Help with Router Selection

[DanM]

Yup. Another thread from another newbie that is going crosseyed trying to figure out which router is best. Long gone are the days when all I needed was a Linksys WRT54G to power the laptop in a 900 sqft house.

Now we have a 2500 sqft split level ranch that has made a decent wi-fi signal a serious PITA. Currently have a Moto/Arris SB6141 connected to a Cisco E5100 router in the family room on the lowest level. It is hardwire connected to the Blu-Ray player, the printer that no longer works on wi-fi, and an old NAS that I should probably replace. Upstairs near the dining room is a Linksys RE1000 repeater that has a habit of being intermittent. SWMBO is very unhappy with the performance of the network given the deadzone at the far corners and the occasional up and down nature of the repeater.

What am I looking for? The router that is probably a bit more than what we need around our house. Tech is changing rapidly, so the more future proof, the better. We currently stream 95% of our TV, plus computers, phones, tablets, etc... It also needs Ethernet jacks for the peripherals I mentioned earlier. I think the biggest issue I have is the walls in the house. This place is built like a tank. We have 1/2" rock board with a 1/2" plaster coating, so signals don't penetrate very well. The ability to upgrade the antenna is a feature I will gladly pay for.

I saw the Netgear Nighthawk 1900 and it looks good, in my ignorant, easily persuaded mind.

Dan

Now if I only kept in touch with my old RF engineer friends. They could probably set up a good network with a radiax cable across the attic.

 

[thiggins]

Hi Dan,

With tough to penetrate walls, your best bet is a centrally placed AC1900 class router. The R7000 is top-ranked in that class.

For the remote hard-to-reach area, I'd try a pair of AV2-500 class powerline extenders to put an Ethernet jack where you need it. We found the TP-LINK TL-PA6010KIT AV600 Gigabit Powerline Adapter Starter Kit to be one of the best.

You can then connect a router-converted-to-AP if you want to extend wireless.

 

[stevech]

yes, add Access Points ( APs) - one router cannot provide good speeds and coverage in your situation

 

[DanM]

Thanks for the help. Now to sell this to the Secretary of the Treasury.

 

[DanM]

So far so good. I have good coverage in areas that were once dead zones. I guess a good quality router with external antennas is what we needed.


One question. There are separate SSIDs for the 2.4 and 5g network radios. This type of configuration is new to me. Should I use one as default over the other? Are there strategies that are above my understanding that I could use?

Thanks

Dan