Looking to replace an older Belkin router at home. Worked OK for a while, but now with a few more connected devices it's starting to drop signal and just generally seems to be struggling to keep up.
I'm not a Luddite, but I'm also not up to date on the latest specs and standards, so a little advice on what to look for would be very helpful. Thanks.
Are you sure that you're not running into overlapping wireless signals on the same channel? Might be worth looking at the wireless networks in the area and what channels they are using and see if you can move yours to one that isn't being used.
Anyway, the newer Linksys units all run DD-WRT firmware natively, which is more secure and provides more configuration options and performance.
AC is the newest standard and provides more speed and bandwidth, very few of your devices will use it unless they also have AC compliant hardware. It still provides future proof tech and they have better Wireless-N antennae.
Devices with external antennae tend to have better range than those with internal antennae.
Post up some devices you're looking at and we'll help decide between them.
i got a relatively cheap(sub $40) TP link brand(borderline generic) off amazon. i replaced my dead linksys one. new guy has 3 external antennae and i can cover my entire 1 acre yard with my phone or laptop and stay on the network including my garage, which is pretty far from the router.
Stefan (Not Bruce) wrote: Are you sure that you're not running into overlapping wireless signals on the same channel? Might be worth looking at the wireless networks in the area and what channels they are using and see if you can move yours to one that isn't being used. Anyway, the newer Linksys units all run DD-WRT firmware natively, which is more secure and provides more configuration options and performance. AC is the newest standard and provides more speed and bandwidth, very few of your devices will use it unless they also have AC compliant hardware. It still provides future proof tech and they have better Wireless-N antennae. Devices with external antennae tend to have better range than those with internal antennae. Post up some devices you're looking at and we'll help decide between them.
Don't think it's overlapping channels. Pretty rural area; one or two other household signals, which are weak, plus the cable provider's free WiFi net. Often the problem is that when the signal from the home router drops for whatever reason (it's not distance - we're talking about in the next room from the router) it jumps over to the much slower cable system public signal, which is outside and not as strong.
A lot of the new ones seem to have the three-antenna setup. A quick look showed this to be quite popular: http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00BUSDVBQ I'll do a little searching and see what else I can come up with.
Ask your ISP to turn off their wireless.
I've got one of these things cluttering up the place: http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-AC1900-Wireless-Archer-C9/dp/B00PDLRHFW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460930471&sr=8-1&keywords=archer+c-9
Generally very happy with it but we upgraded to a three-radio one shortly afterwards. It's only been used for a couple of months.
PM me if interested, I'll take $80 shipped from a GRMer.
Stefan (Not Bruce) wrote: Ask your ISP to turn off their wireless.
Not gonna happen. They're very proud of their free public Wifi network; they've got over a million hotspots scattered around the area, if their propaganda is to be believed.
They're probably on 2.4Ghz though so if you can move your Wifi to 5GHz, you'll end up with less competition for the available frequencies.
02Pilot wrote:Stefan (Not Bruce) wrote: Ask your ISP to turn off their wireless.Not gonna happen. They're very proud of their free public Wifi network; they've got over a million hotspots scattered around the area, if their propaganda is to be believed.
Ok then, make sure you're not on the same wireless channel to avoid interferance.
02Pilot wrote:Stefan (Not Bruce) wrote: Ask your ISP to turn off their wireless.Not gonna happen. They're very proud of their free public Wifi network; they've got over a million hotspots scattered around the area, if their propaganda is to be believed.
Buy a dedicated modem and don't use the provided combo unit?
Stefan (Not Bruce) wrote:02Pilot wrote:Ok then, make sure you're not on the same wireless channel to avoid interferance.Stefan (Not Bruce) wrote: Ask your ISP to turn off their wireless.Not gonna happen. They're very proud of their free public Wifi network; they've got over a million hotspots scattered around the area, if their propaganda is to be believed.
I don't think it's an interference problem, though I'll check to be sure. It really only happens with the phone; I believe what's happening is that my router is dropping signal for whatever reason, and then the public hotspot jumps in to take over. That's the only device I have the public network registered on. I probably didn't explain it clearly.
No, I get it.
However, it's just a good idea to make sure they aren't competing.
Mine used to drop out when the microwave was used, sometimes frequencies line up and weird stuff happens.
Boosting the signal strength and changing the channel solved those problems. Now I just need to get my ISP to increase my speed and I'll be happier. However with summer here, it's not as big a deal :)
BrokenYugo wrote:02Pilot wrote:Buy a dedicated modem and don't use the provided combo unit?Stefan (Not Bruce) wrote: Ask your ISP to turn off their wireless.Not gonna happen. They're very proud of their free public Wifi network; they've got over a million hotspots scattered around the area, if their propaganda is to be believed.
This.
And you want a router with 802.11ac wifi and gigabit ethernet. I recommend a TP-Link Archer C7, that's what I'd buy right now:
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Archer-C7-Wireless-1300Mbps/dp/B00BUSDVBQ
It's already a separate modem and router in the house; the public hotspot is outside on a pole or something.
That TP-LINK router is the same one I linked to above, which I hit upon simply because of the reviews, so I guess the masses are actually onto something. Looks like that's the way to go. Thanks.
Well, the C9 I have for sale is two better than the C7 
but the C7 is a good one as well.
The C7 can run OpenWRT, the C9 can't, so it's not all better.
Constantly had dropped connections and painfully slow downloads with wireless. Got tired of it and the associated whining. Got under the house and ran a little Cat 5e cable and put in a few wall jacks. Let me tell you, gigabit ethernet is a huge performance upgrade from wireless.
1988RedT2 wrote: Let me tell you, gigabit ethernet is a huge performance upgrade from wireless.
Understatement of the year!
I was having major problems with my network. It was incredibly slow and continually lost connections. Switching channels worked for a few minutes, but it would always get E36 M3ty again. I eventually bought a Linksys AC router which kicked the neighbors connections asses. Still had issues every once in a while. The internet company brought me a nice new router with an upgrade of service and the problems got better. When I kept my Linksys AND the AT&T modem running, it got worse. I had to disconnect it and toss it in a drawer. I still have a connection problem with the printer in the office, but it just takes a bit to clear things up.
Moral of the story, check with your provider first and see if they can hook you up with a better modem before you spend the cash on a router.
Do you have a Roku box? I had a roku 3 that was causing interference issues as it copies the provided router information and uses that to broadcast to its remote causing all sorts of headaches.
Somewhat on topic, does anyone have any experience with those internet wireless thingies that promise to provide wi-fi through your house when you plug them into an outlet? Supposedly they work on circuits 300 meters distant.
volvoclearinghouse wrote: Somewhat on topic, does anyone have any experience with those internet wireless thingies that promise to provide wi-fi through your house when you plug them into an outlet? Supposedly they work on circuits 300 meters distant.
Not directly, but the research I've done indicates they work best when used on a circuit that is on the same breaker. Not easy to do when trying to span floors or large distances in your house.
In reply to Stefan (Not Bruce):
That was kindof the thought I had.
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