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Best Wireless Router for the new Apple TV

+1 for AEBS

I've got both the Extreme and the Express.

I've had NUMEROUS routers in the past and have for a number of years avoided the Apple routers simply because of price (I have no way of buying them Wholesale like I do most other IT gear).

However, like a number of you, I've experienced the various quirks of each particular brand and decided that I'd give the Apple stuff a go after my last router/ADSL modem was fried during an electrical storm.

I couldn't be happier. I'm now using the AEBS in it's dual-band modes with iDisk and also Time Machine on it (although it's not officially supported).

And for whatever reason, when I insalled the AEBS and also an AE upstairs, my AppleTV's network performance improved dramatically.

Alongside my AppleTV and a number of Macs, our household also has iPhones x 2 and a Logitech Squeezebox. And various Pc's come and go, and using the 'Guest Access" feature of the AEBS, I don't have to compromise my local network's security just to allow somebody access to the 'net.
 
newagemac said:
Why would you disable the dual band capabilities for the iPhone 4? That would make no sense. The iPhone 4 only uses the 2.4GHz N band and any of your 5GHz N capable devices use the other band. The Dual Band function is specifically for situations like that.
Click to expand...

I agree. It's pretty ridiculous, but it's a widespread issue:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2492829

About 1/2 the time, my iPhone 4 got "incorrect password" messages, lost connection, and got repeated "unable to join" messages even WITH the correct password.

I begrudgingly disabled dual-band simply because it caused such instability with iPhone 4. Now things are fine.
 
BoulderBum said:
I agree. It's pretty ridiculous, but it's a widespread issue:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2492829

About 1/2 the time, my iPhone 4 got "incorrect password" messages, lost connection, and got repeated "unable to join" messages even WITH the correct password.

I begrudgingly disabled dual-band simply because it caused such instability with iPhone 4. Now things are fine.
Click to expand...

So 4.1 didn't solve this issue???
 
Wrt610n

I have a WRT610N simultaneous dual band router downstairs and an Apple Airport Express upstairs.

I'm very happy with both. You can get a refurbished WRT610N from Linksys for $100 shipped. Check out www.techbargains.com for a coupon code and order it directly from Linksys.

I upgraded from a WRT54G also also and have been more than impressed with the performance of the WRT610N.. I use a Linksys wireless bridge upstairs on the 5.8Ghz band for streaming video to my TV and all my other devices are on the 2.4Ghz band. It works flawlessly.

The WRT610N even has a USB port you can plug in a hard drive and access it from the internet, or set it up as a media streaming device. I wouldn't call this one of it's best features though, as some USB drives don't work with it for some reason. But it might be a benefit to you.

I think the old WRT610N routers are better than the E series routers. My mother has an E1000 and it's a pain to setup compared to the WRT610N- but they're trying to push the encryption for the n00bs.

Besides. the WRT610N is DDWRT compatible!

Hope this helps!!
 
CWallace said:
I went from a WRT54G to the dual-band AEBS and have been very pleased, but then most of my ecosystem is Apple (iMac, MBP, previous :apple:tv, iPhone).
Click to expand...

Exact same here (had WRT54G as well). We are also very pleased with it.
 
I picked up a refurb apple airport extreme current gen a week weeks ago for $130 in preparation for apple tv, as well as a general upgrade from the 8 yr old lynksys I was running before.
 
You can't go wrong with the D-Link DIR-655. Excellent router. It has an industrial-strength firewall that is VPN-friendly should you ever need to connect to a corporate network, and its Quality-of-Service engine works really well. It's easy to set up (use the web interface, not the install CDs, regardless of what router you buy!) and very reliable once in use, in my experience.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=d-link+dir+655
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Old wrt54g best wireless router ever made. I would like to upgrade to an N router but just cant give up my 54g.
 
You should be just fine with Dlink DIR-655. I used to have one of those and it worked flawlessly with my original ATV. Connection always stayed live and no hassles with performance. I wanted to go dual radio however so bought a Netgear WNDR3700 to replace it. Nothing but trouble ever since. Sometimes devices won't connect to it at all and I'd have to power cycle the router to get things working again. My ATV and ATV2 would both lose their connection to the Netgear after sleep mode and would take up to a minute to reconnect again and would often lose their password settings or not even connect. (power cycle again)

Bought the Airport Extreme on a whim a week ago and I am in wireless heaven so far! Everything just works. It all stays connected, performance is great, and I have my dual radio bands too. It's missing some features such as QOS as previously mentioned and no SPI in the firewall but for me, couldn't care less. The device is doing what I need it to do and haven't had to power cycle it even once. Just my two cents worth and if you are on a budget, the Dlink should be ok. I had a rev. 2 model and I think they're up to rev. 4 now so hopefully it still works as consistently as my old 655 did. If you can swing the Airport Extreme though, then I can highly recommend that beast. Cheers!

P.S. The AEBS even wakes up my wireless Lexmark printer when it's in sleep mode and print jobs go normally now instead of a communication error message all the time. That was a pleasant surprise with the Airport Extreme!

James
 
Netgear 3400. Hands down! You can found them at staples $79 -$25 coupon.

Dual band "simultaneous" my apple tv never stutter.
 
I bought a Motorola SBG6580 N Cable Gateway/Router, and it works great for me. I bought it in anticipation of owning an Apple TV and it works great. I bought it on eBay for less than $100. That is one way to go.
 
I had a Dlink DIR-855 which is pretty much supposed to be the top of the line. I've had nothing but problems with it. I have to reset it every other day after my wireless network goes down.

I bought an AirPort Extreme and couldn't be happier. Setup was fast and easy and for the two weeks I've had it it has worked flawlessly. Also, my Western Digital Passport Studio external drive was a breeze to install and configure and works great with the ATV2. I couldn't get my DIR-855 to recognize my Passport Studio.
 
Tilpots said:
Bummer. I don't think it even has to do with the AEBS or Dual Band. I think the Wifi is just flaky sometimes. I have an old Linksys router that i need to constantly reset. My Mini never loses connection, but both household iP4's do. Sucks...
Click to expand...

Turn off the 5Ghz band. I have a Mac Mini, Macbook Pro, Apple TV, PS3, WiFi printer, HP Pavillion Elite, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and the only hardware that seemed to have an issue was the iPhone 4's my wife and I own.

They were constantly dropping the connection when dual-band was on (several times a day), but they've only had one or two disconnects in about a month's time since I turned the 5Ghz band off. I definitely think the problem is with the iPhone 4, not the router.
 
pasipple said:
I had a Dlink DIR-855 which is pretty much supposed to be the top of the line. I've had nothing but problems with it. I have to reset it every other day after my wireless network goes down.

I bought an AirPort Extreme and couldn't be happier. Setup was fast and easy and for the two weeks I've had it it has worked flawlessly. Also, my Western Digital Passport Studio external drive was a breeze to install and configure and works great with the ATV2. I couldn't get my DIR-855 to recognize my Passport Studio.
Click to expand...

I bought the DIR-655 and it is absolutely perfect. My wireless connection increased from 10mb down/2.5mb up to 25mb down/5mb up. Apple TV works great on it, it's completely flawless. Nothing but good things to say, no dropped connections, and no interference when receiving VOIP phone calls.
 
amitdoc2b said:
... We also have a phone powered into the router, and when we get phone calls it causes the internet to disconnect if we are surfing on the computer. I want all this to be avoided and have a great streaming experience when I use Apple TV. Please provide me recommendations for routers.
...
Click to expand...

Do you have DSL broadband? If so, have you placed DSL filters on all your home phone lines, including the one for your DSL modem (which should have two outputs, one for the phone, and one for the modem)? When I first installed DSL broadband at home, we had this same problem, and DSL filters eliminated the problem.

By the way, count me among those praising the Apple AEBS, if for nothing else than simultaneous dual-band. It'll prevent your Wi-Fi G devices (like older laptops and iPod Touches) from slowing down the transfer rate of all your N devices. I have one and have had no problems from it; I've put it and the DSL modem on a UPS for extra protection.

Nevertheless, it's good to see you're happy with your D-Link. Before the AEBS, I used a D-Link DI-524 as my router, and it served me rather well.
 
I would like to add that I use and recommend the ASUS RT-N16 flashed with tomato. Provides tons of feature and best of all, this router is a powerhouse as far as routers go. 533mhz processor, 128mbs of ram. I use it on 2 Apple TV's and many many computers at a time. Nothing phases it.

As far as G speeds slowing down N, this is NOT true, at least with this router. This is my first N router (coming from a flashed WRT54GS) so i can't say for others. My wife's N laptop is connected at 300mbps all the time even with many G clients also connected.

The firmware has come a very long way and provides tons of useful features (DLNA, 2 USB Ports, VPN, excellent QoS to name a few). Best of all, the router can be found for $80 or less and the firmware is free. Although I recommend a donation. :)

Firmware
http://www.linksysinfo.org/forums/showthread.php?t=63587

Just wanted to offer another solution.
 
BoulderBum said:
I agree. It's pretty ridiculous, but it's a widespread issue:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2492829

About 1/2 the time, my iPhone 4 got "incorrect password" messages, lost connection, and got repeated "unable to join" messages even WITH the correct password.

I begrudgingly disabled dual-band simply because it caused such instability with iPhone 4. Now things are fine.
Click to expand...


I get this exact same issue with my iP4, very annoying :mad:

Apart from the above issue though, I can highly recommend the Billion router, right up there with Draytek. I got mine off Amazon.
 
My recommendation is Airport Extreme Base Station.

I have had absolutely no issues with it. I don't even know it's there, which is what a router should do, work dependably and flawlessly in the background.

The $129 refurbished AEBS is a great deal!
 
I'm using an "old" Linksys WRT54G wireless-G and streaming BluRay rips at 720p from my Macbook (upstairs) to my Apple TV 2 downstairs is perfect. You can find 'em online for about $25.
 
Having worn down 5 different routers from Asus, Netgear, Trendnet and experiencing all kinds of minor nuisances, I finally went and bought a used 4 month old Airport Extreme.
It cost $120, but it's working really well. The simultaneous dual-band helps me in my struggle for domination of the airwaves with the neighbors, and I can finally stream HD movies to the Xbox with no hickups.
 
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