Suggestion: Router for my home

[ISO]

I want to upgrade my old router. Looking for following improvements.

1. decent coverage at every corner of 2BHK flat.
2. I.m using BSNL broadband that is prone to various fishy popups of spam links and ads. Can new router solve this problem?
3. bit future proof. I have cut the chord and now switched to online entertainment.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[kapvin]

Hello @ISO ,

I am assuming that it'll mostly be wireless use (ie not any wired connections). My experience with Asus has been good. Its highly configurable so If you don't mind getting your hands a bit dirty by getting it should address your concerns.

totally futureproof is the AX-88U which is wifi 6 (aX- which is the enxt best thing) so should take care of most future needs. this is what I use. but it might be a bit overkill for a 2 BHK if you also dont have many wired connections. I have not personally used the AC-86u but it has also got a great processor and good radios.

depending on your budget; it might make sense to got for used router. one that I can recommend well is the netgear R7000; which has an okayish processor (by today's standard); great radios and userfriendly basic firmware, but again if you wish to get your hands dirty; any numbers of custom firmwares can be flashed which give you control on pretty much everything. should be able to handle at least 1 FHD x265 stream without a stutter in every corner of a 2BHK.

it might be useful to get a sense of how many concurrent users and also your broadband speed. to sharpen the recommendations

best wishes

Kapil

 

[haisaikat]

I want to upgrade my old router. Looking for following improvements.

1. decent coverage at every corner of 2BHK flat.
2. I.m using BSNL broadband that is prone to various fishy popups of spam links and ads. Can new router solve this problem?
3. bit future proof. I have cut the chord and now switched to online entertainment.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Suggestion from @kapvin is fair. However want to know what is your present challenges with the old router so that I know what you are upgrading for? How many devices in total and how many high bandwidth consuming devices?

 

[ISO]

Suggestion from @kapvin is fair. However want to know what is your present challenges with the old router so that I know what you are upgrading for? How many devices in total and how many high bandwidth consuming devices?

Currently I have TP-Link C20 V1 around four year old.

Total devices are four mobile, two laptops, One desktop, Amazon FTV and Yamaha HT connected to internet through router. Occasionally laptop/mobile stream movies to FTV and song to HT (Airplay).

There is OK wifi signal to the bedroom that is farthest from router but net speed decreases may be due to error correction. Net speed is good only with the vicinity of the router.

Also current router do not have facility to add VPN configuration.

 

[kapvin]

Currently I have TP-Link C20 V1 around four year old.

Total devices are four mobile, two laptops, One desktop, Amazon FTV and Yamaha HT connected to internet through router. Occasionally laptop/mobile stream movies to FTV and song to HT (Airplay).

There is OK wifi signal to the bedroom that is farthest from router but net speed decreases may be due to error correction. Net speed is good only with the vicinity of the router.

Also current router do not have facility to add VPN configuration.

if it is just a problem in one bedroom; rather than get a new router, I would suggest you get a wireless extender with a wired backbone. i.e a cable from the router to the extender and then the extender. ideally dont get one with a wireless backbone; because they tend to consume a lot of bandwidth.

this is one that a use for the one troublesome bedroom of my house. much cheaper than a quality router. ( I don't know this store but this is the only one I could find when I googled -amazon has removed all electronics from its storefront). you will need a cable though.

TP-Link RE305 AC1200 Wireless Range Extender – Rs.2510 – LT Online Store

HARDWARE FEATURES Plug Type EU, UK, US Standards and Protocols IEEE802.11ac, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b Interface 1 x 10/100M Ethernet Port (RJ45) Button WPS Button, Reset Button Power Consumption 7.3W（max power consumption） Antenna 2 x external Dimensions ( W x D x H...

ltonlinestore.com

A distributed setup using low cost components and a wired backbone will best a fancy router anyday in a typical apartment.

 

[Naturelover]

Something like a DLink DIR-505 might also work to extend the signal. See below threads too.

Best options to extend WIFI Range?

I have a Wi-Fi router hooked up to the Modem in the bedroom. Due to the router being hooked into the bedroom. I don't get decent Wi-Fi signal in my living room. Please recommend some options to either boost the Wi-Fi signal or extend its range. Thanks in Advance.

www.hifivision.com

Dlink wifi range extender DAP 1320

Bought this from flipkart, excellent delivery within 24hours. The device works well as a wifi range extender. I have paired this with the Dlink 2750u router. You start using the device by plugging it into a power socket in a room where your router signal is low.One way of connecting the device...

www.hifivision.com

 

[haisaikat]

Currently I have TP-Link C20 V1 around four year old.

There is OK wifi signal to the bedroom that is farthest from router but net speed decreases may be due to error correction. Net speed is good only with the vicinity of the router.

Also current router do not have facility to add VPN configuration.

I totally agree with what other have suggested, noting beats a wire even till date, of course provided you can take care of the aesthetics of your apartment.

On the other hand, if you have a spare router to live with for now then try experimenting with a custom DDWRT type of firmware for your existing router. VPN you will be getting in DDWRT for sure but most important it allows you to tweak wifi advanced settings including transmission gain in most models.

https://wikidevi.com/wiki/TP-LINK_Archer_C20i

From your problem description it is not evident if you have slowness in regular internet but local network streaming is degrading or is it only the BSNL internet top speed problem

 

[ISO]

From your problem description it is not evident if you have slowness in regular internet but local network streaming is degrading or is it only the BSNL internet top speed problem

No ir is not ISP problem.

 

[haisaikat]

No ir is not ISP problem.

I will suggest three things before completely giving up this router (barring your VPN requirement), even before the custom firmware

1. Do a 30-30-30 reset and see if you get improvements, https://www.lifewire.com/hard-reset-rule-for-routers-3971318
2. Yours is a simultaneous dual band AC router with 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Try below tweaks
   1. Try turning off wifi on all other devices and check if your high priority device is doing the streaming fine. IF this improves your problem it means one or more devices are using slower transmission mechanism like N150 or G and is degrading the network throughput since when the G / low end devices transmit or receive the entire channel throughput drops to that speed.
   2. The 5G band is poor on wall penetration per my experience so try keeping two devices on 2.4 G band and run the same test, also check post 37 here once, old article I wrote here but still relevant, https://www.hifivision.com/threads/mar-2012-wireless-n-router-for-bsnl.24983/post-356749
   3. If you suspect a range problem, try changing the Channel Width setting (usually 20/40 or Small / Wide) to lowest and check
3. Lock down time task, try a DIY antenna booster, see post#35 on this link https://www.hifivision.com/threads/diy-modding-wrt610n-router-with-high-gain-antennas.26039/page-2
4. Sometime Power adapters lose output over time, if you have a spare one try with that, less power may result in lesser gain, especially if it is the scenario "same worked earlier"

 

[ISO]

@haisaikat: Do four antenna routers have better coverage or just a marketing gimmick?

 

[firearm12]

Currently I have TP-Link C20 V1 around four year old.

Total devices are four mobile, two laptops, One desktop, Amazon FTV and Yamaha HT connected to internet through router. Occasionally laptop/mobile stream movies to FTV and song to HT (Airplay).

There is OK wifi signal to the bedroom that is farthest from router but net speed decreases may be due to error correction. Net speed is good only with the vicinity of the router.

Also current router do not have facility to add VPN configuration.

Your current router looks quite capable for a 2bhk. You say net speed is only good in vicinity of router, its surprising to me. Does it get slow if all devices are connected to it and being used together or even for a single device. Does it happen on both 5ghz and 2.4ghz bands. try placing the router near ceiling. Try using ping tool to see what latency you get in farthest corners also speedtest to check actual net speed.

 

[ISO]

Your current router looks quite capable for a 2bhk. You say net speed is only good in vicinity of router, its surprising to me. Does it get slow if all devices are connected to it and being used together or even for a single device. Does it happen on both 5ghz and 2.4ghz bands. try placing the router near ceiling. Try using ping tool to see what latency you get in farthest corners also speedtest to check actual net speed.

5Ghz is out of question only 2.4Ghz give long range. This is strange that despite of good signal net speed suffers but near router there is no problem. Yes router is setup near ceiling.

 

[firearm12]

5Ghz is out of question only 2.4Ghz give long range. This is strange that despite of good signal net speed suffers but near router there is no problem. Yes router is setup near ceiling.

I am currently using tenda ac10 which is by far one of the best of routers i have used better than netgears and tplinks used before. That said it was my first 5ghz router though. You can consider this company also if you decide to buy something reasonable.

 

[haisaikat]

@haisaikat: Do four antenna routers have better coverage or just a marketing gimmick?

Number of a antennas mean usually higher number of parallel streams of transmission which may translate to better throughput whereas gain determines effective transmission power that directly impacts range, yes with a caveat of noise component too. So router default gain + antenna gain = total gain. Hence increasing gain with antenna upgrade or DIY serves good.