Which router to buy?

Hi.

It looks like over three years old Linksys WRT54GL (already tried latest firmwares and reset back to default factory settings) is getting closer to its death since I just had a long lag/disconnection on LAN (couldn't ping my router either) earlier. I should start looking and buying a new one to replace it before it is totally dead/broken.

Since Christmas has ended, there should be some after Christmas sales. On

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... I saw some cheap prices, but are those worth getting for a small two floor house with hardwired giga speeds, secured wireless, and supports EASY to do third party firmwares? I could get another Netgear R6300 router like I did for my clients, but $169.99 is still high and who knows long that will last like my previous Linksys routers. :/

Thank you in advance. :)

Reply to
Ant
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I have had good luck so far with a couple of Belkin Share Max 300's so far.

They are available for around $20.

Here is a link with one place selling them for $20. with free shipping.

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The router is supported by both DD-WRT and Tomato firmwares. USB versions of Tomato is preferred as the router has two USB ports that can be attached to a printer and or external USB hard drives.

The router is only a single channel transmitter but unless you absolutely want/need dual radio outputs this will do what you want.

And back to your existing Linksys, if you have another external power supply you can try it might be worth the attempt. If the wall wart is going flaky the router can act like you describe.

Reply to
GlowingBlueMist

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Wow. Cheap for a new one? Hmm,
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doesn't seem to love it though.

Interesting. I will have to find one that matches it.

Reply to
Ant

Note that none of the bad reviews are from DD-WRT users. In other words, the hardware is willing, but the stock firmware is weak.

Reply to
alexd

You mentioned dual by which I think you mean 2.4 ghz and 5ghz. What does one need 5g for and how does one find out if the built in laptop nic can access 5g? Thanks

Reply to
Jeff

need 5g for and

Most of my new installs use dual band routers. The reasons vary depending on the customer and type of installation. Benefits are:

  1. Dual band is a small increase in wireless router cost.
  2. One can use 5.7GHz for wireless streaming (i.e. IPTV, IP cameras) and not affect 2.4GHz performance.
  3. Additional capacity when 2.4GHz is over subscribed, such as at a coffee shop, convention center, meeting hall, public mall, etc.
  4. 5.7GHz has much less interference problems.
  5. 5.7GHz seems (my opinion) faster when running 40MHz bandwidth probably due to less interference.
  6. Some routers allow combining 2.4 and 5.7GHz for additional speed. Depending on your situation, this can be either an advantage, or a mis-use of wi-fi and a source of interference.
  7. No antique 802.11b devices to deal with on 5.7GHz, which is all
802.11a.
  1. 802.11ac offers higher speeds, but only for 5.7GHz.
  2. Most laptops and later pad computahs now include dual band wi-fi cards.

Please don't call it 5G as it creates confusion with cellular 2G/3G/4G network technologies (which was probably the intent when Broadcom started using the term).

Find the model number of the laptop and the wireless card inside. Google for the model number specifications or the laptop or the wireless card.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

need 5g for and

Thank you and sorry for the wrong use of terms. As you may have guessed I am a newbie at networks. I is listed as 5.0Ghz on the router's interface.

I believe my laptop's realtek adapter can only receive 2.4 Ghz. That being the case, should I turn off the router's 5.0Ghz broadcast for security? (I currently have them both protected with WPA PSK-AES and a very long computer generated password).

Thank you again.

Reply to
Jeff

Netgear dual Band Gigabit Router WNDR3700.

Then, please do not start a new question in the middle of a thread on a different topic or problem. Post a new question (which you did later), and include your hardware list.

That's the gigabit ethernet device. See my answer to your question in the other thread that you started.

That's the Microsoft driver for Windoze.

That's the wireless device. No 802.11a (5.7GHz) support.

That's the Oracle Virtual Machine virtual driver for network devices.

Flip your laptop over. Remove screws holding cover over wireless device. Read label on wireless card.

Nice laptop. The specs say: "Wi-Fi® Wireless networking (802.11b/g/n)" No 802.11a (5.6GHz).

Hmmm... You might have some "issues" that need updates and fixes:

You may want to check if you have the latest LAN driver:

It's amazing how much information can be found after you supply the equipment models and numbers.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Reply to
Jeff

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