I need a new router

[HadEnuff]

I know nothing about routers other than:

1. Apple routers are white

2. My older Apple router (8 or 9 years old) at my lake house never shows green and doesn't extend very far around the cottage.

So, I've been told I need a new one. I was also told I don't necessarily need to buy an Apple.

What would you buy. (My computers are all Macs, as well as my phones)

Thanks

 

[jetpack]

I'm researching wifi routers right now.. I need an upgrade. A few things I found:

- New devices support both 2.4 and 5 GHz broadcast. The 5 is faster. Old devices (like iphone 4 and earlier) don't support 5
- FCC upped the power limits on wifi boxes in 2014.. So, a newer device should be
more powerful and have longer range.
- I've seen price ranges from $20 to $400.. such a wide margin! (But you're not getting much more transmit power from higher priced devices..)

 

[meierlde]

I'm researching wifi routers right now.. I need an upgrade. A few things I found:

- New devices support both 2.4 and 5 GHz broadcast. The 5 is faster. Old devices (like iphone 4 and earlier) don't support 5
- FCC upped the power limits on wifi boxes in 2014.. So, a newer device should be
more powerful and have longer range.
- I've seen price ranges from $20 to $400.. such a wide margin! (But you're not getting much more transmit power from higher priced devices..)

Besides wifi the differences occur in the capability of firewalls built in, add on features like USB ports to plug hard drives in etc. IMHO the important thing is what can you do to block intruders on the firewall. Also of course how much you want to play in the internet of things sandbox. (The more IOT things the greater the risk necessitating a better firewall, as a lot of IOT devices are full of big holes in security)

 

[bingybear]

Not much info to make a recommendation.

What kind of internet service do you have? What data speed does it support up and down load speeds.

How many devices do you use at one time?

How much data are you slinging around? Are you streaming video? If so at what definition? HD? 4K?

In general home routers are not generally intended for extending far beyond the house. This is not saying they can't extend.

Can you answer how you intend to use wifi?
I use multiple routers in my home to improve coverage and speed. However, I do not use bleeding edge devices. I have 30Mbps download speed (cable) which is far more than I need. However, I don't do high res streaming.

 

[JoeWras]

I like Bosch routers. I find the depth stop is easy to adjust and stays put.

... Whoops, wrong router!

At 9 years, your old router definitely has limits. I think you should have good luck with most any new, medium priced router. Definitely be 5Ghz ready, even if your devices can't do it. Your future devices will.

 

[braumeister]

One suggestion:

The Best Wi-Fi Router (for Most People)

 

[JoeWras]

One suggestion:

The Best Wi-Fi Router (for Most People)

Yeah, that's the price class I'm thinking of. Good suggestion.

 

[meierlde]

I like Bosch routers. I find the depth stop is easy to adjust and stays put.

... Whoops, wrong router!

At 9 years, your old router definitely has limits. I think you should have good luck with most any new, medium priced router. Definitely be 5Ghz ready, even if your devices can't do it. Your future devices will.

Note if the device has a spare usb slot you can get a 5ghz usb dongle that will allow connecting via it on 5 ghz.

 

[HadEnuff]

Not much info to make a recommendation.

What kind of internet service do you have? What data speed does it support up and down load speeds.

How many devices do you use at one time?

How much data are you slinging around? Are you streaming video? If so at what definition? HD? 4K?

In general home routers are not generally intended for extending far beyond the house. This is not saying they can't extend.

Can you answer how you intend to use wifi?
I use multiple routers in my home to improve coverage and speed. However, I do not use bleeding edge devices. I have 30Mbps download speed (cable) which is far more than I need. However, I don't do high res streaming.

Internet service: Spectrum, cable. 60mps (is what I'm paying for, anyway)

We may use as many as 4 devices at one time, although typically, one or two.

We stream Netflix, MLB, PGA...no games

I do use Airport Express units to play music, but those units are also 8-9 years old and they cut out often enough to irritate me. I would love to update that system as well.

 

[euro]

Internet service: Spectrum, cable. 60mps (is what I'm paying for, anyway)

We may use as many as 4 devices at one time, although typically, one or two.

We stream Netflix, MLB, PGA...no games

I do use Airport Express units to play music, but those units are also 8-9 years old and they cut out often enough to irritate me. I would love to update that system as well.

I was told that Apple routers don't always play nicely with cable modems (although my DD has that setup and it seems to work fine). Most of what you can get today is "plug and play", so unless you are a cutting edge user, I'd consider price a big component of the decision.

 

[HadEnuff]

What is the purpose of USB ports on a router?

 

[Just_Steve]

I use Apple Time Machine, the coverage area is good all over my 1/3 acre lot. The router resides downstairs in the family room and works upstairs across the house to outside by the pool with no issues. But the auto backup of all of the laptops is the one thing I could not ever be without.

 

[euro]

What is the purpose of USB ports on a router?

You can plug in an external hard drive and use it to back up all users on the network in one place (see Just-Steve's comment)

 

[jimbee]

What is the purpose of USB ports on a router?

In addition to Euro's and JustSteve's comments, some routers allow connecting USB printer to their USB ports and act as a print server on the network.

 

[Sunset]

I bought this router a few months a go and its working great.
We do have it near the tv, so we plug it into the tv instead of streaming netflix.

Otherwise it does much better than our old one for range and speed, and it was cheap at $25.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704039

 

[W2R]

I bought this one in April:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R2AZLD2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It is listed as the number one best selling computer router bought through Amazon. I guess it's OK although it is more expensive than some. I have been getting bumped off now and then but I think that is not due to the router. It has plenty of range and Frank can log in to it from next door, using my password, if he wants to.

Set up was easy and almost instant. Took less than 30 seconds, IIRC.

 

[Ready]

A new Apple AirPort Extreme or Apple Time Capsule will probably be the most hassle free for you, but the technology is now four years old and it does not look like they plan on updating their router products any further.

Another simple solution is Google Wifi. You can start with just a single WiFi pod, and if you need additional coverage it's easy to add extra units. I have three Google Wifi pods in my home and have been very happy with them. And I don't like messing around with complicated router settings, which so far I haven't had to. They have great technical support as well if you need assistance.

 

[Rustic23]

I have four or five routers in my house. One came with the internet provider, one hooked to it and goes to printers, tv, game box, and out to guest house. One goes straight to Dish box. One of these is an older Lynksys (about 10 years or more) I don't really see much difference in any of them.

My internet speed is limited to 12 meg, so a gigabit router is useless to me. I don't transfer large files across the home network, and if I did I would not be in a hurry and they could transfer at night.

For me, your needs may be different, an inepensive N router is fine! Your old Apple router was most likely single band, A/B maybe G router. If this was satisfactory why spend more for something you really don't need. On the other hand if your INet provider is pumping 4k video at high bandwidth, a better router may be worth it.

The router in braumeister post looks good! Good luck!

 

[ERD50]

I bought this router a few months a go and its working great.
We do have it near the tv, so we plug it into the tv instead of streaming netflix.

Otherwise it does much better than our old one for range and speed, and it was cheap at $25.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704039

Thanks, I bookmarked it for when I need a replacement. $25 is good.

My router (NETGEAR Router WGR614v10), and I've bought the same one for several family members, was cheap, and got mixed reviews. But it has always worked just fine for everyone. It's been in constant use here for 4.5 years, no issues that I recall, we get a strong signal throughout the house and outside for a ways (I should check for updated FW, though I suppose support has ended).

I guess maybe the more $$ ones make sense if you want the USB capability, and/or have a very challenging environment, though I think a cheap repeater might be a better solution for range issues?

-ERD50

 

[HadEnuff]

Besides wifi the differences occur in the capability of firewalls built in, add on features like USB ports to plug hard drives in etc. IMHO the important thing is what can you do to block intruders on the firewall. Also of course how much you want to play in the internet of things sandbox. (The more IOT things the greater the risk necessitating a better firewall, as a lot of IOT devices are full of big holes in security)

What is IOT?

Firewalls sound like a good thing. how do I learn which models have sufficient firewall capability, and how do learn how to utilize that capability?

 

[sengsational]

Internet Of Things

If something that's plugged into your home network gets compromised, now you basically have a "bad guy" plugged into your home network. That's bad because that means the bad guy can get to your PC, Mac, NAS, shared storage, etc. In Windows (and probably on Mac), you're probably familiar with the question that asks if the network you're connecting to is a home network or not. The idea here is that the home network is trusted, so more "stuff" can happen between two devices on that home network. But, guess what, the bad guy just got into your baby monitor and now is on your trusted network: BAD!

Ubiquity Edge Router X is cheap and can be configured to have true separation between networks. The problem is that it takes skill to set-up.

When people say "router" nowadays, they might be mixing "router" with "wifi access point". They are often the same device, but don't have to be the same device.

 

[braumeister]

What is IOT?

Firewalls sound like a good thing. how do I learn which models have sufficient firewall capability, and how do learn how to utilize that capability?

IOT is the Internet Of Things. Like a web-enabled thermostat, for example.

Firewalls are varied. Pick a model or two you like, then search for their manuals online. Download a PDF of the manual and see for yourself how easy it is to program.

 

[meierlde]

What is IOT?

Firewalls sound like a good thing. how do I learn which models have sufficient firewall capability, and how do learn how to utilize that capability?

One thing you can do is to ensure that certain ports(services) on the internet can not penetrate the router. For example 445 has been implicated in the recent attacks. Or if you don't use telnet or FTP from the internet to home you can block those ports. Also set times that access is allowed from the internet and times that it is not, and which machines can and cannot access the internet. If you look at the firewall on computers, the router firewall does the same sort of things but provides a second line of defense with hopefully different software.

Some routers will also do VPNs to allow remote devices to look like they are on the local network after a username and password.

 

[Jerry1]

I've always bought Linksys routers and been happy with them. I'm not sure of the details but they either are or were Cisco. I figure they know what they're doing. Also, I have a tech friend who works for Cisco who could help me if I needed any help, but fortunately, I've found them to be pretty much plug and play. I also get good range with them. I have this one:


Linksys AC2600 Dual-Band Wi-Fi Router Black EA8500 - Best Buy

It was in my price point and had good reviews.

 

[FIRE'd@51]

Some routers will also do VPNs to allow remote devices to look like they are on the local network after a username and password.

Would an unwanted device on your home network show up on the network map?