Should I buy an Airport Extreme?

[nsmo]

I am in the market for a new wireless router. My old Airport Extreme just isn't cutting it anymore. We have always had range issues but are starting to experience frequent connectivity issues as well. So, I was hoping to get a recommendation on the best option for my situation. Here we go:

I live in the upper unit of a two story duplex. We share the wireless network with our downstairs neighbors and even before the recent connectivity issues have had a lot of dead spots, both in the upper unit and downstairs. My original idea was to replace our current router with a new Airport Extreme upstairs and extend the network with an Airport Express somewhere else in the house to maximize our wifi coverage. My only worry with this plan is that the Airport Extreme has not been updated in quite some time. Would I be better off paying the same amount of money for a newer router from another brand(Netgear, Linksys)?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[DJLC]

I always advise ASUS routers. Super great range, never had a problem with mine in 2+ years. Just upgraded to a newer model with AC wireless.

I'd start with a new ASUS in the upstairs unit in a central location. If you find you need more coverage, you can pick up another one and use it in Wireless Access Point mode to extend the network from the one upstairs (provided the two can be connected via Ethernet).

 

[AlanShutko]

Apple has reportedly reassigned employees who were working on Airport routers to other teams. This make it a reasonable guess that Apple is getting out of the router business.

 

[belvdr]

I've had success from a Linksys EA8500 paired with a RE7000 extender. For the past several years, I wouldn't recommend an Airport. Although stable, they are too limited.