From N66U to EA4500

[Carnagerover]

Hi all,

I am having a lot of problems with my N66U with regards to the dropping of wifi on the 2.4ghz band, or alternatively really slow browsing performance when ethernet is fine. We use our Ipads in this house all day as we work from home so a reliable 2.4ghz is essential. All other devices in the house are wired, we have 80mb download and 20mb upload and this gets used constantly in the say and there is a lot of traffic between NAS drives and internet traffic hence the reason I went for the N66U in the first place as ASUS are known for there throughput and power.

Would it be a downgrade to replace this with the EA4500, I have no interest at the moment in AC as I have no devices that use them and with it being draft I am not that interested. I see the specs on the processor for the EA4500 look higher than the A66U but I would imagine that doesn't really translate to performance its dependent on a lot of variables.

Anyone got any advice on the best course of action?

 

[CaptainSTX]

Locating Problems

Purchasing a new router may solve your problem, but a better solution is to investigate and analyze and see what your problems are.

First install inSSider on a device with a dual band network adapter and log your WifI signals on various channels in various locdations. If you are seeing peaks and valleys in the strength in a give location on a given channel then try a different channel.

If you wish to be more scientific then you will need a spectrum analyzer to see what else might be causing your problems. The creators of InSSider offer an inexpensive chanalyzer for $199 which will help you look for problems. I have never tried this device so I don't know how well it works.

In the end the solution maybe to use multiple AP points in your home tied to your router with Ethernet cables. Stronger signals in all locations where you are using WiFi will usually result in greater speeds/throughput. IMHO most people would be better off buying two or three less expensive routers and using a couple of them as APs. Even with this setup you will never get the same throughput as Ethernet.

Good luck!

 

[tipstir]

Meriaki as a free web base WiFi Checker I use that to monitor WiFi in and around. Also check your iPad store or online to see if they have WiFi tester. You need to do indoor and outdoor walk around survey and see where the WiFi is weak and strong. Then you know how to spend your money on the right router or get some AP or power gig adapters if you don't want to run more Ethernet cables through your home or business.