[pishta]

Agreed, look up wifi analyzer in google play store, its free for android device download and will show you the entire wifi spectrum your exposed to with client usage and signal strength. Everyone seems to use default channel 6, 1 and 11 next favorite. Look at ch2.

[Tom S.]

Even though I'm a techie, I have to admit the "Tim the Tool man" side of me must be stronger as when I read the word "Router" in the title of the post, this was the first thing that popped into my head:



I wonder if I'm the only one?

[jeallen01]

FWIW, if you had a simple Ethernet switch before, then I assume that this means that it was connected to a cable modem supplied by the ISP - or is that cable modem actually in itself a router (such as the "Superhub 2" which is actually a Netgear combined cable modem and 110 base-T and wireless router supplied by my ISP in the UK).

If that were to be the case, then you may need to set the ISP cable modem/router to simple "modem" mode so that all it does is to modulate/demodulate the cable signal to/from the ISP and all the other normal router/wifi functions are disabled - that's what I had do to get my ASUS RT-66 router to be in sole control of the actual networking facilities in the house. Otherwise, and probably on the Wi-Fi in particular, the cable modem/router and your own (borrowed!) router would be competing for channels, and the cable modem processor would be trying to perform unnecessary tasks which could slow it down.

Only a thought!

[slip]

I have gone through about 4 routers and this is the one that has been most reliable so far
Dlink but can't remember the model number

---------- Post added 07-24-15 at 07:38 PM ----------

This is a good analyzer to find which band and channel is the least busy
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer&hl=en

Good luck

Randy

Attached Images

 

[pishta]

...........then you may need to set the ISP cable modem/router to simple "modem" mode so that all it does is to modulate/demodulate the cable signal to/from the ISP and all the other normal router/wifi functions are disabled ..................

You want to set the ISP modem in "Bridge" mode (other modes may include: Routed Bridge, Dynamic via DHCP and Static IP), that disables all NAT and passes the public IP to the next device (and will disable any wireless off that modem) Careful though, your router is now exposed to the internet and you'll want to disable 'remote management' immediately. Some cable modems are not user configurable at this level. Some older Dlink, Linksys and Netgear consumer routers run Linux as an OS and can be "hacked" by custom firmware, ie turning up the transmit power of the chipset (!)

[gaweidert]

Even though I'm a techie, I have to admit the "Tim the Tool man" side of me must be stronger as when I read the word "Router" in the title of the post, this was the first thing that popped into my head:

Attachment 276366

I wonder if I'm the only one?

No you are not the only one. In fact we may be what Ronald Reagan once called "The silent majority."

[Auzzie-Phoenix]

Even though I'm a techie, I have to admit the "Tim the Tool man" side of me must be stronger as when I read the word "Router" in the title of the post, this was the first thing that popped into my head:

Attachment 276366

I wonder if I'm the only one?

At least you have good taste in powertools.

[Tom S.]

At least you have good taste in powertools.

Are you kidding? I taught Norm (New Yankee Work Shop) all he knows.

[osv]

I'm not sure which router I currently have, but it doesn't matter

actually it matters a whole lot.

and so does how the devices are connected to the router.

you mentioned an ethernet switch, but people are giving out a bunch of wireless connection advice.

you've set yourself up for failure by not providing the most rudimentary info... just flip the router over and read off the model number on the bottom... then give specific info on how the devices are hooked up.

[Zafar Iqbal]

osv: it didn't matter because I was on a borrowed router and needed to get my own anyways.

I ended up buying a router recommended by my ISP, Netgear r6220, and so far it looks like I no longer have the problem.

As a bonus, my phone now tops at 100/100Mbit/s and on cable and PC, these speeds

[Adam]

osv: it didn't matter because I was on a borrowed router and needed to get my own anyways.

I ended up buying a router recommended by my ISP, Netgear r6220, and so far it looks like I no longer have the problem.

As a bonus, my phone now tops at 100/100Mbit/s and on cable and PC, these speeds

Just seeing that makes me jealous. Residential gigabit internet is just being rolled out in the US...in my area they're saying it'll be out "soon" with only very limited service coverage right now.

Speaking of routers, don't settle for anything cheap. I recently picked up this one and the difference is night and day compared to my old $40 netgear. For starters, there are no lag spikes and the router doesn't have intermittent brain farts. Apart from that, my favorite feature is the ability to limit bandwidth if usage is high. For example, if I'm backing up the web site and others in the house want to watch netflix, the router would slow the backup to guarantee enough bandwidth for the streaming video. Similarly, the streaming video wouldn't be allowed to use more than a certain percentage of the bandwidth so that there's always a reserve for web browsing, gaming, etc.

The last thing I'll add is that more expensive routers (i.e. the $200 price range) aren't always going to be better, so read reviews before buying one.

http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-Band-Wireless-N900-Gigabit-Router/dp/B006QB1RPY

[TER-OR]

Yeah, I was going to suggest get a Bosch and be happy.

I added an ASUS router from our network gateway a couple weeks ago - it has a much stronger signal than the built-in one. Faster? Not sure, but it has a nice 5G transmitter.

[pishta]

Zafar, if your Ookla speed test is accurate, you are in rare air indeed. 284Mb down is believable, 404Mb up is almost unbelieveable, and all that with a <2ms ping? That is like LAN speed within a 1/2 duplex GigEthernet network. N speeds over wi-fi are dictated on what type of router you have, a dual stream (2X300) or tri-stream (2X450) operating on the 2.4 and 5Ghz bands simultaneously. N600 and N900 are used to denote max bitrate. 802.11ac is 867Mb in a lab and you must use ac adapters obviously. USB3.0 802.11ac adapters are going to bottleneck at the USB 3.0 interface of 625Mbs
<<<<<<<< 24/7 basic technical support provided for 90 days from purchase date, when purchased from a NETGEAR authorized reseller >>>>>>>
so dont call them on day 91 asking for support, they will ask for $80 to answer a question...one guy says the manual states 6 seconds for a reset, when Netgear states 60 seconds on the phone.

[clackers]

.

I ended up buying a router recommended by my ISP

That's the safest option, with respect to getting future support from them.

[Zafar Iqbal]

I've had 100/100 since around mid 2k and my subscription (today) specifies a 50/50. I'm on a shared fiber on the entire block but I rarely have much below 80/80 - overall I don't notice peak time loads but online gaming might still suck. I recall the transition from my old ISP to this new one, where I would suddenly get dropped a lot from servers. I don't do online games anymore though - but it's also quit few years ago and there might have been improvements.