Upgrading from a very basic router

[b0ng0]

I have moved into a larger house recently and feel like it's time to upgrade from the free router I received from my ISP - the trusty Thomson TG585 v7.

Couple of bits of information:

- Concurrently, there are usually 7 devices connected to the WiFi - 2 phones (Galaxy S5, iPhone 6), one smart TV, three desktops (one is used for gaming, the other two are primarily streaming from netflix) and a Macbook Air (2011).

- Connection is ADSL with an estimated downstream speed of 7 Mbps, not very good I know. Fiber is supposed to be rolled out by 2016/2017. So probably 2018.

- Main uses are streaming HD video and some online gaming as well as Steam In-Home streaming. Otherwise, just browsing the net. All of this is via WiFi.

I'm quite tech savvy but well out of my depth when it comes to routers. I was looking for something that can handle ADSL and also cable/fiber when it becomes available. My phone can use 802.11 ac so why not take advantage of that. Dual band also seems to be the way to go these days too.

Initial look on Amazon threw up the TP-Link D5 and Asus N55U. Both have some positive and also a fair amount of negative reviews.

Any help would be massively appreciated!

 

[thiggins]

You will see mixed comments on ANY product, especially wireless routers. Some combinations of router and devices just don't work well due to compatibility problems.

At this point, there is no reason except very limited budget to buy an N router. Our general recommendation is AC1900 if you have many clients and a larger space to cover. AC1200 if fewer clients and smaller space.

TP-LINK Archer C7 is a particularly good buy at around $100 US.

 

[b0ng0]

You will see mixed comments on ANY product, especially wireless routers. Some combinations of router and devices just don't work well due to compatibility problems.

At this point, there is no reason except very limited budget to buy an N router. Our general recommendation is AC1900 if you have many clients and a larger space to cover. AC1200 if fewer clients and smaller space.

TP-LINK Archer C7 is a particularly good buy at around $100 US.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Just to clarify, when you say N router are you referring to WiFi 802.11/n?

What about AC1750 - is this a good compromise between the AC1200 and AC1900?

I had originally looked at the C7 but it does not appear to have an ADSL port, only Gigabit WAN. As I don't have a fiber connection at the moment I really need a router with an ADSL port.

 

[System Error Message]

There are a few modem router combos but they dont even do very well. There was even an ASUS AC68U with DSL port but even that wasnt stable. Its best to seperate the modem and router especially if you're going to have cable/fibre because you will need an ethernet WAN port to use them in order to have the router to perform NAT and such. Even a tp link router is usually better than what an ISP gives even for cable or fibre. The exception to router modem combos are enterprise routers with SFP ports. Zyxel also made a good router that also had modem which supports VDSL and could also be used as a standard ethernet router. Just avoid d-link and you should be fine. Netgear works fine if you flash a different firmware.

When you get a router simply put your modem into bridge mode.

 

[b0ng0]

There are a few modem router combos but they dont even do very well. There was even an ASUS AC68U with DSL port but even that wasnt stable. Its best to seperate the modem and router especially if you're going to have cable/fibre because you will need an ethernet WAN port to use them in order to have the router to perform NAT and such. Even a tp link router is usually better than what an ISP gives even for cable or fibre. The exception to router modem combos are enterprise routers with SFP ports. Zyxel also made a good router that also had modem which supports VDSL and could also be used as a standard ethernet router. Just avoid d-link and you should be fine. Netgear works fine if you flash a different firmware.

When you get a router simply put your modem into bridge mode.

I'm probably showing my ignorance here, but I don't think I have a modem at the moment. I have an ADSL filter and the Thomson just plugs into the phone socket. I understand that I'd probably need a modem for fiber though.

 

[System Error Message]

Your Thomson router is also a modem hence the term router/modem combo. When you buy an ethernet router you plug it into the thomson, set thomson to bridge mode and your router behind the thomson will connect to internet. A modem is a piece of hardware that translates between 2 networking mediums and the phone socket uses analogue at a variable bitrate while ethernet is entirely digital at a constant bitrate. They also use different wires and are not directly compatible with each other

 

[b0ng0]

Your Thomson router is also a modem hence the term router/modem combo. When you buy an ethernet router you plug it into the thomson, set thomson to bridge mode and your router behind the thomson will connect to internet. A modem is a piece of hardware that translates between 2 networking mediums and the phone socket uses analogue at a variable bitrate while ethernet is entirely digital at a constant bitrate. They also use different wires and are not directly compatible with each other

Thanks for the detailed explanation. So essentially I can plug any router (even a cable/fiber/gigabit one) into the Thomson modem/router via ethernet cable and it should effectively use the new router for broadcasting/routing? Would the Thomson being slower or lower spec than a new router act as a bottleneck?

 

[htismaqe]

Call your ISP and have them walk you through setting the Thomson in "bridge mode".

 

[Hawk]

Just though I chime in, I have VDSL2+ and speed of 70/10, no matter if you have ADSL, VDSL or VDSL2 they all require username and password to connect to ISP router and their system.

In you case they would have given username and password when you sign up for service, simply take account info and put into your new router, which then connect to ISP supplied combo modem.

When you do this you will have external router do all the work and ISP combo modem will do modulation and demodulation of data between Ethernet and phone line and nothing else.

 

[L&LD]

I would recommend the RT-AC56U for the AC1200 class router and the RT-AC68U for the AC1900 class. These are $100 and $200, respectively, on sale.

The reason AC1750 is not recommended is because it was one of the first models to ship with old hardware (effectively at the N900 class of the RT-N66U) and is not measurably better than the RT-AC56U (which punches above it's weight class) and much worse than AC1900 routers (especially in the 5GHz band).

Why Asus routers?

Because of the great RMerlin firmware available for them.