MikroTikhAP ac2 RBD52G-5HacD2HnD-TC Dual-Concurrent 2.4/5GHz Access Point, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 5 x Gigabit Ethernet ports

When I opened the box, and found that the router was small enough to fit in my palm, I was worried for a second that it wouldn't perform. I quickly learned that size doesn't matter.I was searching hard to find a dual band home router that would work well with DD-WRT to replace my housemate's Belkin AC1200 router which barely carried a 5GHz signal into my room and had a painfully slow 2GHz signal as well. I looked into TP-Link and some of the Netgear Nighthawks, as well as the >$100 hAP AC before settling on this router. I was about to get a consumer home router but was primarily worried about weak 5Ghz bands and incredibly poor software. That's when I came across the brand Mikrotik on a Reddit post and looked into their offerings. Basically, these boards are much cheaper because they aren't marketed towards the consumer electronic market and are made by a Latvian company. They also run RouterOS, which is incredibly robust and I've barely scratched the surface of.I'm a Computer Engineering major with very little networking background, but I can confidently say that this router will be AS SIMPLE AS ANY OTHER HOME ROUTER - you just need to ignore the extra options.If you follow my instructions exactly as below, you shouldn't have any problems. Don't skim. Read, understand, and enjoy this router that blows away others in its price range.SETUP:Plug your router into the power, then connect ethernet from your modem (or other router) into the ethernet in.To enter the settings panel, there are three options: Mikrotik iOS/Android App (Easy), Web Portal (Medium), WinBox (Hard).Rationale behind rating: I showed my girlfriend all three options as the ways to setup the router and based it on how confused she looked. There is fairly significant difference in how eye-pleasing each of them is, and every bit helps. You will be able to do the same stuff regardless of what platform you are on.HOW TO CONNECT - MAKE SURE TO UPDATE AFTER SETUP:APP:Is really well designed and easy to navigate, plus has a DETECT feature that connects to the router when you open the app and connect it to the open wifi that the router broadcasts for the first time. If it doesn't connect automatically, GO TO 192.168.88.1, the default RouterOS address. I don't think it comes with a password, the instructions in the box will have it if otherwise. Once in the app, there is a QUICK SETUP option that will make your life a lot easier. PARENTS: THE KID CONTROL SETTING is a lot easier to find in the app - it's on the first page. The app can also do basically everything either other platform can, including accessing the terminal, so it's great to have anyway.Web Browser and WinBox:Connect to 192.168.88.1, the default IP address for this router. Login, then check my attached image. Click on QUICK SET and select HOME AP DUAL in the dropdown menu in the top right. Automatic Address Acquisition should work for most US based receivers. Set name and password like in any other router. Connecting to the webapp also gives the option to install WinBox which lives on your Windows computer (sorry Mac/Linux), but does the same exact stuff as the other two options.SUPER IMPORTANT: update both the RouterOS software AND the firmware for the RouterBoard. If on the webapp, select WebFig to see the menu, or open the menu from the app. The location of the setting will be the same on both. For RouterOS, go to System>Packages>Check For Updates (possibly have to click another button on phone) and update to the latest version on the stable or long term channels.For the Firmware, go to System>Routerboard>Upgrade.REBOOT after changes!If you have any speed or stability issues, I've heard that updating both fixes it. I did it as soon as I got it and have had no issues.If you want to optimize this for your space, check out which wifi channel is best for your router to broadcast on. There's free software for this on any computer or phone if you look it up. This router does have the channel displayed as the actual frequency in Mhz, so find a table online to convert between the channel number you may get in the program and the frequency the router takes. If it doesn't work, the band may be blocked in the US as this version is manufactured for the states, so try a different frequency.This router significantly boosted the connection throughout my house, and the gigabit ethernet is nice too. It's very noticeable how much better the signal is pushed through on an enterprise grade router as opposed to a consumer router. Even my 2.4Ghz band has been made a lot better - I use it for any smart light/home devices and a Google home, and responses have become a little faster in turning on and off lights, answering questions, not dropping requests, etc. This device will definitely work better for serving to a larger number of devices than most home routers.I picked this over the hAP AC after much deliberation. This router was $60 when I got it and the AC was listed at $110. It has an SFP port for optical fiber gigabit and three-chain wifi, as well as a Power over Ethernet output port which is missing from the ac2, but I need none of those features and neither do 90% of consumers. In return, the ac2 has a better CPU and I think more memory? In any case, the three-chain wifi offered by the AC will be bottlenecked by most devices anyways that don't have appropriate wireless receivers to handle the additional throughput, so for the majority of use cases it is more helpful to have more computing power. I also have no need yet for power over ethernet to any additional access points. When close to the router, I'll receive close to 300 mbps down. In my room, which due to unfortunate design limitations is about 45+ feet away from the router and behind 3ish walls and a door, I'll get about 55 mbps down. Significantly better than previously not getting signal at all on occasion.BONUS STEP:Change your DNS server. Find the DNS settings and redirect it to something like Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 service for faster speeds. It's likely a pretty good improvement over a stock ISP DNS provider which also provides them more of your browsing information. Your previous router may not have had this option, or you may have DNS configured on your individual devices, but taking the time to do it can improve your internet across all devices without updating the DNS settings on each manually.I've also read that there's an option on this router for it to run its own local DNS server to resolve requests faster and that it may be adaptive based on your sites? Not fully sure how to set that up but it's something cool to look into.If you have any questions at all about the settings, I've found the YouTube channel TKSJa to be an excellent goldmine of information and tutorials that's covered everything I need. There are over 100 clearly titled and concise videos there, go check it out and see if you still can't get your equipment to work.So yeah. Get this router, follow the instructions, enjoy better performance without paying for the scam that's consumer routers.

This is not for the faint of heart. It is like learning linux all over again plus the intricacies of raw networking without the consumer friendly interface. Although the OS is based on linux I believe, the command line commands are quite different and basically mimic the GUI (or vice-versa. The GUI (Winbox) is very nice but old school.The Good:Very powerful Wifi for something so little. I've used it in a 3200 sf ranch house in the middle of the house on a book case. Reached all parts with no problem and strong signal, easily switching between 2 and 5 ghz. Moved to a bigger 3 story house and it's still going strong almost 3 years later, reaching every part of the home no problem whether I place it in the basement or the second floor. The 5 ports are more than enough for me when I attach a small switch for my ethernet.The Frustrating:If you aren't a network engineer you're in for several weeks/months of learning the intricacies of networking. OR just skip it all and go to the "quick setup" button and just use that to easily setup a basic network plus a guest network. For anything more you'll need to learn RouterOS.The Great:Regular updates. POWER. If you want to do nearly anything with your home network you can do it with Mikrotik's RouterOS. Unlimited Guest SSIDS? Unlimited Vlans? Built in Wireguard ? No problem. Easy ? No. I"m spending 2 days just setting up some Vlans for my IOT devices.Support:It's there but it's in forums and documentation/youtube videos. Big fan community.Value:I was able to get this for about $50 in 2021, now much more than that but probably still worth it though I might go for some of the upgraded routers Mikrotik has.Reliability:I have not had any of the overheating issues I've had with other routers. After 3 years I did develop a minor short in the AC adapter. Instead of replacing it I just got a Poe injector which works great and powers the router. Make sure the injector is microtik compatible as microtik does not use the newer poe standard. I do have a USB powered fan with my networking equipment that I use to cool my pi and some of that also benefits the router. Always a good idea to keep your router cool if you can.