Note that this doesn’t stand for “wireless fidelity” or anything else, it just sounds like “hi-fi”. That term became the inspiration for the common way of shortening “wireless network”: “wifi” or “wi-fi” or “WiFi” or “Wi-Fi”. Some Technical TermsĮveryone spells it differently! The problem started with “high fidelity” stereos, which are often referred to as “hifi” or “hi-fi”, sometimes with strange capitalization. And it should be easy to set up and maintain. It needs to have enough range to cover every area of your home so that you have the internet every time you expect it. One that’s able to cope with all of your devices being connected and provides more than enough bandwidth to serve them all. Every Wi-Fi gadget that you buy puts even more load on your system: So think about how you’ll be using the internet next year and the year after. Meanwhile, every one of your computers, phones, tablets, and smart home devices are connected to your router 24/7. Someone may be gaming on one side of the house, another person is watching Netflix in the lounge room, and at the same time, others are watching YouTube on their iPads in their bedrooms. More and more of our lives are spent online, and every year we seem to use more devices to achieve that. What we require from a router is rapidly changing. What You Need to Know Up-Front about Wireless Routers Someone’s Hogging the Internet!ĭo you notice when your internet gets suddenly slow? If you’re like me, you’ll wonder who’s hogging the internet. Hopefully, my discoveries help you with your own router choice. ![]() I’m planning to replace it next year-possibly with a whole-home mesh system-and I’m keen to check out the best alternatives. While it’s working well, the hardware is several years old and quite outdated. ![]() My current home network is made up of four wireless routers located strategically around the house and office. I learned to extend their range in various ways, both wirelessly and through a cable. Some have been reliable, other have needed more attention. I’ve purchased and configured dozens of wireless routers, both for my large family at home and for the companies I’ve worked for. Things have changed drastically since then! To begin with, we’d just plug a single computer directly into a dial-up modem that was only connected to the internet when necessary. I’m Adrian Try, and I’ve been using the internet since the 90s. We’ll list the benefits and disadvantages of each so you can make an informed decision. We’ll cover nine routers in total, three from each category: mesh systems, fast and powerful, and budget. Of these, our preference is the Linksys EA6900, which offers impressive performance and exceptional value for money. It’s the only router we cover that supports the latest Wi-Fi and security protocols and is incredibly powerful.įor the more budget-conscious, we’ve included some affordable routers that perform quite well. The Netgear Nighthawk AX12 is the router from the future. In that case, a powerful gaming router will deliver more bandwidth to the devices that you care about. The Netgear Orbi is an excellent choice, providing wide coverage of speedy internet to your whole home.īut maybe you care more about performance than coverage-for example if you’ve invested heavily in gaming or video production. It’s not much more expensive than purchasing a single router, and the difference will be noticeable. They consist of a number of devices you place around your home to ensure that the internet will be available in every space you’ll expect it to be. Many families should consider replacing it with a whole-home mesh network. Don’t put up with the one your ISP gave you for free. If your home Wi-Fi performance is suffering, that’s probably because of your router, too. If your internet feels slower than it should be, it may be that your router can’t keep up. That would be an inexpensive device that’s only just up to the job of getting your family online, and may even be built into your modem. We take it for granted until something goes wrong, then everyone notices and starts complaining within seconds.Ĭhances are you use the wireless router that was supplied by your internet service provider. ![]() It creates and manages your home network, shares your modem’s internet connection, and keeps intruders out. It’s powered on 24/7 and is connected to every internet-capable device in your home. Your router is probably the hardest working appliance in your home. The only time you really think about it is when there’s a problem, and when that happens, the most likely candidate is your wireless router. We don’t have to plug in or dial up, it’s just there-and we use it for just about everything. Like oxygen, we just take it for granted.
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