[Jubei]

Would appreciate some advice. I am thinking about upgrading my wireless router, currently the Netgear WGR614 v6. It has served me for over 7 years, with no downtime or problems. I have no complaints about speed either. The reasons I would like to upgrade include:
 
1 > Would like WPA2 security options.
 
2 > Would like improved range - currently I get weak connection in living room with frequent disconnections (on the Lenovo Thinkpad X 201i). I live in an apartment complex with loads of walls between my wireless router and the living room although distance is not far (with 50 feet). Living and bedroom are in ends of a L shaped apartment layout. Because of the density of apartments, there are also many routers around - all six units on my floor seem to have wireless routers.
 
3 > Additional features like USB ports on wireless router would be nice for sharing printer, but not necessary at all.
 
4 > Think I would prefer one with external antennas.
 
So, do I get any benefits from upgrading? If yes, can anyone suggest some decent but not excessively pricey router? The shops on Hong Kong are loaded with brands like D-Link and TP-Link (generally cheaper) but are they any good?
 
Thanks!

 

[virometal]

In the U.S., I have purchased two D-Link's this year. The first was a 655 (REV B) for my mother and a more high end 4500 for myself. Both have been rock solid. As one might assume, mom is a light surfer/iPhone user in an approx. 100 sq. m. but over six months now has never complained about drops. I'm a heavier user, some gaming, movie streaming,  whom employs five devices throughout my 205 sq. m house and never had a real problem. Of course, there is only the g/f and I in the residence, which should be considered. I would say you definitely could benefit from dual band for your situation. 
 
That's my experience. Good luck. Router shopping was a chore for myself, so many conflicting opinions out there.  

 

[Jubei]

Thanks for the reply. I went to the computer mall yesterday and talked to a few sales people. Most recommend brands like TP-Link and D-Link as cheap options. One admitted he has used TP-Link, D-Link and Buffalo before and while performance is more or less the same, stability and durability is an issue. He said the cheaper routers are perform as well as the pricier brands like Netgear or Linksys during the 1st year, but performance rapid deteriorates as they age. I'm still undecided overall, but have more or less decided it will be between a cheaper Level One WBR-6011 or a Netgear WNR2000, if I do end up upgrading. It seems now I am much more likely to be upgrading my PC - a new hard disk and am thinking about upgrading to Windows 7 (dual boot with Ubuntu). I would love to try the 64 bit version of Windows, but have my concerns.

 

[fraseyboy]

My D-Link inexplicably died the other day and I replaced it with a Belkin. It was reasonably cheap for a 802.11N 300mbps router. The settings page is very well set out and it has some nifty features including a USB print/file server (although it only works if software is installed on the client PC's so no Linux support). The only thing which annoys me is the simplified hardware where instead of the usual 5 or so lights indicating whether things are working there's just one light which is amber if something is wrong and green if everything is right. 

 

[MCC]

I haven't kept up on current wireless networking hardware but even brand names like Linksys do have their problems. Last summer my Linksys WRT-610N started behaving strangely- lockups, dropped connections, etc. It turns out that they used cheap/subpar electrolytic capacitors and they were failing (high measured ESR/no visible signs). I replaced them with Nichicon polymer caps of half the original capacitance and I now only reset it to do firmware updates (DD-WRT).
 
Basically, don't expect your new router to last as long as your current one.

 

[dsio]

I'm on about my 6th Netgear with terrible results, at work our Belkin is having problems, and I've got a dead D-Link as well.  Not really sure where you'd go to find a good one anymore, they're probably all coming out of the same factories anyway.

 

[Jubei]

Oh dear. My Netgear has been going strong for 6+ years, while a D-Link I bought for my family crapped out after 2 years. A friend of mine says Buffalo are awful despite the relative high price over here. Maybe I should give the Level One a shot ...
 
Quote:

I'm on about my 6th Netgear with terrible results, at work our Belkin is having problems, and I've got a dead D-Link as well.  Not really sure where you'd go to find a good one anymore, they're probably all coming out of the same factories anyway.