7 Best Routers for Frontier FiOS in 2024

Welcome to our review of the best routers for Frontier FiOS customers.

We’ve been testing a whole bunch of routers and I’ve collected the results in order to present you with the best upgrade options.

I’ve chosen the TP-Link Archer AX55 as the best option overall in terms of value for money. But it won’t be best for everyone, including those with particularly large homes or the fastest Frontier FiOS plans.

So, stay with us to find out which router is going to be best for you and why. 

7 Best Frontier Fiber Routers

Check out my top picks for each category below.

• Best overall router: TP-Link Archer AX55
• Best for budgets: TP-Link Archer AX10
• Best for Frontier 2 Gig and more: Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500
• Best Mesh system: ASUS ZenWiFi AX AX6600
• Best for gaming: ASUS RT-AX3000
• Best budget Mesh: TP-Link Deco S4
• Another great budget router pick: TP-Link Archer A8

Top 7 Routers for Frontier Internet

Let’s find out a little more about each of those routers. 

#1 Best Overall Router – TP-Link Archer AX55

My top pick for Frontier FiOS overall is the TP-Link Archer AX55. It offers loads of features and strong performance for a very reasonable price.

You can certainly get faster routers, but this thing is quick. We recorded its speed from 5 ft away and managed to achieve an impressive 743.49 Mbps. This sort of speed would be enough for some intense gaming, even with multiple users at the same time.

I’d recommend it for owners of the Fiber 500 or 1 Gig plans, which is probably going to be most people anyway.

It’s also good for range. We measured this to be between 90 and 100 ft which is around the size of a medium home. 

If you want to take this further, you could always add a Mesh satellite. The AX55 features TP-Link OneMesh, which means it supports seamless range expansion.

This router also comes with great QoS. It allows you to set priority devices whenever you need to, squeezing more network performance out of them. 

If you want enhanced parental controls and antivirus technology, you’ll need to subscribe to HomeProtect. It costs $5.99 per month or $54.99 per year, but you do get your first year free when you buy the AX55.

I really do recommend subscribing to HomeProtect. The parental controls are a great tool to have to protect young children on the network and the antivirus will keep your network safe from outside threats.

Plus, the router itself is well-priced. And that’s just another reason that it’s a fantastic option for customers on the Frontier FiOS 500 and 1 Gig plans.

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#2 Best for Budgets – TP-Link Archer AX10

Want to save some more money on your next router? On the FiOS Fiber 500 plan? Check out the TP-Link Archer AX10.

This router is at the lower end of the TP-Link price spectrum but that doesn’t mean it’s sub par by any means. It’s still got a fair amount of speed.

We clocked it in at a top speed of 651.97 Mbps in our tests, which will still be plenty for even a very large family. 

This is going to rule out the Fiber 1 Gig plan unless you’re planning on using a wired connection. Nonetheless, it’ll be perfect for Fiber 500.

The range isn’t super impressive however. It’s around 10 ft less than the AX55 at between 80 and 90 ft, and that really can make all the difference. It’s probably only going to be enough for a smaller home.

Nonetheless, the AX10 is loaded up with OneMesh so you can extend that range in style if you want to. 

It also comes with QoS and parental controls although their functions are more limited than the premium TP-Link options.

For the price, the AX10 is an excellent candidate. It just might not be ideal for the faster plans or larger homes.

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#3 Best For Frontier 2 Gig and More – Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500

If you want to get super fast speed over Wi-Fi and you’re on the Frontier Fiber 2 Gig plan or even the Fiber 5 Gig one, check out Netgear’s Nighthawk RAXE500 Wi-Fi 6e router.

This router managed to achieve an unbelievable 1203.59 Mbps in our tests, making it one of the fastest home routers out there. It’ll be perfect for the faster FiOS Fiber plans for this reason. The Wi-Fi 6e technology is the reason for this incredible amount of speed. 

With wired connections, you can go even faster. The RAXE500 has a multi gig port, so you can plug in a device using an ethernet cable to achieve speeds of up to 2.5 Gbps. Wow!

The range is really strong as well. You’ll still be able to keep a connection up to 100-110 ft so it’s more suitable for larger homes. Plus, there’s Mesh functionality to take things even further. 

However, there are limitations with the Wi-Fi 6e technology. Because it’s so new, not many devices support it yet. For example, you won’t be able to get this speed using an iPhone. 

Strangely, the features of the RAXE500 let it down a little. There’s no QoS at all, so you won’t be able to select any priority devices for extra speed. That being said, you might not need it here…

If you want advanced parental controls and antivirus, you’ll need to sign up for Netgear Armor, and that’s surprisingly expensive. It costs $99.99 per year, but you do get a year free with the purchase of a RAXE500.

I still recommend doing it, but you’ll need to consider that this cost comes on top of what is already a very expensive router. 

So, for those with a wider budget and a faster internet plan, the Nighthawk RAXE500 might be the perfect option. 

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#4 Best Mesh System – ASUS ZenWiFi AX AX6600

We’ve talked a lot about Mesh compatibility with routers but really, the best option for those with homes of 3000 sq ft or more is to go for a full Mesh system.

I’ll explain more about that in the buying guide but for now, let me tell you that the best Mesh system is the ASUS ZenWiFi AX AX6600.

Why? Because it’s super fast, for a start. We managed to record a speed of 836.45 Mbps while connected to it. This is going to be more than enough for lots of simultaneous gaming sessions and it makes it a suitable candidate for the Fiber 500 and 1 Gig plans.

We also found the range of each satellite to be pretty good at around 100 ft, so you won’t have to position them too close together. 

What’s even more impressive is the way the satellites communicate with each other in order to get the maximum speeds in the furthest corners of your Mesh network.

It achieves this by adding a second 5 GHz band on top of the original one and the 2.4 GHz band. This is used as a backhaul band to free up bandwidth on the network.

You can still connect your smart devices to it though. As a result, more connected devices can get the top speeds on the network. Neat!

You’ll get all the best bits from ASUS too, like AiProtection Pro (fantastic antivirus and parental controls) plus top tier QoS. 

If we had to pick one downside it would be that the 2.4 GHz band is a little slow but that’s unlikely to cause problems for anyone with a device made in the last 10 years or so. 

A really great option for large homes and fast Frontier FiOS plans!

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#5 Best for Gaming – ASUS RT-AX3000

Gamers need a lot of speed and that’s why we’ve selected a very fast router as our best gaming option. It’s called the ASUS RT-AX3000 and it’s pretty awesome!

Price wise, this router is mid-tier. But performance wise, it’s elite. We clocked a huge top speed of 889.41 Mbps, making it one of the fastest Wi-Fi 6 routers we’ve ever tested.

Unfortunately the range is lacking a little though, and this is probably the main negative for the router as a whole. At 80-85 ft, it’s only going to be enough for a small home or apartment. But, AiMesh is on hand if you want to extend this range seamlessly.

As is often the case with ASUS products, the features on the RT-AX3000 are really good. There’s Adaptive QoS, which allows you to set profiles to devices, including ‘gaming’. So, you could hook up your console to this to get lower latency and faster speed when you play.

AiProtection Pro comes free for life with this router as well. This is a combination of parental controls and antivirus, the perfect package to keep your children safe on the web and to keep the network safe as a whole.

The price is very reasonable too. So really, it’s a great value all-rounder for gamers on the Fiber 500 and 1 Gig plans… but not if you live in a large home. 

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#6 Best Budget Mesh – TP-Link Deco S4

Readers with large homes on the Fiber 500 plan who want to save a little money should check out the TP-Link Deco S4. This is one of the most affordable Mesh kits on the market.

This is a Wi-Fi 5 router instead of a Wi-Fi 6 router. This older Wi-Fi technology has the result of lower speeds. We recorded a peak of 317.27 Mbps, so I don’t recommend the Deco S4 to anyone with a Frontier Fiber 1 Gig plan or anything higher. 

The other downside to using Wi-Fi 5 is that the technology is likely to become redundant earlier. So if you’re planning on keeping your Mesh kit for many years, spending a little more for Wi-Fi 6 might be a smart move. 

This all being said, 300+ Mbps is still going to be enough for a family or a handful of gamers. 

The range of each satellite is around 80 ft, which isn’t bad considering the price. That being said, I’d recommend keeping the satellites closer together than that as this Mesh kit will lose speed at longer range. 

In terms of features, the Deco S4 is pretty reasonable. It comes with parental controls which is good news, even if their scope is quite limited. The same can be said for the QoS. 

You won’t be missing much with the Deco S4 except faster speed. It’s a good idea for anyone in the market for Mesh looking to save money while on the Fiber 500 plan.

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#7 Another Great Budget Router Pick – TP-Link Archer A8

Earlier, we picked the TP-Link Archer AX10 as our best budget router for Frontier FiOS customers. However, you can go even cheaper by opting for the TP-Link Archer A8.

This is only a Wi-Fi 5 router and this brings the price down. It brings the speed down a little too, but not too drastically. We still managed to achieve a speed of 492.69 Mbps with it. That means you’ll nearly be able to max out the FiOS Fiber 500 plan on one device over Wi-Fi. 

You’ll have enough range for a medium home on an A8 network. We judge the range to be around 80-90 ft and surprisingly, there is Mesh compatibility which is rare for a budget router. 

This means you’ll be able to extend the range without having to connect to a new network. But, this can be expensive so it might not be the best idea for budget-conscious folk.

The other features of this router are okay. You’ll get QoS and parental controls to set priority devices or control access to content but their functionality is a bit limited. 

So, the value for money here is very good. You can save money and still get a router that works well for the FiOS Fiber 500 plan. 

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Frontier FiOS Router Buying Guide

We used a set series of principles to figure out which are the best routers for upgrading to when on Frontier FiOS plans. To help you make the right decision, I’m going to show you those factors in this buying guide.

If you get to the end of this buying guide and find yourself wanting to know more, you can get just that in our extensive router buying guide.

The speed of your plan

The first thing to consider is if your router is fast enough for your FiOS plan. Let’s take a look at those plans:

Plan	Recommended Wi-Fi Standard
Fiber 500	Wi-Fi 5 or 6
Fiber 1 Gig	Wi-Fi 6 or 6e
Fiber 2 Gig	Wi-Fi 6e
Fiber 5 Gig	Wi-Fi 6e

I’ll explain a little more about what Wi-Fi 5, 6 and 6e are in the next section but firstly, let’s talk about the speeds of the plans.

Most people are going to be fine with the Fiber 500 plan. This kind of speed would be enough for a whole family, even with a couple of people carrying out some intense gaming sessions at the same time.

However, if you have the 1 Gig plan or even faster, the performance of your router becomes more important. For this reason, it is worth looking into the top speed of any potential router you’re interested in.

Wi-Fi 5 vs Wi-Fi 6 vs Wi-Fi 6e

The Frontier FiOS Fiber 500 plan can be used with any Wi-Fi technology. However, you’re going to want Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6e if you have the 1 Gig plan. For 2 Gig plans and more, Wi-Fi 6e is recommended. 

Wi-Fi 5 is the oldest technology of the three and it comes on budget routers these days. More popular now is Wi-Fi 6, which is newer but tends to be more expensive. However, it is faster.

The fastest nowadays is Wi-Fi 6e. But this only comes on very expensive routers. Plus, the devices you can use with it are quite limited at the moment. You’ll only be able to use it on a handful of smartphones, for example.  

If you’d like to know more about the differences between Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6, you can check out this comparison guide.

Wi-Fi 5 benefits

• Affordable 
• Lots of choice

Wi-Fi 6 benefits

• Future proof 
• Faster

Wi-Fi 6e benefits

• The fastest
• Tri-band by default

Should you get Mesh?

Is your home over 3000 sq ft in size? If so, then I believe the answer is yes. Mesh is an awesome technology that will help you improve the range of your Wi-Fi signal seamlessly.

When you add Mesh satellites to your network, they’ll connect to the same network name and automatically activate when you move around the home. This means your connection should never drop out. 

The only downside is that it can prove to be a little pricey. The technology can be expensive and you’ll need to buy multiple satellites which can rack up the price a bit. 

The other option is to get a standard Wi-Fi extender. If you want to know how this compares to Mesh, check out this article.

Mesh benefits

• Seamless roaming
• Good for more devices

Standard router benefits

• Cheap
• Easy

Dual-band and tri-band routers

Anyone looking to connect 30 or more devices to their network should consider a tri-band router. But for smaller networks, dual-band will be the better option as it’s more affordable. 

A tri-band router traditionally adds a second 5 GHz band, although it can be a 6 GHz band in the case of Wi-Fi 6e.

The benefit of this is that there will be more bandwidth across the network so that more devices can get the fastest speeds. 

In the case of Mesh, this extra bandwidth can be used to improve the connections between satellites for faster speeds. In this situation, it’s called a ‘backhaul’ band.

Learn more about dual-band and tri-band routers here.

Dual-band benefits

• More affordable
• Easiest

Tri-band benefits

• Backhaul Mesh usage for faster nodes
• Lots of devices perform well

QoS and parental controls

It’s worth finding a router with good QoS, especially if you’re into gaming. This technology lets you select priority devices temporarily.

The network then throttles the bandwidth for all other connected devices so that your priority device can achieve fast speeds and low latency.

Those with young children may also want to think about parental controls. This lets you select which content can and cannot be viewed by particular users. You might be able to do this on a timer or a blanket ban.

Warranty and security 

The warranty of a router is your insurance against any manufacturer faults. During your warranty period, the manufacturer will cover you for any issues.

When it comes to security, you’re going to want to think about two things: antivirus software and encryption.

Antivirus is used to keep threats out of your network and this will keep your hardware safe. Encryption, however, is more concerned with keeping your personal data protected.

You’ll see one of two forms of encryption on most routers, WPA2 and WPA3. The latter is the newest technology and it’s more effective, but it tends to come on more expensive routers. WPA2 is still going to be enough for most people. 

FAQ: Routers for Frontier Fios

Final Thoughts on Frontier FiOS Routers

For most people, the TP-Link Archer AX55 has to be the best router for Frontier FiOS customers. It’s easy to use, fast and pretty affordable.

But it was a close call, as there are a lot of other routers that come close in terms of quality. In fact, some of them will actually be better for certain situations (e.g. faster plans or larger homes). So be sure to think it through before you make the purchase.

And with that, the ball’s in your court. Enjoy your new router!