

Hermanverschooten

I am using an intel 1U server with multiple nic running pfSense.

I used to run it with just Ubuntu and iptables, but switched to pfSense about a year ago.

Post #5

AstonJ

I wish I posted this thread earlier now!

I got a bit annoyed with my 10 year old Asus because it wasn’t giving me my full fibre speed.. even when wired! So I ordered another Asus. It gives me full speed wired and around 440Mbps wireless (I have a 500Mbps connection and am on a different floor to the router).

For those of you with Mikrotik routers (@krasenyp @konstantine @dimitarvp) what is their main selling point? (Are they open source? Aimed at businesses/data centres?) Looks like they are mainly focused on the European market?

Nice! I’ve not heard of them before, and I think if I hadn’t ordered this Asus I would have seriously considered that one. If you’re on their mailing list and hear of it being released please let us know! I think it could potentially become a popular router in the dev/OSS world!

No wifi at all Herman?

For those of you with Mikrotik or Turris routers, do you know if they unlock the additional 5Ghz channels for the UK market? The UK allows additional 5Ghz channels (which can help with congestion):

5 GHz Channels UK vs EU

Band + Channel Range	UK	EU
UNII-1 (36-48)			Indoor use only
UNII-2A (52-64)	(DFS)	(DFS)	Requires DFS
UNII-2C (100-144)	(DFS)	(DFS)	Requires DFS. 120-128 have a longer observation time
UNII-3 (149-165)			Not supported on EU devices

Sometimes you can ssh into the router and change the country to GB manually, which should then make the additional channels available on reboot. Obv don’t do this if you’re in the EU tho

Post #6

sodapopcan

Phoenix.Router

C’mon, someone had to say it.

Post #7

Hermanverschooten

Sure I have WiFi but not from the router, I use TP-Link Omada Access Points throughout the house, those like Unifi allow roaming, currenlty WiFi6, may soon upgrade to WiFi7.

Post #8

konstantine

if you misspell a number somewhere, good luck

True. Complex configurations are best verified – if not applied – by scripts.

what is their main selling point? (Are they open source? Aimed at businesses/data centres?)

Closed source. They primarily cater to the consumer and SME segments. Once RouterOS basics are mastered, value for money is unsurpassed. An inexpensive Beelink machine can, for instance, match the capabilities of a premium router. A Proxmox VM can provide anything one might want to achieve on a cloud server. These selling points may be irrelevant to large enterprises, but they are important to the masses.