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What Router Should I get?

R

rekhyt

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 20, 2008
1,127
78
Part of the old MR guard.
Right now I'm on a failing Linksys router (~3-4 years old) and it servers to the maximum of 70KBPS for me at any time.

(It's the 2.4Ghz/54MBPS model and it's Wireless G(?). It's the WRT54G. Oh, and it's very slow.)

I have been looking at the Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS?) for a while and thought that it was quite cool, but I want to have extra opinions on that.

What's your favorite parts about the AEBS and the bad parts about it, any bugs/incompatibility with hard drives/printers, etc?

I also read about how it doesn't play well with Windows laptops-Is that true? (Not talking about the 5ghz/2.4ghz switch and how Windows laptops always go on the slower one) but how Windows laptops can't stay connected well to the AEBS. (In here, there is one "pure" Windows laptop, one Windows desktop (Dell, which connects to the Ethernet port), and two Macs, but it might go on Windows sometimes.)
 
Best part:
Easy to set up.
Easy to change settings with Airport utility
Excellent range
Excellent speed


I have NEVER had problems with my Airport devices. I had an AEBS but I recently switched to a Time Capsule. I did the upgrade because Time Capsule is really cheap on Amazon.

Anyway, connected to my network I have 3 Macs, 1 Vaio, and an iPod touch & iPhone. I never have wireless dropouts on any of my computers including the windows laptop.

I'm running it on 802.11n b/g compatible mode.

Wireless printing is awesome too. All the computers on my network can print to the printer connected to my Time Capsule, including the windows one.
 
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I have 2 AEBS and have never had a problem with both of them. They are very easy to setup and work well. They do run a bit warm but that's okay.

Other cool thing is that if you easily add an Airport Express and use the AirTunes which just so cool to play your music on your stereo.
 
You can buy a Dlink wireless N router with gigabit 4port switch for much much less.
Have all the quality, all the security.. The interface won't be as pretty as apples. But easy enough.
 
Does it get dirty often/really dirty smudged? (My MacBook White does that, so I have to clean it often.)

What about the hard drive connected to the AEBS? Do you have to "disconnect"/eject it each time you put your computer to sleep or else it won't continue working?

Also, what type of printers work with the AEBS? (I have a DELL All in One 810 right now. It doesn't work for my Mac... ...)
 
rekhyt said:
Does it get dirty often/really dirty smudged? (My MacBook White does that, so I have to clean it often.)

What about the hard drive connected to the AEBS? Do you have to "disconnect"/eject it each time you put your computer to sleep or else it won't continue working?

Also, what type of printers work with the AEBS? (I have a DELL All in One 810 right now. It doesn't work for my Mac... ...)
Click to expand...
1.No, it's a glossy finish. I usually just take a swiffer to it once a week and it looks good as new.

2. Nope. The drive does not mount on your desktop like normal. It will show up on your finder sidebar under the devices tab. The drive will only spin up when you access it.

3. Sorry I have no idea.
 
I am in the same boat right now. For my needs I have it narrowed down to:
  • D-Link DIR-825 (~$129 online)
  • Linksys WRT610N (~$145 online)
  • The updated AEBS ($165 with my company discount)
These are all dual-band routers, so they can use the 5GHz and 2.4GHz spectrum at the same time. I have an iPod touch and an HP iPaq that can never go above G and then the rest of my gear that can go N, so it would be nice to allow both signals at the same time. I would just get the D-Link, but I have been trying to get the revision B hardware that supports DD-WRT so that I can run IPv6 on it as well, but every store I go to still has the revision A1 hardware.
 
Before buying a new router, check if you can install DD-WRT in the one you currently have.
 
cube said:
Before buying a new router, check if you can install DD-WRT in the one you currently have.
Click to expand...

Its a Linksys which are generally the most compatible with DD-WRT, but I don't think even DD-WRT can save failing hardware. Worth trying I suppose. Also, try getting two new antenna as the default ones are pretty crap. New antenna boost your signal a great deal, and you can add freeantennas on to those as well. www.freeantennas.com require minimal materials and about 20 minutes work.
 
windywoo said:
Its a Linksys which are generally the most compatible with DD-WRT, but I don't think even DD-WRT can save failing hardware. Worth trying I suppose. Also, try getting two new antenna as the default ones are pretty crap. New antenna boost your signal a great deal, and you can add freeantennas on to those as well. www.freeantennas.com require minimal materials and about 20 minutes work.
Click to expand...

cube said:
Before buying a new router, check if you can install DD-WRT in the one you currently have.
Click to expand...

... Why? DD-WRT...? Oh, and I think I *could* get it but I don't know what it is since I have the WRT54G.

Also, how do you know if your router is failing/failing hardware? My Internet connection goes really slow and the lights on the router keep blinking as if it's half dead or something. :\
 
For >5 years I had a Linksys wireless router that always worked perfectly until it died like 2 years ago.

So began my search for a new router. After trying 3 different models (Linksys, D link, etc.), I realized they were all crap. poor range, confusing set up, non-intuitive software, etc.

Finally bought the AEBS (pre-gigabit ethernet model). This is the best router. Works perfectly, simple set up - most of all it has allowed me to create a network of all my macs so I can transfer files back and forth seamlessly - something that would have been very confusing to do with any other brand. This router really just does work! Definitely recommend it.
 
queshy said:
For >5 years I had a Linksys wireless router that always worked perfectly until it died like 2 years ago.

So began my search for a new router. After trying 3 different models (Linksys, D link, etc.), I realized they were all crap. poor range, confusing set up, non-intuitive software, etc.

Finally bought the AEBS (pre-gigabit ethernet model). This is the best router. Works perfectly, simple set up - most of all it has allowed me to create a network of all my macs so I can transfer files back and forth seamlessly - something that would have been very confusing to do with any other brand. This router really just does work! Definitely recommend it.
Click to expand...

Ahh... All right. :)
 
Anyone have any thoughts on using an Airport Express as a primary router? Just myself in a tiny apartment. I've worked with an AEBS before and like them a lot, but I feel like an Airport Express might do the same for much less.
 
rekhyt said:
... Why? DD-WRT...? Oh, and I think I *could* get it but I don't know what it is since I have the WRT54G.

Also, how do you know if your router is failing/failing hardware? My Internet connection goes really slow and the lights on the router keep blinking as if it's half dead or something. :\
Click to expand...

Check with your ISP. It may be a problem there. Connect the modem directly to a computer. Then you'll know if you are having a router or ISP problem.

By the way, DD-WRT only works on the older versions of many Linksys routers. My three year old WRT54GS wasn't compatible. They do have a compatability list.
 
Navigating a new router decision is proving harder than I expected.

1. I wanted to go the time capsule route but have heard that NAT and the Xbox 360 are still not playing very well together.

2. I'd like to use "back to my mac" but the list of officially tested routers at apple.com is somewhat limiting.

What I would like is;

A router that is on the tested list for BTM, and has a few Ethernet ports, and works with my other devices.

I am leaning toward the Linksys WRT610N (although there is a thread here that mentions some issues with Macs)

Anyone have any other ideas?
 
I've been successfully using D-link DIR-825 for several months now. Plenty of configuration options, great speed and range. Highly recommended.
 
wakka092 said:
Check with your ISP. It may be a problem there. Connect the modem directly to a computer. Then you'll know if you are having a router or ISP problem.

By the way, DD-WRT only works on the older versions of many Linksys routers. My three year old WRT54GS wasn't compatible. They do have a compatability list.
Click to expand...

I tried pluging my MacBook into the direct Internet socket(?) and then it was at the same speed. :\

I have two routers in the house-One is upstairs (Linksys) and the one downstairs is from an unknown brand.

It probably means that it's not the router upstairs' problem but maybe the one downstairs, since the Internet socket links down to the router downstairs(?).

What do you think?
 
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