Looking for the best/latest wifi router

[Fokkerwokker]

Have been a bit frustrated with our Netgear DG834G firewall router. It tends to drop off line quite regularly and for no apparent reason.

Any suggestions for something a bit more bulletproof with a bit more 'oomph'?

Will any mods be needed to the wifi cards in the desktops for a later spec router?

Ever so ta for any top tips!

FW

[Saab Dastard]

I moved away from a Netgear wifi-router-firewall, replacing it with a Linksys WRT54GL.

Like you I found the Netgear was dropping out frequently, requiring regular reboots.

I have had no such problems with the Linksys. At all.

I'm on cable, but I'm sure there's an appropriate ADSL Linksys device.

You don't mention what the wifi cards are in the PCs you have, but G is backwards compatible with B. Wireless N is available, and such devices also work with B and G. The speed advantages of 802.11n are only available with compliant cards, of course.

SD

[Loose rivets]

Don't know much about routers, but I have been rather dismayed by the temperature that some of these cheap units run at.

I've stayed in several folks homes lately, and the amount of kit that sits around almost glowing with warmth, is astonishing. It's bad electronics, and I don't feel it's safe.

A router in Essex, was so hot that you wouldn't want to leave your hand on it. You couldn't have put it against your face! I phoned their son who has several on 24 hours. He said some of those were very hot.

People go out and leave a dozen or so phones, routers, and the like, and a sea of lights on the entertainment area. I suppose it's a testament to modern plastic, that more stuff doesn't go on fire.

[Keef]

Tried most of 'em.

The Alcatel Frog was fun, but didn't do much. I needed a wireless modem router.

Two Belkins didn't work more often than they did.

The Linksys was OK for some years, then died. The separate modem, and router, and WAP was a bit of a lashup so I went for an all-in-one solution - a DG834G.

The DG834G had a fault on delivery, and "Help Desk" couldn't. I got the usual run-around from their cribsheet. They wouldn't (or couldn't) replace it. In the end, I got my money back from Netgear HQ.

I lashed out on a Draytek.. There was a period of several months when it would "drop" and not reconnect.about three times a week. I suspect BT rather than the Draytek: power off/on and it would come back up. That was a pain when away from home trying to connect to the home PC.

Sitting beside it is a "pre-loved" Cisco - all configured for "basic modem-router" functions and ready to roll. Since the Cisco has been there, the Draytek hasn't even sneezed.
I'll use the Cisco and send the Draytek down the family food chain, once I get round to hooking up a WAP to the Cisco and setting up the VPN. (Ciscos are in a different league when it comes to configuration and the rest. It was a steep learning curve!)

[oldbeefer]

Gave up on Netgear and went down the Speedtouch (Thompson) route about 2 years ago. Much, much better with zero drop outs. Runs warm, but not hot.

[Parapunter]

I have a DG834G at home & the only reason I have it at all is to extend my media centre into other roooms. So far, so faultless. At work I have a Belkin wirels G router & again, absolutely faultless for the past two years.

What clinches it for me is that the Belkin control page is so much more straightforward to use than the netgear - I feel sorry for anyone without an IT degree faced with the task of setting up a Netgear wireless network

[Bushfiva]

If you like messing with stuff, you might consider a Linksys WRT54G. It's gradually become cheaper and more tightly designed over the years (i.e. it can get all confused if you're putting a lot of traffic through it), but it's a good platform for third-party firmware. Any version up to 4.0 works great with the third-party DD-WRT firmware. Versions 4 to 6 work well but you need an extra step to kill the evil VxWorks OS in the Linksys. Version 7 doesn't work with DD-WRT. Tomato and OpenWRT are also good third-party firmware.

In terms of stuff which just works all day, I'm quite happy with Buffalo, both the Airstations and the Nfiniti. I'm plugged into 1Gbps fiber capped at 200Mbps; I need to channel bundle through two devices (they're 100Mbps routers) and I get around 160Mbps which is OK.

[jetcollie]

I'll go with Oldbeefer on this one - been running a Speedtouch 585(i) V6 for a long time now and it hasn't skipped a beat. Although basic set up is easy the user interface is not the best, particularly if you want to configure port forwarding but there's lots of help out there. It is ADSL2+ configured and you can pick new ones up on eBay for around £15 but just make sure you don't buy an AOL version!

[spannersatcx]

I guess it's luck of the draw as I have a DG834G that has been running fine almost nonstop for probably 3 years now.

[ericlday]

12 months now with DG834G and no problems but keeping fingers crossed.

[mixture]

Any suggestions for something a bit more bulletproof with a bit more 'oomph'?

How much are you willing to spend, and where are you planning to shop ?

If you're planning to go shopping with a typical home user budget on the high street or use a mainstream website, then it's much of muchness. Netgear is probably the best you'll get at that price level.... but in reality, unless you've got specific circumstances, most things can be probably made to work.

Bulletproof (or as near to that as you can get with IT) only comes with the business class names.... e.g. Cisco. Where you can even buy a 24x7 two or four hour response where an engineer or replacement hardware will be despatched to your humble abode !

[Saab Dastard]

Bulletproof (or as near to that as you can get with IT) only comes with the business class names.... e.g. Cisco.

As a matter of fact, Linksys is owned by Cisco. Not that it puts Linksys into the business class, but they do get to tap into Cisco's expertise.

SD

[mcdhu]

Yup, me too! My Netgear DG834Gv3 has been absolutely reliable. Did you guys update the firmware as it became available - that is part of the deal.

Cheers,
mcdhu

[mixture]

As a matter of fact, Linksys is owned by Cisco. Not that it puts Linksys into the business class, but they do get to tap into Cisco's expertise.

Not quite..... I'd call Linksys premier economy, a bit like Netgear.....

You should remember Linksys is an acquisition, not a spin-off. So "family privileges" are limited.

One of the key differentiators for business class is post-sales support. You won't get to talk to Cisco TAC as a Linksys owner.

There are other differentiators too (e.g. you won't find IOS code on a Linksys.), but that's what I would consider as one of the main ones if you're planning to call something business class, because for businesses support and quality of support is more often heavily weighted than the product itself.

Another way to look at it is Ford.....

From 1994 until 2007 Aston Martin was part of the Premier Automotive Group, a division of the Ford Motor Company.

How much of an Aston Martin crept back into your Ford Mondeo ?

The word is "Business Units" .... and the height of the Chinese Wall between them depends on parent company policy. I would say Cisco's wall is fairly tall.


In IT, you get what you pay for
a.k.a speed, quality, price, pick two

[BOAC]

3Com Office Connect ADSL Wireless11g has not missed a beat since install 2 years back. In the attic - big coverage.

[Fokkerwokker]

Wow!

Loads of stuff to chew over.

Many thanks troops

FW

[TURIN]

First of all my apology for resurrecting an old thread.

My wireless router modem kicked the bucket the other day and I've been trolling around trying to decide which to buy.

I have had a Linksys .....54G and that was ok for a few years before it died and I've been using an old BT Hub for 18 months.

Is it worth investing in a fast 'N' spec router or stick to a cheap 'G' model.


My laptop is not 'N' spec but who knows what's for Christmas this year?

I live in the sticks and the broadband speed is generally very slow (less than 300 kb/s) but I use MCE and stream recorded TV to the laptop and also music to an internet radio device.

Your thoughts and advice appreciated.

[cats_five]

It might be worth checking what channels all the wifis in range are on and maybe changing yours. You can find and download Netstumbler and/or Insssider to do check them, you change the channel through the router's software - you might need to connect using a CAT 5 cable to do this.

Improved mine vastly - originally me and my neighbours were all on the same one.

[Blues&twos]

I've had two Netgear DG834Gv4's and been happy with both - the first one had to be changed after a lightning storm...I didn't have it plugged into the surge protected socket.....
I was quite impressed with the speed with which Netgear sent me a free replacement (didn't tell them about the lightning), although I did have to spend some time on the phone with their helpline first who told me the internet light wouldn't come on anymore because the firmware needed updating (!)

I've also found the Netgear setup to be a doddle.

[cats_five]

Should have also mentioned that Homeplugs might be an acceptable alternative. They work very well for me - the wifi is on the work line. I have no problem using a Canon all-in-one for both printing and scanning over them.