Wireless Router

[Rich L]

Hi all

Abusing the expert knowledge of the Ribnet community again....

Anybody got any good advice 'best wireless routers' for home use?

Medium sized house, want to replace Plusnet router to extend range.

Ideally around £100 - 150. There is nothing I've seen that doesn't have godd and terrible reviews

Thanks for any advice

Rich

[Xk59D]

extending range is normally done by putting a repeater in if you are happy with the speed/security performance of the current router.

keep in mind signal is 2 way, you still need a decent signal out your pc/laptop etc so a repeater might be a better option if signal strength is your only criteria. if that is the case any basic one will probably do the job.

if your heart is set on replacing the current one there are no guarantees your signal will be better on your devices nor the throughput as it is impossible to know the traffic in your area nor the home construction.

with that said, a better router usually means better performance than the crap the telecom companies throw out.

i wouldn't get hung up on it and buy whatever is on a deal in your local PC shop and keep in mind you may need/want a separate modem or use the plusnet one in modem mode only.

i have always used netgear or linksys dual bands with no issues.

[Rich L]

Thanks Xk59D.

I have another reason to replace it - something has recently gone wrong that the ISP won't acknowledge. My work VPN has completely stopped working and the signal has gone completely a few times (unusually) requiring a reboot. Tried VPN from another location (& router) and fine. I've also read that the PlusNet router is one of the worst! I work for a telecoms company(!) and they are sure it's not the VPN.

Funnily enouth the BT homeHub is a highly rated, value for money replacement (although the magazines say one thing & users report another i.e often losing network)

Thank you

[Xk59D]

ok, so you don't need to extend range then so that is a different thing.

forget reviews, anything in your budget will be good enough for most people.

if you were a serious gamer or firing a lot of data over wifi it would be worth getting into the nitty gritty but since you seem okay with the plusnet performance when it is working ANYTHING you buy will be better.

re the VPN, it is possible replacing the router won't do anything to fix this. it might be local issue, blocked ports on router or at ISP end.

do you know how to telnet?

[buzz]

Get a powerline extender kit such as TP-Link TL-WPA4220KIT AV500 Wi-Fi Powerline Kit | Maplin I have used these on a number of occasions to extend / increase WiFi signal. You plug one end into the mains socket next to your route, connect it to your router using a lan cable, then plug the other end into a mains socket where you need the WiFi.

They are better that a repeater as all a repeater does is take a low powered signal and repeat that signal.

[Xk59D]

better than a repeater? that IS a repeater

anyways, he doesn't need range extender so a moot point now.

[Last Tango]

BT Hub5.......


Constantly dropping Wi-Fi connection. Replaced with Sky hub

[jambo]

Only time my BT hub drops my wifi is to substitute my direct line in favour of yes you guessed it BT with Fon!!


Sent from my iPhone using RIB Net

[Rich L]

Originally Posted by Xk59D

do you know how to telnet?

Sadly not! The techies where I work use something (when I'm on the VPN), otherwise skype (as in Lync) when not.

At this moment, the VPN is working - we got it working by reducing the "WiFi Mode" setting from 144Mbs to 54Mbs but I'm not happy that I know there is an underlying problem somewhere that didn't exist a few days ago.

BTW, in my area the max download /upload speed is 38/2. I'm getting that wired but wireless not more than 20/1.5 even when sat next to the router.

I guess the advantage of the plug-in extender is that it's wired?

Thanks for the advice

[willk]

Originally Posted by Rich L

we got it working by reducing the "WiFi Mode" setting from 144Mbs to 54Mbs

Which is (IIRC) the max speed for typical WIFI. If it works it works...

[HDAV]

Dreytek do some decent kit so do rukus and ubiquity surprised work it dept haven't recommended or offered a replacement