Thanks, yeah I will consider the options. Would be nice to have it in one as the raspberry pi is aging (it’s an original model B) and the gateway should be plenty powerful enough to run it, plus it would rule out the pi-hole to router connection as a possible reason for the unstable network.

I had been considering the Dream Machine Special Edition, though the website lists it as $500 but it’s gonna cost more like $750USD if I get it locally 😅. At least it’s available locally though, unlike some of the others listed in this thread which are gonna be hard to get.

Well I was hoping to spend the same amount and get one that does everything I wanted 😆. I’m happy with separating things if it make sense, but I have two power points and already have too many devices in that spot (fiber connection modem + ISP router + two raspberry pi’s (one for pi-hole, one for home assistant) + a switch + RF sensor for detecting doorbell + more I’m probably forgetting). Some of these are powered from USB ports on other ones. Being able to replace the ISP router with a gateway that’s also a switch that also handles the pi-hole would mean three of those devices become one, and it seems feasible!

Thanks! I’ll put it on my list 🙂

Thanks for all the info and the detailed response!

But it sounds like you only need it to be a wired router, which is good.

Correct, don’t need wifi.

PoE ports as a requirement is what narrows your options considerably I think

I’m happy with doing this through a separate switch, but I’m happier if I can have less things to plug in. It’s not a must have though.

Mikrotik has a lot of routers with PoE out. Their newest model in the RB5009 series can do either passive or 802.3af/at PoE out. Many of their older routers have passive PoE only. Make sure you know what your cameras need.

I don’t have cameras yet, but I’m considering some Reolink ones. Happy to take suggestions. Am I likely to find a lot of difference in the PoE type or are most things compatible with each other?

I’m not overly against keeping them separate. It’s just I have a lot of stuff piling up and consolidating would have been nice 😆

One of the things I use pi-hole for is to set customer DNS entries so anyone on the network will be redirected directly to the self hosted services when the type in the appropriate domain name. So it’s not just about the filtering (which I also want), but also the (network wide) custom DNS entries.

I’m also happy with simple. I’m not overly against keeping the pi-hole and gateway separate but was just wanting to know if combining them would be an option (which is sounds like it is, but not super easy).

It’s a little bit more complicated than I made out. For one, the network is super unstable and restarting the ISP router seems to fix it. I want to replace the router to test the theory that it’s the problem.

Secondly, this is a bring your own router to the ISP situation, but the router came from another ISP, but they are all the same ISP in the end because one company owns a whole bunch of ISPs and sends the same router to all the customers of all the child companies. Long story short, it’s the router they would have issued to me, but they didn’t, because a different subsidiary sent it to me before I changed ISPs to take advantage of a special because I live in a country where the lines are open and anyone can start an ISP using the existing lines but if you get big enough to be competition then the big company will buy you out and pretend it’s still a separate company. But if it doesn’t work well then it’s up to me to solve unless I am willing to pay the ~$10USD for them to send me the ISP router that is supported by them but it will be the same cheap router as I already have. Ok that’s not a very short story but that’s why it was easier to just call it an ISP router 😆

Thanks! I’ll check it out.

Thanks! It seems OpenWRT was the magic word I was needing.

Thanks, so what I should look for is a gateway running OpenWRT, which can run docker?

Two issues here: Issue one, BG3 itself crashes all the time. This most likely isn’t linux related, because it’s been rock solid up to Act 3 and everyone across all platforms complains about all the crashing in Act 3. Solution - quick save all the time.

Issue two, sometimes Steam Remote Play will disconnect from the game. The game continues to play on the remote PC but the connection is lost, and it won’t let me reconnect (which is something Steam normally lets you do, but this might be because it’s a non-steam game).

Your info on wifi networks to prevent the connection dropping has definitely been relevant and helpful!

Wow thanks for all the info!

Another thought of mine is that wireless devices can perform poorly if they are too close to the AP. (Like less than a meter)

Huh, I wouldn’t have thought of that. I’m pretty close! I’ll try moving it a bit further away.

Mesh networks can perform poorly for applications that are sensitive to latency and jitter. (Such as steam’s remote play)

Last night it was much more stable, I didn’t have any Steam dropouts (only the BG3 crashes which seem pretty common in Act 3 after having none until then, and I’m not the only one). But I do have the option to create a separate non-mesh network from the AP if I need to. If I have further trouble I’ll give that a go.

It’s possible that some of those are related. My assumption is that there’s interference from your own devices and the neighbours. But a mesh network isn’t an ideal environment.

When I changed the channel, the whole lot came with it, hence my assumption.

I have the ISP router and two AmpliFi mesh access points to provide the wifi. The ISP router also has a wifi network, this is the 2.4Ghz one for the IoT devices.

When I try to change the channel for the access points, I don’t get the option for channel 106. I only get the option for 36, 40, 44, 48, 149, 153, 157, 161.

I also noticed that I had missed that there’s a little button in the wifi scanning app to toggle between 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. I noticed if I change the channel, a whole bunch of hidden networks come with it. I think this must be related to the mesh network, it’s a lot of networks though! 8 or 9 of them, two separate ones with the same network name (I presume the two access points), and the rest all marked as hidden.

In the app, what does the width of the bar represent? It says something like Wifi_Network 157 (155) and has a big flat top that seems to cover a range. Is that indicating that nearby channels can interfere with each other?

Some, at much lower strengths. Most of the graph is covered though, and the access point is using the recommended channel. It has band steering so automatically changes the channel to optimise.

Yes framework expansion card slots are just a bunch of USBC ports, but seems a waste not to get the proper expansion card that slots nicely into the laptop looking like it was built in instead of a boring regular dongle.

I checked out the app you suggested, not entirely sure what I’m doing but the app seems happy with my wifi. My network is strong, others from neighbours are all pretty weak.

Unfortunately I need 2.4Ghz wifi for a bunch of home automation things.

I’m running a Framework laptop and don’t have the LAN expansion card as it wasn’t release at the time I got my laptop. I can order one, but they also don’t sell Frameworks in my country so it’s a long freight forwarding process 🙁.

I’ve been considering a new gateway (rather than the ISP router) to see if that helps stabilise the network. Maybe that will be helpful until I can get a proper LAN connection.

Laptop is on WiFi, desktop is on ethernet.

Laptop is directly next to an access point that is connected via ethernet, though I know the network is not super stable. I often have to restart the ISP router after it drops out.

I am confused why Steam doesn’t let me reconnect though. Normally if the game is running you can open Steam and choose to connect to it. But I don’t get this option, it’s like it’s forgotten that it started the game.

In Steam it’s set to use Proton and I select the bg3.exe or whatever it’s called, not the bg3_dx11.exe. Is this using Vulcan mode?

The laptop is connected via WiFi (to an access point directly next to me), I don’t have a LAN port for it at the moment.

The desktop is connected via ethernet.

Normally Steam will let you reconnect to a game that’s already playing, but I don’t seem to have that option. It’s like it forgets it’s running.

I’ve recently made it to Act 3 in Baldur’s Gate 3, and my integrated graphics on my laptop aren’t keeping up, so now I have installed it on my desktop machine and am using Steam Remote Play (my desktop is plugged into the TV, it’s not a proper desktop setup).

Often, the Steam connection drops out and the game keeps playing on the desktop but I can’t connect back to it from the laptop.

Any suggestions on what I could do to either stop losing the connection or let me connect back to it after it drops?

Set up:

• Laptop has Nobara Gnome spin
• Desktop has Mint Cinnamon
• Bought BG3 on GOG, installed through Heroic Launcher, added to Steam as non-steam game to play it.