Wireless router advice needed

[TripleDigitRide]

I need advice on a wireless router for or new home.

I had a Linksys installed at my 1100 square foot apartment, and both the signal strength and speed were not sufficient, even for such a small area. Our new place is almost 2000 square feet, and I'll need the new router to send a strong enough signal to the upstairs bonus room where the PS3 and Wii will be used.

I was thinking that I may need to buy one of those wifi signal booster to plug in somewhere between the two points, but if I can get away with a sufficient router, I'd rather go that it.

Other than the PS3 and Wii, the router will also be used for our phones, tablets and printer.

What say you experts?

[DaveTN]

I’m no expert, but I’ve always used Linksys routers. I’m 2K SQ feet on one level and mine even has an excellent signal in my detached garage 70 feet from the house. Could your problem have been Channels or interference?

[Guest nysos]

There are many factors that will determine how well the signal is transmitted. Amount of electical wires throwing off the signal, building materials, thickness of walls, number of walls it goes through, etc. For reference I have a pretty old linksys wrt54g router, and I get good coverage on just about my whole house. It is in the basement in a corner, and I get good coverage upstairs. Overall footprint is about 2500sq feet combined on the 2 stories.

Best thing you can do is just pick a good quality router that will fit your needs in terms of features, and place it as central of a point as possible, then see how well it covers. If you need to, then I would say buy a range extender.

[sschrick]

I have a NetGear Wireless N router. Setup over in the corner of my house. Two-story, total approx 2600 sq ft. Can get good signal anywhere in the house.

Defintely get an N or N+ router. They offer extended range and speed.

Linksys, Netgear would be my top choices.

[gnmwilliams]

I have a NetGear Wireless N router. Setup over in the corner of my house. Two-story, total approx 2600 sq ft. Can get good signal anywhere in the house.

Defintely get an N or N+ router. They offer extended range and speed.

Linksys, Netgear would be my top choices.

This. The new N series of routers have some pretty good signal strength. I haven't been too impressed with Linksys anymore since cisco bought them out. What I'd actually recommend doing is just trying out different models and return the ones that don't work. They don't take much time to set up these days so you should be able to get a feel for their signal strength pretty fast. Also, wifi is constantly changing but don't get suckered into buying the super duper long range super fast routers that some advertise themselves as. 802.11n and N+ will get you where you need to be.

[scoutfsu]

I use a Belkin 750D - http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=543388 and a Cisco Extender - http://homestore.cisco.com/en-us/adapters/linksys-RE1000-range-extender-bridge_stcVVproductId136607179VVcatId551966VVviewprod.htm

If you're trying to go upstairs, especially for gaming, I wouldn't skimp. I tried getting by on the cheap and it only made me more frustrated. Spend the money now and avoid the frustration.

[Dolomite_supafly]

I had a Linksys wrt54g and I had useable signal strength that was over 300 feet in every direction. So the routers will reach. It is likely building construction that is going to be the limiting factor.

Also, microwaves and cell phone boosters can affect a wireless networks performance. We had one router that would become very limited anytime a microwave was run.

Dolomite

[Guest uofmeet]

Step one in setting up a wireless router: Change channel. I think every router I have ever setup uses 6 as a default.

P.S. Keep it away from your microwave also.

Edited October 5, 2012 by uofmeet

[Sam1]

I used to use Linksys only but when they merged with Cisco and started cutting costs, they lost the quality that used to be. But from a technical perspective, most of the home use routers are similar... we have a Netgear N900 now and it has all the usual settings with guest networks on both bands. Signal is good, it covers a 1300ft apt. And about 50ft to our garage.

With general use, you'll get into a Ford/Chevy debate on which brand is better. So it just depends on what you can find at a good price

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

[ironsniper1]

We have a linksys wrt54gl router and have not had a single issue with it, linksys is good just depends on the model you get

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[gregintenn]

After spending most of the day on the phone with a cat in New Delhi named "Andy", I ditched my old Linksys and bought a Netgear from WalMart. It is upstairs. We have 2000 sf+. My kids have several electronic devices, and they work fine all over the house; upstairs, downstairs, basement, and out in the yard.

Edited October 5, 2012 by gregintenn

[MikePapa1]

I use a Linksys E4200 and have been very pleased with its range and signal strength. When I started using my iPad in the back yard (The Router is in the very front of the house) I had a signal strength issue so I added a NetGear repeater, but even through the house, with aluminum siding I can still get router signal from the router itself about 100' away. I've been very pleased and impressed by the 4200.

[jtmaze]

I have the net gear n900(I think) set up in my basement and covers my 2300 sq ft house fine. Even has good coverage out on deck which has to go thru block wall and about 10' of dirt line of site from iPad to router.

JTM

Sent from my iPhone

[jcj]

I've had em all.. Linksys's newer stuff is garbage...at least that's been my experience.

Netgear's consumer class equipment seems decent. Most recently I've been using a Buffalo N450. It features the open source DDWRT firmware that has been rock sold on every device I've had it on.

This one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005CSOE1G/ref=aw_cr_item_title?qid=1349475181&sr=8-1

[Guest seawolf138]

To be completely honest I did not read the entirety of the post, but if you're decently tech savvy. Check out dd-wrt. Its a router firmware that'll let you turn your existing router into a bridge or repeater...letting you extend your signal even further after replacement.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[TripleDigitRide]

I ended up getting a Linksys EA4500 from Wal-Mart for $130. It's definitely better, but still not what I was hoping for. They had one other model "better" than this one for $160, but I'm not sure if it's worth the extra money.

With everything installed in the spare bedroom, there are 3 bars (full strength) on my phone. A roughly 20 step walk into the kitchen drops the signal down to 2 bars. Another roughly 20 step walk into the upstairs bonus room gives 1 bar.

I decided to move the modem and router to the center of the house which is the living room. This still left 1 bar up in the bonus room.

I check to see which channels my neighbors were running on, and I was the only one on channel 7. Other than that, I don't know what else I can do to improve my signal.

I'll have to play with the Wii and PS3 to see if there is any noticeable improvements compared to the previous router.

[Guest BungieCord]

...It features the open source DDWRT firmware that has been rock sold on every device I've had it on.

This one:

http://www.amazon.co...49475181&sr=8-1

I have "flashed" all my WAPs, etc, to use the DD-WRT firmware instead of the OE firmware (which is the equivalent of the operating system on a device like this). All home/hobby WAPS, routers, boosters, bridges, etc., have functions the manufacturers do not give you, the owner, the controls to, but that the hardware is capable of. Stuff like controlling the power level of the transmitter (they're all throttled back), and providing additional security, administrative and networking functions, and a "live" graph showing network traffic volume. The DD-WRT firmware gives you access to everything their "hackers" can uncover and figure out how to control (only it's a much more professional and sophisticated process and I just made it sound). If you have one of the devices that they've written the DD-WRT firmware for, I highly recommend you switch to it.

TripleDigitRide, if your LinkSys device is a WRT54G (which is a fair bet, because it was the biggest selling WAP in the world), they do make the DD-WRT firmware for it. I know because I have a couple of WRT54Gs that I've had on the (free) DD-WRT firmware for years and would never even consider going back.

The reason I mention it in particular is that you can flash a WRT45G to DD-WRT, which gives it the ability to function as a "bridge", which OE firmware cannot. Then you place the flashed WAP in the bonus room where it serves as the access point for the devices in that room, and relays their signal to the main WAP downstairs.

'N' band should have better coverage, so any new 'N' device (like the one jcj recommended) could be all you need. But if even that isn't enough, you could always flash the old WAP (presuming it's one that DD-WRT supports, and odds are it is) and use it as a "bridge" to supplement the new WAP. Best of all, because you've already got the old WAP, and because the replacement firmware is free, there's no out-of-pocket costs to try.

[Pain103]

We have a wireless router but I use the ethernet cable to hardwire my desktop in. I don't want to any issues. Although I've never had the issue with a signal not reaching in a normal size house you could always have two routers.

[Guest ArmyVeteran37214]

I have had my fair share of routers over the years. I have owned Linksys, Belkin and Dlink. Out of the three, Dlink has outperformed my expectations.

[MadMarx]

Channel 7 still overlaps with 6 and gets interference. Use channel 1, 6, or 11 if at all possible

[vontar]

I have to say, I really like Linksys, and own several.

I get great signal outside even into my neighbors house and I can pick up his linksys as well

As others have said, construction and other interference are most likely.

I did a site survey of wifi in my area and everyone was on ch 6. About 6 or 7 different ones. I went to ch 1.

I also use wrt54g, however I have mine hacked with 3rd party firmware. You can even turn up the power although I have no need for that. The hack also always turning a linksys router into a repeater if needed and this is cheaper then most repeaters.

The firmware also allows for more SSID's to be broadcast, even on different channels and with separate encryption.

http://dd-wrt.com/site/index

Also make sure you encrypt. I like to use mac filters for wifi.

Edited October 6, 2012 by vontar

[deadeye111]

I replaced a WRT54G that was running DD-WRT firmware for several years with a EA4500 from Cisco Store as they allow returns for 90 days. The EA4500 has a stronger signal in areas where I was having problems even with the radio broadcast turned up as high as feasable on the old router.

This is a link to the Cisco store. There are refurbs available also if you would like to try one.

http://homestore.cisco.com/en-us/products/specials-deals-offers-cisco-store_stcVVcatId552218VVviewcat.htm

[turkeydad]

I live in a 2 story brick house with knotty pine interior walls. . and my Netgear WND 3800 N600 gives me good signal everywhere in the house and all the way to the end of the block . . . its awesome

[TripleDigitRide]

I replaced a WRT54G that was running DD-WRT firmware for several years with a EA4500 from Cisco Store as they allow returns for 90 days. The EA4500 has a stronger signal in areas where I was having problems even with the radio broadcast turned up as high as feasable on the old router.

This is a link to the Cisco store. There are refurbs available also if you would like to try one.

http://homestore.cisco.com/en-us/products/specials-deals-offers-cisco-store_stcVVcatId552218VVviewcat.htm

That's the one I just purchased. My daughter was playing her Wii and PS3 last night, and there was a noticeable improvement in performance. I think I'll stick with this one for a while.

[1gewehr]

Apartments are terrible places for wireless. Everyone has a router, and the interference is amazing. Living in a separate house will probably solve your problem. If you still see issues, change to channel 1 or 11. They are the least used ones. Another issue that has not been mentioned is the number of devices using your network. The more devices, the slower the speed. We typically have four computers, two Kindles, and a couple of security cameras using our wireless network. For us, a dual-band 802.11n network was the best solution. We use channel 1 for the security cameras (serious bandwidth hogs!), and channel 11 for everything else.

The current wireless standard is 802.11n. It offers a significant speed and signal strength advantage over the earlier 'f' and 'g' standards.

If your laptop or desktop machine has an earlier 'f' or 'g' wireless adapter in it, THAT might be your problem. If that's the case, it doesn't matter how good your router is. You will be stuck with the speed of the adapter in your PC. Also, playing online games and watching videos will use a LOT more bandwidth than almost anything else.