The Best Wireless Routers of 2. Finding the Right Router. With the gaggle of connected home products, smart TVs, smartphones, and other mobile devices ruling our lives, it's more important than ever to outfit your home or business with a wireless router that can handle the increased demand for Wi- Fi connectivity. When choosing a new router, you should consider the size of your coverage area and the number of clients, as well as the types of devices that will connect to the router. 802.11n Wi-Fi network connections advertise up to 300 Mbps of rated bandwidth, but they often operate at much lower speeds like 130 Mbps. Here's why. The Best Free Wireless Networking Software app downloads for Windows: Advanced IP Scanner Baidu WiFi Hotspot WiFi Hotspot My WiFi Router Connectify H. Learn about the Linksys EA6350 wireless router, with powerful dual-band Wireless-AC, a Gigabit wired network and Smart Wi-Fi management. Shop for and buy the best Serial ATA Hard Drive, SATA Hard Disk, SATA Hard Drive, Serial ATA Hard Drives at TigerDirect.com; your source for the best computer deals. Granted, not everybody needs the kind of performance that you get with the latest and greatest models, and there's no reason to pay for features that you will likely never use, but if you have several family members vying for bandwidth for things like streaming video and playing Overwatch online, a new router can make a world of difference and help keep the peace. We guide you through choosing a router that will handle your current and future wireless networking needs, and offer our top picks to get you started. Single- or Dual- Band? Not all routers are created equal. Some models can only communicate over a single radio band, while others can use two. Belkin International, Inc., including all affiliates and subsidiaries (“Belkin”, “us” or “we”) thanks you for choosing one of our Belkin, Linksys or WeMo.Single- band routers operate on the 2. GHz frequency band and are typically the least expensive models out there, but they have to compete with other devices in the home that are on the same radio band, such as microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, and wireless phones.
That said, they are perfectly adequate for things like Web surfing and connecting to social media services like Facebook and Twitter. If one or more of your devices will be streaming video from a service such as Netflix, or connecting to an online gaming service such as Xbox Live, consider a dual- band router. These have two radios; one connects to the 2. GHz band, and the other connects to the 5. GHz band. The 5. GHz band is typically less crowded than the 2. GHz band and offers more throughput, with minimal signal interference, making it ideal for video streaming and gaming duty. Dual- band routers allow you to assign a band to specific applications and clients, thereby easing the load on both bands. Then there are tri- band routers. These have three radios—one that operates at 2. GHz and two that operate at 5. GHz. These models are a good fit for multi- device households that experience heavy network traffic via lots of video streaming, torrent downloading, file transfers, and online gaming. Wireless Protocols. Wireless Ethernet networks use 8. Devices that use the older 8. Mbps and 5. 4Mbps, respectively, and they only operate on the 2. GHz band. The most widely used Wi- Fi protocol, 8. Mbps and operates on both the 2. GHz bands. It utilizes Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology, which uses several antennas to send and receive up to four spatial streams, resulting in enhanced performance. Most of today's laptops, smartphones, and connected home devices use 8. Internet access. But if you're using your network to share large files and have several smart TVs, gaming consoles, mobile devices, and media streaming devices connecting wirelessly, a more powerful router that offers the latest Wi- Fi technology may be in order. The newest class of Wi- Fi routers use 8. Hz, compared with 4. Hz), more MIMO spatial streams (as many as eight), and beamforming, a technology that sends Wi- Fi signals directly to a client rather than broadcasting in all directions. The 8. 02. 1. 1ac protocol also offers downstream Multi- User MIMO (MU- MIMO) technology, which is designed to provide bandwidth to multiple devices simultaneously rather than sequentially. That means up to four clients can have their own data streams instead of waiting in turn to receive data from the router. In order for MU- MIMO to work, the router and the client devices must contain MU- MIMO Wi- Fi circuitry. MU- MIMO routers and clients are still relatively uncommon, but more MU- MIMO- enabled devices, including smartphones and smart TVs, are hitting the market all the time. You'll see 8. 02. AC1. 20. 0, AC1. 75. AC3. 20. 0, and so on. This designates the theoretical maximum speed of the router. For example, a router that can achieve a maximum link rate of 4. Mbps on the 2. 4. GHz band and 1,3. Mbps on the 5. GHz band is considered an AC1. A tri- band AC3. 20. Mbps over the 2. 4. GHz band and 1,3. Mbps over each of the two 5. GHz bands. It's important to note that routers rarely, if ever, reach these . Look for a router with at least four 1. Gigabit) Ethernet ports, which allow you to connect to wired devices such as desktop PCs, network- attached storage (NAS) drives, and home- automation hubs. Having at least one USB port makes it easy to plug in a printer or a USB drive and share it across the network, but with two ports you can do both. Additionally, try to choose a router that offers removable antennas. If you want to manage how your Wi- Fi network is being used, make sure your next router has parental controls, Quality of Service (Qo. S) options, and a guest- network feature. Parental controls allow you to limit network access for certain users to specific times and days and is ideal for parents who want to keep tabs on their child's online gaming and social networking activities. A guest network lets you offer Wi- Fi connectivity to guests without leaving your entire network vulnerable. In a nutshell, you're creating a separate network for guests with a Service Set Identifier (SSID) and password that are different from your main network credentials. This lets your guests connect to the Internet, but doesn't give them access to your files, printers, and other connected devices. With Qo. S settings, you can decide which applications and clients get network priority. For example, if one device is streaming Netflix video, and another device is downloading files or running a print job, you can give priority to the streaming device to avoid choppy, out- of- sync video. The same goes for online gaming; assigning a high Qo. S priority to a gaming console such as the Microsoft XBox One S or the Sony PS4 Pro will help eliminate lag time and improve overall gameplay. See How We Test Wireless Routers. Almost all routers offer several forms of security. A router with Wi- Fi Protected Setup (WPS) lets you add compatible devices with the push of a button. Just press the WPS button on the router then press the WPS button on the client device to add it to your network. For a more secure connection, you can use Wi- Fi Protected Access (WPA or WPA2), which requires entering a network password for each device. Routers with WPA- Enterprise security offer a higher level of security than WPA/WPA2, but require a Remote Authentication Dial- In User Service (RADIUS) server to authenticate each client. The technology currently used to assign IP addresses, known as Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv. IPv. 6. IPv. 4 is a 3. IPv. 6 is a 1. 28- bit scheme that will offer an (almost) infinite number of IP addresses. Most current routers have built- in support for IPv. IPv. 4 finally does hit the wall. Price. Like anything else, router pricing is based on performance and features. A basic, single- band 8. You can snag a dual- band AC1. AC2. 40. 0 router with MIMO streaming capabilities. An AC3. 20. 0 tri- band model with all the bells and whistles will run you somewhere around $3. Early AC2. 60. 0 MU- MIMO routers are hitting the market at around $3. Fast throughput speeds, good range, easy set up and manageability, a solid feature set, and, of course, fair pricing are what make a top router. These 1. 0 recently reviewed routers span the range of pricing and strike the best balance among all our criteria right now. That changes every month as we're continually testing routers and updating this story. For the latest reviews, visit the router product guide. How to Extend Your Wireless Signal. If you live in a large or multiple- story home, you may have Wi- Fi . An easy way to solve this, without the hassle of running long cords around your home, is a wireless range extender, which will pick up your router's Wi- Fi signal, amplify it, and rebroadcast it. They come in both desktop and plug- in variations, and are relatively easy to install. They do have limitations, though: The rebroadcasted signal is typically half the strength of what you get from your main router, and they create a seperate network that makes seemless roaming through your home difficult. Wi- Fi Mesh Network Systems. If a range extender doesn't do the trick, consider overhauling your network with a Wi- Fi system. This technology offers an easy way to blanket your home in Wi- Fi without the need for additional wiring, range extenders, or access points. They utilize extension nodes, or satellites, to extend your Wi- Fi signal across a larger area than most routers are capable of. Systems such as Google Wifi and the Linksys Velop employ mesh technology, where the satellites communicate with each other to provide coverage throughout your home, while others, like the Netgear Orbi High- Performance AC3. Tri- Band Wi- Fi System (RBK5. Wi- Fi band to communicate with its satellite. Depending on the number of nodes in the system you choose, you can spread a consistent internet connection across as much as 4,0. Satellites in a Wi- Fi system are all part of the same network and provide seamless connectivity as you roam throughout the house, and they do not usually require any configuration or management beyond a few taps on a free associated mobile app. A number of the solutions in this category support high- end features like guest networking, device prioritization, parental controls, and MU- MIMO, but because Wi- Fi systems are designed to be simple, in most cases you won't be able to access the same kind of in- depth settings you can on routers. For that reason, power users and compulsive tinkerers might not love Wi- Fi systems, but for everyone else who finds network setup intimidating, these are among the friendliest and most innovative options you can find today.
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