Recommend me a new Router

Robear wrote:

I'm hearing though that the later revs are "faster"... Not sure whether that means lower latency or more throughput. Any thoughts?

its basically baked into the cost of FIOS so just "break it" and you should be provided a new one... I actually find that aspect of FIOS the most frustrating.. since their Router uses MoCA to supply IP to all the set-top boxes you can't easily swap it out for a better router.. since if you do kiss all your guide and IP function of your set-tops.. I'm probably going all cable card at some point anyway so that will kinda make the decision easier..

Thanks for the info, GG. Obviously I don't think it'll break in the near future, but then, it's fine as is. I'll deal.

Malor wrote:

Does FIOS come into the house as Ethernet? If so, you can use any router you want.

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16077

I want to get a new Wi-Fi router for my parents' house that can offer the following:
1. dual band
2. enough range to reach from their basement to the master bedroom. The current router, a WRT54GS, almost does this, so I guess not too much more juice is needed.
3. and optional: supports personal VPN connectivity out of the box. No one's around to help them install dd-wrt, so we'd need this feature baked in.

I know very little about what's good, so I'd appreciate your guys' thoughts!

Chairman_Mao wrote:

I want to get a new Wi-Fi router for my parents' house that can offer the following:
1. dual band
2. enough range to reach from their basement to the master bedroom. The current router, a WRT54GS, almost does this, so I guess not too much more juice is needed.
3. and optional: supports personal VPN connectivity out of the box. No one's around to help them install dd-wrt, so we'd need this feature baked in.

I know very little about what's good, so I'd appreciate your guys' thoughts!

If you haven't been keeping up with the thread, the Asus RT-N66U has treated a lot of us well (I think someone had some issues but got the unit replaced just fine). Also, it's called The Dark Knight. You can install DD-WRT on it, but the Asus firmware is pretty good, so I don't believe any of us GWJers have done it yet. It's most definitely got excellent VPN functionality baked into the default firmware. There are 2 flavors of the RT-N66U at the moment. I think most of us have the cheaper N version. The more expensive version of it isn't really needed at this point.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
Chairman_Mao wrote:

I want to get a new Wi-Fi router for my parents' house that can offer the following:
1. dual band
2. enough range to reach from their basement to the master bedroom. The current router, a WRT54GS, almost does this, so I guess not too much more juice is needed.
3. and optional: supports personal VPN connectivity out of the box. No one's around to help them install dd-wrt, so we'd need this feature baked in.

I know very little about what's good, so I'd appreciate your guys' thoughts!

If you haven't been keeping up with the thread, the Asus RT-N66U has treated a lot of us well (I think someone had some issues but got the unit replaced just fine). Also, it's called The Dark Knight. You can install DD-WRT on it, but the Asus firmware is pretty good, so I don't believe any of us GWJers have done it yet. It's most definitely got excellent VPN functionality baked into the default firmware. There are 2 flavors of the RT-N66U at the moment. I think most of us have the cheaper N version. The more expensive version of it isn't really needed at this point.

Excellent I'll pass this along!

I'll second the ASUS RT-N66U. Still on the default firmware, and its behaving beautifully. I've got wifi out to the patio, as well as the upstairs bathroom (both over 50' from the station and through walls/floors).

TheGameguru wrote:
Robear wrote:

I'm hearing though that the later revs are "faster"... Not sure whether that means lower latency or more throughput. Any thoughts?

its basically baked into the cost of FIOS so just "break it" and you should be provided a new one... I actually find that aspect of FIOS the most frustrating.. since their Router uses MoCA to supply IP to all the set-top boxes you can't easily swap it out for a better router.. since if you do kiss all your guide and IP function of your set-tops.. I'm probably going all cable card at some point anyway so that will kinda make the decision easier..

I've called Verizon so many times with router problems and still haven't received a new one. I keep on getting the "Let me look into this and I'll give you a call back". I'm still on the G model and it just can't handle streaming if anything else is using the internet at the same time. It also craps out and needs to be power-cycled often. Do you guys all have the N model or are you piggybacking?

EvilDead wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:
Robear wrote:

I'm hearing though that the later revs are "faster"... Not sure whether that means lower latency or more throughput. Any thoughts?

its basically baked into the cost of FIOS so just "break it" and you should be provided a new one... I actually find that aspect of FIOS the most frustrating.. since their Router uses MoCA to supply IP to all the set-top boxes you can't easily swap it out for a better router.. since if you do kiss all your guide and IP function of your set-tops.. I'm probably going all cable card at some point anyway so that will kinda make the decision easier..

I've called Verizon so many times with router problems and still haven't received a new one. I keep on getting the "Let me look into this and I'll give you a call back". I'm still on the G model and it just can't handle streaming if anything else is using the internet at the same time. It also craps out and needs to be power-cycled often. Do you guys all have the N model or are you piggybacking?

Did you drop it out the window yet?

TheGameguru wrote:
EvilDead wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:
Robear wrote:

I'm hearing though that the later revs are "faster"... Not sure whether that means lower latency or more throughput. Any thoughts?

its basically baked into the cost of FIOS so just "break it" and you should be provided a new one... I actually find that aspect of FIOS the most frustrating.. since their Router uses MoCA to supply IP to all the set-top boxes you can't easily swap it out for a better router.. since if you do kiss all your guide and IP function of your set-tops.. I'm probably going all cable card at some point anyway so that will kinda make the decision easier..

I've called Verizon so many times with router problems and still haven't received a new one. I keep on getting the "Let me look into this and I'll give you a call back". I'm still on the G model and it just can't handle streaming if anything else is using the internet at the same time. It also craps out and needs to be power-cycled often. Do you guys all have the N model or are you piggybacking?

Did you drop it out the window yet?

Hah, I'm about to! I'm trying to get it replaced again over internet chat right now.

"Satish(09:37:28): I can go ahead and reload the software configuration on the main box which will fix the issue permanently.
Satish(09:37:54): By my experience, let me inform you to be assured, this will resolve the issue for sure, I have resolved similar issue with these steps successfully earlier with many customers.
Satish(09:38:04): Shall I go ahead and send the commands right now?"

Yes Satish, re-flashing my firmware is going to make my 3+ year old G router not be slow.

Edit: OK, "new" router on the way. What are the odds it's going to be a same model refurb?

EvilDead wrote:

OK, "new" router on the way. What are the odds it's going to be a same model refurb?

I'd say over 50%. All the times I've had to turn in equipment with Comcast, I've wound up with newer (albeit still refurbed) stuff. Then I dropped cable and bought my own cable modem...

McIrishJihad wrote:
EvilDead wrote:

OK, "new" router on the way. What are the odds it's going to be a same model refurb?

I'd say over 50%. All the times I've had to turn in equipment with Comcast, I've wound up with newer (albeit still refurbed) stuff. Then I dropped cable and bought my own cable modem...

Unfortunately I can't do that with FIOS. The modem/router is responsible for correctly routing the cable box data and remote DVR management. I would have to piggy back an additional router on top of it and doing that wouldn't necessarily solve the problems of the initial one crapping out.

I think I lucked out. I got a refurb but it is an Actiontec N router rev. I. I just tested @ 25 ft and my wireless speeds have doubled even with 3 walls , a staircase, and brick chimney in the way. Just possibly I may be able to play some online games while the lady streams a movie. Possibly.

If you can arrange to do the movie streaming over a wired connection, that might improve things a fair bit. Dunno if it's the router itself choking, or if you don't have enough bandwidth; moving the big consumer to wired will at least let you prove what's breaking.

Of course, with new hardware, that may solve both issues at once, meaning you won't care what the problem actually was.

Malor wrote:

If you can arrange to do the movie streaming over a wired connection, that might improve things a fair bit. Dunno if it's the router itself choking, or if you don't have enough bandwidth; moving the big consumer to wired will at least let you prove what's breaking.

Of course, with new hardware, that may solve both issues at once, meaning you won't care what the problem actually was.

Yeah, wired is the ideal scenario. Our house is over 70 years old and the walls are definitely not easy to run wire through. For months I have been racking my brain for a way to hardwire the 360 in the basement. The other option is moving the router to the basement for hardwired connection but that will severely limit the range and performance of the 2nd floor and outside wireless usage.

I tried it last night with the N router and it stilled lagged during Amazon streaming so I'm guessing its the Actiontec router and not a bandwidth issue. I doubt Call of Duty really uses that much anyways. I'm going to mess around with QoS over the weekend to see if I can at least make it manageable.

The other thing that's strange is the huge lag spikes are specific to the Roku and not streaming from the secondary 360 or Wireless Vizio TV. I notice a little degradation here and there with the others but nothing like what I get since we installed the Roku over the holidays. Maybe a poor buffering system?

Since your stuck with that router, why not just use some power line adapters?

Edit: Changed the wording in case it seemed annoyed. I wasn't at all.

I was wondering about those and was looking for reviews comparing the different models but wasn't able to find any. There are like 20 models from Netgear alone. Do you have any experience with them? The power line where the router plugs in is ancient (there is no dedicated ground wire!) but the one in the basement is new thanks to some recent flooding.

I don't, but there are people who have mentioned them in the thread. Maybe someone will chime in...

I'm also interested in FHE with power-line adapters, especially for older houses where running wire isn't really an option.

I have been reading the newegg & amazon reviews and they seem very hit or miss depending on house wiring configuration, distance, and your houses general power usage.

I found these for $50 and am tempted. It appears that none of them even come remotely close to the advertised speeds which is why the put 100mps Ethernet jacks in the 500mps units.

I have heard nothing but good things but haven't used them myself. In an older house with older wiring you may have issues, but I am not sure how old is too old. If you have knob and tube wiring move out before it burns down around you

Maybe buy from somewhere with a good return policy and test it out?

EvilDead wrote:

I have been reading the newegg & amazon reviews and they seem very hit or miss depending on house wiring configuration, distance, and your houses general power usage.

I found these for $50 and am tempted. It appears that none of them even come remotely close to the advertised speeds which is why the put 100mps Ethernet jacks in the 500mps units.

You might wait until someone on here chimes in, but you should be able to return them to Amazon if it doesn't work, correct? Given your situation, it might be worth trying at $50.

Since you don't have a ground wire on your outlet next to the router, are you sure that's not a requirement? I really have no idea how the tech works.

Got a point Rykin. Maybe I'll finally bite the bullet and give them a shot with the next paycheck, worst case I ship back to Amazon for a refund.

That'll have me using my old WRT-54G as a switch upstairs, but being able to get my Ubuntu box and 2nd Xbox hard wired and off WiFi, which is always a win

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
EvilDead wrote:

I have been reading the newegg & amazon reviews and they seem very hit or miss depending on house wiring configuration, distance, and your houses general power usage.

I found these for $50 and am tempted. It appears that none of them even come remotely close to the advertised speeds which is why the put 100mps Ethernet jacks in the 500mps units.

You might wait until someone on here chimes in, but you should be able to return them to Amazon if it doesn't work, correct? Given your situation, it might be worth trying at $50.

Since you don't have a ground wire on your outlet next to the router, are you sure that's not a requirement? I really have no idea how the tech works.

Yeah, at $50 I bit. If I can't use them, I'm sure I can find someone I know who can. Technically the outlet is still grounded, it just doesn't have a dedicated wire. It has a semi-flexible metal casing that surrounds the wires. I don't know what the exact name is but its common in older houses. When we first got the house I spent a bit of time replacing all the 2 prong outlets to 3 prong and running a copper wire to the metal housing.

That's greenfield conduit. That should be as good as a ground wire for practical purposes.

Well, since I brought them up, I'm really curious if it's gonna work. Keep us posted.

They should arrive monday so I'll let you guys know. QoS settings have helped somewhat for wireless though.

I received the units today. It seems hit or miss in my house which outlets can create a connection and it doesn't have anything to do with whether they are installed on a new circuit or an original circuit. Unfortunately the ones I need are not connecting. When they do connect they tap out my FIOS on speedtest.net (the wireless N does too) at 35 mbps. Our house is pretty small and the router is close to being in the middle so the maximum distance tested (as a bird flies) is probably 30 ft. They also have to be plugged directly into the outlet which makes it a bit more difficult in areas with allot of electronics.

Darn.

I has a sad then