Recommend me a new Router

I'm more than willing to replace the internal wnic on my laptop to get the 5ghz signal. I just don't see any on newegg. I'll have to look at other retailers when I get the chance.

edit: Just confirmed my work laptop (ThinkPad T410) does do 5 GHz. It has an Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 AGN.

That doesn't really work, groan. You see how the bars are always 5 channels wide? That's because that's how 802.11 works -- the adjacent channels interfere with one another. If he plunks down at 8 or 9, he'll end up being badly interfered with by both of the two strongest networks in range, and they're very loud indeed. Further, because he's on a different channel, his AP won't see the other APs, and they won't be able to properly share airtime... they'll just interfere with each other without being able to take any steps to avoid stomping on each other's traffic.

If his signal goes up centered on 8, then it will bleed into, and be interfered by, everything from 6 to 10 -- which means that anyone centered on the channels 4 through 12 will interfere with him, since channel 4 bleeds up to 6, and 12 bleeds down to 10. (12 and 13 aren't supposed to be used in the US, by the way.) Only channels 1 through 3 wouldn't interfere with him.

The Wireless Wonder signal is especially terrible, taking up a double-wide slot with a very strong radio. That guy, whoever it is, may be kind of a jerk.

tl;dr version for Edwin: yes, flee, flee for the hills. Avoid 2.4Ghz entirely. Retreat up to the relatively pristine lands of 5Ghz.

Just ran inSSIDer on my work laptop since it has a 5GHz radio. I think I know what I must do now.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/krKe6.jpg)

Edwin wrote:

Just ran inSSIDer on my work laptop since it has a 5GHz radio. I think I know what I must do now.

You've found the sweet, pristine fields of 5 GHz!

Just remember that 5GHz has less penetration and will suffer more due to walls, bookcases, etc. But yeah, my area is similar: busy 2.4 but there's no one on 5GHz. I need to get a MIMO WAP for my new laptop that has a 6200 as well.

Edwin wrote:

I'd like to pick you brains on a router recommendation. We just moved and our new area is completely flooded in the 2.4 spectrum. So I was thinking of getting a router that would support 5.0 ghz and that should clear up our issue. We don't have a very big apartment so range should not be an issue. We currently have a WRT54GL running DD-WRT. It's a shame they just never made an N and 5ghz version. Here are some details below.

IMAGE(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7BTPgg3SXsU/T3N54roIbkI/AAAAAAAAQLA/9JSQNGhAYdw/s948/2.4ghzspectrum_list.JPG)
IMAGE(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GxW4XG7p4Js/T3N54pRkKtI/AAAAAAAAQLE/Xpg1TKSWlho/s948/2.4ghzspectrum.JPG)
IMAGE(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-WIdqzwJ22O0/T3N55IkjaJI/AAAAAAAAQLQ/pzTgD7e2gdQ/s736/2.4ghzspectrum_excel.JPG)

Is it worth getting a 5ghz setup? If so, which router and NICs for my laptop (Dell XPS 1500z) and Clover's (mid-2011 MBP)? I know mine doesn't do 5ghz as it's a Intel WiFi Link 1000 BGN but I am unsure of Clover's MBP. The only other devices we have is a Lenovo T410 (work laptop), two android phones, a Xbox 360 (wired) and a Logitech Revue Google TV (also wired).

I'm guessing/hoping Cornturd is your SSID.

Yeah, my AP is the only 5Ghz signal in range. I don't have the ability to turn the 2.4Ghz signal off, on an Airport, but I would if I could.

That InSSIDer program, btw, is awesome. I think I'll throw that guy a few bucks.

Bonus_Eruptus wrote:

I'm guessing/hoping Cornturd is your SSID.

Mine aren't in the list but I have two. Abraham Linksys and Admiral Snackbar (for guests). I'm sure you can guess the passwords.

IMAGE(http://s3-ak.buzzfed.com/static/imagebuzz/web04/2009/12/12/14/its-a-frap-27896-1260646033-56.jpg)

Malor, thanks for that lesson in wifi channeling. much helpful!

Admiral snAckbar. awesome.

Yo, folks!

So I picked up the Asus RT-N66U (thanks to tuffalobuffalo and Microcenter's price-matching!) and everything seems to work really well. Mostly, anyway. Now that I can take advantage of the 5GHz band, I've been running into connectivity issues on that SSID. Thing is, I can connect to the network just fine, and my computer is recognized and all that, but the problem is connecting my computer to the internet over the 5GHz channel-- it either gets super slow, or cuts out completely (though the connection to the router is maintained). If I switch to the 2.4GHz channel, everything is kosher-- network connectivity, internet connectivity, the whole nine yards. I'm wondering if it's my wireless adapter-- I've found that if I unplug it then re-plug it in, the network connects again and everything is fine for a while, but after a few hours it goes all stupid again.

So before I go out and buy a new adapter (preferably a PCI card rather than a USB deal like I have now), anyone have any suggestions of what the problem might be?

Also, I'm wondering what the advantages of installing DD-WRT over the ASUS-WRT might be. The Asus software seems to suit my needs, so I'm trying to figure out of DD-WRT would increase performance or something over the stock firmware. (There's a part of me that wonders if installing DD-WRT might solve my connection issues in the 5GHz channel, but I don't want to go through a ton of steps that might brick my router if it turns out the wireless adapter is the culprit).

Have you updated the firmware on the N66u? From reviews I read Asus made some big improvements.

I have-- it is updated to the latest stock firmware. I hadn't run it long enough before updating to tell the difference between the two firmware versions, though, save for some much-needed FAQ links in the browser-based menus.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/8R1Qe.jpg)

WipEout wrote:

I have-- it is updated to the latest stock firmware. I hadn't run it long enough before updating to tell the difference between the two firmware versions, though, save for some much-needed FAQ links in the browser-based menus.

I updated it to the latest firmware when I got mine (maybe a month or two ago) and that has been working perfectly for me. How many 5 GHz wireless-N devices do you have? Is it just the one? Also, do you have the two bands set up separately or as one network? I have mine set up as one and it will automatically set a device to a band depending on how much traffic is in one (from what I can tell). I showed the graphs earlier in the thread. I've had zero connectivity lost and have never had to reset the router in the time I've had it. It's been really nice not to have to deal with it. It's definitely been a set-it-and-forget-it situation.

It could be the wireless adapter as you mentioned. I am using a USB one for my desktop which is actually a cheapo Rosewill that I picked up on sale. I haven't had any issues with it. The USB 2.0 shouldn't be limiting it, really, from what I found when I researched it. I looked up the bandwidth allotment and it should be okay. I got it at a time when I didn't have an available PCI slot, but since it continues to work great, I haven't replaced it.

Since the stock firmware has worked fine for me, I haven't bothered to update to DD-WRT. I like the tools and visual presentation of the ASUS firmware just fine for now.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
WipEout wrote:

I have-- it is updated to the latest stock firmware. I hadn't run it long enough before updating to tell the difference between the two firmware versions, though, save for some much-needed FAQ links in the browser-based menus.

I updated it to the latest firmware when I got mine (maybe a month or two ago) and that has been working perfectly for me. How many 5 GHz wireless-N devices do you have? Is it just the one? Also, do you have the two bands set up separately or as one network? I have mine set up as one and it will automatically set a device to a band depending on how much traffic is in one (from what I can tell). I showed the graphs earlier in the thread. I've had zero connectivity lost and have never had to reset the router in the time I've had it. It's been really nice not to have to deal with it. It's definitely been a set-it-and-forget-it situation.

It could be the wireless adapter as you mentioned. I am using a USB one for my desktop which is actually a cheapo Rosewill that I picked up on sale. I haven't had any issues with it. The USB 2.0 shouldn't be limiting it, really, from what I found when I researched it. I looked up the bandwidth allotment and it should be okay. I got it at a time when I didn't have an available PCI slot, but since it continues to work great, I haven't replaced it.

Since the stock firmware has worked fine for me, I haven't bothered to update to DD-WRT. I like the tools and visual presentation of the ASUS firmware just fine for now.

Yup, I only have the one 5GHz device (my PC in the other room, about 30ft away from the router). I didn't set up the network for a switchable deal, though-- I have two SSIDs, one on the 2.4GHz, the other on the 5GHz band. I did reset the router once yesterday, to check if that was the problem, but my Xbox had no problems (though it's CAT5e), nor did my wife's laptop (Wireless G). That's what's making me think the problem lies with my adapter (Linksys AE1000), but the fact that the adapter still connects to the network but not the internet when other devices connect to everything just fine is what's throwing me here-- my thought is that if the wireless adapter is on the fritz, it wouldn't connect to the network at all. Actually, now that I've written that, I do recall that I couldn't even connect to 192.168.1.1 to check router settings, even though Windows said there was at least limited connectivity. Guess I'll be stopping at Tiger Direct on my way home tonight...

WipEout wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:
WipEout wrote:

I have-- it is updated to the latest stock firmware. I hadn't run it long enough before updating to tell the difference between the two firmware versions, though, save for some much-needed FAQ links in the browser-based menus.

I updated it to the latest firmware when I got mine (maybe a month or two ago) and that has been working perfectly for me. How many 5 GHz wireless-N devices do you have? Is it just the one? Also, do you have the two bands set up separately or as one network? I have mine set up as one and it will automatically set a device to a band depending on how much traffic is in one (from what I can tell). I showed the graphs earlier in the thread. I've had zero connectivity lost and have never had to reset the router in the time I've had it. It's been really nice not to have to deal with it. It's definitely been a set-it-and-forget-it situation.

It could be the wireless adapter as you mentioned. I am using a USB one for my desktop which is actually a cheapo Rosewill that I picked up on sale. I haven't had any issues with it. The USB 2.0 shouldn't be limiting it, really, from what I found when I researched it. I looked up the bandwidth allotment and it should be okay. I got it at a time when I didn't have an available PCI slot, but since it continues to work great, I haven't replaced it.

Since the stock firmware has worked fine for me, I haven't bothered to update to DD-WRT. I like the tools and visual presentation of the ASUS firmware just fine for now.

Yup, I only have the one 5GHz device (my PC in the other room, about 30ft away from the router). I didn't set up the network for a switchable deal, though-- I have two SSIDs, one on the 2.4GHz, the other on the 5GHz band. I did reset the router once yesterday, to check if that was the problem, but my Xbox had no problems (though it's CAT5e), nor did my wife's laptop (Wireless G). That's what's making me think the problem lies with my adapter (Linksys AE1000), but the fact that the adapter still connects to the network but not the internet when other devices connect to everything just fine is what's throwing me here-- my thought is that if the wireless adapter is on the fritz, it wouldn't connect to the network at all. Actually, now that I've written that, I do recall that I couldn't even connect to 192.168.1.1 to check router settings, even though Windows said there was at least limited connectivity. Guess I'll be stopping at Tiger Direct on my way home tonight...

To be honest, that's what I would do. It may not be the problem, but it's worth a shot. I had an even cheaper Belkin USB Wireless-G adapter that I used forever even though it would disconnect frequently (I could either unplug/plug or disable/enable it to get it working. Fortunately, this one I have now works fine. If it ever goes bad, I'll just get a PCI one.

If you want to have the router automatically choose which band, give both networks the same SSID and password. That's all you have to do. There isn't any sort of check box or anything that I saw.

Oh yeah-- I initially had it set to both bands on the same SSID, but I was never sure if my computer was on the 5GHz band or not (was still familiarizing myself with the menus too). Couple that with the initial connection problems I was having (no QoS on by default meant I got horrible bandwidth when my wife was on her computer-- though that issue might even have been due to a faulty adapter), I tried divvying the networks and everything worked fine after that. The 5GHz network was even showing 5 bars, but once I connected to it, it would drop to 2-3 bars. The weird thing is, I never really had any issues with this adapter when I was running it on my old Wireless G network.

So after all that, anyone have any suggestions for strong dual band PCIe wireless adapters?

WipEout wrote:

Oh yeah-- I initially had it set to both bands on the same SSID, but I was never sure if my computer was on the 5GHz band or not (was still familiarizing myself with the menus too). Couple that with the initial connection problems I was having (no QoS on by default meant I got horrible bandwidth when my wife was on her computer-- though that issue might even have been due to a faulty adapter), I tried divvying the networks and everything worked fine after that. The 5GHz network was even showing 5 bars, but once I connected to it, it would drop to 2-3 bars. The weird thing is, I never really had any issues with this adapter when I was running it on my old Wireless G network.

So after all that, anyone have any suggestions for strong dual band PCIe wireless adapters?

Yeah, you can watch real-time graphs of bandwidth usage for each band. They are in the firmware menu there somewhere. I was experimenting with file transfers, and that's when I noticed when transferring a big file between my desktop and laptop, the two devices went to different bands.

Make sure you check out that inSSIDer program. It's really nice to get an idea of what the overall wireless situation is in the area. Plus, it's just kinda cool. You can watch your router switch to different channels automatically in real time when I channel frees up. I suspect a lot of routers are trying to do that all the time and so they just rotate around on channels.

Just using that and checking out the 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz usage graphs in the firmware gave me a great visual idea of what's going on in my area. It definitely makes everything a bit less mysterious.

Thanks for the tips! I did install InSSIDer just before I installed the new router. I found my internet connection in general (for all devices) was also bogged down when I first set up the network, so I set the network(s) to stick to one channel each, and that seemed to help my connection as well (luckily, there are no other 5GHz networks in my area).

That said, however, I just installed a TP-Link network card, TL-WND4800, which I saw was getting a lot of good reviews on Amazon and Newegg. I figured I'd give it a shot for a week and see how it pans out-- two hours and so far so good, at least! I've had a steady 4 bars and no bogging down on the network so far (compared to the USB adapater, that had limited or super-slow connectivity off and on all night until I installed the card). Fingers crossed!

Haven't heard of TP-Link before. We could use some good new consumer networking companies.

I am a little skeptical, tbh. I'd seen TP-Link come up alongside TrendNet when searching for KVM switches and the like, but I'd always ignored them since I'd never heard of them. Looking at the user reviews for this one, though, I figured I'd give it a chance.

WipEout wrote:

I am a little skeptical, tbh. I'd seen TP-Link come up alongside TrendNet when searching for KVM switches and the like, but I'd always ignored them since I'd never heard of them. Looking at the user reviews for this one, though, I figured I'd give it a chance.

Good to hear it's working so far. Let us know how it goes. It's nice when things work like they're supposed to.

Funny, I just came to this thread to talk about a TP-Link router - the TL-WR1043ND.

This router is now the darling of ~$50 consumer wifi routers. DD-WRT support, high throughput, gigabit switch, 3 removable (read: upgradeable) antennas (RP-SMA).

The only real knock on it is that it's 2.4 GHz only. But, if you're not looking for 5 GHz, this appears to be far and away the best you're going to get at a hair over $50.

This is my WRT54GL replacement. Only catch is, you apparently need to pay attention and make sure you're following directions when doing a DD-WRT flash. It's easy, but apparently the device is more prone to bricking than other devices if you go and flash the wrong thing.

I was just looking at that one, Legion.

You have one? How do you think it'd handle being installed outside but within a "weatherproof" container?

So all in all, the TP-Link adapter has had a better signal and no dropped connection, but I have had to reset the router once or twice in the last week. I'm at a loss as to why the internet connection on the router's end degrades (the whole network loses connectivity to the internet until I reboot the router), and I wonder if maybe it's Comcast's cable or the modem that's the problem. I have had to reset the modem a number of times in the past, and noticed the little "service" light will go out on occasion, but all in all this is the best internet connection available to our location.

I might install DD-WRT this weekend or next depending on how the internet connection holds up, but so far things have been much better between my PC and the router since I installed the TP-Link PCIe card.

That's disappointing that you're having that issue, WipEout. I'm not sure what could be causing it. I use Comcast with the classic Motorola SURFboard SB5101U and haven't had any issues. Routers and modems still have a lot of aspects that are a mystery to me. If I were in your situation, I would try throwing DD-WRT on mine. I haven't had to restart mine at all since I set it up, however, so I'm gonna leave everything as is.

I've experienced that issue before. It's occurred mainly at work. Rebooting the router restores internet connectivity event though the home network was always fine. I believe you can also just log in to the router and save settings in order to reinitialize the router.

I think I'll do some googling on that issue because I always wondered wtf causes that. It's nice that turning it off and on again works, but I would rather know why it does so that I could fix the underlying issue.

Lester_King wrote:

I was just looking at that one, Legion.

You have one? How do you think it'd handle being installed outside but within a "weatherproof" container?

I do have one. It feels sturdy enough, and it is made for wall mounting.

I haven't really handled mounting wifi devices outdoors, but there's nothing that jumps out at me that would make me think it's unfit for the duty. The flat rectangular form factor seems like it would be ideal for outdoor mounting - no feet to remove, no weird unbalanced "spaceship" form.

I can't speak as to the quality of the stock firmware, as installing DD-WRT was my first task performed upon opening the box.

Malor wrote:

Haven't heard of TP-Link before. We could use some good new consumer networking companies.

I use a tp-link usb wireless adapter for my kids' pc. It works great. Easy install, no issues.

In the spirit of the thread I was gifted an E4200 router (pricey). I really like it. It self-configured itself from my pc over the wireless connection for my cable modem, a trick I had never seen before (usually have to plug in and spoof mac).

I'm moving back to the States in a few months and will most likely be signing up with Comcast or Verizon (FIOS). If I go the Comcast route, rather than renting a modem from them, I was thinking about buying one of the newer Motorola Surfboard gateways. Can anyone recommend (or not recommend) those vs. a separate modem/router combo? My needs are very simple, FWIW...