Wirless Router with Good Range Advice

[sb1370]

I'm going to upgrade my Wireless network mainly for a better coverage (more than 23 meters (75 ft) including walls - for a 2 story 400 m2 building).
I'm not sure about dual band because there are free 2.4Ghz channels in neighborhood, But can a single client utilize both bands of a dual band router at the same time (for maximum speed) ?
I searched Internet and found these according to my budget and wishes:
1. TP-LINK TL-WR842ND N300
2. TP-LINK TL-WDR3600 N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router
3. TP-Link Archer C2
4. D-Link DIR-816L Wireless AC750 Dual Band Cloud Router (May not consider it because of no openwrt and dd-wrt support and fixed antennas.)
What do you suggest (from above list or other models considering wireless coverage and USB port) ?

 

[RogerSC]

I'm not personally familiar with the routers that you're looking at, but I would recommend strongly considering dual-band. You are likely to be to only get 144Mbps on 2.4GHz. if you have neighboring wireless networks, since you'll be limited to 20MHz. channel width. That's fine for casual web surfing, email, mobile devices, etc., but if you want to do some media streaming you'll be much better off on 5GHz. where you can use 40 or 80MHz. channel width, that's where the wireless-AC action is due to the available bandwidth. Also, there's much fewer household appliances and miscellaneous interference on 5GHz. than 2.4GHz. The limitation on 5GHz. is simply the physics of wave propagation *smile*; i.e. 5GHz. signals are attenuated more by walls, furniture, etc. Here at my house, I can cover my whole house on 5GHz., from one end to the other end of it, with a good signal, using the Asus RT-AC-68P, Netgear R7000, or Linksys WRT1900AC.

So if you can use 5GHz., you'll have a much better time streaming netfix movies or other media than you will on 2.4GHz., within the range limitations of 5GHz. One of the reasons why 5GHz. tends to be fairly free of interference is that your neighbors' 5GHz. signals aren't going to propagate into your house well, but it can be good within a house. Again, depending on the shape, construction, and size of your house.

One final comment, there are two things better than one router for your whole house using wireless. One is having your house cabled for ethernet...hard-wired connections are always faster and more reliable than wireless. Although for most mobile devices, you're limited to wireless. The other is to use a hard-wired wireless access point (AP), which can bring wireless (and extra wired ports as well, if you use a router for your AP) to areas that aren't getting enough signal from your main router. And you don't actually need a lan cable to connect an AP, powerline networking and MoCA are also ways of connecting an access point.

 

[Trip]

Hi sb - Following on what Roger said, first off, no, a single endpoint radio cannot connect to multiple bands at once (as far as I know of); that would be a challenge from all kinds of standpoints. The 3600, as well as its bigger brother the 4300, are great choices for Gargoyle, which has excellent and easy-to-setup QoS (quality of service) for scenarios where you're trying to preserve concurrent high quality network throughput across a mix of devices and protocols (ie. web traffic, file transfers, streaming, etc.).

As far as wifi coverage goes, the newer AC-class all-in-ones actually provide a slightly better N signal and range than their siblings offering equivalent hardware (most of the time), but they are in a bit of a different price class ($100-125 and up). If you're looking to be well below $100, you could always start with a gigabit N-class or lower AC-class unit for the time being, and then either eBay and upgrade to one of the higher models by the time you have savings and/or the prices fall, or use ethernet cable, moca, powerline or a wireless "mesh" like Open-Mesh or Ubiquiti UniFi to easily extend wifi through your property. For spreading a quality signal across vast expanses larger than the typical bi or tri-level American home, I find the latter approach works out better; definitely better than trying to make a single behemoth all-in-one try to blanket the entire property.

 

[sb1370]

Thank you for you answers.
I think wiring and powerline would be overkill, I don't need highest speed at borders.
Do routers with external antennas provide better range? How are those cylindrical shape D-Link routers?
And I heard AC routers provide a better range only for ac capable devices. Is it right?
Regarding the cost, I don't like to invest more than $70, If they are going to be cheaper in near future I'll wait.

 

[sm00thpapa]

From what you're looking at I take it your looking for a budget router. I have the TL-WR842ND V1 which has 4 SSID's. The V2 replaces the 4 SSID's with a guest network which is only 1 extra SSID. If you want to get the WR842ND I would definitely put DD-WRT on it. The first firmware for the WR842ND works decent. The 2nd and 3rd firmware released for the V1 is buggy and has frequent wifi disconnects and the router freezes. You have to actually unplug it to reboot it and it will work for a few hours before it freezes and disconnects again. I would have to recommend the Asus AC56U. It's an AC1200 router which can be bought anywhere from $60.00 to $90.00 on ebay or in stores. It's a great router with plenty of good reviews.

 

[sb1370]

In routers specifications at TP-link website there is a section named Reception Sensitivity. Does lower dbm means more sensitivity and thus more range?
Also TP-link claims 450Mbps routers provide wider coverage, is it right?
I really like Archer C2 but I'm not sure about its range.

 

[sm00thpapa]

In routers specifications at TP-link website there is a section named Reception Sensitivity. Does lower dbm means more sensitivity and thus more range?
Also TP-link claims 450Mbps routers provide wider coverage, is it right?
I really like Archer C2 but I'm not sure about its range.

Reception sensitivity has to do more with how well the radio and receiver connect with no outside noise IE. interference. To truly know a routers range limit you will have to buy it and use it in your application. What's good for me might not be good for you. All router companies claim the higher the Mbps the router the better the range. I find this not to be true. I have a Tenda N300 router that has far better range than my Asus RT-N66u N900 router. Range is something you will have to play with. Get a router play with it and if it doesn't work in your application get rid of it and try another.

 

[stevech]

your client devices are transmitters too.

Range is two-way - not just the received signal strength at the client.

 

[sb1370]

Does range has anything to do with chipset?
I could find this:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Orig...um-1167mbps-support-Wifi-802/32274425504.html
Which uses the same chipset as archer c2 but is cheaper and provides higher speed.

 

[stevech]

The 802.11 standards leave little latitude for innovation. This is good, for interoperability.

 

[sfx2000]

I'm going to upgrade my Wireless network mainly for a better coverage (more than 23 meters (75 ft) including walls - for a 2 story 400 m2 building).
I'm not sure about dual band because there are free 2.4Ghz channels in neighborhood, But can a single client utilize both bands of a dual band router at the same time (for maximum speed) ?
I searched Internet and found these according to my budget and wishes:
1. TP-LINK TL-WR842ND N300
2. TP-LINK TL-WDR3600 N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router
3. TP-Link Archer C2
4. D-Link DIR-816L Wireless AC750 Dual Band Cloud Router (May not consider it because of no openwrt and dd-wrt support and fixed antennas.)
What do you suggest (from above list or other models considering wireless coverage and USB port) ?

Improve your clients perhaps - not your AP, or find a better location for the AP... and consider that there are just some basic limitations on what WiFi can do...

More power on the AP will not make a difference, the link is symmetric...

sfx

 

[sb1370]

Can I refer to "peak output power" in FCC test reports to compare ranges?

 

[System Error Message]

instead of going for peak power input there is a limit to what clients can transmit which is usually up to 500mW.

Going for better antennas or adjusting the throughput may yield better results. Its always the throughput vs range. To get better range just make sure there isnt interference near client or router. You can also go for those usb wifi with antennas.