What is the deal with internal antennas?

[DaveHCYJ]

I recently started shopping for a new router since my old one is about 6 years old and starting to get flakey.

Why don't they make (or very few models have) external antennas anymore? Are internal antennas any good, do you suffer range issues?

I guess part of my problem is I'm limiting my search to linksys and netgear (both brands I've used and liked in the past).

Doing a search on newegg for those brands with gig ethernet comes up with a very short list, none of which have external antennas, and all of which are not cheap. In fact my router I got 6 years ago with gig ethernet was cheaper than all of them. I don't get it...

[JCLW]

Why not just use a separate gigabit switch? It might give you more router options.

[Dermen]

You can mod an antenna on some models very easily if they have antenna connections on the PCB. I did it with an older Buffalo router, but I have seen it done on a newer Buffalo as well.

[JJG]

lol if they dont have to put an external antenna they are prob cheeper to make :p

[TollhouseFrank]

lol if they dont have to put an external antenna they are prob cheeper to make :p

Not necessarily. A lot of people, in the pursuit of extra 'oomph' on the radio, would do physical mods to the router, including larger, non-approved antenna's, directional dishes, etc.

By having everything housed nice and neat in an enclosed case, there is less to think about when it comes to troubleshooting them.

[DaveHCYJ]

I guess maybe as these things are going more and more mainstream the average user is intimidated by the industrial look of antennas? So companies are prettying up their products by hiding them inside.

Oh well, I guess I don't need an external antenna. Its just nice to be able to get that extra bit of signal by being able to orient it how you like.