Will a good quality WIFI router reach further then a okay one ?

I've narrowed it down between these I believe:

TP-LINK Archer C5 AC1200

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop

or the

Linksys EA6350

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop

I've purchased the 1000 for clients and I owned two of the 3000 units. With their internal antennae, I found them to be lacking. I bought a very expensive 802.11 AC dual band router and I love it. My co-workers have advocated for multiple cheap routers with some being used as access points though out the property.

For the single router configuration, I find that the dual band AC to be good. 5GHz does not travel far but for any device that connects to it, the speed is great. The 2.4 GHz travels much further but has more interference. The AC standard can do beam-forming which can improve distance and speed depending on the unit you buy.

For the multiple router setup, my co-workers advocate the very inexpensive TP-Link 802.11n. Set one up as a router and the rest at access points. Use Ethernet to connect each unit and spread them out to cover your intended area.

Check out my first post I changed it, which one would you choose out of those two ?

I would look for the newest generation of 802.11ac Wi-Fi.

First, I shy away from the Linksys brand now that its owned by Belkin. I've never been happy with Belkin networking products. Note that I said shy and not run, but still......

The TP-Link has twice the USB ports which may be of value to you. The Linksys has a single USB3 but I fail to see a true benefit of the USB3 speed in this application.

Both have only one antenna per freq. This means that neither will beam-form. That's probably not an issue but without knowing the reason for the upgrade I couldn't say. I will say that the external antenna will generally preform better than the Linsys 1000 you presently have. The antenna will probably give you about a 3db gain.

On Newegg's website, the TP-Link has a better ratio of good vs bad reviews over the Linksys. While you can't ensure 100% that the reviews are well thought out, it doesn't bode well for the Linksys.

For me, I would buy the TP-Link.

Okay here's my original problem and the reason for the upgrade.

I have a device that receives the WiFi signal kinda poorly and it's a 2.4GHz device by the way. If I were to get a higher quality router but still the device only can accept a 2.4GHz signal. But the question is, will the new higher quality router's WiFi go further and be a stronger signal for the that device to use ?

By the way the device is a sony smart blu-ray player that I use to stream Netflix and amazon prime. According to the device my signal strength is kinda weak always fluctuating between 15% to 45%. Streaming seems lagging and the picture doesn't always produce a 1080 resolution.

The router is currently in a closet on the second floor and the device is on the 1st level in the entertainment center. Distance approximately 65 feet give or take.

I'm hoping that it will turn the 1 or 2 bar into a 4 or 5 bar quality. If I can't get more bars on the device then I don't want to waste my time upgrading. Let me know thanks.


Well according to the Linksys product page the EA6350 does do beam-form. Also according to Amazon the TP-LINK Archer C5 AC1200 has more reviews and their generally more positive than the ES6350. But I do find that a lot people who do negative reviews it often seems like their own fault. I do like Linksys and they been good to me, so I've always bought Linksys in the past. But TP-LINK does seem to be the winner.

I don't know that either will give you 4 - 5 bars but they may land you in a solid 2 bars and maybe 3. 65 feet from one floor to the next must mean that you have a fairly spread out house. It may be more cost effective to see if you can move your router to a more centralized spot on the 2nd floor.

Finally, I think that the TP-Link has detachable antenna. If so, and you aren't getting the signal streangth you want, you could buy another antenna from fleabay. Perhaps a 7 or 9 db gain that may put you over the top. Just a thought.

I agree with you on the reviews. Who knows what axe they may have to grind or why.

New router, WiFi keeps fluctuating. Spend even more on another router ??


My problem is I bought a smart Sony Blu-ray player and I stream Netflix and Amazon prime and it's located in the living room downstairs and the router is upstairs in the closet about 65 feet away. When streaming my TV shows I'll get a bandwidth warning and sometime the show will just stop streaming altogether. In the internet status section of the device signal quality is around 34% but fluctuating a lot anywhere from 10% to 44% this is with my Linksys E1000.

So I upgraded to a TP-LINK Archer C5 AC1200 which is a good mid-range product, but now the signal hovers around 70% but it still fluctuates a lot like all way down to 5% often like every 15 to 20 seconds for a couple of seconds then goes back to 50% then back to %70. Netflix TV shows do stream somewhat faster but I don't like the fluctuating after spending money on a upgrade. I spent like $80 on this router but I'd rather return it and spend more if I have to get a signal that doesn't fluctuate. The only thing in the entertainment center is the TV and a HD-DVR from Time Warner. I updated the firmware on the router by the way to latest version. I don't think there anything wrong with the router. By the way I shut off the 5GHz band in the router settings cause I don't have any thing dual band and I'm pretty sure the Blu-ray player don't have dual band capability. My smart phone when placed by the Blu-ray player it has low bars too.

So why is the signal fluctuating so much why can't it not stay steady, is it normal for WiFi to fluctuate so much cause my phone thorough out the rest of the home has max bars and stays that way.

I could move my router up one shelf or down one shelf but were just talking like 12 inches up or down so I doubt it will make a diff and it would be a hassle.

The question is I don't want to waste time and money getting another router and getting the same results, do you think if I upgrade to something even better will my signal stop fluctuating ? If you don't think upgrading will help then I'll keep the C5 cause it is better then what I had before.

The blu-ray I got is this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-BDPS3500-Blu-ray-Player-Wi-Fi/dp/B00TYFCJ8S

I'm thinking about returning the C5 and getting either a NETGEAR AC1750 R6400 or maybe the TP-LINK Archer C8 AC1750 which is well ranked, there is the C9 but for some reason it's not ranked very high among the AC1900 routers. My budget is around $130.

Thanks

My brother-in-law has had good luck with ASUS WIFI router.

Does the signal fluctuate on your phone too? You state that it has low bars but does it bounce up and down. My thought is that it could be the blue-ray player and not the router. A low signal strength on the phone could be a matter of the phone itself but if it too is fluctuating, then I would look for outside variables like a microwave or cordless home phone.

Did you look to see if you have competition on the frequency that you are using? Perhaps a neighbor(s) router is crowding the airwaves.

As someone who used enterprise grade Cisco routers professionally for 4 years, I always found consumer gear to be lacking. Yet I actually like my Asus N900. Great signal strength, awesome feature set. I've had good luck with it, and have openvpn setup for remote access to my network, and that is through the default firmware. I would recommend any of the Asus routers with external antenna as they have been awesome in regards to signal strength.

don256us said:

First, I shy away from the Linksys brand now that its owned by Belkin. I've never been happy with Belkin networking products.

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Tell me about it! The first Belkin router I encountered (even though not mine) had a problem right off the bat! (2007 or 2008)

IIRC, right off the bat, internet access issues!

Was purchased to get around the stupid 1-ethernet-port-only limitation of the Comcast box.

Back in the G.W. Bush era, way before Xfinity even existed, it was the norm for Comcast to have a dinky box with only 1 ethernet port!

Reminds me, that before roughly 2011, Comcast's commercials didn't suck, LOL.

don256us said:

Does the signal fluctuate on your phone too? You state that it has low bars but does it bounce up and down. My thought is that it could be the blue-ray player and not the router. A low signal strength on the phone could be a matter of the phone itself but if it too is fluctuating, then I would look for outside variables like a microwave or cordless home phone.

Did you look to see if you have competition on the frequency that you are using? Perhaps a neighbor(s) router is crowding the airwaves.

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Galaxy S6 fluctuating also so it's not the Blu-ray player. I tried changing the wireless channel made no difference. We have cordless phone by the way.

So you do think if I get the Archer C8 router with beaming technology it would help that weak/dead spot ? What I don't understand is how can the signal strength fluctuate so much going from a 75% down to a 5% back and fourth every 10-20 seconds.

There's also the NETGEAR AC1750 Smart Wi-Fi R6400 that's up there with the C8.

Wolf11 said:

Galaxy S6 fluctuating also so it's not the Blu-ray player. I tried changing the wireless channel made no difference. We have cordless phone by the way.

So you do think if I get the Archer C8 router with beaming technology it would help that weak/dead spot ? What I don't understand is how can the signal strength fluctuate so much going from a 75% down to a 5% back and fourth every 10-20 seconds.

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Two routers with the same issue tells me that the odds are very much in favor of some external issue. It would be unlikely that both units are bad. Not impossible but unlikely. The fact that both the phone and blue-ray see this issue tells me that the external issue is not the blue-ray player. There is some other confounding issue. If it were me, unplug your cordless phone base station (maybe go as far as to pull batteries from the remote handsets) and see what happens.

Do you live near a naval testing facility?

I don't have a cordless phone. Well my original router is a piece of crap so it shouldn't even be consider as even a reference. But your right though going from a 75% and then down to a 5% back and fourth probably indicates a problem elsewhere. Well according to the router ranking for the 1200AC routers, my Archer C5 is ranked #1. The only thing this router does not have is the beaming technology that many 1900AC routers have.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/rankers/router/ranking/AC1200/rev8/6

Wolf11 said:

I don't have a cordless phone. Well my original router is a piece of crap so it shouldn't even be consider as even a reference. But your right though going from a 75% and then down to a 5% back and fourth probably indicates a problem elsewhere. Well according to the router ranking for the 1200AC routers, my Archer C5 is ranked #1. The only thing this router does not have is the beaming technology that many 1900AC routers have.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/rankers/router/ranking/AC1200/rev8/6

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In your post above you specifically state you have a cordless phone:

Galaxy S6 fluctuating also so it's not the Blu-ray player. I tried changing the wireless channel made no difference. We have cordless phone by the way.

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Cordless phones tend to run on the 2.4ghz spectrum which could cause some interference.

My only other suggestion would be to consider having a second AP in the house on the other side to basically extend your wireless signal and have better reception throughout your entire house. I ended up doing that with my old Asus N66U (put it into AP mode) and have my main Netgear R7000 has my main router

Sorry about the confusion but I haven't had a cordless phone in over 3 years.

Get a wireless extender and plug it in upstairs at a center point in the house yet nearer the router so that it gets a strong signal. Your old Linksys 1000 will not work well for this unless you wire it to your new router.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704052

I've used similar devices for various clients and it has worked out well.


Edit: Using your cell phone, does the signal fluctuate when you are upstairs and a reasonable distance away from the router? What type of environment do you live in? While you probably are not near a naval testing center, do you live in a stand alone house, aparment complex, dorm, etc. This may provide a clue.

Also, when changing channels in the 802.11 n spectrum, Channels 1, 6 and 11 do not overlap. The rest do overlap. Most routers are set to channel 6 in which case you should try channel 1 then channel 11. If it was on 6 and you tried channel 7, you did not move away from any interference that may be causing this grief.

don256us said:

Get a wireless extender and plug it in upstairs at a center point in the house yet nearer the router so that it gets a strong signal. Your old Linksys 1000 will not work well for this unless you wire it to your new router.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704052

I've used similar devices for various clients and it has worked out well.


Edit: Using your cell phone, does the signal fluctuate when you are upstairs and a reasonable distance away from the router? What type of environment do you live in? While you probably are not near a naval testing center, do you live in a stand alone house, aparment complex, dorm, etc. This may provide a clue.

Also, when changing channels in the 802.11 n spectrum, Channels 1, 6 and 11 do not overlap. The rest do overlap. Most routers are set to channel 6 in which case you should try channel 1 then channel 11. If it was on 6 and you tried channel 7, you did not move away from any interference that may be causing this grief.

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Cell has solid full bars when I'm a little closer to the router, I live in a stand alone two story house and yes I tried changing the channel made no difference. I'm at the point where I'll have to live with it. Streaming works even with the fluctuating.

Anyway I have a new problem I noticed late last night and I'm hoping someone could comment on it, without me making another thread.

For whatever reason my phone is losing connection to the internet. So example I'll be browsing internet on my phone and suddenly I'll get a "your offline error page" message. But I can stream Netflix and play online games with no interruptions at all. So strange never encountered this problem with my old router. What is even stranger is that I got full WiFi bars on the phones at the same time when this happens. When this happens though it only last for about a minute or so and then internet is access is back. I know it's not the web site either cause I use the PC at the same time to test it and the web sites are online. Same web sites load just fine when switching to Verizon data. Also this happening with my wife's phone too not just mine. Could my new router I just got cause this, have you ever heard of this before ?

I assume all webpages stop working during that time frame that your device stops talking to the router?