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List your (wireless) router and experiences

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rgdot:
In the market for a solid not too expensive router, the trusty old WRT54G is showing signs of the end, as with all DSL and connectivity issue it is very difficult to find culprits but I may, big may, have isolated it this time. There are 1000s of reviews online and except for the most expensive there is very little consensus. Would be cool if everybody reading list some experiences they have had.

My requirements are minimal by most standards, no gaming, almost never torrents even. Connect three computers and just browse mostly.

I suppose I could find another WRT54G but other experiences would be cool. Perhaps DD-WRT (and the like) ready would be nice too but I am not too bothered with it if it is a solid router.

Deozaan:
I've only owned two wireless routers. My first one was a D-Link DI-624. It sucked.

Aside from the router sucking, I also bought a matching D-Link PCI wifi adapter for my PC and it was not compatible with my router. I got many BSODs on my XP machine when using my D-Link wifi adapter to connect to my D-Link router. I could connect my machine to other wifi networks without problems. I could connect to the D-Link router from my machine if I swapped in a different wifi adapter. For some reason the router and PCI adapter did not like each other. So I called D-Link Tech Support and described the problem ("I get BSODs when using the D-Link wifi adapter") and without asking any other pertinent questions or doing any troubleshooting I was told to take my PC to a local PC repair shop to get it fixed.

I will never buy D-Link again.

Now I own a Linksys/Cisco WRT160N V3 with DD-WRT. I like it. Though I can't comment on any of the Wireless N features since I don't have any Wireless N wifi adapters.

4wd:
I will never buy D-Link again.-Deozaan (December 19, 2011, 06:57 PM)
--- End quote ---

+1 After my experience with one of their NAS models.

FWIW, I currently run a ASUS RT-N16 loaded with Tomato-USB firmware.  4 Gigabit ports, 2 USB ports, WiFi N.

No WiFi problems connecting to 802.11b/g laptop and phone, and no problems connecting to a couple of generic 802.11n adapters, (one on a WD TV Live) - no problems with the router at all.

They also have the RT-N56U which is dual band.

J-Mac:
I will never buy D-Link again.-Deozaan (December 19, 2011, 06:57 PM)
--- End quote ---

+1 After my experience with one of their NAS models.

FWIW, I currently run a ASUS RT-N16 loaded with Tomato-USB firmware.  4 Gigabit ports, 2 USB ports, WiFi N.

No WiFi problems connecting to 802.11b/g laptop and phone, and no problems connecting to a couple of generic 802.11n adapters, (one on a WD TV Live) - no problems with the router at all.

They also have the RT-N56U which is dual band.
-4wd (December 19, 2011, 08:25 PM)
--- End quote ---

4wd: So how are you liking your Asus RTN16? I'm looking to upgrade from my old but very reliable Linksys WRT54GL. I'm hoping to gain a littler speed and from what I read the RTN16 gets roughly 3X over the Linksys. Pricing is fantastic so I might as well get one now.

Also, I'm thinking about running cable for a few connections where I use wireless currently. This will result in needing more than four wired connections. Has anyone done this and if so is it better to use a switch? Or another router, connected inline with the first.

Networking help is surprisingly thin on the net; I thought I would find some good answers and there are some, but sadly none of it seems to be at the same place! I end up following a chain of links all over. Created a folder in Linkman just for the networking help sites I visited and it quickly grew to >20... and I still don’t have the info I was seeking! Maddening.

Thanks!

Jim

x16wda:
I've had/maintained over a dozen routers - Linksys, Netgear, Dlink, Belkin - some on the higher end and some on the lower end - and my experience is that most all of them go bonkers in odd ways within a couple years.  Ports fail, the radio fails, name resolution starts giving bizarre results, etc.  Currently I have a pair of Dlink DIR-615 routers, one at each end of the house, and they have actually lasted well - in fact I ran the cable and installed the second one two years ago, after the first one had behaved itself for two years.

It sounds like your needs are modest so I'd say most any model should suffice; just check first to see if there are any vulnerabilities reported (that goes for replacement software too, google "dd-wrt i know where you live" for example).  I use a separate gigabit switch for everything wired, but given radio speeds and internet link speeds I don't worry about getting gigabit on the router.  (That might come into play if I had more internal-to-internal wireless N traffic instead of internal-to-internet.)

(FWIW, the routers that break end up going in to work to use as dumb switches if some consultant says they need another port right away ;D)

Ymmv, my $.02.

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