Tech Help Good cheap router

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pillar

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Hey all, so apparently the wi-fi extenders in the house are really junk & therefore looking to invest in another router. Here's the deal, I just need a good decent router, but it needs to be super affordable as im on student budget.

TIA
 
https://www.pcmag.com/review/346432/d-link-ac1200-wi-fi-router-dir-842

There's also a review on it as well..It's good..But remember, I also live in an apartment with my girlfriend and that's it. If you're looking for a router for families and stuff, I'm not sure how well it stands against those demands.

edit:
https://www.pcmag.com/review/349932/linksys-ea6350-ac1200-dual-band-smart-wi-fi-wireless-router
This one is 30 dollars more and is faster and supports more securities vs the d-link one I use.
 
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Hey P pillar , this is a bit in the upper range over top of what Ric suggested, but it served my families home quite well for several years now: https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-C7-Wireless-Gigabit-1350Mbps/dp/B07KJLB4ZG

Unfortunately if your house just isn't finding great range, multiple access points are the way to go... extenders tend to kind of blow real fast. Any options for wiring up a second access point and helping distribute the load?
 
pillar said:
Hey all, so apparently the wi-fi extenders in the house are really junk & therefore looking to invest in another router. Here's the deal, I just need a good decent router, but it needs to be super affordable as im on student budget.

TIA
Click to expand...
What is the student budget?
 
Join the Ubiquiti club like Simon and I have. ;)
 
I'm looking for an extender, but like don't know how all this work. Are routers the same thing?
 
Grumpy Kitten said:
I'm looking for an extender, but like don't know how all this work. Are routers the same thing?
Click to expand...

Hey Grumpy - Extenders generally take your existing WiFi signal and just "repeat" it. The issue with this is that most of the hardware isn't very good and you lost AT LEAST 50% of your speed with it. It's not the best solution for trying to do anything even remotely demanding on.

The best option for better coverage is multiple access points - the downside (per say) is you need to wire them back to your router and you will have excellent speed and coverage.

I highly suggest avoiding "extenders" and "mesh" setups if you are trying to get a decent speed.
 
Simon said:
Hey Grumpy - Extenders generally take your existing WiFi signal and just "repeat" it. The issue with this is that most of the hardware isn't very good and you lost AT LEAST 50% of your speed with it. It's not the best solution for trying to do anything even remotely demanding on.

The best option for better coverage is multiple access points - the downside (per say) is you need to wire them back to your router and you will have excellent speed and coverage.

I highly suggest avoiding "extenders" and "mesh" setups if you are trying to get a decent speed.
Click to expand...

I learned this the hard way. This is exactly why im looking at switching to another router instead of wifi extenders.

Also I just learned that these are on sale through Newegg, so I would like to get some feedback on these:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare?CompareItemList=33-704-050,33-704-486
 
pillar said:
I learned this the hard way. This is exactly why im looking at switching to another router instead of wifi extenders.

Also I just learned that these are on sale through Newegg, so I would like to get some feedback on these:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare?CompareItemList=33-704-050,33-704-486
Click to expand...

What model is your current one? How centrally located is it in your home? Any possibility of wiring an access point to a part of the home?

The first router there is quite old and an outdated wireless standard (N). The second isn't bad, but curious about my questions above first.
 
Simon said:
Hey Grumpy - Extenders generally take your existing WiFi signal and just "repeat" it. The issue with this is that most of the hardware isn't very good and you lost AT LEAST 50% of your speed with it. It's not the best solution for trying to do anything even remotely demanding on.

The best option for better coverage is multiple access points - the downside (per say) is you need to wire them back to your router and you will have excellent speed and coverage.

I highly suggest avoiding "extenders" and "mesh" setups if you are trying to get a decent speed.
Click to expand...

Okay so I’m in the attic right? WiFi connection up there is already spotty but we recently got 5G in the house but my extender is only 2.4 and can’t hold 5G. Yes I’ll be losing at least 100 down but it’s still 10 times better than what I have now
 
Grumpy Kitten said:
Okay so I’m in the attic right? WiFi connection up there is already spotty but we recently got 5G in the house but my extender is only 2.4 and can’t hold 5G. Yes I’ll be losing at least 100 down but it’s still 10 times better than what I have now
Click to expand...

Repeating 5Ghz is difficult because it really only does work at a shorter range - 2.4Ghz is what will actually cover a good distance. I'd suggest trying to move your router to a more central location that can cover the house better for everyone, or trying to get an ethernet connection up there - it can be a lot easier than you'd expect. If you happen to have coax connections up there or close by, you can use MOCA adapters as well - these convert coax to ethernet and let you reach other places in the house without having to run more cabling. P pillar this could be a good option for you too, to get a second access point up.
 
Simon said:
Repeating 5Ghz is difficult because it really only does work at a shorter range - 2.4Ghz is what will actually cover a good distance. I'd suggest trying to move your router to a more central location that can cover the house better for everyone, or trying to get an ethernet connection up there - it can be a lot easier than you'd expect. If you happen to have coax connections up there or close by, you can use MOCA adapters as well - these convert coax to ethernet and let you reach other places in the house without having to run more cabling. P pillar this could be a good option for you too, to get a second access point up.
Click to expand...
Simon Simon Is there still an extender that would give me better than 2.4?
 
Grumpy Kitten said:
Simon Simon Is there still an extender that would give me better than 2.4?
Click to expand...

Wifi only operates on 2.4 and 5Ghz. Like I said, performance varies too much and I’ve honestly yet to find any repeater that does even a half decent job and is at all consistent. Especially if you’re doing any kind of gaming.

I really, really recommend not touching extenders or repeaters. It's really money thrown to the wind. Do you have coax near your router and in your room? MOCA is a great option... worth the money over the others.

Cannot stress enough how much most consumer networking products really, really suck.
 
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Grumpy Kitten said:
Okay so I’m in the attic right?
Click to expand...

I'm going to go ahead and try not to derail this great discussion and ask something personal.

Why do you live in an attic?
Is that common now for people to live in an attic?
Did I misunderstand or misread that? Do you mean the router is in the attic?
So many questions, so little attention span..SQUIRREL!
 
Hey Simon Simon , sorry about the delay in replying as I just got off an over 55 hour work week. Anyways, so I had never really heard of an access point so went onto Newegg to check their stuff out.

So while I appreciate all the advice, my budget needs to stay at a max of $50. Therefore, unless someone can find me a better quality router than this, I will go ahead & order it: https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E168337...F&cm_re=PPSSKEWFQONGIF-_-33-704-486-_-Product
 
pillar said:
Hey Simon Simon , sorry about the delay in replying as I just got off an over 55 hour work week. Anyways, so I had never really heard of an access point so went onto Newegg to check their stuff out.

So while I appreciate all the advice, my budget needs to stay at a max of $50. Therefore, unless someone can find me a better quality router than this, I will go ahead & order it: https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E168337...F&cm_re=PPSSKEWFQONGIF-_-33-704-486-_-Product
Click to expand...

All good man! I understand budget constraints. Hopefully it can resolve some of your issues - if I recall you've been battling range/speed for a while now? Hope this can improve things a little.
 
Yes mainly range, but of course speed comes with the range.
 
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