Any way to compare broadband router range?

Chino

Carrot007 said:

And no note the actuakl chipsert of the modem does matter. My old one broke and I was getting 40 max and when I repeced it with a cheap one I get near 80max. (for modem I am using a TD-W9970.

How did you establish that the improvement was a result of the "actuakl chipsert of the modem" and not, for example, better antenna design in your replacement box?

The_Fat_Controller

All routers in the UK are allowed the same maximum power output, so they have to use antenna tricks to improve coverage.

Avoiding WiFi congestion from neighbours also helps a lot, just download a free analyser.

However, over longer distances and though solid surfaces it's the Scotty problem "Ya cannae change the laws of physics"

J_B

Roland_Sausage said:

Spend some money on a mesh WiFi system.............

Can someone please explain, in simple terms, what a mesh system is exactly.

JJ_Egan

Multiple wifi extensions all linked .

Or multiple aerials on router for greater coverage .

https://www.linksys.com/us/r/resource-center/whole-home-mesh-wifi/

Tokmon

GMNN said:

Vodafone is our current broadband provider and for the past ~18 months we've had to put with a weak Wi-Fi signal in our upstairs bedroom which is at the opposite end of the house to the kitchen where the Openreach socket is and therefore where the router sits. We've tried various solutions including moving the router a bit closer, getting a Wi-Fi extender, even contacted Vodafone who sent us a new router in case the original was defective, but didn't really improve the situation. I think it is simply down to the range of the Vodafone router, as we didn't have this problem before when we were with EE - the signal from the router was much stronger and more stable. It's only really a problem when connecting from the bedroom, but as I've been "working from home" from there more often in the past year this problem is now more annoying than it was before..

Our Vodafone 18-month contract is ending soon and therefore we would like to switch to another broadband provider to get a better Wi-Fi signal. But is there any way to tell ahead of time which provider has the router with the best signal strength / range? As I said, our previous EE router definitely had better signal range & stability than our current Vodafone one, but how can I know if Sky, BT, Talktalk, Plusnet, Shell etc.. have better or worse router signals? Is there some kind of technical specs I could ask the companies about? Hard to find comparisons online for the routers provided by the broadband companies, and would very much prefer to not have to buy my own router when those companies provide it for free.. I don't mind paying an extra few £ / month if it means better Wi-Fi signal - just a question of which company to go with.

Thank you in advance for any help / insight! 

I like how "working from home" is in quotation marks; if you just pretending to work from home while getting paid then surely Wi-Fi coverage isn't really an issue 

But i would just put in an Ethernet cable and hardwire the connection, it doesn't cost much and definitely worth it if your spending any time working from a fixed location.