Wireless router buyers guide 2014

Well, after 1 week with the Asus RT-AC66U I have decided to return it.
2.4Ghz frequency was not working at all, a lot of time outs, never went beyong 1mbit (even though I have a fiber connection of 150mbps). I had to restart it at lease once a day.
On the other hand the 5Ghz network was amazing, excellent coverage, excellent speeds (I was reaching 14-15MB/s).

I have tried all the custom firmwares that exist, all the beta ones too. Maybe mine was broken.

Anyway I have decided to wait for the next models that are supposed to be release this year (Asus RT-AC67U dual core by the rumors, Linksys EA6700). Or should I get the Netgear R6300.

Any news about release dates for the new models?

Thanks

 

I've been using a Netgear R6300 since they were released back in June 2012 and it's pretty much the same as having a WNDR4500 mainly because of the lack of 802.11ac wireless cards.

There's a Netgear 802.11ac A6200 adapter that's a USB 2.0 device if you want to go that route.

The R6300 really shines on the 5ghz band.

In my location with my setup and Internet service I'm almost always at 100% signal strength and steady at 450Mbps transmit and receive link speed with a Killer 1103(3x3) measured in the Killer Network Manager.

Also of note is that the large high rise apartment building complex I reside in the buildings are all prewired with fiber optic cable and my service is excellent.

InSSIDer shows about 50+ neighbors on the 2.4ghz band while I'm the only one on 5ghz.

 

I upgraded my wndr3700 to an RT-AC66U and haven't looked back. Much better throughput on my wired connections, much broader coverage on the 2.4ghz side and way faster speeds on 5ghz using the intel 5300 and 6300 (3-wire) cards. I have read that some people are having problems with 5ghz connections dropping, which I'm sure is very frustrating. I had an issue with a recent beta firmware upgrade that I tried out, but otherwise the RT-AC66U has been pretty dependable for me. I'm not sure I can say it is quite as reliable as the Netgear (which was ROCK Solid) yet, but the improvement in speed and wifi coverage is enough to make me very satisfied! There continue to be pretty regular firmware updates and a new driver for the wifi is supposed to be imminent. I am looking forward to seeing a new mini-pcie ac wifi card from intel to really fully take advantage of the wifi speeds.

 

Amped Wireless R20000G review

Intro: The R20000G was extremely easy to setup. 3 steps and in 2 minutes and I was online. It took another minute to configure my WiFi preferences and another for the router to reboot to complete that. All done in 5 minutes. The setup wizard is very well written and detailed.

Wireless performance: I got very good performance throughout my odd mixed construction house. My house was built and renovated through the 1910s the 1970s and a few years ago and it’s always a construction zone with materials ranging from thick plaster to drywall for the walls, lots of metal used in the dropped ceilings with fluorescent lights, thick staircasing, thick floors in some areas, and I got big metal doors. I get solid 5 bars within the confines of the house (1800sq ft) and 4-5 bars 34dBm @ 100% on my back porch and at the mailbox across the street I get 4 bars. I can even walk 100 some feet down the road and still stream videos in HD! I can walk around 200 some feet away and play SD videos. Reading for that: 225ft down the road from the R20000G about 3-4 houses down -67dBm @ 86%
Please note: These readings were taken with the Amped Wifi analytics tool from Google Play.

Xbox Live Performance: No disconnections! They played Dead Space 3 for 4 whole days. Also on Black Ops 2: Zombies the performance was excellent… maintained full green bars through hours of play! Both Xboxes were wireless.

USB Performance: Transfer rates were around 3.5-4.5MBps within the LAN and the same over the WAN.


Pros:
• Hardcore coverage!
• Easy setup
• Lots of features
• Dual band
• Guest networks
• Local and Internet USB sharing
• Good QoS options
• Very good firewall
• VLANs
• Static DHCP
• Ships with UPNP and WPS disabled (a good thing to have good security)
• DDNS

Cons:
• Somewhat slow USB transfer speed in comparison to direct USB connection
• No print server


Overall rating 9.5/10

Recommended: Yes!

 

Amped Wireless R20000G review

Amped Wireless High Power Wireless-N 600mW Gigabit Dual Band Router R20000G Review - Routers - CNET Reviews

 

What's my best bet for buying a brand new router that competes closest to the Netgear WNDR3700-v2 in terms of performance and price? The WNDR3700-v2 isn't really available anymore, except if it's used, and my dad isn't really too fond of buying a new router.

Also, do you think it's worth it for me to wait and get an 802.11ac router instead? I have a Lenovo P400, an Asus K55n(Should be here soon at least), and a 2010/'11(I think) iMac. These are the only devices that I could upgrade, at least I think. Would I be able to change the wifi card in all of those to 802.11ac? I'm trying to figure out if I should just upgrade to 802.11n now, or wait for 802.11ac. I'm also thinking that, if I don't really have reason to switch to 802.11ac, by the time it is standardized though, 802.11n routers would be much cheaper. On the other hand, my wifi is going to be limited to 802.11g for a while. Decisions, decisions!

Thanks a lot!

 

It's too bad you had trouble with the RT-AC66U. As I said, I've been pretty happy with mind. If I was still in the market, I might be looking hard at this one, although I don't believe it has the range of the RT-AC66U, it has very fast - almost NAS - speeds from attached USB storage


This is pretty tempting: NETGEAR Centria: All-in-One Back-up, Media Server, N900 WiFi Router; diskless version (WNDR4700)

 

The WNDR3800 is very similar to the WNDR3700v2 except that it has more memory.

The WNDR3700v2 is exactly the same as the WNDR37AV.

On my WNDR37AV box and on the router sticker it says WNDR3700v2

All of the newer 4000 series are going to cost more money as is an R6300.

I still have my 37AV put away in it's original box just in case of Murphy's Law and my R6300.

 

Well I switched it for a Netgear R6300 and everything is working fine now... Still he covetage was better with the Asus.
I might return this one too and wait for the new AC generation routers...

 

Is there any way to improve file transfer speed over WiFi intranet? I'm only getting max 4MB/s
Setup:
TP-link W8151N
Target : Dell Notebook with Intel 5100N with around 135Mbps connected
Source: Acer Notebook with LAN 100Mbps to the router

 

@lee_what2004

Not really. The router is capable of only 150mbps so 4MB/s sounds reasonable.
With good winds and no interference on 2.4GHz band you could maybe get to 5MB/s but chances are slim.

 

Does upgrading to 300Mbps router would help? Or WiFi transfer normally tops at 5MB/s ?
What the top speed can I expect from WiFi from the high-end device?

 

Max speed depends on many factors- 2.4GHz band or 5GHz, 300mbps or 450mbps router (in near future also 802.11ac routers and cards), interference and range.
All in all you can hope to achieve 8-12MB/s on 300mbps connection and even more on 45mbps one.

 

Belkin Completed Acquisition of Linksys

Playa Vista, Calif. - March 15, 2013 – Belkin today announced the completion of its acquisition of Linksys. Linksys’ technologies, including its routers and the popular and innovative Smart Wi-Fi portfolio and services, will be managed and maintained as a separate brand and product portfolio.
Press Release Page | Belkin USA Site

 

Oh god. Why belkin? I haven't liked their gear since the nineties. :-(

Looks like I will be going Asus next time

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

 

guys what do think i should get TP-link wdr4300 or Linksys EA3500

i'm lean to the TP-link but i heard it has problem's with WIFI and it need a reboot every 2-3 days and the tp link has more RAM + 3rd party firmware support ( even i don't care about it )

 

I would pass on EA3500. It's a lesser version of a EA4500 which is a re-badged E4200v2 which is not as good as E4200v1 I recommended
So in this case I'd go for TP-link WDR4300.

 

thank u Down

i thought the same

even the EA3500 has very bad Maximum Simultaneous Connections Router Charts - Maximum Simultaneous Connections - SmallNetBuilder

but here is a WDR3500 ( which the same but with 300MB 5GHZ ) review and WIFI seems not that great

TP-LINK TL-WDR3500 N600 Wireless Dual Band Router Reviewed - Performance: Routing, Storage, Wireless Performance: 2.4 GHz - SmallNetBuilder

 

While it is the same radio it seems that WDR3500 has no amp on 2.4GHz radio while WDR4300 has SiGe SE2574L.

So while it's the same 2.4GHz chip it doesn't seem to have an amp, 5GHz is different (although both have the same amp) and there are two antennas on WDR3500 and three on WDR4300 (with the third one not necessarily being used for third stream only considering that TL-WR1043ND which was 300mbps used thee antennas too).

So what I'm saying us that these two aren't exactly as similar as it might seem.

 

Don't chastise me for asking but is there a Cable Modem that is also a wireless router? I'm going to be getting Comcast installed at my new apartment soon and I'd rather buy one device than get two. Price anywhere $125 and under.

 

hehe i missed the amp thingy

ok i think i will get one soon ( if i didn't change my mind )

 

Well it's definitely not the best high end router but for the price...
I thought about buying one too but I think I can wait till 802.11ac becomes widely available.

 

i know that , and here in the local market ( in Saudi Arabia ) it cost about 120$ , LOL yesterday i found linksys E4200v1 for 175$ ( it 2 years old i know its good router though ) and i'm not sure if its refurbished
i think i will a bit

for now i have TP link TD-W8960N which good stable modem router but not that fast ( 1 torrent can slow down the whole thing ) , and i have linksys Wag160n which linksys leave it with a bit buggy firmware but i t feels faster than the TP link IDK why even it give me better speed on Android Devices + on my lappy than the TP link

 

Oh man, I'm waiting for a wirelss AC card myself.

Has anyone heard about a mini pci card that you can drop in yourself that's AC compliant?

 

Thanks for this. I've read the entire thread, while still confused about a lot - it's helped a little bit.
Maybe you can help me sort a couple things further. I. Know. Nothing. about this stuff.
I've the same router above and just a few days ago Tijo helped me get off the WEP and onto the WPA2; DL'd inSSIDer and got the better channel. ISP Cable package is 25mbps that I get fully over LAN and just tested WLAN at ~20mbps - improved by about 5mbps. As you know it is only 2.4Ghz, these corrections also decreased mouse stuttering by about 95-100%

Considering, usually we'll have about four computers on WiFi, not heavy downloaders but one is playing WOW (all the time) and skype, me - streaming broker quotes/feed and skype, and 2 phones and a printer not working all the time.
I know cable slows a bit when people arrive home after being away so I understand this much.

From what I've gathered here I won't stand to gain much by upgrading my router correct?

At any rate, some of the good routers talked about here are hard to find so updating would be toward the new AC, kind of expensive. I would rather put the purchase off until the current one dies (but it seems strong).

 

What modem you have now? Newer modern may able to ease some of the peak hour slowdown.
If you are able to get most (or enough) of the bandwidth at the farthest device, then yes there is little reason to upgrade unless you experience other problem or want to use some stream/nas (intranet) feature. Gaming and Skype(unless you go crazy with it) actually don't use much bandwidth.

 

The cable modem is Linksys CM100, Router is Linksys WRT54G V.6 with fully updated firmware, ISP is Time Warner.
I suppose that if there was a lot of simultaneous heavy downloading and/or streaming that caused WLAN throughput speed to fluctuate or bad latency then maybe a upgraded router might help that, but for now during heavy peak it is 14-15 mbps. Even that reduced speed doesn't interfere with what I need to accomplish my work.
Things got so much better switching channels. I didn't know channel 6 was a non overlapping - I'd always used 1 or 11, both are popular around here.

Edit:
Baiii, We have a small house; there is some drop off of signal strength into the other rooms but not horrible. I feel it isn't an issue that affects us to the point where it needs to be addressed right away.

I really would like to postpone buying a new router for a little while in the hopes that the newer stuff will get vetted and improved, and less expensive.

Edit 2:

The Modem is a Linksys CM100 and I've edited it above where I said Motorola previously. We had a Motorola before that.

Edit 3:

Question, so during access during a typical day when two or three computers are busy and I run a speed-test and see that it drops down to 10mbps - is this called a bandwidth drop and due to the router load and should consider upgrading?

Out at Costco found this: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-news/32126-netgear-tries-ac1450-on-for-size

 

What about the mikrotik routers? The RouterBoard.com : RB2011UAS-2HnD-IN is pretty damn powerful for the 130$ price tag (and it can be gotten cheaper).

 

I'm not sure about that. Admittedly it's pretty powerful (more of a professional device than a SOHO one) but $130 for a router that is not easily available and is- as far as I can see- a single band router. That is pretty steep.

 

RouterBoard.com : RB951G-2HnD

There is that as well.

And it is true, the prices are a bit steeper than what is on the general availability, but for those who just might happen to have a need (or a desire) for some more advanced networking, they might be a pretty good choice.

The management stuff is even more advanced than openwrt/dd-wrt . It might be a bit confusing at first, but with the latest release they have (finally!) added a quick setup, which is actually rather quick and simple.
For an example, you can check out their own hosted stuff: WebFig
but that is just the web interface, with winbox it gets even better =D.

 

Just a quick point and I don't know if it's already been discussed but when buying a router one of the first things to look for is what kind of connection it is capable of. I would start by making sure the router supports a 3x3 wireless connection.

 

Is there another update coming soon? My router has been slowly dying (needing constant power cycles and is currently halving my speeds). I'm looking in the $75 range.. Don't have any AC devices or adapters currently, want at least 1x USB for storage, and good range and it'll need to be in a middle bedroom. Suggestions? There's a Linksys EA6200 on [H] for $65 that doesn't seems like a bad deal, Refurb (Last Gen) Airport Extreme's are $100 (one for $60 on CL), or Belkin DB750 for $50 on craigslist..

 

An update is coming indeed but I'm hoping to stick to second gen AC routers only in higher price ranges which is not yet possible (not enough second gen routers).

That said- EA6200 for $65 is a no-brainer - it's in fact a AC router although Linksys would rather you didn't know about it (see here). Take it- it's far better than the other two.

 

I was just reading that article. Got it for $50 fingers crossed it'll be here before the weekend!

Thanks, +rep

 

So... I just did the same, got it for 59$ though haha

+rep!

 

Would you guys recommend Asus RT-N12HP ? I plan to use it as repeater on 2nd floor.
My current setup TP-link W8951N as main router on 1st floor. I can't get wifi on 3rd floor.

 

It should be fine hardware-wise. An alternative firmware is available (for non HP version but the difference seems to be only in amp and bigger antennas - which shouldn't require firmware changes as far as I know).


Other than the fact that these antennas look ridiculous, it's fine

 

Alternative firmware, you mean like dd-wrt ?

 

Yes DD-WRT supports this router. I don't recommend moving to a third party firmware "because it's better" mainly because it actually isn't better. It's different - usually offering more advanced features but less performance.

That said I would never buy a router that is not supported by at least one alternative - if you run into trouble with something (and repeaters/extenders can be troublesome to set up if both don't come from the same manufacturer) you can always move to an alternative firmware and set it up properly.

 

Okay thanks. Ordered one already

 

So what would make a router better at handling multiple devices? I'm talking large family, running probably 2 laptops, 2 tablets, a wii, and a couple smartphones simultaneously.

 

You can always make your own router with some old hardware.

 

Anyone tested the Asus RT-AC56U or RT-AC68U? Need to know whats the actual Mbytes/sec speed between a laptop (with an AC connection) and a usb 3.0 hard drive attached to the router. Do they have stable firmwares yet?
Thanks.

 

Managed to steal a TP-Link TL-WR841N @ 11£ (~18$) at Black Friday @ the german Amazon!

Amazing if you ask me!!!

 

Multiple access points, one router.

 

@ downloads

No updates on first page.

 

That's true. There is another thread for a short list of AC recommendations but I know I have to update this one.
All the routers on the list are still good but some are not available anymore.

I'll try to clean it in the comming week and rename it to 2014.

 

@downloads

I recently saw high end routers like ASUS RT-AC68U and NETGEAR R7000 Nighthawk etc. They having plenty of features plus good transfer speed but still they are lacking range. The router from Amped and sitecom provide great range. Unfortunately its not available in my country, so can't buy. But if someone uses these product please share comments.

If you see before SSD in our system almost every thing come to their peak level or its CPU, GPU or RAM. The only thing was our HDD was slow then entering of SSD in market its like booster in rocket. Even C2D system having SSD its work like charm.

I saw many user in forums complain about range but companies not focusing on range. Its look like companies increasing the road width but not length, If you see most of the user don't use 300Mbps connection. Same cases with mobile phones now user wants more Mah battery not big features only few companies on fingers have good juice phones. If you use 3G and mailing phone don't last long.

 

What about Buffalo routers (those with HP as in High Power in the model number)?

 

I know the brand will turn off a lot of people, but this router has been above average for bang for your buck.
Amazon.com : Belkin Play N600 HD Wireless Dual Band N+ Router : Network Routers : Electronics

Pros:
Price is only $30
It has 300mbps dual band (so 150mbps each way)
4 GIGAbit ports
1 USB port.
It truly shines when Tomato is installed, b/c then every option for home networking opens up.

Con: The wireless range is not good at all.
Yet, that Con combined with the Pros make this router above average.

However, I have 2, then converted 1 into an Access Point to completely have full coverage for my house. For $65, there's then 2 usb ports, 8 gigabit ports, & 2 devices. As an access point, it is very excellent. It can even be used as a wireless bridge thanks to Tomato too, & I have tested that as well with a SiliconDust HD HomeRun Prime cable box for cable cards.