Wireless router recommendations?

[SkaredShtles]

Last active thread was from 2010... so what do the s recommend in the crop of current wireless routers?

[Silver]

I like my Buffalo.

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

Any one that transmits a wireless signal.


Ironically I dusted off my wireless router last night which was in the closet for well over a year and set it back up. My brother got me a Roku for x-mas and needed a wifi network to use it. I have a linksys WRT120N if that matters at all to you.....and I'm sure if doesn't. It was cheap as hell and works so why the hell not?

[syadasti]

Linksys E4200 is pretty nice, about $150:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wirel...outer-reviewed

Lots of new routers coming out Q1 so routers like this will be on sale.

[blackohio]

Know I know this is gonna sound fanboy-ish but the apple wireless router has been hand down the best router I've ever owned. For whatever reason for me all the linksys, net-gear and d-link i've ever owned have stopped working for started becoming problematic after about a year. Without fail, they would all start becoming less and less useful and eventually require me to re-authinticate constantly. I've owned this apple router for almost 3.5 years now and it's not given me a single issue.

[syadasti]

Know I know this is gonna sound fanboy-ish but the apple wireless router has been hand down the best router I've ever owned. For whatever reason for me all the linksys, net-gear and d-link i've ever owned have stopped working for started becoming problematic after about a year. Without fail, they would all start becoming less and less useful and eventually require me to re-authinticate constantly. I've owned this apple router for almost 3.5 years now and it's not given me a single issue.

Makes sense, simple closed firmware will be more stable but will lack flexibility or open source support.

[zdubyadubya]

Know I know this is gonna sound fanboy-ish but the apple wireless router has been hand down the best router I've ever owned. For whatever reason for me all the linksys, net-gear and d-link i've ever owned have stopped working for started becoming problematic after about a year. Without fail, they would all start becoming less and less useful and eventually require me to re-authinticate constantly. I've owned this apple router for almost 3.5 years now and it's not given me a single issue.

agreed. airport extreme that is 3+ years old and a couple of airport expresses over here (both 1+ yrs) and all have worked flawlessly from day one without a single hiccup.

[syadasti]

agreed. airport extreme that is 3+ years old and a couple of airport expresses over here (both 1+ yrs) and all have worked flawlessly from day one without a single hiccup.

Not particularly unique, I have a D-link DIR-655 (V1 hardware). Its been in use for 5 years now, about 2 years home use and over 3 years in small office (3 computers, 2 network printers, one 8 channel security camera system, and one CC terminal). I've never reset or moved the router in the office setting since reconfiguring it for that network - its on the bottom shelf in the back office. It also filters the web for the two front desk computers so they can only access a handful of work sites and MS/AV update servers. We bought a second one this year once we switched from business DSL to business FIOS for a separate guest/customer wireless network router.

[zdubyadubya]

out of curiosity.... what would be a "unique" lifespan of a router? i may just have bad luck, but the linksys d-link and cisco something or other i had before the apple one both $hit bricks at about the 1 yr mark. i would expect these things to last at least as long as the current wireless standard... (n has been out for what... 6 years now?)

[blackohio]

I'm dead serious when i said all have **** the bed at about the 1 year mark.

[syadasti]

out of curiosity.... what would be a "unique" lifespan of a router? i may just have bad luck, but the linksys d-link and cisco something or other i had before the apple one both $hit bricks at about the 1 yr mark. i would expect these things to last at least as long as the current wireless standard... (n has been out for what... 6 years now?)

There can be great variation, depends on hardware revision (sometimes 3-4 revisions in consumer models - revisions are usually made due to cost and/or design flaws) and router placement. If you don't put it in a well ventilated or air conditioned area or its not oriented as recommended its life can be shortened. It also matters the quality of power you have in your area/how many power failures/storms you've weathered, whether you use surge protectors, etc. Some generations of electronic components are occasionally defective (various motherboards across many brands a few years ago all had bad capacitors which would quickly fail, it was not the brand's doing).

Outsourcing doesn't always go smoothly for anyone (Apple has had numerous quality control and flaws just like everyone else, sometime worse - how many macbooks did BurlyShirley go through until he got a good one - 4? and Toshi went through numerous iPods due a defect he mentioned on the form years ago).

Consumer routers have tremendous variation but poor firmware is the norm. Luckily many models gain open source support which must more robust but not quite as user friendly. The DIR655 is a particular good consumer router.

I've primarily dealt with enterprise networking equipment which tends to last so long its replaced with a new standard when the budget finally allows rather than facing equipment failure which is far more likely with servers or workstations.

[Silver]

out of curiosity.... what would be a "unique" lifespan of a router? i may just have bad luck, but the linksys d-link and cisco something or other i had before the apple one both $hit bricks at about the 1 yr mark. i would expect these things to last at least as long as the current wireless standard... (n has been out for what... 6 years now?)

It's been my experience they either blow up quickly (6 months or so) or last forever. I've still got people using old original Linksys WRT54g routers that just won't die. If I remember right though, the first version of that was much better than the followups.

Probably just crappy luck, I've probably put in about 40 routers over the last 10 years, and had 3-4 of them go bad. You might just be getting the bad 10% over and over.

[IH8Rice]

It's been my experience they either blow up quickly (6 months or so) or last forever. I've still got people using old original Linksys WRT54g routers that just won't die.

[Transcend]

It's been my experience they either blow up quickly (6 months or so) or last forever. I've still got people using old original Linksys WRT54g routers that just won't die. If I remember right though, the first version of that was much better than the followups.

Probably just crappy luck, I've probably put in about 40 routers over the last 10 years, and had 3-4 of them go bad. You might just be getting the bad 10% over and over.

I have a 54g sitting around I loan to people who have dead routers, it still kicks ass, it's just really slow. My Airport extreme N hasn't had a single issue, but my airport express N is a dud. Has to be reset once a week otherwise the local network gets mega slow, internet works fine though. Odd. Streaming video from my laptop or NAS to my apple tv is a gong show if it hasn't been reset in a week or so. Simple reset and it's off to the races.

The only network stuff I have had that has truly been painless and faultless has been enterprise grade equipment.

[Transcend]

It's been my experience they either blow up quickly (6 months or so) or last forever. I've still got people using old original Linksys WRT54g routers that just won't die. If I remember right though, the first version of that was much better than the followups.

Probably just crappy luck, I've probably put in about 40 routers over the last 10 years, and had 3-4 of them go bad. You might just be getting the bad 10% over and over.

I have a 54g sitting around I loan to people who have dead routers, it still kicks ass, it's just really slow (for lan stuff, I have a fairly complex network here).

My Airport extreme N hasn't had a single issue, but my airport express N is a dud. Has to be reset once a week otherwise the local network gets mega slow, internet works fine though. Odd. Streaming video from my laptop or NAS to my apple tv is a gong show if it hasn't been reset in a week or so. Simple reset and it's off to the races.

The only network stuff I have had that has truly been painless and faultless has been enterprise grade equipment.