Solved: I need a new router. - Hughesnet Community

Reggie · ‎11-25-2018

I need a new router. This time of year fund are tight. I am thinking to spend under $100.

I have done research for the last month. Now i'm more confused than when I started.

I'm still on Gen 4 & not interested in upgrading to gen5.

All that will be hooked to router in one desktop& one laptop. The desktop will be hardwired.Laptop wireless.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Thank You

Reggie

GabeU · ‎11-25-2018

@Reggie

I've had good luck with Netgear. Granted, I've got an older one that only has 2.4Ghz capability, and I don't use it very often today due to having Gen5, but it worked perfectly when I had Gen4 and still does on the occasion that I use it for a specific reason with Gen5. It's a WNR2000v4, and it's six years old.

Even if you don't currently have any devices that can connect using the 5Ghz band (I have no idea if you do), I'd still get a router that has that ability, as more and more devices today can use the 5Ghz band. Just about all routers can use the 2.4Ghz band, but some still don't offer a 5Ghz connection, as well.

If you want the absolute best you can get for your price range, take a look at something like the Netgear R6700 Nighthawk. Granted, it's right at the top of your range, but it's got a lot of bells and whistles for the price. On Amazon, right now, it's on sale for $99.99, but it may be even less tomorrow due to it being Cyber Monday.

One piece of advice I think everyone would agree with, though, is to make sure you stick with a well known brand. Netgear, Linksys, ASUS, D-Link, TP-Link.

The following link is to the best selling routers on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-Computer-Routers/zgbs/electronics/300189

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GabeU · ‎11-25-2018

@Reggie

I've had good luck with Netgear. Granted, I've got an older one that only has 2.4Ghz capability, and I don't use it very often today due to having Gen5, but it worked perfectly when I had Gen4 and still does on the occasion that I use it for a specific reason with Gen5. It's a WNR2000v4, and it's six years old.

Even if you don't currently have any devices that can connect using the 5Ghz band (I have no idea if you do), I'd still get a router that has that ability, as more and more devices today can use the 5Ghz band. Just about all routers can use the 2.4Ghz band, but some still don't offer a 5Ghz connection, as well.

If you want the absolute best you can get for your price range, take a look at something like the Netgear R6700 Nighthawk. Granted, it's right at the top of your range, but it's got a lot of bells and whistles for the price. On Amazon, right now, it's on sale for $99.99, but it may be even less tomorrow due to it being Cyber Monday.

One piece of advice I think everyone would agree with, though, is to make sure you stick with a well known brand. Netgear, Linksys, ASUS, D-Link, TP-Link.

The following link is to the best selling routers on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-Computer-Routers/zgbs/electronics/300189

Reggie · ‎11-26-2018

@GabeU

I took your advice & ordered the Netgear R6700 Nighthawk. Amazon has it on sale today for about $69. I couldn't pass it up.

Thank You

Reggie

GabeU · ‎11-26-2018

@Reggie

Wow. Nice price. I knew it might go down today, but that's fantastic. 🙂

Amanda · ‎11-26-2018

Nighthawk R7000 owner here - can attest that the line itself is marvelous. C0RR0SIVE also owns one. If the option for TiVO support appears in your settings.. do not turn it on... for some reason it tripled the frequency of multicast pings across my local network devices and just destroyed performance completely. Netgear genie app is free and nifty, especially for finding dead spots and channel interference.

GabeU · ‎11-26-2018

@Amanda wrote:
Netgear genie app is free and nifty, especially for finding dead spots and channel interference.

I have the Genie app installed on all three of my computers for when I use my WNR2000v4. In addition to the Genie app, from the looks of it, the Nighthawk has its own mobile app, as well. Now I'm getting jealous. 😞

Reggie · ‎11-26-2018

First, I would like to thank everyone who responded. With all the info it seems I have alot of homework to do. If I read fast I won't have too many problems.

Reggie

GabeU · ‎11-26-2018

@Reggie

You're very welcome. 🙂

The Genie app is pretty much just an app to be able to see router info and make adjustments if you need to. It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it, and that shouldn't take very long, as it's not all that complicated. Things like QOS take longer to learn and fiddle with, but I haven't even bothered with that as I normally only have, at the most, two things running at the same time, and that isn't very often, and usually only when I'm updating my laptop or notebook. You'll find that most of the settings are fairly self explanatory, but it's definitely a good idea to read a little about the things you aren't familiar with. Netgear also has their own Community with a lot of good info, and they're pretty helpful if you have a question that you can't find an answer to.

I hope you like the R6700. If I needed a new router and I had the money I would most likely get something like that, as I don't really need all of the bells and whistles of the more expensive ones. As long as it's easy to use, has speed comparable to the LAN connection, and has decent range, I'm as happy as a clam at high tide, and I'm pretty sure the R6700 would fulfill all three of those requirements.

BirdDog · ‎11-26-2018

I'm too late from the looks of it but have had a very good experience with the Asus RT-N66R. The signal is strong and reaches out well. Going strong for a few years now. Thought I'd add it here for anyone else in the market.

P.S.: The specs are wrong on Amazon, it is a dual band router.

GabeU · ‎11-26-2018

@BirdDog

They definitely need to fix that. It shows in the comparison that it's only 2.4Ghz, but in the description it says 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. Wholly confusing. I wonder how many more of those they would sell were the information correct. I mean, many people, like you and I, would do further research, but a lot of people solely rely on the Amazon description, and in this case it would be a mistake to do so.

BirdDog · ‎11-26-2018

@GabeU, At least Newegg has the description right but of course their price is higher. Probably can't go wrong with either one, I've gone with Asus for some years because of the Merlin firmware available.

GabeU · ‎11-26-2018

@BirdDog

Does the Merlin firmware work with the RT-N66R? I see it's not listed on the Merlin site as supported, but I know that there are always units that can use the firmware even if it isn't officially supported.

I was thinking, at one time, of getting an inexpensive ASUS router(RT-AC66U, I think), but I found out that, even though the Merlin firmware was officially supported on it, it was limited in what it could do. The full, individual data tally isn't there like it would be with the more expensive models. 😞

I know that the R6700 can use the DD-WRT firmware, but only v1. It's doubtful that the one he's going to get is v1. But, either way, it's still a great router, even with the stock firmware. A lot better than what I have, that's for sure, and better than what the HT2000W offers.

P.S. Sorry for all of the additional email notices with each of my edits. 😞

BirdDog · ‎11-26-2018

@GabeU wrote:
@BirdDog

Does the Merlin firmware work with the RT-N66R? I see it's not listed on the Merlin site as supported, but I know that there are always units that can use the firmware even if it isn't officially supported.

It's in the legacy section, he's not doing new updates for it. The last one he did is working great though.

I don't get emails on everything, many turned off, I just lurk alot.

GabeU · ‎11-26-2018

@BirdDog wrote:
It's in the legacy section, he's not doing new updates for it. The last one he did is working great though.

Nice. 🙂