What should we care about in a home router to select the best for us?

[Dan Purgert]

[Dan Purgert]

[gfretwell]

Not usually The song isn't "get your kicks on r-ow-te 66".

[Cindy Hamilton]

Pronunciation of "route" is regional.

Cindy Hamilton

[micky]

That helped a lot. Up all night, completed my 14 foot wide, 8 foot high bas relief in oak of Washington Crossing the Delaware. The New Jersey Historical Association is sending a truck to pick it up.

[trader_4]

Poor Arlen, if he thought there were trolls in his last thread, he sure isn't going to like this one at all.

ROFL

[RosemontCrest]

Ed,

That is a classic reply... in so many ways.

Brian

[Chris]

Thanks. Suspected as much, given the route pronunciation.

[Char Jackson]

I pronounce the two words the same, but you can tell the intent from context.

[micky]

Get your kicks on Root 66.

[Ken Blake]

In the US, they're both the same--the first syllable rhymes with "cow."

[Norm Why]

"Necessity is the mother of invention". I discovered I don't need a hone router. My LG K4 works better than TELUS 3100T. Using cheap bytes imported from the USA, with mobile LTE data, I have a WiFi router that is better and cheaper. I will return my 3100T and explain "I have been on a consumer's strike for months". Next I will put all my CAT 5e & CAT 6 Ethernet cables up for resale on Craigslist.

[Sam E]

[snip]

"Root-er" reminds me of all the wild hogs we have around here.

[Rene Lamontagne]

Also *Roto-Rooter*, the drain cleaning company. :-)

Rene

[Zaghadka]

I just plug an antenna into my RJ-45 wall jack and that works great. ;)

[gfretwell]

Isn't that also the name of a city in New Zealand. It certainly smells like it there.

[Jeff Liebermann]

I don't know. As soon as I find one that I like, either the manufacturer replaces it with a piece of junk, or technology advances beyond it's capabilities. For example, when 802.11g, I replaced some perfectly functional 802.11b routers. When gigabit became fashionable, I was replacing perfectly acceptable 10/100 routers. When

802.11n arrived, the older 802.11g routers became eWaste. Same with 802.11ac, 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6), and maybe the new 24 and 60GHz bands once they become standard on TV's and media players.

Do you perhaps see the problem? As technology advances, your "best" router becomes instant junk. Spend as much as you want on the latest and greatest, but there's no way you can spend your way past obsolescence and fashion.

Another problem is what features do you really need? I don't mean the bullet points on the data sheet because the router is *ASSUMED* to have everything listed in working order. What I mean is the stuff that is missing from the data sheet, such as reliability, uptime, firmware updates, alternative firmware, performance test results (SmallNetBuilder.com), unplanned wireless disconnects, etc. Basically, all the stuff that can and does go wrong. My customers usually ask me for the fastest and most feature infested router available. Then, after they have problems, they ask me for the most reliable, highest uptime, most supported by the manufactory, and to hell with the cost. So, instead of a $50 junk router (Linksys EA2700), I sell them something by Asus, Ubiquiti, Cisco, or Mikrotik.

So, what should you care about? In order of importance (most to less most):

1. Uptime (doesn't crash or lock up).
2. Continued firmware (security) updates.
3. 2.4 and 5GHz bridging. Must operate on 2.4 and 5Ghz at same time.
4. Good performance (wi-fi throughput and range, Ethernet speed test results (iPerf3).
5. Reliability (no bulging caps, overheating, or sensitivity to power glitches.

[Dan Purgert]

[Dan Purgert]

[Davej]

If you watch Matthias Wandel on Youtube you will know you can never have enough routers (or bandsaws).

The best router? Probably pfSense installed on an old mini-desktop.

But you seem far more interested in the AP. For that the Ubiquiti models seem to have a lot of rave reviews and devotees.