With Apple abandoning AirPort, here are the best alternative Wi-Fi routers for Mac users

12357

Comments

  • Reply 81 of 121
    Stay WELL away from TP-Link gear it is utter crap. Had NOTHING but issues with them.

    Spend the money and get the Ubiquity UniFi gear. It's well worth it and dead easy to setup. Surprised it wasn't mentioned in this article to be honest.
  • Reply 82 of 121
    If barely anyone made use of these Airport routers, or majority networking usage habits of consumers have superseded what Airport offers (which are probably the reasons Apple has as well) then obviously they'd drop the product. 

    And if it's just plain not profitable then it's not profitable, which also speaks about the number of folks that actually care about and use it. 

    They want to get out of certain sides of the business. It happens in the industry at large all the time. 

    Other tech companies that persist in playing in sides of the business they should have left long ago should take note. Lol RIP Windows Phone/Mobile since 2010.

    Is Apple's dongle business profitable or do they just manufacture them so that buyers are enticed to buy their Macs because an all Apple seamless solution is more desireable for many consumers?
    dysamoria
  • Reply 83 of 121
    VSzulc said:
    designr said:
    Not sure what all the hand-wringing is about. This make sense (like the display decision only probably more so). There are plenty of other products that are likely cheaper and better. As for the "ugly" comments...come on...I just have stuff like this behind or under something anyway. I'm not interested in my router as a piece of artwork or furniture.

    I view this as a good sign that Apple is evaluating and focusing more. They've (almost) gotten to the point of product diversity and complexity they were at when Steve Jobs returned to the company and radically streamlined the product family. That was clearly a necessity then and I don't anticipate such a move today. But some more focus is in order.

    In terms of whether Apple customers want these products, it seems obvious the majority don't. I haven't used a Air Port for at least 5 years (just used the combo DSL modem, router and WIFI access point I got from CenturyLink) and have been quite content.

    Are you kidding me? Obvious troll is obvious!

    I don't know anybody with a Mac who doesn't have an Airport. Usually in combination with the crappy DSL Modem/router combos your cable company gets you.

    Meet me...now you know someone who uses a Mac (multiple Macs) and doesn't have an AirPort. There, now you know someone! And, the Apple ecosystem works just fine without it. 
    williamlondondesignr
  • Reply 84 of 121

    ipilya said:
    The biggest problem I have with this decision is this.... WiFi is the Glue... the true Glue!!! that binds it all together... why is Apple going to abandon the one single point that binds the experience together. This is insane and very very disturbing. I am speechless.
    Yeah because their stuff only works with AirPort routers. *rollseyes*
    williamlondondesignr
  • Reply 85 of 121
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    wiggin said:
    polymnia said:
    larryjw said:
    Okay. Time for the Apple executives to be replaced. I don't know if any should be kept on in executive or non-executive positions, or even with the company, but collectively these folks don't have a clue. This replacement needs to be done fast. Apple as no more than 5 years left as a viable company.

    Steve Jobs was adamant that one does not worry about stock prices and profit. Both come when one produces innovative products and sells them for what they are worth (maybe what the "market can bare"). 

    For Apple to abandon all products except their most profitable ones is guaranteed to kill the company. Companies grow based on the synergies from all their product lines. 

    Bottom line. The current crop of Apple executives are proving themselves to wholly incompetent. 
    Killing all products except the most profitable is EXACTLY what Steve did when he came back.

    He also killed the OS.

    Within a decade Apple was well on its way to the biggest, most profitable company ever.

    But, who knows, maybe you are right.
    LOL  I always love when people try to point to what Apple did when Steve came back as a justification for actions today. Apple was a VERY different company back then, on the brink of bankruptcy. "Beleaguered", was the word commonly used to describe Apple. They had little capital, poor credit, and a rats nest of a product lineup. It was literally focus or die. The actions Apple took then were a necessity, driven by a short-term goal of not disappearing from the map entirely.

    So you are suggesting that today's Apple with, what, over a quarter trillion dollars in the bank, practically zero corporate debt (other than that the choose to have due to much of the money being offshore), and one of the highest market capitalization in history, should behave the same as a nearly bankrupt, irrelevancy? That's brilliant! (not)
    I'm not the one who invoked Steve Jobs while suggesting Apple would be killed by this willy-nilly discontinuation of product.

    The point could be made that in the early days WiFi was barely a thing. But WiFi tech was essential to making Apple's wireless vision happen. Apple couldn't trust the nascent WiFi base station market to base their wireless ecosystem upon. So they stepped in and made a best-in-class product. Now WiFi is ubiquitous. Quality WiFi, no less. And the tech is moving fast. Apple can now depend on third parties producing quality WiFi base stations.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 86 of 121
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member
    Apple is out of the business of routers. Someone else will fill that need. 

    Apple is out of the business of monitors. Someone else will fill that need. 

    Apple is out of business. Someone else will fill that need. 
    dysamoria
  • Reply 87 of 121
    macxpress said:
    larryjw said:
    Okay. Time for the Apple executives to be replaced. I don't know if any should be kept on in executive or non-executive positions, or even with the company, but collectively these folks don't have a clue. This replacement needs to be done fast. Apple as no more than 5 years left as a viable company.

    Steve Jobs was adamant that one does not worry about stock prices and profit. Both come when one produces innovative products and sells them for what they are worth (maybe what the "market can bare"). 

    For Apple to abandon all products except their most profitable ones is guaranteed to kill the company. Companies grow based on the synergies from all their product lines. 

    Bottom line. The current crop of Apple executives are proving themselves to wholly incompetent. 

    5yrs? Right! It'll take a lot more than killing an extremely small part of Apple in their Airport lineup to kill off Apple. 

    Who cares, this isn't Steve's company. Why do we keep referring back to what Steve would do? How do we know Steve wouldn't have killed the Airport line already? Its not like he never killed off products. 

    But as long as you're so stuck on Steve Jobs, don't forget, this is the crop to executives he set in place before resigning. So, apparently he's not so smart after all? 

    Steve made smart choices that was best for the company to serve its customers. Today's Apple is making choices that serve itself, ignoring the needs of many of its [professional] customers. It's very focused on consumption and micro-sales via services. I think the executives have become blinded by dollar signs, but then again, they do have a multi-billion-dollar campus to pay for, so maybe this focus on dollars is only temporary for a year or so.
    dysamoria
  • Reply 88 of 121
    I've been using Airport Extremes since they first came out, and won't switch until they melt into a white puddle of plastic on my floor! TP absolutely SUX! Everyone I've ever tried (as a WiFi extender) required a masters in router technology to set up, and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM DID NOT WORK - even after calling their tech support. The Airport Extreme (or Time Machine or Express) — totally plug and play! But Apple has been headed down the wrong paths for the last few years. I blame it on Mr. minimal, Jonny Ives, who doesn't understand the most basic precept of design: FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION! Wake the fk up Sr. J. and Google R. Buckminster Fuller!
    dysamoria
  • Reply 89 of 121
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    pslice said:
    Okay, abandoning products sounds ugly. I want to know which router Mr Cook uses.
    At home he likely either uses a commerical-grade router/firewall to cover his home that is also serviced by an engineer to make sure it's secure, or he simply uses cellular on his iPad and iPhone at home with his Mac Pro plugged into Ethernet since he can afford that pittance with the cellphone bill.

    My next router will likely be commercial-grade, too, as Apple—whilst under Jobs—slowly started removing SNMP features, yet I'm still hopeful they will role their router division into other home products, run it on OS X from their Apple-deisgned chips (which I'd imagine would likely be based off watchOS), and release this when their desktop Macs are ready for 802.11ad.
  • Reply 90 of 121
    jvmbjvmb Posts: 59member
    eji said:
    Don't forget the Asus RT-AC88U. It's got built-in Time Machine functionality (just add external storage) plus a ton of other features like 802.11ad link aggregation, an iTunes server and OpenVPN support. After years of being a loyal DrayTek user, I moved to the RT-AC88U and have been pretty thrilled with its stability, features and performance. It would be my go-to alternative if Apple's Time Capsule is no longer available.
    I checked the website and read the manual for this router. I could not find any mention of time machine. Are you using this router with a connected hard drive for time machine?

    So far, the only router I have found that clearly claims to support time machine is the synology router.
  • Reply 91 of 121
    Ecosystem. As mentioned previously, everything Apple has relies on wireless to support the ecosystem. If they don't have a plan for replacement in some form/function, they are relying on some third party to dictate how their users interact with their own products - which is a heck of a step away from Apple's traditional stance of controlling the whole of a customer's experience.

    Until I see something definitive I'm calling this one misinformed. If it get's confirmed without a surrogate or replacement from Apple then I really question Apple's direction.
    edited November 2016 dysamoriajcs2305macbear01
  • Reply 92 of 121
    bluefire1bluefire1 Posts: 1,301member
    "Some fear has erupted at the news that Apple may be shutting down development of its own AirPort wireless routers."
    Key words: May
    There's no official confirmation from Apple about this happening in the foreseeable future, so I'll pay
    attention when the word "May" changes to "Is".
    edited November 2016
  • Reply 93 of 121
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    bluefire1 said:
    "Some fear has erupted at the news that Apple may be shutting down development of its own AirPort wireless routers."
    Key words: May
    There's no official confirmation from Apple about this happening in the foreseeable future, so I'll pay attention when the word "May" changes to "Is".
    Were you reading AI when they wrote a dozen plus articles calling the death of the Mac mini?
  • Reply 94 of 121
    Soli said:
    bluefire1 said:
    "Some fear has erupted at the news that Apple may be shutting down development of its own AirPort wireless routers."
    Key words: May
    There's no official confirmation from Apple about this happening in the foreseeable future, so I'll pay attention when the word "May" changes to "Is".
    Were you reading AI when they wrote a dozen plus articles calling the death of the Mac mini?
    First article on this topic. Paraphrased from another source. 
  • Reply 95 of 121
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    designr said:
    VSzulc said:
    designr said:
    Not sure what all the hand-wringing is about. This make sense (like the display decision only probably more so). There are plenty of other products that are likely cheaper and better. As for the "ugly" comments...come on...I just have stuff like this behind or under something anyway. I'm not interested in my router as a piece of artwork or furniture.

    I view this as a good sign that Apple is evaluating and focusing more. They've (almost) gotten to the point of product diversity and complexity they were at when Steve Jobs returned to the company and radically streamlined the product family. That was clearly a necessity then and I don't anticipate such a move today. But some more focus is in order.

    In terms of whether Apple customers want these products, it seems obvious the majority don't. I haven't used a Air Port for at least 5 years (just used the combo DSL modem, router and WIFI access point I got from CenturyLink) and have been quite content.

    Are you kidding me? Obvious troll is obvious!

    I don't know anybody with a Mac who doesn't have an Airport. Usually in combination with the crappy DSL Modem/router combos your cable company gets you.
    Excuse me, are you calling me a troll for the comment I made? Seriously?

    Secondly, I own a Mac (three in our home in fact) and no Airport. So now you know someone who has a Mac but no Airport.
    I know many people with all Apple products with smartphones, tablets, and/or PCs that still use some cheap-ass router, like a Netgear WRT54G. People are oddly really cheap about their routers and yet also seem to complain about them being slow and wonky.
  • Reply 96 of 121
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    designr said:
    Soli said:
    I know many people with all Apple products with smartphones, tablets, and/or PCs that still use some cheap-ass router, like a Netgear WRT54G. People are oddly really cheap about their routers and yet also seem to complain about them being slow and wonky.
    That may well be. But there seems to be this assumption that anything not-Apple sucks. There are certainly non-Apple options that will work fine for almost everyone.

    In my own case, I have the modem/WIFI router from CenturyLink and it works just fine for me. No complaints. Works just fine.
    I didn't mean to suggest that all non-Apple routers suck. There are plenty of great options out there. My point was about people being cheap about their routers. I see a lot of people cringe at paying more than $50 for the device, which I assume is because they never see it. Granted, the tech is complicated so they don't necessarily know what they are looking at. I would bet that most people—even though in the tech field understand how we went from 802.11n to 802.11ac. Hell, I come across far too many people who consider themselves techies that don't even know that 802.11ac exists—which I find bizarre.
  • Reply 97 of 121
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    wiggin said:
    polymnia said:
    larryjw said:
    Okay. Time for the Apple executives to be replaced. I don't know if any should be kept on in executive or non-executive positions, or even with the company, but collectively these folks don't have a clue. This replacement needs to be done fast. Apple as no more than 5 years left as a viable company.

    Steve Jobs was adamant that one does not worry about stock prices and profit. Both come when one produces innovative products and sells them for what they are worth (maybe what the "market can bare"). 

    For Apple to abandon all products except their most profitable ones is guaranteed to kill the company. Companies grow based on the synergies from all their product lines. 

    Bottom line. The current crop of Apple executives are proving themselves to wholly incompetent. 
    Killing all products except the most profitable is EXACTLY what Steve did when he came back.

    He also killed the OS.

    Within a decade Apple was well on its way to the biggest, most profitable company ever.

    But, who knows, maybe you are right.
    LOL  I always love when people try to point to what Apple did when Steve came back as a justification for actions today. Apple was a VERY different company back then, on the brink of bankruptcy. "Beleaguered", was the word commonly used to describe Apple. They had little capital, poor credit, and a rats nest of a product lineup. It was literally focus or die. The actions Apple took then were a necessity, driven by a short-term goal of not disappearing from the map entirely.

    So you are suggesting that today's Apple with, what, over a quarter trillion dollars in the bank, practically zero corporate debt (other than that the choose to have due to much of the money being offshore), and one of the highest market capitalization in history, should behave the same as a nearly bankrupt, irrelevancy? That's brilliant! (not)
    Yes, my friend. Yes, they should.

    Microsoft imploded because they had too many fingers in too many pies. The new guy has taken a knife to the company and cut a lot of the crap so they can focus on cloud services. 

    Apple is doing the same thing so they can focus on the core products before lack of focus takes them down the Microsoft route. 

    Ten minutes web web surfing is all it took for me to realise that there are already products on the market that are more versatile and as easy to set up as an Airport. 

    Can't remember who said it, but one of the reasons Apple is successful is because it behaves like a cash-strapped startup, not a company with 96% of the mobile profits. 


    edited November 2016 williamlondonpolymnia
  • Reply 98 of 121
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    volcan said:
    wiggin said:
    I suspect they are simply going to fold their Airport functionality into the Apple TV. It would be a great Trojan Horse to get Apple TV's into more homes, both for the media capabilities and as a home automation hub.

    I doubt it because people tend to have multiple Apple TVs in various rooms in their house but you only need one path to the Internet so it would sort of be overkill to have full router capabilities in every device.  I suppose they could make two models, one with and one without router functionality. 

    Besides, with respect to backing up, Apple wants you to use iClould storage so they can bill you monthly not just a one time sale of a Time Capsule. All good - I respect that decision. I think other wifi manufacturers can fill the need just like LG is doing for monitors. Makes sense to me. Only my two cents.
    If people have multiple AppleTVs (which I very much doubt) then that's an ideal set up for a mesh network. 
    williamlondon
  • Reply 99 of 121
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member

    designr said:
    VSzulc said:
    designr said:
    Not sure what all the hand-wringing is about. This make sense (like the display decision only probably more so). There are plenty of other products that are likely cheaper and better. As for the "ugly" comments...come on...I just have stuff like this behind or under something anyway. I'm not interested in my router as a piece of artwork or furniture.

    I view this as a good sign that Apple is evaluating and focusing more. They've (almost) gotten to the point of product diversity and complexity they were at when Steve Jobs returned to the company and radically streamlined the product family. That was clearly a necessity then and I don't anticipate such a move today. But some more focus is in order.

    In terms of whether Apple customers want these products, it seems obvious the majority don't. I haven't used a Air Port for at least 5 years (just used the combo DSL modem, router and WIFI access point I got from CenturyLink) and have been quite content.

    Are you kidding me? Obvious troll is obvious!

    I don't know anybody with a Mac who doesn't have an Airport. Usually in combination with the crappy DSL Modem/router combos your cable company gets you.
    Excuse me, are you calling me a troll for the comment I made? Seriously?

    Secondly, I own a Mac (three in our home in fact) and no Airport. So now you know someone who has a Mac but no Airport.
    I know eight other people who use Macs at home; I'm the only one with an Airport setup. Because many places have a mixture of Macs and PCs, there's a tendency to use another router; folk think Airport is Mac only. 
    williamlondondesignr
  • Reply 100 of 121
    appexappex Posts: 687member
    With Apple abandoning AirPort, here is the best alternative for Mac users: a good wired connection, whenever possible, of course. Wired will always beat wireless.
Sign In or Register to comment.