New Router (1 Viewer)

[TJPC]

Our wifi keeps cutting out about once a week. It comes back if you unplug the router count to 10 and plug it back in, but what a pain in the ass! The cable company insists it's not them.

I want to buy a new router, but have no idea what to get. We have about 1500 square feet over 3 floors counting the basement where the cable comes in. There are a few dead spots on the top floor, so I need a strong one without breaking the bank.

Does anyone have a suggestion?

 

[DavidMiller]

Our wifi keeps cutting out about once a week. It comes back if you unplug the router count to 10 and plug it back in, but what a pain in the ass! The cable company insists it's not them.

I want to buy a new router, but have no idea what to get. We have about 1500 square feet over 3 floors counting the basement where the cable comes in. There are a few dead spots on the top floor, so I need a strong one without breaking the bank.

Does anyone have a suggestion?

I have been happy with this one that incorporates the cable modem and wifi in one unit.

https://www.linksys.com/us/p/P-CG7500/

If you are paying for a cable modem this would eliminate that charge as well. For me $10 a month, means it paid for itself in 19 months.

 

[Paul D G]

Do you own the modem or is it the cable company's? Do some googling and see what modems are compatible with your internet service. You should be able to buy your own and save the rental fee. I bought the same model supplied by the company (which includes WiFi). I had them disable the WiFi as I prefer my own router. I can't much advise on the best one to get because it's been a few years since I've bought mine. If it's your own router, and you're on the techie side, you might want to look into installing a 3rd party firmware like DD-WRT. You can then boost the signal from your router. I did this with my old Linksys router until it died.

For your dead spots - we have a similar issue. The router is in my office on the first floor but my son, whose room is directly above and across the hall had a really poor signal on his laptop in his room. I got one of these and put it in the upstairs hall and now he has no issues: http://a.co/2zABdh3. You can go cheaper but the signal is not as strong.

 

[Bmfb1980]

David,

It's definitely not your cable company if you are rebooting just the router and your wifi is returning. My guess is that there is some equipment failure internally in the router. But all is not lost... you don't even need the wifi components to your router. Turn all wifi OFF and let it focus on doing what it should only be doing... routing packets and traffic through your network, and not getting distracted by processing radio signals.

I have a great suggestion... keep your existing router if it's served you well and add an access point! Disable your wifi completely from the router--- it is a fact that all routers except the most expensive have really crappy signals compared to access points. I have 2 access points at home and they cover my entire 2 acres of property, up to the 3rd floor and down into the crawlspace. No dead spots anywhere in the whole house, dual-band signals, @ full speeds and full duplex, no matter the device or network load.... they pass off the connection to each other if the signal (me) moves to a closer/better access point.

This company makes enterprise-grade equipment for all users, corporate to home-owner. They supply whole entire cities with WiFi, and have equipment (very affordable) that even allows you to beam your WiFi up to 70 miles away (should you ever need to lol).

The first and last WiFi solution you'll ever need is here, in their "Unifi" series of equipment: https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap/ This absolutely blows away anything else you can get. And if the cost is still too much (units are around $100 each though one might be more than enough), you can go to Ebay and find them for much cheaper.

Another thing to consider is that generally, wifi routers (and 99% of the transmitters out there) are VERY dependent upon placement: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/27/wifi-router-placement-tips_n_6943024.html (you can google for additional information on best placements for routers). With these "Unifi" AP's, placement really isn't an issue if you put them as high as possible and if you have just one, centrally locate it. My home was built in 1940 and is FULL of thick plaster, wire mesh backing in the walls, gigantic mirrors, thick wood, and all kinds of things that wreak havoc on normal router wifi signals. But...no problems for these Unifi AP's at all .

I can even completely overpower my neighbor's signals lol. No more interference for me... can pick whatever channel I want and just dominate the wifi airwaves.

The software is all free, and is easier to use than any router admin screen I've seen. It gives you total control over your wifi, and total knowledge of how it's being used. You can even load a satellite image of your house, tell it where your AP is, and you can get a graphic of how strong your signal is and how far it is going on your property! Tres cool.

Now you will have to run an ethernet cable from your router, to wherever you plan to install the AP... but it is DEFINITELY worth the effort! Once it's done you will have the best WiFi you can possibly get, and cheaply too.

The other suggestions people made to purchase your cable modem, are also EXCELLENT suggestions. I purchased mine in 2008, and had to replace it due to lightning strike in 2012. But I've avoided giving about $1,000 to Time-Warner/Spectrum because I'm paying a silly "rental" charge for years .

 

[Bmfb1980]

I got one of these and put it in the upstairs hall and now he has no issues: http://a.co/2zABdh3. You can go cheaper but the signal is not as strong.

I think re-orientating one or more antennas, or re-positioning the router would have solved your problem. I'd guess it was in a "sweet spot" where the signal was refracting off of walls at nearly 180 degrees and never bouncing into his room. Just moving an antenna a few inches vertical/horizontal, or moving the router a few more inches, often solves wifi dead zones.

I think the big problem with these "extenders" and "repeaters" is that they consume half the bandwidth because they are not duplex like the original signal. In other words, they have to get by on only using half the signal coming into them as the return-traffic-back-to-the-router transmission signal gobbles up the other half. The times I've used these, it's also producing a different wifi network name, so if I am on the extended network, then walk back to where the original network is stronger... I have to manually disconnect my wifi and re-connect to the stronger signal which is a pain and totally disrupts whatever I was watching/streaming/downloading/doing. With a true dedicated access point such as the ones from ubnt... they pass off the signals from one AP to the next seamlessly. You never even experience a glitch in your wifi

 

[DaveF]

Our wifi keeps cutting out about once a week. It comes back if you unplug the router count to 10 and plug it back in, but what a pain in the ass! The cable company insists it's not them.

I want to buy a new router, but have no idea what to get. We have about 1500 square feet over 3 floors counting the basement where the cable comes in. There are a few dead spots on the top floor, so I need a strong one without breaking the bank.

Does anyone have a suggestion?

Did you fix your problem?

If not, in my experience, the problem would be two-fold:
1) You need new hardware; it sounds like your current router is failing
2) You need a router and a bridge/extender to span your three stories. Or, budget allowing, a new mesh device like the Eero that Ron has reviewed in the Computers forum.

 

[TJPC]

We purchased an extender from Costco, and it generally has helped greatly. I think we have gone from the Internet cutting out every single day to about once a week.
Curiously enough it stopped cutting out at the exact same time the student renters next door moved out. Could there be a connection?

 

[DaveF]

Curiously enough it stopped cutting out at the exact same time the student renters next door moved out. Could there be a connection?

Actually, yes. They could have been using a higher powered router or routers that stomped over your signal causing your drop offs. And for the inclined and malicious / obnoxious, there are ways to knock people off to improve your WiFi connection.

The sorts of things students can have time and inclination for.