Router Recommendation

[Val155]

Quick ? for you pros:

I currently have an Arris 2.4/5G Modem/Router that my local cable provider (Brighthouse/Roadrunner) supplied me with which I am paying a monthly service charge for. I think it is a POS because our TV's are constantly losing wifi connection... so I am thinking about buying my own modem/router for a little better quality and also so I don't have to pay a monthly fee.

I live in a two story house. My three children, my wife as well as myself all have tablets. We have a couple of smart TVs too, so at any given time, there are multiple devices on the network. With the modem downstairs, the wifi signal is weak upstairs so I am also thinking about a booster if you could recommend one of those as well. My tower PC is around 3-4 years old and was custom built and is currently hard wired to the modem/router. It doesn't contain a wireless card.

The network is primarily used for web browsing, streaming TV/movies and gaming. Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[NiHaoMike]

What's your budget? Get one with 802.11ac and OpenWRT or DD-WRT support.

 

[trents]

There are generally two problems in these scenarios. The first is location. The ISP will install the gateway in one end of the house when it should be installed in a central location. The second is lack of transmission power. The ISPs use gateway devices that are not particularly long in transmission power. Relocation of the gateway device to a more central location can help dramatically. Buying your own wifi router with a stronger transmitter can also make a huge difference. The combination of the two strategies is the best of all. I disabled the wifi on my Comcast gateway and added in a T P-Link c9 wifi router which I placed in a central location in the house. The TP-Link connects via network cable to one of the LAN ports on the back of t he Comcast gateway device in another room. Of course this required drilling holes in the floor (or outside wall) to run the cable between the two. Good strong wifi routers start at about $130.

Don't waste your time and money with wireless wifi extenders or plugin powerline adapters. I've tried them and was not satisfied.

 

[Val155]

My budget is around $150. What is OpenWRT or DD-WRT support.?

 

[trents]

My budget is around $150. What is OpenWRT or DD-WRT support.?

They are "open source" firmware alternatives to that which ships with the router from the factory. The programming code used to develop open source software is available to any programmer to use and modify. It's not proprietary. The most well-known open source software is the Linux family of operating systems. Typically, open source software is also freeware.

In the present case, DD-WRT/OpenWRT would replace the factory firmware. Open source router firmware usually is more stable and provides router configuration options not found in the factory firmware. Sometimes it will give an option to turn up the transmission power of the router's radio. Not all routers are compatible with open source firmware. Some may even ship with it as standard but with others it would need to be installed.