Decent routers?

irfb87

Hi Guys,

I'm not a very techy person. I wish I was but the reality is I'm not...

My Fiancee and myself have taken on a b&b and it needs a bit of work to bring some of it up to standard (the majority is nice). One thing we were unaware of before starting was quite how bad the internet is/was...

The previous owner was paying for 0.5Mb internet... I didn't even realise you could have it that small...So anyway, we upgraded to 16Mb; I'm aware this is always a maximum number, and the reality might be slightly less... but the coverage isn't great. The building is quite spread and being built in the 1850's it has some very thick walls..

I bought some boosters from PC world (it was a desperate situation and that was the nearest place open lateish). They do help spread things about a bit, but the signal isn't that great. For instance the boosters are sitting nearly directly above one another and directly above the router, but I can barely pick up the router on the next floor, so I can't imagine the booster is doing too well. I spoke to someone who said most of the time if you upgrade the main router, then everything tends to get that bit better. Boosters boost good signal rather than bad signal etc.

Anyone recommend anything nicely priced?

deej22

For an ADSL connection I'd use a TP-LINK TD-W8970 - or if you're willing to splash out a little, maybe go for a Netgear D6300 AC1650.

DrayTek is also a very good make to look at.

JJ_Egan

The Asus range .
But you may be better using wired connections or home plugs .

dumpallhere

What's "nicely priced" for you? Will help sharing make/model that may suit your needs.

irfb87

dumpallhere wrote: »

What's "nicely priced" for you? Will help sharing make/model that may suit your needs.

To be honest, it's a case of value for money at the moment. I suppose I'm willing to fork out £100-£150, if it means I can rest easy. But obviously as with most people if I could spend £5 and get super signal then I would..

dumpallhere

My two cents:

Options:
1. Invest for long term use. Buy a top-of the line 802.11ac router - 802.11ac routers have max. range and incorporate beamforming (works with 802.11ac devices only).
or
2. Buy N900 / N600 router. If you still find "notspots" or weak signal areas, then try using range extenders / homeplugs.

Since you will be providing this service to "clients", if I were you, I would not mind spending a bit more now and make the service offering sort of future-proof by buying the latest technology product today.

You also have to take into account what you mentioned before:

The building is quite spread and being built in the 1850's it has some very thick walls..

so routers with specifications simialr to those that the ISPs provide (Sky Hub, BT hub, etc.) are unlikely to meet your requirements.

802.11ac routers
Asus AC2400 RT-AC87U
Asus RT-AC68U Dual-band Wireless-AC1900
D-Link DIR-880L Wireless AC1900
Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 Smart Wi-Fi Router (R7000)
Linksys EA6900 AC1900

802.11n N900 routers (450Mbps * 2 channels)
Asus RT-N66U Dark Knight
Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router EA4500
Netgear WNDR4500

802.11n N600 routers (300Mbps * 2 channels)
Asus RT-N56U
Linksys E3200
Netgear WNDR3700
Netgear WNDR3800

I am with JJ Egan regarding Asus routers. All listed above have been ranked very highly by almost all reviewers out there.

Hope it helps.

Timalay

Depending on how much you are willing to spend, maybe install range extenders in each room.

victor2

irfb87 wrote: »

I bought some boosters from PC world (it was a desperate situation and that was the nearest place open lateish). They do help spread things about a bit, but the signal isn't that great. For instance the boosters are sitting nearly directly above one another and directly above the router, but I can barely pick up the router on the next floor, so I can't imagine the booster is doing too well.

You don't normally put boosters (range extenders) next to the main router, but somewhere between where the signal is too weak and the router itself.
That allows them to pick up the signal and extend it further.
However, if you are looking to offer clients WiFi in their rooms, some sort of device in or close to each room will probably be required.
Of course, you could just say that WiFi is available in public areas, which should be acceptable for a B&B, then use range extenders to cover those areas. That may be a budget solution.

dumpallhere

Which router and booster / extender are you currently using? Do you know the make & model?

kwikbreaks

IMO best results would be from using homeplug based wireless APs in each room. You may get away with one per floor in the corridoor. There is a downside though - they could easily "walk". Especially any just on a landing.

It's unlikely any single wireless router is going to cover all of a sizeable building with thick walls so your £100 budget is probably optimistic.

Don't forget that making your personal internet connection public leaves you open to a lot of issues...

Unless set up correctly wireless clients may have access to any personal machines on your network and those of other guests.

Any kiddy fiddler material downloaded may bring an unwelcome knock on your door from the boys in blue.

A standard home connection will prohibit this type of use. You'd need to check the T&C whatever broadband contract you have.

irfb87

victor2 wrote: »

You don't normally put boosters (range extenders) next to the main router, but somewhere between where the signal is too weak and the router itself.
That allows them to pick up the signal and extend it further.
However, if you are looking to offer clients WiFi in their rooms, some sort of device in or close to each room will probably be required.
Of course, you could just say that WiFi is available in public areas, which should be acceptable for a B&B, then use range extenders to cover those areas. That may be a budget solution.

Thanks for the info everyone. Just to clarify this point: Boosters aren't next to the main router, they're the next floor up. My wording might have been a bit dodgy there, what I mean was:

Router is in the reception/hallway/entrance area. Above and back a few metres is the 1st floor landing (location of 1st booster). Above that is the 2nd floor landing (Location of 2nd booster). They do their job in the 'main building' i.e. they boost crap signal.. unfortunately there are 2 'half floors' which I suppose we can label floor 0.5 and floor 1.5 which are much further back (an extension to the old building) which seem to struggle getting much signal. Some people report 'ok' signal, my old iphone doesn't pick up anything.. So I'd imagine those reporting 'ok' signal would be using laptops or more up to date devices.

At the moment I'm using what was supplied free (free for a good reason probably) Technicolor TG582n Pro. I'd imagine it would be ideal in a flat or something like that, but here it's not so great...

I definitely agree with you guys regarding investing for the future.. When I said £100-150, that was sort of a 'comfortable' amount. But I do look at the whole thing as an investment, and it is; relatively speaking, a one off cost.