Best Wifi Router Recommendations

SQ SQ General Discussions
1

Hi,
We are running an SQ-6 desk at my church, and we have a Netgear R6120 wifi router. From the beginning, we have had nothing but trouble with MixPad and SQ4YOU both having frequent dropouts. On any given Sunday, MixPad will “lose connection” about a dozen times during the course of an hour and a half service. The musicians are frequently complaining that their monitor controls keep getting booted off. I know this is a router issue. Clearly it doesn’t have a consistent signal, or can’t handle the bandwidth of several phones and an iPad. I also know from reading elsewhere that the apps are finicky about poor signal strength. So my question is:

What is the best router for consistent quality connections with our system?

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

2

Hello mr oldschool

Can you indicate the distances that need to be covered

How many connections, or clients are needed?

You may want to invest in a stronger router indeed, seen the router you describe.

I’m using an ASUS RT-AC3200, six musicians and myself as engineer connecting to it. Evening filling band performances. No issues.

It’s mounted in the bottom of my flip-up flight case. Transmitting both 2.4 and 5ghz

2.4 if longer distance are required for a gig.

Regards

Mike

3

There is no best , just what you choose for your situation and constraints.
What made you choose that router? The price or the specs; or your needs ??

It depends on your specific situation.
Size location number of devices local interference yada yada matter.

Are you using the netgear extender with it?

What makes a good wireless router and how to choose one

4

The two I use are a TP Link Archer C7 and Netgear R7000 Hight Hawk. Even though the Netgear is about double the cost of the TP Link I feel they just about the same performance when it come to controlling a mixer, sometimes I do feel I can get slightly bit more range with the Netgear.

With the router up higher and a somewhat line of site between the router and my iPad I can get a sold 150 plus range.

I do only use a 5g connection and will scan the area with a WIFI scanner app on my Android tablet to make sure I’m not on the same channel as something else.
I also hide the SSID broadcast and feel I have a more connection without encryption.

I set up my mixers up with a static IP as well.

If your not already doing so I would highly recommend turning off the 2.4 broadcast on the router and only using the 5g. At least for now there is less traffic in the 5g band and the broadcast channels do not overlap like they do in 2.4, well channels 1,6 & 11 don’t overlap but those are always the first to get used by everything else.

For the record I tried using a 2.4 connection one time and one time only and got the same issues you have.

5

I have been using a few different kinds of routers and Access Points

Old linksys with different firmware (DD-WRT) with few issues (old router with only 2.4G)

Apple Airport Extreme, never had any problems except when in bigger venues

Ubiquiti setup with Cloudkey, Unify switch and multiple Unify Access Points (AP-AC-Pro) with full coverage even in backstage rooms for my MP (MicroPort) helper to access his monitoring.

Not often I use a router these days, but tried the Netgear Mike mentions, and it worked fine as well.

One thing though:
If you have 2.4G and 5G Ssids with the same name, I have seen clients jumping between the two bands and loosing the connection from time to time,
sometimes around 1 sec, at other times until asked to re-connect to the wifi.

6
The two I use are a TP Link Archer C7 and Netgear R7000 Night Hawk. Even though the Netgear is about double the cost of the TP Link I feel they are just about the same performance when it comes to controlling a mixer, sometimes I do feel I can get a slight bit more range with the Netgear.

With the router up higher and a somewhat line of site between the router and my iPad I can get a solid 150 foot plus range.

I do only use a 5g connection and will scan the area with a WIFI scanner app on my Android tablet to make sure I’m not on the same channel as something else.
I also hide the SSID broadcast and feel I have a more solid connection without encryption.

Corrected some late night typing typos!!!

To also add at times I have had six band members all using the QU You APP while I’m mixing with one or two iPads with no connection issues.

7

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

First of all let me clarify that, while I am pretty computer savvy, networking is not a strength of mine. My sound engineering experience stems from learning on the job, so to speak, but I have been doing this particular position at my church for 13+ years and have a good reputation for my “ear” for sound. This is to say that highly technical talk of networking or sound engineering can befuddle me. I would say I understand the sound engineering side better than the networking side by a wide margin, but just want to make sure people realize I’m homegrown.

So going back to the questions some of you asked. Why do we have this router? Because the guy we bought the desk from included it. He never really hung around to observe how it performed once we got up and running, and the installation took place during quarantine, so he was not really here when we had congregants to speak of. He knows his sound equipment well enough, but he had no comment regarding the router.

The router was originally installed back at the desk at the back of the sanctuary, maybe 25 feet from the platform. Howevere we were getting interference from a lighting transformer pack that was about 3 feet away on the back wall. When that was determined, we moved the router to the stage head on the platform. We had a backup cat6 installed along with the new board, and we used that to connect the router to the board. That places all of the musicians within a 15 foot range from the router, and my iPad about 30 feet diagonally across the room. During sound checks, I carry the iPad back about 50 or 60 feet down a hallway to our overflow room. If I stay in the hallway, the signal usually doesn’t drop any more than maybe once, but some days it is obstinate and won’t reconnect until I walk it all the way back to about 15 feet from the router.

During our rehearsals and sound checks Sunday mornings, there isn’t usually as much trouble, but some days are better than others. Once we get people in the sanctuary, the iPad sometimes becomes unusable. There is no internet connected to the sound router, and the security key is privately only known by the worship team, so I know we aren’t getting extra people connecting to the router, and they would get nothing from such a connection.

As far as other transmitting things in the room, we have two wireless mics, and a wireless heaeing aid system from Williams Sound that must be 20 years old or more. The only other wireless stuff would be the 4 or 5 internet routers we have in various locations throughout the church and of course everyone’s phones. Lastly, during our services, our security team uses walkie talkies.

I have no idea if our router even has the ability to switch between frequency ranges, but I thought that 5g was a cellular protocol, not a wifi protocol.

Digging through the settings on the board, it does appear that we have been set up with a static IP.

Hopefully that gives enough information at least to start with. If there is more specific information needed, please ask away.

Thanks again, everyone!

8

Hey Mr. Oldschool,

if you´ll get a new router, make sure it is 2.4 and 5Ghz. Then only use 5Ghz. :slight_smile:
If you use wireless stuff like Line6 products: those will jam the 2.4 Ghz range.
Make sure there are no more than 8 devices connected to the router. A maximum of 2 mixpad apps and 6 (7 if there is only one mixpad apps) SQ4You apps.

Cheers,
Andre

9

Our worship team is typically 5 people, but can be bigger by one or two. I have MixPad on the iPad and on my phone, but I really only use my phone as a last ditch option because the controls are too small for me. Mainly I use it to monitor the wifi signal strength, which is where I have observed wild fluctuations. Hence my first assumption is that the problem is an inconsistent router. Is there any way around that limit to users?

10

@Mr Oldschool

Did you read the previous article on things to consider?
Compare the items to your actual situation.
Far better than us guessing based on your clues to what might be problems.

Have you measured for interference from other things? like you found happening at that wall? You need to do that.
Do you have the extender? Hallways and rooms cut down on range and can cause problems at that distance.

You should be able to find a router that avoids problems if you think about your needs first then look at what options you have to buy to solve those.

11

I don’t think we have an extender.

I have tried searching through the forums for previous threads discussing this topic and I couldn’t find anything that seemed applicable.

Again, networking is not something that I really lnow much about. I don’t know how to measure for interference. I also don’t know what factors to consider or disregard in order to assess what our needs are. What I have been able to find so far is that the apps tend to bail out if the signal dips at all. Since I can see that the signal strength is fluctuating, it looks to me like that is a good place to start with trying to figure out why we keep losing connection.

12

@Mr Oldschool

This is more a communications problem than an SQ problem, so there may not be much discussion here.

You need to learn how to check for interference.
See what MikeC does above. Investigate that for your own use.
There are also companies that will bring in the gear to do it for you for a fee.

There are also many resources on the net, or basic intro books like the dummies series, that will be useful to you.
You might want to search for routers and comms discussion groups to help fill in any gaps about comms devices.
You really do need to learn something about comms to ensure you dont keep having problems.

When you bought the SQ with the router did you specify any NFRs or just ask them to install ‘something’?
Did they demo it was all working or did they just leave it there for you to use?

13
Our worship team is typically 5 people, but can be bigger by one or two. I have MixPad on the iPad and on my phone, but I really only use my phone as a last ditch option because the controls are too small for me. Mainly I use it to monitor the wifi signal strength, which is where I have observed wild fluctuations. Hence my first assumption is that the problem is an inconsistent router. Is there any way around that limit to users?

No, not for wifi connection, I´m afraid. You could take a look into the ME personal Monitoring Systems…but there´s a pricetag to consider

14

This system is an excellent choice

15
During our rehearsals and sound checks Sunday mornings, there isn’t usually as much trouble, but some days are better than others. Once we get people in the sanctuary, the iPad sometimes becomes unusable. There is no internet connected to the sound router, and the security key is privately only known by the worship team, so I know we aren’t getting extra people connecting to the router, and they would get nothing from such a connection.

That right there tells a lot.
My guess is your connecting at 2.4ghz.
When the building is still fairly empty at sound check things are OK, once everyone is there for the church service all of their phones are looking at your router and pinging it for a possible connection.
If you would look at any of their phones the mixers router will show up on the WIFI device list.

Blocking the router ID name from being broadcast (blocking SSID) will help eliminate
a lot of that and going to 5ghz as well.

I just looked up your router and it’s not so bad, it is a dual band (2.4g and 5g).
To log into the router you need to know the routers IP address and the log in password, that password can be different from the WIFI network password.
Once your in it’s browser based menu set that what we talked about will make sense when you see it.

If you set up a hidden network you will need to manually input the WIFI network name into the iPad and Phones the first time connect, after that it should be on the list then. That is under WIFI other in the WIFI menu.

Chances are there is someone at the church who could set it up for you.
Have them look at these post for the set up info.

There’s a good chances the router is still set to the default IP address of 192.168.1.1 and the default password is on the label on the bottom of the router.

With your iPad connected to the router WIFI open up Safari and type in that IP address
and see if it goes to the Netgear log in page.

Don’t bother downloading Netgear APPs to set up the router do it all through the browser.

If the password has been changed you can do a full hard reset and start over.
There’s a recessed button on the back you need to hold in while powering the router on.

I have no idea if our router even has the ability to switch between frequency ranges, but I thought that 5g was a cellular protocol, not a wifi protocol.

Digging through the settings on the board, it does appear that we have been set up with a static IP.

5g cell phone and 5g WIFI are two different things.

What IP address is set on the mixer that would give a clue as to what the router IP address is, actually you can look on your IP and check that as well in the WIFI menu.

16

Thank you! I really appreciate your detailed and straight forward explanation. I think I understand enough to follow what you are saying.
On the underside of the router, on the left there is a user name and default password which match what it says in the user manual. On the right, it lists the serial number, mac address, SSID, and a different password. I’m taking a wild guess that the right side is the default standard user password, and the left is the default admin password, which is the one I need. Unfortunately, I already tried it amd it didn’t work, which means it was changed at or after installation. I haven’t seen the hard reset button, but I’m not there right now to look again. I will be back to it on Thursday, so I can try to get an early start before rehearsal and maybe get things going. I’m assuming that when I do the hard reset I will have to redo the user password too, and I can do all of this in the browser window, right? In theory, we are thinking I can tell the router to only do 5Ghz (thanks for clarifying about wifi vs cell), and that I should be able to tell the router to not broadcast itself (is that like when my computer asks if I want it to be discoverable?). Once I have it hidden, people can still locate it by manually searching for the network name in their wifi settings on their phones, correct?

Would the IP address be the same for the desk and the router, or is that where they would be the same to a point and then end with a different digit or two?

I really appreciate the help. Yes we do have computer volunteers who know network equipment, but they are afraid to touch the new sound equipment which is my department. I did have a conversation with one of them today about getting some help working on the router when I found that I couldn’t log into it.

In reaponse to @volunteer, I’m not sure what NFR means. I was on sabbatical at the time the church decided now was the time to upgrade. As my handle implies, I am a rather oldschool sort and was reluctant to move from analog to digital for years. The elders eventually decided that they wanted new digital stuff anyway, but they did keep me included in the planning process. Coming from a 36 channel GL3300, I asked them to get an SQ-7 because I wanted more faders. They made contact with a guy from upstate that had some hotshot qualifications who came down, looked at our setup, and made some recommendations. I wasn’t there for that meeting, and was very wary of these “hotshots”, of which there have been plenty over the years, and they always want to sell us a Bentley when we can barely afford a Pinto, and they “are the only ones who can fix all of our problems”. He made his pitch to some of our elders and deacons, they discussed what he said to them with me, I advised caution, they went back to him and said they were interested in a basic setup that would replace our console, our house speakers, and the snake to the stage. He came back with a revised estimate that was significantly higher than what he initially had said it would be. They decided to go ahead anyway and tried to reassure me that it was still within what they had budgeted. The installation went forward, and I was invited to meet with the guy so he could show me how it worked. At this point I found out that he had sold us an SQ-6 instead of a 7, but the 6 is sufficient as long as I lay things out reasonably in one of the custom layers, and I will readily admit that many of the onboard tools in this board exceed my expectations. I am quite happy with it, and it is tons easier to train new people on. The guy (and I’m deliberately not using names) did a reasonable job of explaining things. I was not overly thrilled with how he set things up, and have had to fix some of that. Like most of these type of people, he’s quite adept at talking about how great he is and how successful his work has been both in installing equipment, and in training people. I don’t tend to impress too easily. He does seem to know what he’s doing, but he also makes plenty of mistakes along the way, and he pushes what he thinks is a good sound pretty hard. I tend to use far less fx than he likes, and I know what kind of audience we have at my church… So to make a long story short (too late!) yes he did show and explain the equipment, we sort of had a discussion about our needs, and he did hang around long enough to make sure we could use it. As I said before though, that was under the cover of lockdown, so it was a few weeks later when we started having troubles. It was even longer before my iPad was delivered and I got to see firsthand the difficulties the musicians were having with getting booted off. By that time he had gone off somewhere else. We did have to have him come back to fix that he hadn’t given us enough monitor channels at the stage head, but any time you talk to this guy it costs money and I can’t say I am totally confident of the results, so I would rather figure it out for myself with the help of all of you who I figure have probably been through this before.

Whew! Time to catch my breath!

17
Once I have it hidden, people can still locate it by manually searching for the network name in their wifi settings on their phones, correct?

No, your everyday phone, tablet, computer user will not be able to find or see the hidden SSID.
Everyone that needs to connect to the mixers 5g WIFI network will need to know the SSID and manually input that into their device.
Once it is entered into those devices it will be on their WIFI list.

Would the IP address be the same for the desk and the router, or is that where they would be the same to a point and then end with a different digit or two?

No they cannot be the same.

The first three groups of numbers “octets” identify the network and will need to be the same the last group identify the device and those need to different.

I feel like many do that using a static IP on the mixer is better but it does require a little more set up in the router.
You will need to limit or at least check the range of IP addresses the router will automatically hand out know as DHCP to devices that connect to the router via WIFI like your iPads or hardwired like the mixer.

The router default IP address is 192.168.1.1 so maybe look at setting up the router to automatically assign IP address starting at 192.168.1.100 through 192.168.1.110.

Go into the mixer network setting an set it up for a static IP of 192.168.6.1
The gateway setting is the routers IP address and the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0

That all said setting the mixer to DHCP mode will work.

I do like limiting the router to a smaller number range of IP address that it can hand out. You can start that number at any point except 1 and not over 255.
Anything set for a static IP address needs to have an IP address outside the range set for DHCP.

18

@Mr. Oldschool

NFR = NON functional requirements
They tell how good the functional requirement is met

I agree with the problem of having a consultant tell you what to buy.

You apparently asked for a mixer and got one. Smaller than you wanted but big enough.
So far so good, at least for the church budget.

But did anybody specify all the connections and specify the distances they had to cover and the number of users??
Those are the NFRs. Sure your mixer mixes, but only in a situation that is different from reality for you.

Suppose your car worked well to take you someplace but not on Sunday’s? Or what if the car needed an oil change every week?? NFRs are far more important than the functional requirement of a car taking you from A to B.

I am very olde school having bought stuff for the govt, sold stuff to the govt, and determined specs for the govt to ask for stuff, and also testing stuff for the govt, as well as reviewing proposals for technical ability to do what the govt wanted.

If it is not in writing with all the info spelled out then you have a mess.
And as Barry Boehm showed in an old IEEE publication NFRs determine feasibility. Over specify and there is no solution.

19

@Mr Oldschool

This is far past sound , analog ,computing , or technical issues.

It has to do with using a Logical correct systems based process like most experienced procurements use so as to minimize the risk of not getting what you thought you were buying when it is installed and you start using it to discover it does not do things (which you had not specified in most cases) you need.

I recall a church spending multi millions to build a beautiful new facility and then found out the sound was awful. They asked the architect why the sound was so bad. He said “sound?” “you never specified the sound quality you wanted”. They were stuck with a brand new building that was unusable along with the mortgage for a useless building.

The good news here is that you should be able to throw money at the problem and completely fix it. The bad news is that you have to spend money that could have been used for other desirable purposes instead.

20
The good news here is that you should be able to throw money at the problem and completely fix it. The bad news is that you have to spend money that could have been used for other desirable purposes instead.

The problem in this case probably does not need any more money thrown at it, just proper set up and deployment of the router they have.

Worse case it’s a hundred bucks for a new router.