Like it says, I need a good wireless router (N preferably) for my two computers. Anyone have any good ones to recommend? I'm on a D-Link DIR-655 right now but it seems that some pages won't load on my mac when using firefox and sometimes even on safari. my other windows pc works fine, and my mac was working fine stealing internet from our neighbour...
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Which wireless router for Mac + PC setup
- Thread starter I3eXa
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numbersyx
macrumors 65816
Surprised that the D-Link 655 won't work on the mac as it did on mine - just kept dropping the signal at inopportune times.
I would get the Airport Express Base Station - great router and very reliable with some distance....
so the airport express is a wireless router correct??? I wish apple would label their products better instead of giving things their own names. Guess I'll order that then. The dlink works but sometimes my mac will sit for 15 -20 seconds after I click on a link and it pisses me off waiting...
edit: the airport has built it wireless doesn't look like it will work cause i've got a wireless mac, two wireless windows PCs, and a VoIP phone (wired) that need to hook up to it.
edit: the airport has built it wireless doesn't look like it will work cause i've got a wireless mac, two wireless windows PCs, and a VoIP phone (wired) that need to hook up to it.
Eraserhead
macrumors G4
The Airport Express is wireless n though now isn't it?
If you're willing to spend more money for less features (you can't attach a USB hard drive), but with rock solid reliability I have to recommend the Draytek 2820n.
Eraserhead
macrumors G4
yeah but 179 for a freakin router???? Will Apple not even use lube if I bend over and spend that???
Eraserhead
macrumors G4
Good=Expensive. The one I was suggesting is even more pricey, but it will be working in 10 years time.
The other cheaper options are Netgear or Linksys, neither of which has a great reputation. To be honest you might as well get another D-Link as you're used to the setup.
Apples router doesn't even do SPI does it? I don't understand why people think it's so great.
The main function of my router, as far as I'm concerned, is firewall. Then again, I don't do much wireless. I have about 20 ethernet devices on my home network and my dlink router has been solid, if not the easiest in the world to manage.
The main function of my router, as far as I'm concerned, is firewall. Then again, I don't do much wireless. I have about 20 ethernet devices on my home network and my dlink router has been solid, if not the easiest in the world to manage.
Eraserhead
macrumors G4
Stateful Packet Inspection, a must IMO for any decent firewall
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stateful_Packet_Inspection
Sesshi
macrumors G3
But... but... I thought Macs were secure? (evil grin)
If NATting alone makes you feel dirty, then try the MIMO Linksys routers. I've had fewest wireless problems with the useless MBP's (and you may have better luck with the MB) with the Linksys MIMO routers. The WRT600N is the functional equivalent in terms of connectivity of the Extreme with 4 gigabit ports, MIMO wireless and USB storage sharing capability, but it is not Time Machine compatible (you can make it compatible, but I wouldn't recommend it). It does feature an SPI firewall.
I don't like the Drayteks. I've had various iterations for use in branch minioffices I have after recommendations but they used to crash on a uselessly regular basis, like once every month. These days I go Linksys or straight up to Cisco / Check Point / Juniper / Fortinet. The Drayteks are more feature-loaded than basic home routers, but they're useful only for those people who need the features and actually have more than a slight clue what they're doing, which I think excludes the vast majority of Apple users 😛
If NATting alone makes you feel dirty, then try the MIMO Linksys routers. I've had fewest wireless problems with the useless MBP's (and you may have better luck with the MB) with the Linksys MIMO routers. The WRT600N is the functional equivalent in terms of connectivity of the Extreme with 4 gigabit ports, MIMO wireless and USB storage sharing capability, but it is not Time Machine compatible (you can make it compatible, but I wouldn't recommend it). It does feature an SPI firewall.
I don't like the Drayteks. I've had various iterations for use in branch minioffices I have after recommendations but they used to crash on a uselessly regular basis, like once every month. These days I go Linksys or straight up to Cisco / Check Point / Juniper / Fortinet. The Drayteks are more feature-loaded than basic home routers, but they're useful only for those people who need the features and actually have more than a slight clue what they're doing, which I think excludes the vast majority of Apple users 😛
Eraserhead
macrumors G4
I've never had any wireless problems with my MacBook, except at University, though they admitted the fault was at their end (after slamming Macs for 5 minutes, yeah professional 🙄).
I'd go with Sesshi's advice on this one, maybe I've lucked out with mine. Though they are much better than consumer level routers in terms of reliability.
miniConvert
macrumors 68040
Draytek don't know either, or at least they didn't. I bought a router from them and they'd 'forgotten' to properly implement the SPI firewall. The result was the only Windows machine on the network getting some manky worm. I gave them a week to fix the firmware but they couldn't, so I got my money back and aren't likely to take a chance on them again.
So, stay away from Draytek 😀
Linksys, for their sins, seem to make as many bad products as good ones. That said, I've owned a lot of them and they have a completely clean security record with me and they pack a good feature set with a good interface.
Eraserhead
macrumors G4
Fixed it for you 😉.
That does seem like a bit too short a time frame to be fair. No-one fixes security holes that fast.
I don't follow that nor think that it's accurate. Everyone knows for the most part you are paying for the apple logo, so good doesn't always equal expensive. And in my case, great=cheaper! My wife bought a netgear, not 802.11n though 🙁, and I just finished hooking it up. Not only is it trouble free with ALL websites and not hanging for 15seconds or displaying 'page not found,' but it's overall faster so yeah. Netgear WPN824, worked for me.
Eraserhead
macrumors G4
Sure.
All the other routers we discussed, i.e. the Linksys WRT600N and the Draytek (though they don't appear to be that great compared to other business routers) are more expensive than a standard home router, but are higher quality, can take more connections and are more stable.
At University I use a £40 Netgear, and its OK, but not great under high load (i.e. six students), it is better than a BT Home Hub that we had before, but that isn't saying much at all.
miniConvert
macrumors 68040
They reckoned they could do it to start with. By the end of the week they couldn't even give me an ETA on when they might fix their gross incompetence 😀 I wasn't prepared to get stuck with the thing, so I sent it back for a refund within the distance selling regs time period.
Eraserhead
macrumors G4
micsaund
macrumors 6502
The AEBS is also the only 5GHz 802.11n router I've seen commonly available. Last time I looked, all of the Linksys/etc. ones I looked at were only 2.4GHz.
I love getting my network traffic away from the common-carrier 2.4GHz spectrum and at 5GHz, I get great range and zero interference, even with about 10-12 other wireless signals in the same area.
The 5GHz usability alone is worth it for me, but of course, I don't have any wireless machines that don't support it, so I can enable it and lock it without issues.
The new 802.11n Express looks interesting and the price is nice, but I wish it had at least one wired connection so I could connect it into a switch for the wired portion of my house. The AEBS has that port (and a couple more 😉 ) but it's an expensive 'add-on' to get that port I need ($99 vs. $179).
Mike