Probably Looking for a New Router

Torazo · March 4, 2018

I need one to support 5+ devices (Minimum of 3 wired + Dual Band Wireless). I was eyeballing the Archer C7 (AC1750) because it would have fit everything I wanted, but it seems like, that in Canada, the Firmware is outdated when compared to the US, and that there are still drops in Wireless. I am in Canada. I have seen a LOT of Routers that seem to have issues with the Wireless dropping, so it concerns me.

My budget is somewhere between $100 and $150 CDN.

I am curious if my old Router is just having issues with the new Modem I have. It is a BEFSR41 V.3, so it's very old. What happens, is that it tends to alternate download speeds between 10Mbps and 30Mbps quite a bit. Sometimes it will drop to 0, and rarely, it will go up to 40Mbps. My ISP is 150Mbps and I didn't have any issues when it was 100Mbps with the older ISP Modem we had. I do know that modems sometimes have issues with routers going through them, but 4 standard wired connections is not enough for everybody here. I am using CAT6 Cables, and I tried 3 different ones. Connected directly, the CAT6 Cables are all going fully strong, so the problem definitely lies with the Router, or with the Router+ISP Modem.

If anyone believes it could very well be just a setting, or settings, on the Modem that is causing the problem with my current Router, please let me know what I should look out for.

Muffinmaddness · March 4, 2018

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-R7000-100UKS-Nighthawk-Parental-Compatible/dp/B00HDK4GAK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1520128979&sr=8-3&keywords=netgear+nighthawk

^I have this one, was worth every penny, in my opinion, great bit of kit, it even upped my internet speed by by a good 60% I was downloading on steam at 3.5Mb on my ISP router, bought this and in a couple of days I was up to 7.9Mb , really happy with it,

sorry I cant help you with your issue but hope it helps anyways =)

Donut417 · March 4, 2018

1 hour ago, Torazo said:

I need one to support 5+ devices (Minimum of 3 wired + Dual Band Wireless). I was eyeballing the Archer C7 (AC1750) because it would have fit everything I wanted, but it seems like, that in Canada, the Firmware is outdated when compared to the US, and that there are still drops in Wireless. I am in Canada. I have seen a LOT of Routers that seem to have issues with the Wireless dropping, so it concerns me.

My budget is somewhere between $100 and $150 CDN.

I am curious if my old Router is just having issues with the new Modem I have. It is a BEFSR41 V.3, so it's very old. What happens, is that it tends to alternate download speeds between 10Mbps and 30Mbps quite a bit. Sometimes it will drop to 0, and rarely, it will go up to 40Mbps. My ISP is 150Mbps and I didn't have any issues when it was 100Mbps with the older ISP Modem we had. I do know that modems sometimes have issues with routers going through them, but 4 standard wired connections is not enough for everybody here. I am using CAT6 Cables, and I tried 3 different ones. Connected directly, the CAT6 Cables are all going fully strong, so the problem definitely lies with the Router, or with the Router+ISP Modem.

If anyone believes it could very well be just a setting, or settings, on the Modem that is causing the problem with my current Router, please let me know what I should look out for.

Ive set up an Archer C7 before. Its a pretty no frills router. The big thing to look out for is making sure that the firmware that the router has, has been patched for the security holes found in WPA last year. This is what lead to be buying a Synology RT 2600AC. If your current router does what you need it to do, but you want updated firmware you could also look to see if it support DDWRT.

As far as wireless dropping on new router, you have to understand that WiFi acts differently in every environment its in. Thats the issue, you can never know without buying if a router will work well with you. Now that being said Id say for budget router TP Link seems like a good bet. Ive also heard that ASUS and Netgear are also mostly safe bets. The Synology router I have seems to be solid, but its going to be over your budget, though they have a cheaper model that might be closer to your budget.

Torazo · March 4, 2018

It's not that. The issues I have seen about the Archer C7, is a Canadian Firmware issue (Canadian Firmware is WAY outdated on TP-Links site). I have looked into it and have read up that the US Firmware had an update that fixed the problem. It also seems that this kind of issue is happening with more than just one router too.

I do know that routers behave differently in different environments. There was a point in which I determined that a faulty updated wireless signal from a Laptop was causing wireless interference and dropping the entire modem offline.

I should also clarify a bit more on the wireless issues the Archer C7 seems to have. The issue is that the 5.0ghz wireless band (I believe it's only the 5.0ghz band; I should search it up again), shuts off and requires a restart of the router to turn it back on.