Help me pick my wireless router

[HeatM1ser2k4]

We just bought a smartTV, and our current b/g/n router is abou6 7 feet from the TV. When I stream movies,they play very choppy and with many freezes. In addition to that, I have a 50/20Mbps connection, but the wireless signal must be very weak...everyone in the house on wireless complains that they are constantly dropping connection or the youtube videos their watching on their laptops is very choppy(even if they are within 5 feet of the router).

Anyway, from the research I've done, the two routers I've narrowed it down to are linked below. If you know of another good wireless router around $50, please link it in your reply.

I use wireless for watching youtube videos up to 40 feet from the router on another floor,streaming videos to the TV from my desktop(5 feet from TV), and online gaming up to 400 feet away from router and on another floor.

If you know of a better option, please post it!

BUFFALO AirStation
TRENDnet TEW-733GR

 

[\dev\goat]

Are you sure you aren't getting interference ?

I had my wireless receiver beside a bluetooth speaker and I was getting <5mbps and constant drops. I moved it up onto a high shelf and now I get 150mbps+.

Just moving it away from the speaker helped a lot, but putting it on the shelf is what really did the trick. I did the same thing with my mouse/keyboard receiver using a usb hub, and now i can use them from the other side of the house.

Try moving your router around a little bit. Or your TV / soundbar / any bluetooth stuff.

 

[HeatM1ser2k4]

The only thing around the router that could be causing some interference is the cordless phone/base...would that affect the connection that much?

 

[\dev\goat]

Cordless phones often share the same frequencies. Couldn't hurt to move the router around to a couple different areas to see if you can save 60 bucks.

 

[HeatM1ser2k4]

I'll try it and see if it provides any improvement

 

[HeatM1ser2k4]

Still the same problem....Im pretty set on buying a new router anyway, so perhaps I can get some feedback from others?

 

[kyfire]

Wi-Fi supports varying levels of performance depending on which technology standards it supports. Each Wi-Fi standard is rated according to its maximum theoretical network bandwidth.

The performance of Wi-Fi networks practically never approach these theoretical maximums. 802.11b networks, for example, generally operate no faster than about 50% of theoretical peak, around 5.5 Mbps. Likewise, 802.11a and 802.11g networks generally run no faster than 20 Mbps. And even though 802.11n rates at 300 Mbps compared to wired Fast Ethernet at 100 Mbps, the Ethernet connection can often outperform 802.11n in real world usage.

The disparity between theoretical and practical Wi-Fi performance comes from network protocol overhead, radio interference, physical obstructions on the line of sight between devices, and distance between devices. In addition, as more devices communicate on the network simultaneously, its performance will also decrease.

There us also dynamic rate scaling. When a device initially connects to a network via Wi-Fi, its rated speed is calculated according to the current signal quality of the connection. The rated connection speed then automatically changes over time if necessary to maintain a reliable link between the devices. Wi-Fi dynamic rate scaling extends the range at which wireless devices can connect to each other in return for lower network performance at the longer distances.

Bottom line is, until the next-generation 802.11ac, Wi0Fi standard gets here with it's expected 1 Gbps (1000 Mbps) speed. You're kinda stuck with what"s available now.

 

[HeatM1ser2k4]

well, what with everybody suggest to increase the performance of the WiFi network in my house? We have a 50/20 connection, so we should have enough bandwidth. And there are people that have no problems with their wifi doing the same things we're doing... So there has to be a solution. Whatv would everyone suggest?

 

[Mandrake4565]

HeatM1ser, I own a Samsung Smart tv I purchased about 6 months ago. I also have a 50/20 connection in the house. I can get up to a 20k wireless signal, depending on the device, almost anywhere in my house. The room where the Tv is I can get good signal on every wireless device my family owns except the Tv. When I'm streaming it gets choppy also, I really think it's the wireless in the Tv not my router or distance from it, because I can stream to my lap top in the same room without issue.

 

[DBZ]

Head on over to slickdeals and search for router and some should come up. I prefer something I can run tomato or dd-wrt on but its personal preference.

 

[SteveLord]

I just bought an additional Medialink router from Amazon to ensure good performance from top to bottom. iPads seem to have no issue with signal, but our Roku is flakey (which might be the device itself.) Hard to beat 50 bucks.

 

[mimart7]

See if changing the channel in your router helps. Default channel is usually the most crowded. if you have any other electronic devices near your router, that can also cause your connection to drop. Ideally it should be at least 3 feet from anything.

 

[Mower]

Maybe try a wireless repeater, sir.

 

[Sentential]

well, what with everybody suggest to increase the performance of the WiFi network in my house? We have a 50/20 connection, so we should have enough bandwidth. And there are people that have no problems with their wifi doing the same things we're doing... So there has to be a solution. Whatv would everyone suggest?

A lot of early Wireless N routers had issues with overheating, especially Linksys/Cisco. If you want a easy to configure / setup router I would look heavily at Netgear. I used to do tier 2 tech support for a large telco and in my experience if I had to make a list of top 5 this would be it:

Netgear / Apple (tie)
****
Ubiquiti
Amped Wireless
Your ISP's default CPE (Actiontec, 2Wire, Pace, etc)

 

[HeatM1ser2k4]

A lot of early Wireless N routers had issues with overheating, especially Linksys/Cisco. If you want a easy to configure / setup router I would look heavily at Netgear. I used to do tier 2 tech support for a large telco and in my experience if I had to make a list of top 5 this would be it:

Netgear / Apple (tie)
****
Ubiquiti
Amped Wireless
Your ISP's default CPE (Actiontec, 2Wire, Pace, etc)

Im a fan of Netgear devices, but what is your opinion on these 2 refurbished Linksys routers?

Router Link

 

[Bluefalcon13]

Im gonna assume **** was asus....

The asus n900 has great reviews for the wifi throughput, bot lan to lan and lan to wan. Smallnetbuilder thinks highly of those,check them out. Think the bestbuy I work at has em for around a buck 20 or 30. only reason I dont have one is cause my AP is a Cisco 1142 sitting off a 8 port sff 2960 poe switch

 

[kayson]

I'm gonna address the issues you're having first because I think it's worth investigating a little further: interference seems like a big possibility. If you're running an 802.11b/g/n router at 2.4GHz, there's a very good chance that a cordless phone is running on the same frequency, and that can clobber wireless signals. One possible solution is to manually set the router's channel frequency. It'll usually auto-select the frequency based on what's least used, but the phone could hit multiple channels, or be off during the selection, in which case you'll still have a problem. Another solution is to move things around, separating the two devices. You could also run 802.11n/ac at 5GHz, which has better range, faster throughput, and is less susceptible to interference from common household devices.

Another thing that could be happening is that it's auto-negotiating to a lower speed. If your router is set to a "mixed" wireless mode, meaning 802.11b+g+n, for example, and someone is connecting on an 802.11b device, it can make everything run at a lower speed, even if the other devices support 802.11n. Windows will show you what the negotiated speed is, so you can easily check if that's the case.

Lastly, it may be a problem with the TV's wifi chip. It might be very susceptible to interference, or not have a very good range. I'm guessing the TV also has an ethernet port somewhere, in which case you might consider using a wired connection rather than wireless.


As far as router recommendations: I'm a huge fan of Linksys routers. I currently run an E3000, and I get nearly my full 30/5 on wireless devices running at 5GHz 802.11n. Unfortunately, they're a bit more pricey than what you linked. A good compromise would be a Linksys E2500 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124490).

If not that, then I think you should look for a few things: 5GHz support, if your TV supports it, will make a huge difference. Definitely get 802.11n, and you may want to look at 802.11ac as well, for future proofing. Lastly, I highly recommend installing an open source firmware like dd-wrt or Tomato. I've found that they always perform much better than the stock firmwares. The installation can be a bit tedious, but after that it's rock solid.

 

[Sentential]

Im gonna assume **** was asus....

The asus n900 has great reviews for the wifi throughput, bot lan to lan and lan to wan. Smallnetbuilder thinks highly of those,check them out. Think the bestbuy I work at has em for around a buck 20 or 30. only reason I dont have one is cause my AP is a Cisco 1142 sitting off a 8 port sff 2960 poe switch

No the **** was to imply that it was a tie so my #1 and #2 choices would be Netgear for PC Apple for Mac and vice-versa. Asus is good but I have not had the best experience with them long term, same goes for Linksys. I know the build quality is very very good on Asus, the software is pretty aweful unless you run DD-WRT.

Linksys I wouldnt touch with a 10 foot pole. They are dead last in my eyes, most of their wireless N routers have issues with overheating which cause their speeds to degrade over time. Stay away at all cost

 

[kayson]

Asus is good but I have not had the best experience with them long term, same goes for Linksys. I know the build quality is very very good on Asus, the software is pretty aweful unless you run DD-WRT.

Linksys I wouldnt touch with a 10 foot pole. They are dead last in my eyes, most of their wireless N routers have issues with overheating which cause their speeds to degrade over time. Stay away at all cost

They definitely run hot, but mine has been running for a year now with no change in speed...

 

[Sentential]

They definitely run hot, but mine has been running for a year now with no change in speed...

Well you've certianly had better success than I. Down where I used to live in Florida because of overheating I lost a E3000, an E3200, E1000, E1200 and an E2500. Thank god they were all within the first 30 days so I took them back. It was so bad with that series of routers even Cnet commented on it and it took several firmware updates to correct speed issues with the Broadcom based E series routers.

I later replaced it with a WNDR3800 and that was hands down one of the greatest routers I've ever owned, close second or a tie with my current Apple Time Capsule. I plan on replacing it was the 2nd gen Wireless AC Time Capsule sometime next year