Which router should I buy?

February 3, 2020 7:28 AM

Unfortunately I'm back. Y'all recently advised me on my modem purchase (I got this one, max 400 mbps). Just had my Comcast technician visit and it turns out that the router I had purchased on Ebay to use with it is busted, so I'm now going to need another router.

Specifics in the previous question, but basically this router will be used in a smallish house (1500 ft2), by a few adults. We currently don't have very intensive internet needs (email, internet browsing, some Netflix).We have a five year plan and I would prefer to be able to keep the same router for the next five years, but if the router is cheap I'd be okay replacing it in two or three years. I'm very price sensitive but would pay more if there were a palpable increase in the quality of our experience. We also need something reasonably idiot proof. What are the differences between different routers at different price points, and which should I buy?

posted by ClaireBear to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

Response by poster: I should also say that I have Comcast Xfinity service (my plan is "Performance", which offers downloads as fast as 100 Mbps - I speed tested it and I'm getting 117). So the router needs to be compatible with that, if that's a concern.
posted by ClaireBear at 7:37 AM on February 3, 2020

Really pretty much any router should be fine for your needs. The major caveat here is that it should be a 5 GHz (aka "AC") model -- 2.4 GHz (aka "G" or "N") is basically obsolete by this point, although technically a decent N router should be able to handle your Internet speed.

Lots of routers are "dual band" and can handle both 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz connections, but this isn't really a concern unless you have an older device that only does 2.4. If you're not sure, you should probably just get a dual band one. Pretty much anything from the last 5 years ought to support 5 GHz -- personally the only 2.4 GHz device I have is my first-generation Kindle.

In my (limited) experience 5 GHz is much better at handling interference than 2.4, so you shouldn't really need something beastly, especially in a smaller house.

(Anecdotally I'm quite happy with my ASUS RT-AC66U, which is slightly outdated but handles my gigabit Internet and nerdy home LAN quite well -- but I'm in a pretty tiny apartment so I'm never more than ~30 feet away.)
posted by neckro23 at 8:13 AM on February 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

I would recommend the AmpliFi Instant Router. It is reasonably priced and Ubiquiti's software and hardware is consistently of high quality. If you ever need to expand your wireless coverage it is easy to add additional mesh points. It should last 5 years. I installed an AmpliFi system for someone a year and a half ago that had a history of WiFi problems, and they haven't had a single issue since.
posted by jordemort at 9:40 AM on February 3, 2020

Based on this comment from a recent AskMe question I purchased the Wirecutter $58 option about a week ago. Setup was simple and so far I'm very happy with it.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 9:47 AM on February 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

I've had the TP-Link Archer C9 for about 5 years now with no issues. It has worked really well and I've only had to reset it once (and that was actually modem related). However, I'd say this was overkill for what I and you would use it for, and would recommend getting the TP-Link Archer AC1750 noted above (linked to by Comrade_robot and Winnie the Proust)
posted by devonia at 11:35 AM on February 3, 2020

Response by poster: Thanks, all! Very helpful. I think I'm deciding between the TP-Link Archer AC1750 one that several have mentioned ($52, here), or a Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 with MU-MIMO ($70 here, in a dinged-up box). Is there any advantage to the latter over the former?
posted by ClaireBear at 11:19 AM on February 4, 2020 [1 favorite]