How to choose a wireless router

I want to get a wireless router for use at home, at most, it would be two people ever connected at the same time, you cound not physically be more than 20 metres from it, unless you were walking down the road, no heavy downloads, just basic surfing.

What are the considerations?
There seem so many options, Argos for example, has 19 to chose from at various prices, over €100 difference between the cheapest and most expensive:

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How do I figure out what I need?

What sort of broadband do you have - e.g. phone line/ADSL, UPC cable etc.?
Do you want an all in one box that has the broadband "modem" and wireless router in one?
Or just a wireless router that connects to your existing broadband modem box?
For a wireless router only I'd be looking to pay no more than about €30
For an ADSL or cable broadband modem + wireless router maybe a tenner more
I'd probably look at the likes of www.adverts.ie to buy one second hand from a reputable poster

Not sure if this will be of any help but on page 736 of current catalogue there is an Argos guide to networking which seems to give some good advice. There are so reviews by purchasers on each

Be careful if you do choose something in Argos as there is a new catalogue out on Saturday and I have found in the past that they are inclined to let stocks run low/cease selling items altogether to cater for same. You may find this site handy also [broken link removed]

How did you get on?

Im plagued with wireless routers packing in and performing very badly (slow and dropping signal).

Ive gone through a Lynksis (14mo) and a Belkin (11mo). (both bricked)

Im thinking of a TP Link WR1043ND which is supposed to be a reliable wireless router,

I would be prepared to pay much more for a wr that would work consistently out of the box and am not prepared to waste hours constantly resetting or flapping about installing firmware etc.

aj

I'm not sure if this helps but I used to have a Vodafone mobile broadband facility for €19.99 per month. This was a dongle which you plugged into your USB port on a laptop. I recently discovered that other suppliers were offering a multi-access capability, for the same price, with an upgraded modem. I have now moved to this, for the same price (ok, I had to sign an 18-month contract!) which one can install at the best location in the house, and up to 5 devices (laptop, netbook, Kindle Fire, phone etc.) can be plugged in simultaneously. Not only that, the actual wifi service has improved enormously (we're situated in the bog end of a south-eastern county with very limited stuff from telecomm suppliers!). No need for landline, and all the internet you could possible need!

Those mobile mini wireless things are neat -- sold as "MiFi" in other countries. I had one for a couple of years and no probs with the wireless itself. However, the cellular signal is unpredictable. You may find, especially in a remote location that you are the only user of the local cell one day, and getting multiple mbps, and the next day some new neighbour is killing your bandwidth.

On the general router question, I have only ever bought Linksys (now Cisco) - the old WRT54G and replacements, including wireless-N. Have had at least four, never a problem, simple admin. I love them. Lack of a traffic meter is my only gripe. With wireless problems I would always check other more likely causes first i.e. internet connection or environmental problems.

Picked up on of these: NETGEAR N300 Wireless ADSL Modem Route recently (Netgear wireless modem router) which I have found to be bullet proof so far. It has been constantly on for about four months* and has not dropped a connection once. It also allows you to connect a compatible hard drive via USB and stream contents from it to other devices. Other features is being able to block access to certain websites which might be useful for kids/teenagers and it being dualband which allows compatible devices (e.g. iPad) to work at the uncongested 5GHz band.

*My only gripe is when my five year old accidentally plugged it out, it did take a little while for the various tablets/computers/phones/radio/TV/blu-ray player o) to acquire a wi-fi signal.

tallpaul said:

Picked up on of these: NETGEAR N300 Wireless ADSL Modem Route recently (Netgear wireless modem router) which I have found to be bullet proof so far.

Click to expand...

I have an older Netgear N model which has been running trouble free for over a year now. It replaced an older Netgear G model which gave up the ghost after a number of years without issue.

Hi. If you are going to buy anything for wireless it should be "N" class and the higher number beside it the better ,i.e. n300 , n600. You will thank yourself in the future as speeds go up and the number of devices you use increases . The N technology will carry whatever speeds you are getting from your provider . The N150 is ok but better to pay an extra tenner or so first time for an N300 as it is more powerful and will perform better even with basic speeds . If you were to get a smart tv , a playstation or a media player in the future (which is the way things are going) you would be able to watch the likes of Netflix or RTE player on the tv without it breaking up through wireless with a stronger performing wireless router.

Of the 2 cheapest on Argos I would go for the Netgear N300 for €52.99 for quality and reliability rather than the TP-LINK 300mbps for €34.99 . Its probably better not to buy a second hand one as you cant really tell if it's gotten any knocks or bangs .

To add to the above advice, Netgear are a very good brand of wireless router