Should I Replace My Router

Berton said:

My ISP tells me 3 years is a good life for a Wireless Router.

Hi there

that's absolutely B/S advice

The only time you need to change a router is for possibly these 4 conditions (other than if it's obviously broken --of course).

1) You need IPV6 addressing as well and your old router doesn't have it
2) Max speed it's capable of delivering is far less than your ISP is offering you currently -- unlikely for routers even 6 years old
3) New Wireless protocols not available on current router.
4) New service provided by Cable / fibre optic rather than "old phone lines" -- however in this case I suspect the ISP company will supply an appropriate router as part of the installation package deal.

(Of course if the lan / wifi cards on the computer can't match the speed in any case then it's a pointless exercise in updating a Router).

So post what your ISP is offering you (or what you are contracted to get ), and see what the router is available of supplying.

I'm not sure about "Brexit Britain" currently but some areas over there have decent ISP speeds -- typical routers even several years old should be able to supply 1Gb/s over a wired LAN (whether your lan card can support that is another question) and if the wifi bit can support 5 GHZ as well as the older 2.4 GHZ then IMO at those sorts of speeds (37 Mb/s --actually quite slow these days by international standards but adequate enough for average things --even Netflix provided not too many concurrent users at 4K UHD video resolution).

Before updating any routers also have a look at what your the spec is of the wifi cards in the computer do and also the settings (e.g half / full duplex, auto negotiate etc etc) --I'm not a specialist in this area but I do know wrong or bad parmeter selection can make a huge difference.

I'm 100% sick of these folks (usually on minimum wage from somewhere in asia professing to be the worlds greatest I.T specialists trying to sell stuff when there's absolutely no need to buy the gear -- last time I was in the UK I made a huge mistake to go to a big PC World store somewhere near a dreadful place --Croydon I think it was and apart from the fact that you were regarded as a criminal even before getting into the entrance (security following you everywhere --mind you I was the only obviously foreign looking guy in the place so they probably thought I was looking for new customers on a drug deal or whatever !!!!!) I was horrified at how they were trying to up sell everything and con people into buying things like "extended warranties" for example 20 GBP on a piece of kit that only cost 35 GBP in the first place.

Thankgoodness for Amazon -- never again will I go that indignation of trying to do computer shopping in a UK store -- I suspect the same is probably true in USA and a lot of places esewhere although one rare exception = I liked MediaMarkt in both Antwerp and Brussels --helpful and knowlegeable staff goods properly laid out where you could see important things (like the connections on LCD TV's etc) without having to squint behind some locked cabinet with all the "technical bits" out of view. --pleasure to shop at.

Cheers
jimbo

TraceyW said:

Hi All

Thanks for all your replies particularly Helmut who was very helpful. As advised I placed a post on the BT forum but so far no-one has taken the trouble to respond. As a result I've been looking for something as suggested by Helmut, i.e. ADSL/VDSL compatible routers which hopefully will work with BT Infinity.

So far I've sorted out three routers that I believe may meet, and surpass, our requirement, the ASUS RT-AC68U, the TP-Link AC1900 Archer C9, and the Netgear AC1900 (R7000). I have found a website (techadvisor.co.uk) which places the ASUS at number one out of ten as the top unit for 2019 although it was introduced several years ago. I've traced it back to 2013 and that is about the only thing that puts me off the unit and the netgear isn't a lot better. Mind you I have no idea how long before we bought it our current router was introduced!

Before posting the above, I did a search for 'BT Infinity compatible routers' and came up with a Novotech pageful which included the Asus and the Netgear. As a result I've gone for the ASUS in spite of its age and we'll see how it goes.

Tracey

Mam you say your current speed is 30 MBs , this just means you have a VDSL modem router as ADSL one top speed is 24 MBs , so the Archer C9 is a no go , the Netgear AC1900 (R7000) is a router just not a modem and so is ASUS RT-AC68U .

I suggest you include in your searches VDSL keyword and make sure it shows on device description .

nIGHTmAYOR said:

Mam you say your current speed is 30 MBs , this just means you have a VDSL modem router as ADSL one top speed is 24 MBs , so the Archer C9 is a no go , the Netgear AC1900 (R7000) is a router just not a modem and so is ASUS RT-AC68U .

I suggest you include in your searches VDSL keyword and make sure it shows on device description .

Hi there

In addition to my previous remarks --here's data from a 5 year old router that's still functioning perfectly at decent speeds too

Check ISP / computer hardware before willy nillying upgrading.

Attachment 251512

Once we get the new 10-100Gb/s service then a new router will be in order but even this 5 year old beast can push out 5 GHZ at around 1 Gb/s -- about the same as some older LAN cards.

Don't be in a rush to spend your money too quickly.

Cheers

jimbo

wifi technology is always improving an up-to-date router will have the latest capabilities. The more expensive routers will have far greater range.

Get one with the highest AC number you can afford. AC1800 and above is what I would go for. These sort of routers will also have more moden capabilities traffic management, parental controls, turning internet off past certain times for children etc.

ISP supplied routers are just pants.

so looking at this post for me i have linksys e4200 that i got in i think 2011-2012 and it been good. now my isp is shaw and the plan that family internet is on it outdated yet my dad doesn't feel the need to update at this point. and i think for download i tested on speedtester 22 mbps but i think actually 10mbps. anyway i been looking at new routers and i'm sticking with linksys and one i have my eye on is EA6350 AC1200+ but i donno if i going to see any improvement... unless it fixes the download cripple effect. you know where one person download big file or game and it cripples the rest of the computers internet in the house... ya i have that since i have more then one compute in the house. but i know the bottle neck in isp plan that i'm current on.

windowsraptor

A word of caution!

I went for the Asus RT-AC68U and although I could get the internet working on all three PCs we have, I could not get all PCs working together. Let me explain. Let's call the PCs A, B and C. A could talk to C and vice versa but neither could talk to B as neither could find the network path. B couldn't talk to either A or C without entering credentials. As you can see in one of the earlier replies I was advised to join snbforums and get help there but its beginning to look like I will have to do a clean install of Windows to get things working as they should -- but I daren't as the affected PC is my husbands and he's in hospital right now.

What I am saying is to be aware that if you can't get all PCs talking to each other then it COULD mean a clean install of Windows. Incidentally a new router does NOT necessarily mean increased speeds just up-to-date firmware and updates which look after vulnerabilities as they arise. At present I'm back on my old router while I decide what to do about it but its beginning to look as though I've wasted £126 on a new router I can't use until I do a clean install on my husband's PC!!!

Tracey

The ax series routers/Access Points are pushing the price of the ac models down. Get the Asus and run Merlin on it.

tracy
i do't think any of pc in the house are connected to each other just to the interment.