As an avid computer tinkerer with several certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, and others major parties in the computer realm, I have been an active tinkerer with home networking and home automation for a very long time now. I have been a long time user of Asus routers and AsusWRT as well as other offerings with varied amounts of success. Often times I would justify the hiccoughs I would run into because I'd trade off a little stability or connectivity for the vast array of features the traditional "router" offers.
Lately however, I've found that the advanced settings of the Asus routers and their "beamforming" offerings leave a little to be desired. With beamforming, you can essentially make both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz wifi networks with the same name, and beamforming is supposed to do a great job of routing traffic to the best signal. In my case at least, not so much.
One example I can give you is the Wemo Insight Switch, Wemo Insight Switch, Wi-Fi Smart Plug, Control Lights and Appliances From Your Phone, Manage Energy Costs, Works with Amazon Alexa which allows me to control my heater and legacy fans with Alexa and lets me track my energy expenses. the Wemo works great, unless I have Asus' advanced beamforming turned on, in that case several of my devices including my Wemo switch simply will not connect to my WiFi. Not the Wemo's fault however, its the router. Time and time again I've proved that if I turn off the advanced features the Wemo connects, when I enabled them in the router the Wemo disconnects. That simple.
Enter Luma.
The Luma system presents a different set of challenges and an entirely welcome solution to some of the challenges I've already had for awhile. My specific needs were solid WiFi everywhere, and connectivity. Pretty simple right? You'd think my Asus could handle these things but not so...
Instead, the Luma setup was a breeze. I download the Luma app and create an account, then power up the first Luma and connect it to the network cable, then follow the on screen instructions to setup my network. To make it simple, I used the same network password and Wifi name as on my old router, in a few minutes all of my devices were connecting to the Luma.
My next step was to connect the second Luma, I did this by setting the second Luma in the same room as the first and powering it up, to follow the same setup procedure as on the first device, and again on the third Luma.
Once I had all three Luma setup, I moved them to where the app suggested I place them, roughly in opposite ends of the two story home. Viola! All of my devices connected including my Belkin Wemo. Fantastic!
The next step was to connect a small gigabit smart switch such as my NETGEAR 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (GS208) switch in order for me to connect about six or so wired devices. One click is all it took to the back of the Luma and my entire network roared back to life.
Now all I had to do was wait for the Luma's to get their latest software updates so that I could assign static IP's and other neat features. One of the things I did right away is setup user profiles. I setup my daughters devices under her profile, and enabled Filtering which effectively adds a network firewall and DNS filtering for my entire home. I used to have to manually enable these options either by subscribing to OpenDNS and settings in the Asus router by Trend Micro Antivirus or other means, SO SIMPLE!
I then assigned my daughter a curfew so all of her devices are stopped at a certain hour, and her profile as the default for pausing wifi! Now we can focus on homework and dinner together, I'm sure she's going to enjoy that a ton!
In comes Alexa, Alexa can pause the internet with a command, and prioritize my All-New Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote | Streaming Media Player so that there is no buffering while we enjoy some flix.
And the SPEED! WAO! I know I was going to get full bars of signal throughout the house, I was not prepared for the SPEED I now have throughout the house. the Xbox connects faster, apps download faster, the entire internet is faster! MUAHAHAHAHAHHAAAA...
Ahem.
It's fantastic. I was able to setup port forwarding for my Foscam FI9821PB Plug & Play 720p Wireless/Wired Pan/Tilt IP Indoor Security Camera with Night Vision, Motion Detection Alerts, Two-Way Audio and Remote Viewing (Black) cool Foscam cameras, so that I can access the video stream from the internet, and my Canary All-in-One Home Security Device - Black connected without a hitch.
Bonus! No one knows these little hexagons are wifi access points, there are no antennas so they disappear into the furnishings, counters, and behind the television.
I am so glad I opted into Luma. And for the tinkerers out there. Fing (available on Play and the App Store) says that the Luma runs on OpenWRT!
Cons: Are there any cons? There are always cons. If you want total control of your router the Luma is not that granular. Instead the Luma provides a lot of the right kind of controls in an easy to use interface. There are some software growing pains, I personally would like to be able to see MAC addresses and friendly device names. In some cases the names listed on my wifi devices are unrecognizable. Yesterday I disabled a "kindle" device only to find out later in the day that my Amazon echo wasn't working. It took me a moment to realize that the Luma listed the Echo as a kindle. I had quite a bit more of the same so I had to go through all of my unknown devices to ensure I was giving them friendly names so that I could assign them to family members, which would enable safe surfing, timeouts, and curfews.
I am still testing wifi connectivity, it seems that if I get far enough from the last node I lose signal fairly quickly. This would indicate that these devices use less individual power and rely on the mesh to stay connected and connect my devices. More to come on this topic as I'm just now starting to investigate. Of note: Luma supports wired backhaul. Wired backhaul happens when the wireless access points are connected to your main router via a switch, via a wired ethernet cable. This allows the wifi access points to sit further away as long as the wired backhaul connects the network together. In essence you can place these in a far larger area and still have wifi throughout. Once I'm a homeowner, I will be looking to wire my home and implement this type of setup. (think garage connection or workshop connection in a detached shop).
I'm still very happy with the purchase and I definitely recommend it.
| Wireless Type | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
|---|
