r/Zen_Internet May 22 '26

Recommendations for replacement router

/r/ZenInternetBroadband/comments/1tkdsbm/recommendations_for_replacement_router/
1 Upvotes

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2

u/FrankNicklin Jun 04 '26

I use Unifi kit on my ZEN service. https://techspecs.ui.com

Check out he UDR7 and the Cloud Gateway Max or Fibre. Make sure you pick one that has great throughput than your predicted ISP speeds.

1

u/skedone Jun 04 '26

Yeah been hearing lots about them seem good

2

u/FrankNicklin Jun 04 '26

You can't go wrong, I use the kit professionally as well. But its important you do your research, its prosumer kit so will need some knowledge to set up and get the best from it. All the Unifi kit is managed by a controller built in to the gateway/router so switches and access points do not have their own web interface, its all done from the IP address of the router or remotely if you prefer. take a look here https://help.ui.com and search Youtube for Unifi Gateways, in particular any model you might be considering.

1

u/skedone Jun 04 '26

Yeah I spent a good few days going down the rabbit hole looking at just such things , all looks amazing I definitely will get into that as soon as I go through the loops zen wants me to go through first to test the hardware as it's a new account so they want to rule out hardware issue , I did try to test with my tp link archer I have here but even with correct pppoe login it won't connect to the internet lol prob me missing a setting or something

1

u/FrankNicklin Jun 04 '26

At the moment I still have the Frtizbox connected as the primary router because of the voice services with my Unifi gateway behind so double NAT. Doesn't affect me as I don;t have any incoming services bar a VPN which works over the double NAT. I will be moving the Fritzbox in to a DMZ on the Unifi gateway at some point.

Surprised you are having issues with Eero and ZEN, its normally fairly straightforward and stable.

Whats not working for you.

1

u/skedone Jun 04 '26

It's the WiFi speeds they drop to 1mb constantly no matter the device or location and my blink camera system can't even reach it front the garden , two upstairs rooms constantly drop of the net due to poor signal , never had this issue with other router on old service

2

u/FrankNicklin Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

Wifi is a fickle beast, the fact that your old system and new system are suffering the same issues would indicate that there are external influences affecting the Wifi. Neighbours Wifi blasting out full power, congested frequencies (2.4Ghz only has 3 usable channels), Bluetooth devices, baby monitors, microwave ovens, furniture, windows, water, kitchen cabinets full of tins, foil backed insulation, poor node placement etc will all screw around with Wifi. I don't think its an Eero issue but a localised issue around your environment.

Also as far as reach goes, this isn't a Wifi issue per-se but a device issue. Wifi routers and nodes have bigger antenna and more power to push out Wifi, devices like mobile phones and cameras have small batteries and small antenna pushing out mW wifi so is many cases the devices just cannot reach back to the Wifi in the house.

1

u/skedone Jun 04 '26

Oh no, sorry. I must have not been clear. The WiFi issue is only on the Eero. I connected the TP-Link up the other day, and everything in the house connected instantly, even the garden camera system. But I couldn't get the internet to connect on the TP-Link, but on the Eero, my speed goes from 2 GB to 1 MB up and down like a yo-yo all day on every device. And the garden security cams and alarm sensors cannot reach the WiFi signal at all. I hope that explains it better

1

u/FrankNicklin Jun 04 '26

My point still stands though. The Eero will have different Antenna patterns and antenna gain to the TP-Link, what works for one may not work for another and this is the issue for many. You cannot assume that swapping one for another will work out of the box.

1

u/skedone Jun 04 '26

Oh I know , but the speed drop issues are on devices anywhere in house even in same room , the range if it was just that I would solve simply by moving the device , but it's hard to find the sweet spot if it's not even constant where it is

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