The Router Recommendations Thread (Consumer)

EDITED - Nevermind, gonna go with the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54.
 
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thetruth said:
So what should you get exactly?

I have Cox cable telephone/Internet so I must use their router?

My wireless router sucks and I want to replace it cheaply, what should I get? I just have a desktop and a laptop. I only need one wireless access point and one wired.
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No they have a list of modems that will interoperate with their network.

in some Cisco ISR routers their is a HWIC ( could be network module) that has a cable card that will link up.

All your ISP has to be able to do is interoperate with your device and then you give them your MAC address...
 
I bought a tew-639gr and my ps3 can't connect wirelessly when I have any kind of encryption on. I updated the firmware on my router but I can't figure out wtf the prob is...anyone having the same issue?
 
802.11n was ratified September 11, so the notes about it in the original post should probably be updated.

I didn't search the whole thread, but the Linksys/T-Mobile WRT54G-TM is a good router too. Basically the WRT54GL, but with twice the flash and RAM so you can run the Mega builds of DD-WRT with every feature included. YMMV on getting one - sometimes it's as easy as just going to the nearest T-Mobile and buying one, other times they won't sell you one without a phone/plan. They've been sold online by T-Mobile for as low as $20.

I'm also happy with my Asus WL-520gU's and my Buffalo WHR-G54S (HP is the high power version of this, with a better antenna).
 
I am looking for a router to for my small apartment: 2-3 desktops, 1 laptop, 1 Vonage Adapter, a PS3 and maybe an Xbox. I am most interested in the wired speed and connection stability as I already have Wi-Fi in my building and will probably not use the Wi-Fi on this router. Anything that can be plugged in, set-up once and never looked at again would make me happy. Given the problems with D-Link's firmware for both the DGL-4500 and DIR-655, what router would you recommend for me?
 
hey guys.

a friend pointed out last night that the new apple airport is dual band N. i dont really keep up with apple stuff, but can anyone give me a quick rundown of what the WRT610N does that the airport does not?

Im really down for whatevers fasterand more reliable but like otherws in this thread have said, lately consumer routers reviews on newegg are not confidence inspiring!
 
I have an old Netgear WGR614 that's become rather unreliable lately. I'd like to replace it with an 802.11N router since I have several devices in my home that support N. I've reviewed the recommended routers in this thread (in the $100 to $200) price range, but most of them seem to have pretty negative reviews on other sites. Right now I'm networking 3 game consoles, a printer, and a laptop wirelessly, and a desktop on ethernet, and I have potential plans to add another laptop and 2 TiVo HDs wirelessly and an NAS on ethernet in the future. Does anyone have a good recommendation for my situation?
 
Itchyeyes said:
I have an old Netgear WGR614 that's become rather unreliable lately. I'd like to replace it with an 802.11N router since I have several devices in my home that support N. I've reviewed the recommended routers in this thread (in the $100 to $200) price range, but most of them seem to have pretty negative reviews on other sites. Right now I'm networking 3 game consoles, a printer, and a laptop wirelessly, and a desktop on ethernet, and I have potential plans to add another laptop and 2 TiVo HDs wirelessly and an NAS on ethernet in the future. Does anyone have a good recommendation for my situation?
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Sounds like you're going to have a lot of data flying around, I'd recommend a Gigabit Wireless N router with appropriate Cat5e cabling.

Personally I'd reccomend the Linksys WRT610N or something similar: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124296&Tpk=wrt610n

I've learned not to put much stock in the ratings you see by people posting on newegg or whatever; better to take a look at what an actual professional hardware testing webpage has to say.
 
FYI purchased a Linksys WUSB600N-CA is on sale for $60CAD. N did not connect well with a DIR-655 with greater distance and # walls. The Linksys actually connected better with a DIR-524.

I also got a ComStar (Realtek) Adapter N and it performs on par with the linksys.
 
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And to be more specific, I have one main desktop, a laptop xbox 360 and ps3. Usually only one to two devices are on, if ever at the same time. I know that the 2.5ghz between my house phone and router can affect one another so I switched it to channel 11(recommendation of a friend.) Any other ideas? I turn on my xbox, no connection, and then I have to reboot the router to get it to work.
 
TheCadaver said:
And to be more specific, I have one main desktop, a laptop xbox 360 and ps3. Usually only one to two devices are on, if ever at the same time. I know that the 2.5ghz between my house phone and router can affect one another so I switched it to channel 11(recommendation of a friend.) Any other ideas? I turn on my xbox, no connection, and then I have to reboot the router to get it to work.
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AFAIK the only point in switching to channel 11 is if you have another wifi network on channels 1 thru 6 nearby. Channels 1, 6, and 11 don't overlap while the channels between do, causing wireless routers or access points on, for example, channels 1 and 3 to interfere with eachother's wireless communication. Depending upon how close the channels are and which channel is stronger, this may cause the 2 wireless networks to simply "share" bandwidth, or may require them to have to retransmit data frequently.

Also, I think you're referring to 2.4Ghz phone handsets, which overlaps with Wireless B and G signals, but shouldn't interfere with a Wireless N connection assuming the router communicates Wireless N on the 5Ghz band as it should. An N-only connection should be on the 5Ghz spectrum and not effected by any wireless phones. Some single-antenna B/G/N implementations may communicate N on the 2.4Ghz band however.
 
Over the past few days I've been having real trouble with Xbox Live. There are two Xbox consoles in my house, both connected to the same router (wired).
Playing MW2, my NAT is always set at Strict. I have fixed this a couple of times (first by enabling UPNP, then port forwarding, then setting up the 360 in a DMZ), however it has always reverted itself to Strict, even though these settings are supposed to permanently fix it.
So after trying all of these fixes I can only imagine that's it's a problem with the router. It's old, I got it 3 maybe 4 years ago and it wasn't the newest model back then.

So, assuming I'm right, I'm looking for recommendations on a new router. There are 3 other laptops connecting to it (wireless) as well as 4 other devices connected (wired). I'm using BT as my ISP, not sure if that makes a difference.
 
r4id said:
Over the past few days I've been having real trouble with Xbox Live. There are two Xbox consoles in my house, both connected to the same router (wired).
Playing MW2, my NAT is always set at Strict. I have fixed this a couple of times (first by enabling UPNP, then port forwarding, then setting up the 360 in a DMZ), however it has always reverted itself to Strict, even though these settings are supposed to permanently fix it.
So after trying all of these fixes I can only imagine that's it's a problem with the router. It's old, I got it 3 maybe 4 years ago and it wasn't the newest model back then.

So, assuming I'm right, I'm looking for recommendations on a new router. There are 3 other laptops connecting to it (wireless) as well as 4 other devices connected (wired). I'm using BT as my ISP, not sure if that makes a difference.
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With multiple Xboxs you need to have a router that supports the full implementation of UPnP. It is the only way to run multiple xboxs with open NAT as you cannot port forward the same ports to multiple Xboxs and there is only one set of ports for XBL.

Check out the compatibility lists on their site for some routers that are and are not compatible. There are others that are compatible, but it is a good list of tested routers:
http://support.xbox.com/support/en/...kequipment/compatiblenetworkingequipment.aspx
 
Electrofreak said:
AFAIK the only point in switching to channel 11 is if you have another wifi network on channels 1 thru 6 nearby. Channels 1, 6, and 11 don't overlap while the channels between do, causing wireless routers or access points on, for example, channels 1 and 3 to interfere with eachother's wireless communication. Depending upon how close the channels are and which channel is stronger, this may cause the 2 wireless networks to simply "share" bandwidth, or may require them to have to retransmit data frequently.

Also, I think you're referring to 2.4Ghz phone handsets, which overlaps with Wireless B and G signals, but shouldn't interfere with a Wireless N connection assuming the router communicates Wireless N on the 5Ghz band as it should. An N-only connection should be on the 5Ghz spectrum and not effected by any wireless phones. Some single-antenna B/G/N implementations may communicate N on the 2.4Ghz band however.
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Any other ideas to make it not drop my wireless?
 
I notice that the DIR-655 has firmware 1.32 out. Has this resolved the buggines with 1.20 and 1.21?
 
Updated. Removed the DGL-4500 and DIR-655 from the list until D-Link straightens up their act with the bad firmware - it's been nearly a year! Added the WNDR3700.
 
Orinthical said:
Updated. Removed the DGL-4500 and DIR-655 from the list until D-Link straightens up their act with the bad firmware - it's been nearly a year! Added the WNDR3700.
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So the 1.3x firmware on the 655 doesn't fix the bugs?
 
kumquat said:
So the 1.3x firmware on the 655 doesn't fix the bugs?
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Initial thoughts from their forum on the 1.32NA firmware beta was that it seemed to fix some of the issues but some people are still seeing lockups, slow downs and most report that shareport is still broken. It's getting a little ridiculous that D-Link hasn't taken this issue more seriously and hence the decision to remove them form the list.

I hope D-Link gets their act together because they are getting more than a black eye here from the enthusiast community and if it weren't for the firmware issues, these would still still be near or at the top of the list.
 
Would a Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 still be a safe bet or will there be another solid go-to router that will work with Tomato in the coming months? Currently using a Netgear WGR614v9 and considering upgrading solely to use custom firmware to help me analyze network traffic.
 
i have the d-link-655 firmware: 1.21, its been rock solid for me. what firmware are they having problems at?
 
With all the routers on sale for cyber monday, are there any recommendations?
My DIR-625 is really acting up and I think its dying so I am on a router hunt. I want to stick with N but seeing how Dlink stopped making updates for my router in 2006 I want something that can do ddwrt as a backup.
 
awdark said:
With all the routers on sale for cyber monday, are there any recommendations?
My DIR-625 is really acting up and I think its dying so I am on a router hunt. I want to stick with N but seeing how Dlink stopped making updates for my router in 2006 I want something that can do ddwrt as a backup.
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I'm also looking for a router soon, preferably the Netgear WNDR3700. Any deals on this one?
 
86 5.0L said:
i have the d-link-655 firmware: 1.21, its been rock solid for me. what firmware are they having problems at?
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I just checked my DIR655 router and it too is at 1.21 and I honestly haven't had to touch the thing since I got it, unlike the netgear pos I had that needed to be reset just about anytime anything in the house moved (including breathing).

So, um what problems are people having?
 
about the DIR655 router, if you enable MAC filtering do you need to enter every MAC on the network? My previous routers only needed me to enter the MAC for the wireless devices but my DIR625 requires me to enter it for the wired and wireless devices... and there is a maximum of I think 29 entries which isn't enough for me.

I just know my DIR625 is unstable and for a while it was loosing settings, entries such as the IP reservation based on MAC started to disappear -.- now it crashes regularly
 
Im looking for the cheapest, best bang for the buck n router.

Just moved into my new home. I have a crappy Dlink G router in the basement that is hardwired to my PS3 through some ducting. I have a G laptop that the wife just uses for surfing facebook.
My PC is the problem as due to its location, it has to be wireless. I picked up a USB G/N adapter.

Everything works fine as I dont really do online gaming. My issue is streaming video to my PS3. Its fine for regular movies, but over the past few months, 90% of my movies I get are H264 BluRay. It stutters to the point of being unwatchable. I suspect that my PC cant stream to the router fast enough.
I believe that replacing my G router with an N would do the trick(if not let me know).

Im limited to some local retailers
Belkin N Wireless Router F5D8233-4 $47.77 CAD
Belkin N150 Enhanced Wireless Router F6D4230-4 $42.77 CAD
Asus RT-N12 4 Port 10/100 Wireless N Router $46.77 CAD
D-Link 4 Port Wireless-N Router DIR-615 $67.77 CAD
Netgear Wireless N Router With DSL Modem DGN2000 $67.77 CAD
Asus Gigabit Wireless N Router RT-N15 $70.77 CAD

TRENDnet TEW-652BRP 802.11n Wireless Home Router $50.00
Asus RT-N13U 802.11n Wireless Router $60.00
D-Link DIR-601 802.11n Wireless N 150 Router $60.00
Cisco WRT120N 802.11n Wireless Broadband Router $62.00

suggestions? ones to avoid?
 
The links for the Dell switches on the first page are dead. FYI.
 
After 10 years of faithful service, my Linksys BEFSR81 8-port switch/router is finally starting to flake out on me. It needs a hard reset every couple of days. It has a Netgear WPN802 (version 1) hooked up it to provide wireless access. I also have an unused Netgear WPN824. Frankly, both Netgears disappoint me. I'm completely out of touch with what's available.

So I want to put together a new network infrastructure for my stuffs. I expect to need two devices [1] and [2] as diagrammed below. Here is the idea:

Office:
DSL Modem <-Cat5-> Router/Switch/WiFi[1] <-Cat5-> Gaming Computer

Downstairs Theater:
WiFi/Switch[2] <-Cat5-> Media Computer
WiFi/Switch[2] <-Cat5-> XBOX 360

Roaming:
WiFi Laptop
WiFi Wii

Ideally, I want [1] and [2] to be setup so that everything connected to them by Cat5 lives on the same subnet. That's so that the XBOX can be used as a Windows Media Center extender and also so that Windows file sharing is nice and easy. Also I need QoS on [1] so that BitTorrent doesn't interfere with gaming. Finally, it would be nice to have enough WiFi bandwidth that I can play HD content off Windows shared volumes without delay, but that is somewhat optional. Copying the file beforehand ain't that big a deal. I'm willing to flash custom firmware if necessary, but would strongly prefer not to. I prefer stuff that works stock. I have read the sticky, but need more situation specific guidance.

Gurus of [H], what is the choice hardware to do all this in this day and age?

Thank you very much in advance for all the good advice.
 
Any information on the WRT400N? Is it any good? Reliable? Long lasting?

Edit: Never mind, I see it doesn't even have gigabit. Sigh.
 
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Can anyone recommend me a router please? I want some of the features that only come on high end ones, yet I don't really need the max 802.11n performance or simultaneous dual bands since there aren't many other nearby wifi networks here.

I need/want:
-802.11n, g and b
-reliability, reliability, reliability. i want the connections to be stable, no weird loss of throughput, no buggy firmware, etc.
-gigabit wired at least 4 ports
-decent config options
-decent range, but nothing extraordinary as my current 802.11b router gets enough range for me
-usb port for usb hdd or usb flash
-usb printer (optional, can be combined with the above)

I guess I'll pay whatever I have to up to $200, but if I could spend <$100 that be awesome. The less, the better.

My main problem is that gigabit wired and shared usb only appears in >$120 routers that also have stuff I don't really need (dual bands, extreme n performance, etc.).
 
@shurcooL im pretty sure the dir655 actually has most of those features. Not too long ago I saw it for $75 but it has the gigabit, and I am pretty sure they support USB sharing but it requires their properity Shareport software.
 
Yes it does, but according to this thread, it seems that it is extremely unreliable with people having problems with newer firmware, etc. Isn't that true?
 
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