New Affordable Internet Router

[Mr_Argon]

Hi all

So in my house we have up to 8 devices connected to the internet at the same time, most of them are just web browsing or video streaming, and one gaming. Our modem that came with our plan struggles to handle this, and occasionally the internet almost crashes. (The modem).

i'm looking for an alternative to this. i don't need the best thing out there, but I need something that can handle our internet usage.

 

Note: We currently have 50 down 10 up. We will be getting 100 down (maybe 15 up??) in the near future

Note 2: None of our computers connect via a cable. There will only be one connected via cable if we ever decide to

[Chronified]

If you're using the wifi built into your modem, it's a common issue that modems overheat when their built-in WiFi is enabled.

 

As for upgrading your wireless, literally any Wireless N 300 dual-band or better router will do fine for you given your internet cap. An AC router would be nice too but it's not really necessary given your speed cap. Check your local Facebook Marketplace / Kijiji for a Wireless N router. Likely will be the most cost effective option.

 

Once you get set up with a new router, disable the wireless on your Modem and you should see stability come back. 

 

Another solution (for my mom at least) was to use one of those laptop cooling fan pads on the modem itself, powered by the modems USB port. 

[Chronified]

++ a temporary solution could be turning down the wireless strength in the modem settings from 10 to 7, or from 7 to 5, depending on what it is set to by default. 

[Alex Atkin UK]

16 hours ago, Chronified said:

If you're using the wifi built into your modem, it's a common issue that modems overheat when their built-in WiFi is enabled.

 

As for upgrading your wireless, literally any Wireless N 300 dual-band or better router will do fine for you given your internet cap. An AC router would be nice too but it's not really necessary given your speed cap. Check your local Facebook Marketplace / Kijiji for a Wireless N router. Likely will be the most cost effective option.

 

Once you get set up with a new router, disable the wireless on your Modem and you should see stability come back. 

 

Another solution (for my mom at least) was to use one of those laptop cooling fan pads on the modem itself, powered by the modems USB port. 

There a big caveat to your suggestion though, an AC router is more likely to handle 100Mbit than an N based one.

 

Also if there is WiFi intereference in the area, the faster your wireless can perform, the less likely you will notice it.

I personally wouldn't touch anything below a mid-range AC router.  But then streaming and gaming on WiFi at the same time is unlikely to work well on ANY router, WiFi it just not designed to handle that.

[Chronified]

7 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Streaming and gaming on WiFi at the same time is unlikely to work well on ANY router, WiFi it just not designed to handle that.

A dual-band, or even better yet a tri-band router is best for gaming, as it allows simultaneous packets to flow in/out at once. 

 

But yeah I agree, get a decent mid-range AC router.

[Mr_Argon]

27 minutes ago, Chronified said:

A dual-band, or even better yet a tri-band router is best for gaming, as it allows simultaneous packets to flow in/out at once. 

 

But yeah I agree, get a decent mid-range AC router.

Would you have any particular recommendations? Just so I can get an idea

[Alex Atkin UK]

On 6/27/2019 at 9:21 AM, Chronified said:

A dual-band, or even better yet a tri-band router is best for gaming, as it allows simultaneous packets to flow in/out at once. 

 

But yeah I agree, get a decent mid-range AC router.

Indeed.  While in theory AX should solve a lot of the problems, its unfortunate its taken so long to bring those improvements we desperately needed years ago.  Its going to take a decade or so before enough people are using it to get proper time sharing over the airwaves which should finally fix gaming over WiFi.