# Wireless router **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 12, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-router/181408 "2003-06-12T18:54:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WEW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@WEW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WEW)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-router/181408/1 "2003-06-12T18:54:06Z")
I did a search, and got nothing, so I have a question…I have cable internet connection, and I want to move it to a room that does not have a cable jack. The very surly cable guy said he can do it, but it will not look good, and recomended a wireless router. Anybody have any experience (good or bad) with this technology? Does it work, and if so, any negative effects on speed? Any brands to recomend? I’m sure the next post will have a link to the last time this question was asked… ---
**Author:** ![LordVor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90ced4/32.png) [@LordVor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordVor)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-router/181408/2 "2003-06-12T19:28:30Z")
Wireless routers are ok for many applications. But I wouldn’t want to work with one if the signal had to go through more than one wall/floor/etc. YMMV. (You’d plug the router in by your current cable jack, then the signal would travel from there to the computer in a straight line. -lv ---
**Author:** ![merge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9f8e36/32.png) [@merge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-router/181408/3 "2003-06-12T19:30:49Z")
Yeah… my Linksys router has been great… I only really use it for Internet… or Printer sharing… It has a transfer rate of 11MBps… so it is perfect for an internet connection… If you plan on file sharing between computers, you may want to go for the newer 54MBps routers and cards… but if you are only going to be using wireless internet… then just go for the older routers… they are cheaper… ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-router/181408/4 "2003-06-12T19:39:43Z")
Ditto on the Linksys. I live in a small house and my laptop works fine everywhere. I have had some times where the reception(?) was iffy but a reboot of everything fixed it. A quick check of [bestbuy.com](http://bestbuy.com) tells me you can get the card and router for about $100. ---
**Author:** ![smaft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@smaft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaft)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-router/181408/5 "2003-06-12T20:26:10Z")
Mine’s a D-Link ('twas on sale at Best Buy), and it, too, works great with my laptop. Once in a while I do lose the connection; I reboot the router, though, and that almost always fixes it. As far as speed goes, even with the encryption, I can’t tell a difference between the wireless and wired connections. It’s just gosh darn fast all around. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-router/181408/6 "2003-06-12T22:01:34Z")
I have the Microsoft router and card for my lap top. It does a great job and there are rebates and discounts on them at OfficeMax and Staples. ---
**Author:** ![Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horrifying_Howler_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-router/181408/7 "2003-06-12T23:14:03Z")
Routers will slow down the connection a bit, cause they act like a firewall, am I right? Also, it’s harder to get tech support from your ISP with a router if you loose your connection. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-router/181408/8 "2003-06-12T23:19:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Magayuk \* > \*\*Routers will slow down the connection a bit, cause they act like a firewall, am I right? \*\*A router doesn’t always act as a firewall, it simply connects two networks and routes traffic between them. A firewall is a seperate feature, but often included in home routers. Most of your home routers are more secure simply because they use Network Address Translation. The speed penalty is so small as to be insignificant. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-router/181408/9 "2003-06-12T23:22:30Z")
Oh, and I use a Linksys router/access point here at home, and it works great even through walls. The thing to remember is that 802.11b wireless is 11Mbs, which is several times faster than your cable connection is going to be anyway. You have lots of range to go through before the wireless drops to a speed of around 2Mbps, roughly the same as your cable. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-router/181408/10 "2003-06-13T03:22:55Z")
I have a Linksys 802.11b with 2 PCs and an X-Box on it. It works fine. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-router/181408/11 "2003-06-13T04:44:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Magayuk \* > \*\*Routers will slow down the connection a bit, cause they act like a firewall, am I right? > > Also, it’s harder to get tech support from your ISP with a router if you loose your connection. \*\* You can turn off the firewall in the Microsoft router. And it is LOSE not loose.