What is the very best wireless router available right now? - Page 3

I have this thing. Has dual band simultaneous and I haven't had to reset it even 1 time in ~6 months that I have had it. Its in my garage beside my server.

I think I paid $70.

Typical consumer routers seem to be a mixed bag. With every brand and model you find rave reviews and owners that had horrible experiences. I have been using a Linksys WRT54GL with Tomato firmware for many, many years which has worked absolutely reliably. However recently I looked for a new N band router to extend my current home network. I picked a Netgear WNR3500L v1 (!!!) and was quite happy with the stock firmware in the beginning.

However after two weeks it had slowed down the wireless Internet and radio streaming using my A/V receiver suffered due to constant buffering. After a lot of debugging I decided to put the Tomato USB firmware on the router and suddenly everything has been rock-stable.

The lesson here: great hardware is useless if the firmware sucks, so make sure you can flash it with open source firmware (which hopefully fixes the bugs without introducing new ones). And debugging home networking issues is not for the faint of heart since there are so many variables involved like Internet service provider, remote server, neighboring WLANs, wireless and wired devices and their different configurations, building materials, router location, etc.

i also have the Netgear WNDR3700 and its been problem free and never had to reset it .its upstairs in one of the bedrooms and i get wireless coverage all over my house (3100sq ft under air) and in the pool area .
very reliable router

I agree with: Apple Airport Extreme, simul dual bands, guest support, etc. Reviews say it's one of the best and I agree. They have been bullet proof for years, never once a dropoff, great range, I run my 4 SIP/VOIP Cisco SPA962 phones wireless and never have an issue. I have iPhones/iPads, AppleTVs, PCs (Wind/Linux) and Macs that never once had an issue once they had the password and connected. I really like the ability to customize how the radios work. Super easy setup and.... they can be easily used to extend a wireless or act as a bridge when needed. Almost none of the others at this price can do that. Also, HD streaming works great with no hiccups. I had a few others and this is the only one I would buy again.
Edited by mgavsf - 7/2/12 at 4:08pm

Mine does all of that for $110 less. What am I missing?

You're missing the little Apple thingie, dummy!

For less than $200 you can build your own x86 based Linux powered Router. It will give way more advanced features than most consumer grade routers. I've seen an PFSense/Untangle box handle QoS that would make most consumer grade routers blush by shutting down. Also Untangle offer @ connection active anti-virus, spyware, etc.

If you go on some of the wireless enthusiasts sites, you'll find some very well thought out networks that have entire homes awash in 802.11n.

I have a $40 Buffalo N300 Router and I get coverage all over the house. It only starts to get weak at the far end of the house which if not enclosed would be the right corner of the backyard... I am considering on buying another one, making it an AP (Access Point) and connect it to the network via Power Line (likely 200Mbps). I'll move both them to the center line of the house for 360 degree coverage of strong signals.

The truth is you can stream HD content, at reduced bit rate, which personally I don't have a problem with. For the convenience of Wireless trumps rarely used and maxed out speeds of Gigabit Ethernet. Gigabit is great if you have knocked down all the walls in your home and rebuilding or a new build, but for existing homes.. No way, go to videohelp use some bit rate calculators and find out how far you can compress an HD file down so its possible to stream to your clients.

I can watch "The International" in HD *BR Rip (720p) and not one stutter and no visual difference to 1080i OTA broadcast.

This is why I'm glad My Movies Server 2011 for WHS 2011 has the option to compress files into .mp4 (H.264) for better support of mobile devices and space savings.

But you have Iphones, Ipads and Apple TV. Do you have a Pippen somewhere?

Very true. Do they sell stickers?

Not trying to be an #%@. Just honestly trying to see what $110 extra buys me.

Anandtech has a review of the airport extreme; here is a quote from the conclusions:

The admin tools are pretty nice too.

Couple of reviews on Apple's offerings:

Apple Airport Extreme Review from smallnetbuilder.com:
Apple Airport Express Review from smallnetbuilder.com:
I have a Netgear WNDR3800 and never had any problems with it. It's basically an WNDR3700v2 with twice the RAM and a few more features that I don't use. If I were buying again I'd go with the WNDR3700. As a plus they come with OpenDNS Live Parental Controls which do content filtering at the router level, which is handy if you have kids and let them use the internet on devices such as iPods, XBox, etc. The router can be configured either by using a web portal or Netgear's Genie software from a PC, MAC, iOS or Android platform.

My Ubiquiti Networks Unifi stuff is completely rock solid reliable.

Since I have FIOS, I don't have much options with the router unless I ditch all of my set top boxes. I have the Actiontec MI424WR (Rev C) that has been working reliably for about 3 years. I just recently replaced it with a Rev E model after having an issue with my computer coming out of sleep mode and not being able to access the router for for a minute.

The problem with the Actiontec is that it's 802.11g only. I bought the Amped Wireless AP300 WAP (wireless access point). It has a direct cat6 connection to the actiontec router and provides 3 additional ports as well as wireless b/g/n connectivity. I was having trouble with the WAP crashing every 3-4 days to 2 weeks for a period of 6 months until I figured out that it was wireless G/N mixed mode causing issues. So I switched the WAP to be N exclusively and since then haven't had any crashes.
I was working with their tech support organization which was pretty useless in tracking down the issue.

Does anyone else use a WAP and do they have a favorite?

I just got the linksys/ cisco AE4500 a week ago. So far I am not impressed. The cloud setup is complicated and confusing compared to the typical 192.168.1.1 setup I had become accustomed to. I have tried for hours to figure out some basic features and still dont know how to do some simple things. Im not talking deep, advance settings either. For example, I cant figure out for the life of me how designate a static IP for my printer or my itachs. The connection is choppy it seams. One minute it works, then the next it doesnt. My wife hates it because of this. The range is not at all good either. I can barely get a signal 50 ft away. This is a problem in my 4000sq ft house. I have had to add 2 old routers as WAPs, (again, setting these up was a nightmare via the cloud crap). I have already ordered an Asus RT-N66U to replace the AE4500. It will be here tomorrow. I hope for better results with it. If so, Ill return the AE4500. Glad I bought it as Sams.

Sounds like all routers are great. And crap. All at once.

I've gone through my fair share of wireless routers over the years and I'm currently using an Apple AirPort Extreme. I can't remember the last time I've needed to reboot it, which is high praise compared to other WiFi routers I've owned in the past. And if you're at all a member of the Apple ecosystem, then I suspect that it will work just a little bit better / more reliable than other WiFi routers. If you can live with somewhat shorter range, don't need a gigabit ethernet port, and don't need USB drive capability, the new AirPort express at just $99 would probably be my recommendation. If one or more of the other features I just mentioned are important, then I'd recommend the AirPort Extreme. At about $172 (online), it definitely seems a bit overpriced by today's standards, but you can often find a refurb model from Apple or CowBoom for closer to $100.

I am also in the market for something like this. I have been looking at EnGenius and Amped. Does anybody here have any suggestions on wireless routers that have the best range?.

I had a Airport Extreme and thought it would rock like my other Apple products... wrong. Dropped connections and terrible range earned it a place at last years garage sale table. I've been using the Dlink 655 sine and it has been pretty solid but not perfect.

Now I'm moving and our new house is wired w/ cat5 but for wifi use I bought a Medialink WAPR150N to replace the 655 based on the overwhelming reviews on amazon.

I will say if you are looking for a rock solid connection for gaming or streaming HD content get a MoCA (ethernet over coax) and gigabit switch and have a hardwired high speed connection that does not peak and valley with wifi.

Linksys E4200v1

I bought two refurbished E4200s last summer. One is used as a router and the other is cascaded essentially as a wireless extender. I used a second E4200 becuase it had better signal strength than a regular extender.

One of the refurbished units was defective - losing the configuration intermittently. Sent it back via FedEx, got the delivery receipt yet Cisco lost it. Eventually they sent a replacement which has been working perfectly. Both units have very strong signal over a large area. They do run very hot which is a concern if located in a tight space with little ventilation.

The v2 was a big upgrade in performance over the v1. Don't know anything about the E4500 except to say that yes I would buy another Linksys as performance has been great once i got them set up properly. I think that cascading is now automatic in the newer models. When I got mine I had to manually configure them to cascade which wasn't easy because Linksys support wasn't sure how to do it (at least until i got to USA support instead support from some third world country).

I recommend the E series from Linksys.

"life is like a box of chocolate and don't know what you're goin'a get."
That pretty much sums up buying a router by brand. The wireless router chipsets are mostly from Broadcom, Marvell, Atheros (now Qualcomm), Ralink. Any brand may use any of these. The only real difference is the user interface and may be quality of the flash device inside. In a sense there is no use to select by brand if you don't know which chipset went in that model. There are a lot of reviews in stating which chipset went in which.

My longest running wireless router actually used a little known chipset made by Airgo in a Belkin branded pre-N MIMO model. They got acquired by Qualcomm for their technology almost immediately. I have several Airlink101 models using Ralink chipsets and they are still working. I have two Linksys models failed. Generally due to fast technology progression, they only work for about two years before replaced with a newer model.

In most cases, heat is the most damaging factor in making a router fail. So today I use a different strategy:
1. Let the DSL, cable modem hold the WAN address and DNS server address. This makes the carrier responsible for issues relate to them.
2. Let the network gateway or main router hold the DHCP address assignment. Only use DHCP for computers and use fixed IP address assignment for printers, access points and NAS's.
3. Use a separate gigabit switch as the main network switch.
4. Use a wireless router in AP mode.

Main point is to spread the thermal energy across several boxes. Don't let the modem or main router do heavy duty gigabit switching or WiFi radio work where most heat is generated. Keep the boxes well ventilated.

I also use a Netgear WNDR3700 .

Don

Eek, this is horribly disturbing. Cisco bad, mkay?

If I hook an external harddrive up to the USB port on some of these fancy routers, will I be able to access the files on it anywhere I travel, or just within my network.

[=http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/wi-fi-performance,2985.html][/]

Slightly dated Toms Hardware review on wireless routers including AEBS.

whats up with resetting the router every so after? I have had 4 wireless routers from different companies, I have yet to needing to reset any one of them every once in a while. Am I just lucky?

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but I *was* pretty pleased with my Linksys EA4500 up until about a week ago. Cisco pushed this Cisco Cloud Connect which basically requires you to agree to a bunch EULA terms (data mining, internet history, etc) before you could connect to your router. You could bypass it by disconneting the internet but it cripples your router (not all features available, etc). Luckily they're provided a way to downgrade to the previous (Classic) firmware but no word if they'll be supporting it going forward.

I have an Asus RT-N66 running tomato frimware and I've been quite happy with it. It's a fast router and I've had no problems with it. I installed tomato because of the firmware's extensive QOS configuration options that I'm using to prioritize traffic to and from my network, and I've had good results.

Flash it with DD-WRT.