New router advice

[MariaLynda]

Hiya


I am hoping there are a few techies out there who will be able to advise me on a new router.


We currently have a modem router and would like to replace this as it is v old now and I think it is effecting our wifi/broadband etc given the amount of devices connecting as well. Regularly have to reset because of conflicts.


I was thinking about ordering on Amazon but there are so many. It definitely needs to be a modem one not just a router (I made this mistake a few months ago and ordered one from Amazon that was getting really good reviews but it didn't have a modem in it so we sent it back as it would have been a pain etc).


Any recommendations? There are two of us, but we have multiple devices each, laptops, tablets, phones, firestick, chromecast etc etc.


I don't really understand all the numbers and details they give so thought I would ask here. They vary in price such a lot and don't want to go overboard unnecessarily. We have sky broadband, unfortunately not fibre as we would need to switch to virgin for that. But would like to do my best to improve it, its been shocking over the last few weeks.


Thanks in advance.
x

[fl-veteran]

Do you plan to get fibre in the near future?

You wouldn't need to switch to Virgin for that - most providers do fibre as long as your local exchange / green box is enabled for it (most are).

[MariaLynda]

Well I did consider switching all our stuff to virgin but I don't want their tv only the fibre. We may switch just our broadband to them possibly in the future but not at the minute. Sky don't offer fibre where we are, virgin do as quite a few of the neighbours have it. The stuff comes up when we search wifi etc.

[fl-veteran]

Virgin don't normally do fibre - if you're in a cabled area it's their own docsys cables. They use the same cable whether you're 'super fast' broadband or ordinary.

Being with Sky complicates things as they use a non-standard method of communicating with routers so it's not a straight forward swap out, your choice of replacement is extremely limited and their terms and conditions state that you have to use their router (I think Sky are the only provider that do this). Some people have successfully worked around that but it is not really a job for someone who doesn't like messing around with techie things .

For me you have 3 options:

1. Go back to Sky, moan about your router and say you're thinking of leaving - if you've been a customer for a while they'll more than likely send you a new one which will be better. Nice and easy but may / may not tie you into a longer contract.
   
2. Buy a new router and use it to compliment your Sky hub by connecting the two. The new router handles the WiFi and the old hub handles the communication with Sky. Fairly easy to accomplish and has the advantage that you don't need a 'special' router - although you will end up with 2 boxes.
   
3. Change provider, either to one that provides a better router up front or whereby you can use your own.

[MariaLynda]

Sorry my mistake I mean their superfast. We don't actually use the sky router as well it was rubbish. We got round that issue many years ago!

[wanye]

routers dont tend to degrade over time, so i'm not sure a replacement would fix your issues anyway, plus it all depends on what exact sort of connection you are on (im assuming adsl, but for all i know you could be on bt infinity or some other product that wouldnt necessarily work for you)

you say "Regularly have to reset because of conflicts" - can you elaborate on this?

my first suggestion would be getting wifi analyzer on your phone (android) - play.google/store/apps/d...analyzer&hl=en

(similar IOS apps exist)

do a network scan and post screengrabs here. we may be able to identify other networks that are causing interference... changing channel may be the best idea

or even getting a new router from your ISP, if its really that old, you could always accidentally damage the PSU in the hope they send you a new one

[fl-veteran]

Ok, well then it's a toss up between replacing your current third party router completely (but you have very limited choice), getting a new hub from Sky, using your current router in tandem with a new one or changing providers.

If it's a straight swap out you should be prepared to get your hands dirty getting it up and running. You would need an ADSL router that handles their non-standard version of the MER protocol (some of which may require a special firmware update) and there aren't many choices .

Have you checked here to see if Fibre is available or coming soon?

homeandwork.openreach.co...get-fibre.aspx

[MariaLynda]

Thanks for the link it's not in our area, nor likely to be for some time I think.

[MariaLynda]

Do you think this would work? One of the reviews refers to using it for sky. We aren't tech phobes I just don't understand all the stuff one I search for routers on Amazon!

TP-LINK Archer D2 AC750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit ADSL2+ Modem Router for Phone Line Connections

[fl-veteran]

I would be tempted to try and get a new router for free from Sky then.

WiFi has come a long way over the last few years and the wireless spectrum has become a lot more busy. Newer routers can provide a better signal and automatic channel features that help deal with congestion on the WiFi spectrum.

Newer chipsets are often able to squeeze a little more ADSL performance out of your telephone line, giving a slightly faster connection but the differences are marginal.