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Tips To Finding The Perfect Wireless Router
Choosing the right router can make the difference between having a great wireless signal throughout your home or needing some type of mesh or repeater solution to achieve an optimal signal in certain areas. Nowadays, there are so many different wireless solutions that it can be hard to distinguish what exactly do you need. Below, we will be going over some of the key tips to finding the perfect wireless router.
1. Ditch The Supplied Router.
The main thing that you are going to want to do is ditch the supplied router that came with your ISP connection. If your ISP provider supplied you with an OEM router that you can use, but most likely it is going to be inefficient and it will not max out your Internet connection like it should. Instead, you will want to replace it with a third party solution available on the marketplace. However, in order to ditch your ISP provided router, you might need to disable the wireless functionality on the router if it is a combination modem/router. That way, you can use your own wireless router and use the provider’s one just as a modem.
2. Mesh or No Mesh.
Another thing that you are going to want to do is figure out whether or not you are going to need mesh wireless system. A lot of router brands now have their own mesh technology which allows different routers to communicate with one another without having to go through a central hub. This allows for seamless handoffs between the nodes positioned throughout your home. If you are living in a small apartment or a place that one router is able to sufficiently cover, it is not going to be necessary to get a mesh solution.
However, if you are living in a large space that needs a lot of coverage and/or you are living in a home made up of concrete with little wireless penetration, you are likely going to want to invest in some type of mesh setup. That way, you can get sufficient coverage throughout your home and benefit from seamless handoffs between one router and the next. There are plenty of mesh solutions that you can choose from and ZillaBest, for example, has an excellent write up about what’s best in Mesh wireless tech in 2018.
3. Speed.
Another major thing that you are going to want to consider is the speed that the router is capable of achieving. This should depend on several factors. For one, the devices that you are going to be primarily using. You need to check to see what technology they are capable of using and figure out whether or not it is even worth upgrading to newer router technologies. Some devices are not going to be able to access new router technologies or functions simply because they don’t have the capabilities. Also, you want to consider your Internet speeds to begin with. If you are dealing with bandwidth limitations, you won’t necessarily be able to benefit from having a router with extreme bandwidth functionality.
4. Features.
You want to consider the features that come with the router in order to see whether or not it meets your current needs and your future needs. For example, if you need to share a hard drive or network accessed storage in your household, make sure that the router has an USB port and sharing capabilities so your storage is visible on the network. That’s just an example of all the features that are important in a wireless router.
5. Price.
The price point of the router should be the final determining factor. It needs to fit your budget. The most expensive option isn’t always the all-in-one solution that works for everyone. Sometimes, there are cheaper alternatives that lack some features that you might not ever use, so do your research before plunging all in.
Final Words
Overall, there is plenty that you should be looking at to make the right decision when purchasing a perfect wireless router. If you are a gamer, that you might need a router that is optimized for gaming and offers minimized lag for first person shooters. IF you plan to stream and share movies across the home network make sure you get a wireless device that has plenty of storage sharing options and so on. Just do you research before spending any hard earn money!
