I’m considering an upgrade for my existing WiFi router. It’s already running OpenWRT which I like, and it seems like the Flint line supports this as well, so it’s one of my top considerations.
I’ve got two specific questions that I’m having trouble answering myself, though.
A) How many distinct radios are there? (My existing device has three; I use one 5ghz and one 2.4ghz for my main SSID, and then the third for a separate 2.4ghz guest SSID, on a separate channel. So I want at least three, to keep this layout.)
B) How many concurrent WiFi clients can each radio support? (I’ve learned the hard way that my current device has a paltry 10-per-radio limit! The 11th client will simply fail to connect. It got easy to hit this limit once I started adding some smart home devices, which I want on the separate-channel guest radio.)
The closest I’ve been able to find is that the Flint’s store page includes the phrase “Up to 120 Devices”. (Of course, the page also says “connections up to 100+ devices”, a different number.) And I can’t find any similar claim for the Flint 2. Nor any hint of how that maximum works: is it the sum of some sort of per-radio limit like my current device?
Both Flint and Flint 2 have 2 distinct radios. 1 for 2.4 GHz (Flint: 2x2, Flint 2: 4x4) and 1 for 5GHz (Flint: 2x2, Flint 2: 4x4). I believe multiple distinct 2.4GHz radio’s in a device are pretty rare actually…
there’s no WAP for home use to be able to deal with more than 35-40 devices connected and working well all at once… you might be able to get connected 100+ devices but will they actually work? no chance. if you need more than 100 devices connected per AP, look for an enterprise solution. but the best option is to have multiple APs. i guess flint2 (looking at hardware specs) might be capable of dealing with 70-80 devices while flint 1 (from personal experience) can’t deal with more than 35
The total number of devices you can use will depend a lot on the type of these devices. The required CPU and radio capacity of a router will be for sure very different between handling at the same time 100 high-end gaming PCs, 100 Wifi cameras or 100 smart switches. I am using a Flint 1 and I have connected to the 2.4GHz radio more than 50 Wifi smart switches with at the same time around 10 Wifi cameras using the 5GHz channel, and this works without any issues (I did not notice any temperature increase of the Flint compared to idle load). For the Flint 2, looking to the specifications the maximum number of Wifi clients can only get more…
The Flint can also use for both radios several SSIDs at the same time (up to 16 if I am not wrong). They will all then use in parellel the same channel for each of the two radios, so it alllows to replace multiple routers with each having their own SSID by one Flint without reprogramming each Wifi device, and it will reduce the risk for channel congestion.
I was at 72 wifi devices on my flint 1, 10 of those are cameras. Had to split the network up because of lag. Now I run 2 flint 1’s. 1 for upstairs and 1 for downstairs. All seems peachy creamy at the moment. Both go directly to the isp router via cable, 2 beryl’s running the cameras and a beryl AX handling the fail over line which is a 5g mobile phone that hangs out of the window.
WiFi can sometimes have issues because it shares its signal across both time and different frequencies. Imagine if you’re streaming a movie or have a security camera; these devices need a constant flow of data, and if many devices are trying to do this at once, you might notice delays or ‘lags.’
Each additional device connected to your WiFi takes up a bit of the overall internet ‘space’—both in terms of the total available speed and the ‘air time,’ which is how often they can send and receive data.
However, you can improve the situation by setting up multiple WiFi access points around your place and connecting them with cables to your main internet router, as @shivadow did. This can help spread out the demand and keep things running smoothly, even with plenty of devices connected.
I see at least one person claiming that >70 connections can work. Great! (Note I never said I want to connect more than 100, I said that my current device’s limit of 10 is a problem for me. (Though it actually is 10-per-radio.))
Some people discuss the practical limits of shared airtime, on one frequency, among many clients. That’s why “how many radios” was part of my question. I have “smart home” devices, currently on a different frequency from my primary network. I think the “MU” part of MU-MIMO might help here, though I’m not yet sure to what extent.
70 can work (depending on a lot of factors), but more than 35-40 can create issues… as everyone else said, setup an additional one as AP and you’ll have a strong stable network with much better coverage. be advised that higher transmission power will not bring any benefits, quite opposite. 2 APs with 5ghz on high and 2.4ghz on low/medium (placed each at opposite ends) will do a great job for around 1200sqf
Correct, more than 30 devices is usually the cause of slow wifi but the flint handled the job flawlessly until it didn’t and the cameras started having hiccups etc. After splitting the network to around 35 devices on each flint and cameras running on 2 beryl’s which are basically there just to translate a 2.4g signal into a high channel 5g signal to prevent interference, it runs pretty good. For now.
Not a single time did the flint itself complain about the load. Cpu was fine. Ram was fine. It didn’t overheat once and it was mounted on the wall the entire time, still is.
If I counted all of my IOT devices as according to the app there’s nearly 200 devices around the house but it counts things like 4 way switches as 4 devices instead of 1… Realistically around 100 devices around my house all dependent on 2.4g. The flint didn’t flinch.
