Best modem router vdsl With usb storage and media sharing

Ok getting brassed off with tplink over the vr900’s v1 lack of samba v3 support and constant connection issues when using my iPads.

Looking at getting a new modem router but in 3 years if anything they seem to be getting worse.

Are there any modem routers that just work with iPads can share files with windows 10 and tv’s using usb hard drive and not keep dropping connection, as the tplink 2800 seems to according to reviews.

Can you define what you mean by work with iPads and Windows 10?

Wireless dropouts can be down to many reasons, and if you've not split the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands your drop outs might be more down to iOS flipping between the two, i.e. sometimes better to name networks different names and tech devices about just one.

Media storage, I'll go out on a limb and suggest best to do this outside of the router, i.e. use a NAS that has the support you need.

the problem with the vr900 is they either cant or wont update the samba version. so when 1709 came out all of a sudden I couldn't access my file shares. well several head scratches and some googling revealed a fix. which is to enable the unsecure v1 samba. not ideal.

then the other day I installed 1709.1 on a laptop at home and once again I was puzzled why I couldn't connect to the files. then doh yeah router no support tplink moved onto new models yar yar. so thought ok will see if there is a better solution.

on top of this issue seems to be a wheel of doom when doing google searches, and using the net in general, problem with our ipads which doesn't improve that much even at close range. when running a ping from the ipads to the router I get 24ms then 1000ms then 24ms etc.

ive turned off 5ghz and limited 2.4ghz to 20mghz.

Using just 2.4 GHz is the wrong thing to do, as 2.4 GHz is generally more crowded and subject to interference

The 5GHz band is the one to aim to use if you cannot use Ethernet on a device.

On the NAS side, this part of routers is usually an after thought, might be better using something like https://howtoraspberrypi.com/create-a-nas-with-your-... if you cannot find a ready rolled NAS that will do what you need.

wow someone else cant sleep

the reason I was trying for an all in one solution is because I'm super tight for leccy and I'm using and having to swap Ethernet ports when I want to print etc. really need 5 ports or a switch. so hence why I like the usb on the router.

maybe I need to completely scrap the all in one route and have modem with dhcp nat then switch and nas?

the reason I don't use 5ghz is part tin foil hat part it doesn't go very far through the house.

In reply to a post by cypher007:

the reason I don't use 5ghz is part tin foil hat part it doesn't go very far through the house.

If your TP link router gives you the option, use a DFS channel such as 120 on the 5ghz band. DFS router channels are high powered (1000mW) channels which are totally legal to use in UK and which will give you decent indoor coverage on the 5ghz band - i think standard 5ghz channels are limited to around 200mW power. Obviously your client has to support DFS channels as well (many do).

On the downside the router will automatically switch a selected DFS channel to a lower power 5ghz channel (eg 44) if it detects conflict with a radar channel ,hence the name Dynamic Frequency Selection. So probably not a good idea if you live near an airport/airfield.

Netgear D7800 - based on the R7800 which is a damn fine piece of kit, stock firmware is decent with lots of features, and there are open source mods to the stock firmware on NetGear's MyOpenRouter site with updated packages etc.

In reply to a post by philjohn:

Netgear D7800 - based on the R7800 which is a damn fine piece of kit, stock firmware is decent with lots of features, and there are open source mods to the stock firmware on NetGear's MyOpenRouter site with updated packages etc.

Will check it out ta.

Have they fixed the fibre issues? Been reading some reviews on Amazon where people have had connection problems, netgear saying it’s not compatible with bt fibre, and netgear not fixing it via a firmware upgrade.

Looked at a few NAS boxes and they’re quite expensive. I just don’t like having umpteen boxes to do one job, well one job in my view.

I’m wondering as the newer modem routers seem to be so bad whether or not to just keep nagging tplink to fix the samba issue. As apart from that it not a bad setup.

I have the chance to send it back to amazon for a full refund and it has crossed my mind to change to the vr900 v2. Though some reviews suggest that has 2.4ghz WiFi problems.