Wireless Router Recommendations?

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

I have had a WRT54G router since who knows how long. Probably since the mid 2000s and always used that router because it was reliable and rarely had problems and i never got a new one. I also am not computer savy and did not know that my router was old technology. I had found out that this is a G router and almost all routers are N routers.
The router works perfectly fine for me because when im on laptop, im usually in the same room. Even if im in the living room, the wifi is pretty decent but reliable. On the other side of the apt however, someone else uses their computer and the wifi connection is very bad for their laptop. Basically if wanting to stream movies… connection is very slow. Only thing that fixes this issue is if they bring laptop closer to the router. However… when i bring my laptop all the way to that room, my wifi is still fine though. Maybe if you downloading something it might be slower but when using google chrome and searching its still pretty fast.
Does this mean this issue could be that laptop as oppose to my router? However, i should still upgrade the router then right?
I i use road runner internet with 7mbps plan so internet is pretty fast. However, with the wrt54g does that mean we dont get to use the 7mpbs because the router we have is an old router and a G router? I read someone said its 54mbps and that is ancient and now its 150mbps and 300mbps routers.
Is there a point of getting a 300mbps router if our internet is 7mbps only?
Can someone recommend me a wireless router? So far i took a look and see these.
First one looks decent and has good reviews. Newegg however lot of bad reviews from it though.

TP Link looks decent?

The media router has tons of good reviews but some negative ones as well.


We would like a fast reliable router that has good range. I know the wrt54g router does lack range and also it probably doesnt stream as fast as with an N router.

Is there any point of buying those 100 dollar+ routers? We dont play games or any of that stuff. Mostly browse sites and watch video on netflix, stream videos and youtube.

#2

I like to also add that earthlink cable internet we use is 6mbps and when we have road runner, its 15mbps, we switch between the two throughout the years.
So these routers that are 150mbps and 300mbps… isn’t 300mbps useless since my internet speed would go max 6mbps with earthlink cable at the moment? Thus theres no point of getting a 300mbps. Because even the router i have now is 54mbps which is slow but aren’t most ppl with internet speed rarely more than 20mbps plan anyways?
Or is this 150mbps, 300mbps not related to the 6mbps, 15bmbps, 20mbps etc?

#3

TLDR version: All of that is 80% marketing and maybe a 20% range increase if you’re lucky. You would be better served by getting a wireless range extender / repeater rather than upgrading your router. The range extender sits halfway between your router and your intended destination and acts as a relay, listening to what it hears and repeating it further. You don’t need to upgrade anything else if you do that.

A router upgrade may or may not increase your usable range, depending on factors such as:

  • What materials your dwelling is constructed out of, and how they absorb radio frequencies
  • Which frequency you’re using (2.4 GHz vs 5 GHz)
  • Whether your new router, and your friend’s laptop, support MIMO radios that can can help with signal propagation through your house (basically, multiple channels are used simultaneously). If you were to go this route, you might have to upgrade your laptops with new WiFi adapters too
  • Which frequencies your neighbor(s) are using

The only way to really be sure is to use a spectrum analyzer from room to room. If you have an Android phone, the Wifi Analyzer will show you signal strength per channel per frequency per location. You can compare before and after effects with it. To test a new router, you can either borrow something similar from a friend or buy one and then return it if it doesn’t help.

As for speed, you are correct that a faster router will usually not help your internet speed unless it also happens to help the signal strength. (Meaning: If it produces a stronger signal, it won’t need to resend as many lost packets that the walls suck up. But a wireless ranger extender would have the same, if not better, effect.)

The faster speed will help you transfer files between your computers, within your own home network, but that doesn’t seem to be your concern here.

#4

Since the OP is looking for advice, let’s move this to IMHO.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

#5

Out of curiosity, which adapter did you go with?

#6

What’s your budget going to be?

#7

Here: http://www.wirelessrouterhome.com/best-wireless-router-review/

#8

Well, it’s pretty late, but I’m going to say “tell your friend/acquaintance to get a better wireless card.” The G protocol has plenty of range for an apartment, but a shitty wireless card won’t pick it up. On the other hand, when my router did become unreliable, I bought a Netgear N600, and I’m very happy with it.