Yeah, they’re not really known in the consumer space, mainly commercial usage. But they’re not hard to use for a home / small office either. Really bulletproof quality.
Surprising that the prices are so reasonable for business class products. I will keep them in mind in the future.
If anybody else wants to jump on the Tmobile lottery train…
Wow, that is a deal
Nice. Really like the quality and on-going support aspects. Definitely would have been a better way for me to go since I don’t feel like getting into the tech of routers. I have asked the vendor on Ebay if they would cancel my order of the T-Mobile AC-1900. If the order is canceled, I’m going to order the hAP ac lite tower. Do you have a preferred vendor for MikroTik products?
I hadn't heard of this. Been running this way today and it definitely has sped up page loads. Thanks for the recommendation.
What do you plan to do with it 4wheeler?
It is fairly new, think it officially went online earlier this year.
Before this Google 8.8.8.8 or the openDNS servers were the best options for most. I used openDNS perviously.
I ran a full DNS test with DNSbench several years ago to confirm openDNS was the best option and it did indeed beat out google slightly on average.
I then ran a new test a few months ago after Cloudflare went public with the 1.1.1.1 and it is now the fastest so more privacy AND faster, win win!
Anything to not give google more data is good IMO though. They should at least have to work for the data they collect I figure lol.
Everytime I type in the 1.1.1.1 IP address I have to wounder just how much buying that IP cost.
Usually the official Mikrotik store on Amazon has the best prices, and good service.
^
Thank you SB.
I would disable the wifi in my AC791L (Hot spot with built in wifi router). The AC791L would feed the internet connection via a USB cable to the new router. I don’t have satellite (the kind with a land line) or cable internet available here. So I’m stuck with cellular broadband for the time being.
I guess I’m just curious why you think the Mikrotik will do better for you than the Asus?
I’ve looked into them on my own “router quest” and so far all I’ve found are underwhelming spec sheets but a bunch of claims that they are way better than the mainstream brands. I’m struggling to see why.
Maybe sb can enlighten me 
^
Let me caveat my response by stating I don't know squat about routers, wifi, etc. So I ask that you (or anyone) enlighten my if any of my reasoning is flawed. The following is why I think the Mikrotik may be a better solution for me:
- For about the same price I would pay for the T-Mobile version of the AC68U, I can get a ready to use good-quality router that I know (based on SB's experience) should be well supported FW wise. Mikrotik specifically states that the hAP ac lite tower (and other models) supports 3G/4G USB tethering. I have read several instances of folks USB tethering the AC68U, but the details of how they did so are sparse.
- With the AC68U (after conversion), I will have to learn some router technical stuff and execute the procedures to properly convert the T-Mobile version. There is risk of unrecoverable failure. In my experience, I tend to forget the hard fought knowledge after a period of not needing to use it again.
- Clearly, the AC68U has much more raw horse power than the Mikrotik unit I specified, but I don't need that much power. I'm only seeking better wifi coverage and a reduction in the functions that my hot spot performs because it gets too hot. I've figured out how to remove the battery from it and keep it running. So that will reduce heat caused by charging the internal battery. I'm quite far from my nearest Verizon cell tower. So my cell signal is pretty weak. I'm building an external cell antenna will should make the hot spot not have to work as hard to get signal. Turning off the wifi function of the hot spot will limit it's work to what I want it to do most (receive and transmit cell signal).
The biggest factor attracting me to the AC68U is it's superior wifi coverage. There are so may accounts of its signal strength all over the internet.
I saw the tethering options in the Asus firmware and just assumed it would be easy to hook up a usb modem without any “technical” work.
The AC Lite especially just underwhelms me because of the small amount if RAM, no Gigabit ports, and as you said low wifi capabilities.
Now I’m not trying to talk you out of it or into the Asus, I was just curious what you had seen that caused the sudden turnaround.
Edit: you may not need to mess with the Tmobile version at all, it seems like a lot if Asus routers support them.
Strangely, I can’t get to any websites after I change the DNS in my router network settings to 1.1.1.1. It works fine with 8.8.8.8. Not sure what’s going on.
So maybe I haven’t seen much in the way of details on tethering because it might be a fairly trivial matter to hook up. Thank you very much for your input PD68. 
1. My last router was an Asus, and it died after something like a year of use. MikroTik has better longevity and overall quality at a better price.
2. Also the consumer-grade routers usually only receive firmware upgrades for a very short time, if at all. MikroTik’s RouterOS is constantly updated, and they continue to support very old devices.
3. RouteROS is also unbelievably powerful and configurable, allowing to do almost anything with the device, and it’s officially supported. To get something even remotely close to the power of RouterOS on a consumer-grade router, you have to look for a specific model from a specific manufacturer that supports DD-WRT or Tomato or openWRT or something similar, sometimes even looking for specific hardware revision codes, and you often have to jump through hoops to flash the custom firmware. MikroTik comes with the whole enchilada right out of the box.
i have a deal Asus 87U for about 75$, is it good ?
got a used Netgear R7000 for the equivalent of $35 sometime last year. I’m running AdvancedTomato on it and it’s doing all i ask of it.
Your modem / ISP could be blocking that IP. Try 1.0.0.1.
In my case it worked fine when it was first released then a few weeks later ATT forced a firmware “update” to my their modems that prevented 1.1.1.1 from working but 1.0.0.1 still worked.
Then I got a new modem last week and just discovered when setting up this router yesterday that both 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 are now both blocked.
Leaving me with having to wait for ATT to “fix” the problem. Sucks, it worked great when I could access it and If I enable my VPN it still works fine, which is why I did not notice it was being blocked until now.
I have been running DNS benchmarks and it really was the fastest option, everything else is noticeably slower.
I did install DNScrypt on my ausu router and for now have it pointed at openDNS and it is working good. It has a local DNS cache built in that makes any return to webpages nearly instant but not the same privacy.
I am thinking about rigging up a 120mm fan to the USB port on the router to help keep it cool as well, just because I can.
You are probably correct. AT&T is my internet provider.
I can ping 1.1.1.1, but it is probably blocked when you try to use it for DNS purposes.
1.0.0.1 still works, but it is slower than 1.1.1.1.