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Recs for home wi-fi systems.............

each floor is 1750 sq ft, 3 floors, main router is on the 3rd floor, a few steel beams between floors 1 and 2.
Router placement is the key. Can you put it in the first or second floor? That may help. I am an Apple fan for anything but routers. They a good routers but there are much better ones in the market.

You definitely want one with external antenna. Routers are often the most used electronic in a person's home. So if you want a good experience please spend a little extra money. I think the router below should take care of the issue.

ASUS RT-AC88U Amazon product ASIN B016EWKQAQ

If you wand perfect coverage get a mesh system. This is essentially a router with repeaters. However unlike normal extended these all use one network id and work seamlessly with each other.
Linksys Velop Amazon product ASIN B01MSSUG2H
 
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For a 5000 sq ft house you will likely need some wireless repeaters to get even coverage.
 
I have a TP-Link dual band AC router in the basement and replaced the stock antennas (about 6") with high gain (twice as long and thicker). I reach to the opposite end of the house on the second floor.

I did the same with an EnGenius wireless access point pointed at my retired neighbor's house 100 yards away -- he gets 30MB down -- through my exterior walls and his. (he had no options for wired internet on his property)
 
Asus RT-AC68, maybe the best router in the world. Not cheap, but there's a t-mobile branded version of it for half the price (you don't have to use the T-mo features).

Anyway, this router is in a corner of the basement and I get 100 megabit internet on the 2nd floor on the opposite side of the house. Range is remarkable and the router is the most stable I've ever had.

People are spending an awful lot of money these days for repeater style router clusters, but unless you live in a mansion, a good quality AC router should cover the whole house without much difficulty.
 
Asus RT-AC68, maybe the best router in the world. Not cheap, but there's a t-mobile branded version of it for half the price (you don't have to use the T-mo features).

Anyway, this router is in a corner of the basement and I get 100 megabit internet on the 2nd floor on the opposite side of the house. Range is remarkable and the router is the most stable I've ever had.

People are spending an awful lot of money these days for repeater style router clusters, but unless you live in a mansion, a good quality AC router should cover the whole house without much difficulty.

At 1750sf/floor and 3 floors, he's absolutely going to need a mesh network. There's no question about it.

I just got an even more powerful Asus than the one you mentioned--RT 3200AC. I love it, but as powerful as that is, it wouldn't permeate that big of a house when running multiple devices.

I'd recommend getting one main router, such as the one tboyer mentioned or the tri-band RT3200AC, and putting one more on each floor setup in bridge mode. Place the main router on the second floor, and setup the other two in bridge mode.
 
I have the google wifi mesh system. It works well. It's very easy to set up and I get super fast speeds all throughout my house and back yard. Definitely recommend a mesh system. The new eero update looks good. Googles system was cheaper and rated similar at the time that's why I bought it. I have a bunch of smart home stuff so I need great coverage throughout the house. I also live in the city so I have a lot of interference from neighbors. Investing in strong wifi coverage makes sense these days.

Here's a review of mesh systems
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-wi-fi-mesh-networking-kits/
 
Asus RT-AC68, maybe the best router in the world. Not cheap, but there's a t-mobile branded version of it for half the price (you don't have to use the T-mo features).

Anyway, this router is in a corner of the basement and I get 100 megabit internet on the 2nd floor on the opposite side of the house. Range is remarkable and the router is the most stable I've ever had.

People are spending an awful lot of money these days for repeater style router clusters, but unless you live in a mansion, a good quality AC router should cover the whole house without much difficulty.

So suppose I'm getting Internet service from, say, Verizon. They provide me a standard issue router. Do you simply replace their router with the Asus or somehow connect the two?
 
So suppose I'm getting Internet service from, say, Verizon. They provide me a standard issue router. Do you simply replace their router with the Asus or somehow connect the two?

If you're getting internet from Verizon FIOS, there are two ways it can be wired. Sometimes it comes into the house as coax, in which case you need the verizon router to convert the coax to ethernet, and then you run ethernet to your "real" router (you can turn the verizon router's wifi radio off). But if you order internet only, sometimes it will come into the house as ethernet. In that case you should be able to run it directly into your home router.

If you're getting internet from the cable company, you'll need a cable modem, which takes coax and outputs ethernet.

All of these machines should be bought, not rented, by the way. The Verizon routers are available used on Ebay for half the price of new.
 
So suppose I'm getting Internet service from, say, Verizon. They provide me a standard issue router. Do you simply replace their router with the Asus or somehow connect the two?

Yes. Burn whatever they give you immediately. Just make sure it's not a 2-in-1 modem/router.
 
The major problem I have run into with my house is that the 2.4ghz band is so congested that the interference causes very poor performance at times. This forces me to use the 5ghz band, which performs exceptionally but has a very short range. Because of this, I am forced to use a repeater on the second floor. Everything works, but it sure would be nice to just use the 2.4 ghz band and be done with it as it covers the whole house.
 
The major problem I have run into with my house is that the 2.4ghz band is so congested that the interference causes very poor performance at times. This forces me to use the 5ghz band, which performs exceptionally but has a very short range. Because of this, I am forced to use a repeater on the second floor. Everything works, but it sure would be nice to just use the 2.4 ghz band and be done with it as it covers the whole house.

How many WiFi networks do you have operating around you (i.e. neighbors) and what router do you have?
 
Asus RT-AC68, maybe the best router in the world. Not cheap, but there's a t-mobile branded version of it for half the price (you don't have to use the T-mo features).

Anyway, this router is in a corner of the basement and I get 100 megabit internet on the 2nd floor on the opposite side of the house. Range is remarkable and the router is the most stable I've ever had.

People are spending an awful lot of money these days for repeater style router clusters, but unless you live in a mansion, a good quality AC router should cover the whole house without much difficulty.

I use range extenders with built-in CAT5 ports for equipment without Wi-Fi but with internet ports. Works great and increases Wi-Fi reliability. I can also rename the access point so I know when one loses connection with the main router.
 
How many WiFi networks do you have operating around you (i.e. neighbors) and what router do you have?
A ton. I could probably get a signal for a half dozen or more of my neighbors routers in my house. It used to not be an issue a couple of years ago but it is now.

I did have a simple netgear N300 router that performed fairly well at first but never covered the entire house. When the interference issues became overly annoying, I went out and got a dual-band Linksys AC1200. Coverage is much better as I can now get a signal even a few houses down the street, but the interruptions persisted on the 2.4 band. That led me to get a repeater and use the 5ghz band exclusively. No issues other than having to switch between the main router and the repeater when venturing to the other side of the house.
 
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A ton. I could probably get a signal for a half dozen or more of my neighbors routers in my house. It used to not be an issue a couple of years ago but it is now.

I did have a simple netgear N300 router that performed fairly well at first but never covered the entire house. When the interference issues became overly annoying, I went out and got a dual-band Linksys AC1200. Coverage is much better as I can now get a signal even a few houses down the street, but the interruptions persisted on the 2.4 band. That led me to get a repeater and use the 5ghz band exclusively. No issues other than having to switch between the main router and the repeater when venturing to the other side of the house.

The AC1200 isn't going to do well in a crowded environment--there's your problem. For something like you're describing you'll need one of the higher end Asus routers.

It makes sense that things got worse over time. Your neighbors are probably connecting more and more devices which will contribute more and more to congestion issues.
 
Yes. Burn whatever they give you immediately. Just make sure it's not a 2-in-1 modem/router.

I have that FIOS quantum Gateway with two of those extenders that run off coax.
Verizon Fios G1100 Quantum Gateway Wireless Router (FiOS-G1100 Dual Band)

It's a big stone house with plaster walls, heavy wood doors and stone fireplaces and structural walls and we get lots of drops when rounding the corner, closing a door, walking to the other side of a room and the gadgets frequently kick back to cellular data.

I just noticed they updated the extenders. Here's the newer iteration... https://www.verizon.com/home/accessories/fios-network-extender/?&skuParam=sku90004

Should I get another one or two of these things? Drop the Gateway and get something else entirely?

Sorry for the waste of time question but I already know what Verizon will say (buy more of our stuff) and it takes a long time to get a straight answer, which I have little faith in.
 
The AC1200 isn't going to do well in a crowded environment--there's your problem. For something like you're describing you'll need one of the higher end Asus routers.

It makes sense that things got worse over time. Your neighbors are probably connecting more and more devices which will contribute more and more to congestion issues.
Yeah, I figured I would go the cheap route. Including the repeater, it cost me about $120. I get reception in the whole house is I'm fine with it for now. When the kids get older and we have a gazillion devices streaming, then I will likely go for what you are suggesting.
 
I have that FIOS quantum Gateway with two of those extenders that run off coax.
Verizon Fios G1100 Quantum Gateway Wireless Router (FiOS-G1100 Dual Band)

It's a big stone house with plaster walls, heavy wood doors and stone fireplaces and structural walls and we get lots of drops when rounding the corner, closing a door, walking to the other side of a room and the gadgets frequently kick back to cellular data.

I just noticed they updated the extenders. Here's the newer iteration... https://www.verizon.com/home/accessories/fios-network-extender/?&skuParam=sku90004

Should I get another one or two of these things? Drop the Gateway and get something else entirely?

Sorry for the waste of time question but I already know what Verizon will say (buy more of our stuff) and it takes a long time to get a straight answer, which I have little faith in.
I would go with a stand alone mesh system. That way if you ever switch from Verizon or they change equipment you are not left with fancy paper weights. I also prefer having my own control over the router.
 
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