Chilling_Silence's blogThe importance of a good router – Why your internet keeps failing
EDIT: Found this in September 2011 that agrees with pretty much all I write, from a major Australian ISP. Well worth the read:Â http://www.internode.on.net/support/guides/internet_access/broadband_adsl/optimising_adsl2_/
“But I have a good router already! My ISP gave me it, it must be the best!”Man if I had a couple of bucks every time I’ve heard that, I’d be so rich by now. Fact of the matter is, it’s unfortunately far from the truth, and many ISP-provided routers truly suck.
I work with VoIP, and running a Voice call over the internet may be easy with Skype, and you may be OK with choppy calls, but when you’re running an enterprise-grade telephony system, you don’t have the same tolerance for bad quality. Same for Home users, you should not have to put up with daily restarts! Same for bad speeds, bad / cheap routers usually give worse speeds than a decent router.
What does that have to do with you? Most probably everything! If you’re here it’s likely because you’re having issues with your internet, and either you think it’s related to your router, or I’ve referred you here from PressF1.
So let’s clear the air about a few routers:
The D-Link DSL-302G is quite possibly the worst router of all time. They should be all be burned in one great big bonfire and D-Link publicly mocked for them. Throw the DSL-502T in there too, they’re nearly as bad.
Dynalink have their overheating RTA1320 that gets so hot the plastic melts and changes from light cream to a rusty looking orange or brown. It’s not the best choice in router. NetComm (Who now own Dynalink) have suggested it was just a small “batch” that they recalled which had overheating issues, and the firmware is semi-decent, however where possible I avoid them.
Telecom have been giving away a 2Wire 2070-series Router and Thomson TG585v7 modems. They’ve got some of the worst web interfaces I’ve ever used, but at least they’re semi-reliable. Again though, they must be cheap routers if they mass-produce them and Telecom gives them away. $199 value? Whatever! Nobody in their right mind would spend $199 on them!
Orcon with their HomeHub / BizHub router which is a Siemens SX-763. Best mentioned so far, but again far from the quality that a router should be. It’s locked-down so you can’t change the USB port or VoIP settings (Though performing a factory reset with the button on the underside fixed that for me), it doesn’t overheat, but for a “VoIP router” it doesn’t handle a VoIP server running behind it well at all. Mediocre, but better than the Telecom stuff I must say. Still, not good enough to be giving away though…
The Belkin N1 is overpriced and fails to deliver in so many ways. I’m not sure why, but around 60% of all the N1’s I’ve dealt with just seem to have packed up and died. Their ADSL performance / reliability was mediocre anyway. suffering from irregular reboots.
The Netgear DG834G has firmware issues, wireless isn’t reliable, average broadband performance and reliability, but to be honest it’s probably the most reliable router I’m recommending people avoid. They’ve got some other open-source stuff that doesn’t have ADSL Support which is actually pretty decent. Still, even these drop their internet connection under load far too often.
Linksys, yes I love Linksys stuff but man did they mess up badly with the WAG160N. That thing falls over almost as much as the Dynalinks. Sure, I’ve seen ADSL Sync speeds go up when compared with the likes of a Telecom Thomson TG585 by around 3m/bit, but that means nothing to me if it’s not going to function day in and day out reliably.
What’s the solution then? So many bad routers out there, most free, what can you do about it?
Well don’t take the free stuff that your ISP gives away. There’s a reason why it’s free, and that’s not because it’s a good, quality router!
Tell me what I SHOULD buy then? What are good routers?
If you’re a home user or small-business and want an all-in-one solution that “just works”:
NetComm NB6Plus4Wn
If you’re a geek or a business, or perhaps you want a little more control over your router, maybe you give your internet connection a hammering, or if you want QoS (Quality of Service) to prioritize VoIP / Gaming above other traffic, then you want:
A Linksys AM300 in Halfbridge to a Linksys WRT54GL running Tomato Firmware or Gargoyle Firmware
If you can’t get the Linksys AM300 then you can use the Draytek DV120 in PPPoA -> PPPoE Passthru mode instead. They sync a little slower but are generally just as good.
Please drop me a comment and say Hi, let me know if this has helped you or got you thinking in any way, or perhaps if you’ve got one of the routers then just say so. Always happy to hear from readers.
Cheers
Chill.
I’m surprised more Linksys gear isn’t on this list. The WAG54GV2 overheats, makes this high pitch winy noise and has a high failure rate not to mention firmware is stink. AG241 after-awhile will drop the link and not reconnect unless you physically power cycle it (reboot is not enough). Linksys make good products (voip gear is fine) but there is a lot of bad router models now unless its something like the WRT I stay away from them.
One of my favourite routers are Draytek fantastic easy to use web GUI and pretty much rock solid. I initially wrote them off a few years ago as thought they looked a bit bugdet oops!
Yeah we’ve had a bad experience with the likes of Linksys AG300 too. So much for them “replacing” the AM300, they sucked so bad.
I’ve also had good recommendations from people on the Draytek Vigor 2820. Slightly higher priced (Around $550), but apparently it’s well worth the investment. I’m still yet to try one myself though.
It’s probably also worth me mentioning that there could also be a *ton* of other routers that I add on to there under the D-Link category especially, and this list is by no means exhaustive, but simply the most common routers that I have been replacing as of late … Especially as half of them are still being given away by ISPs!
Looking at online prices I see wireless N cards are about $70+ are they really worth it? Will I notice a difference in online gaming and what model would you reccomend?
Thanks,
Matthew
Hi Matthew,
To be honest you won’t notice a difference in gaming at all. You may potentially notice a difference in the range, but you’re better off buying a larger antenna and boosting the power output to that antenna so that *all* who are connected via A / B / G wireless get the benefits of a larger range. N is supposed to be faster, yet even if you have a poor connection and are connected at 1mbps, you’re still going to have way more than enough “speed” to watch YouTube AND game at the same time. Then there’s the issue of N-Wireless not being a final standard yet, and some cards don’t work with some routers as well as others do. Stick with a nice G-router like the Asus WL-520GU or the Linksys WRT54GL with Tomato on it, I reckon you’d get MUCH more mileage out of it than an N-Wireless card.
Hope that helps
Chill.
Info here was greatly received. I bought a new Linksys WAG54G2 wireless gateway for Telstraclear after moving from Orcon. Had untold issues with speed, on the phone for hours with telstra (their service was really good, they kept their promises of ringing me back when they said they would). Finally did what I should have done in the first place and posted a query on Pressf1 and chill put me onto his blog. Got the Linksys AM300 and instant success with huge speed increase from 200Kbps with the WAG to 3000Kbps.
So… anyone looking at buying a new wireless gateway…do not buy the WAG54G2, it’s rubbish!!
Thanks CS
Great to hear you’re happy mate! 🙂
My area (in Auckland) is due to be upgraded to ADSL2 in (or before) April 2010 and I am considering a new wireless modem/router. Already, the cabinets have been installed in the surrounding streets and I swear my broadband speed has increased. On the http://www.pcworld.co.nz, the forums is abuzz with pingtest.net and on testing my computer I get an ‘A’.
Ideally, I would like one with a port which will allow me to connect my laser printer to it, so that I don’t have to start the main PC in the house, just to print something.
I currently have a DSE XH9950 which has been excellent and never missed a beat.
Can you recommend a wireless modem/router or some other solution.
Based upon your recommendation I would, without hesitation, purchase the NetComm NB6Plus4Wn, but I need to solve my printing issue.
Hey mate,
Yeah I presume you’ve noticed the thread I sticked on the main Forums. Interesting results I thought!
Anyway, to be honest I’d go with the NB6Plus4WN, I’ve found in almost all situations where I’ve used them the DSL Sync Speed has increased a bit (And in some cases by around 2-3m/bit!), but if your router is already reliable, then I’m of the opinion why fix something if it ain’t broke!
Anyways there’s two types of options I can see:
http://pbtech.co.nz/index.php?item=NETSTL14073 — Is the cheapest, probably pretty basic, but should do what you wanna do.
http://pbtech.co.nz/index.php?item=NETNCM3681 — More advanced, supports two printers and can connect to the network wirelessly.
I’ve used the NetComm one and it wasn’t bad, though you definitely need to upgrade the firmware 😉
Hope this helps
Chill.
The adsl router you suggested doesn’t have simultaneous dual band N. Any suggestions? The closest one I can think of is the WAG320N, but it is linksys (which people generally don’t like) and while it is dual band, it can only use one at a time.
Yeah I’d avoid anything Linksys makes at the moment in terms of routers that does N-Wireless.
In fact, I’m avoiding N-Wifi altogether personally, I find I get more range and bang-for-buck out of G-Wifi + Antenna + Power Output.
Even transferring 13gigs at a time of HD video from my TiVo via WiFi, I’m still happy with 54mbps, so don’t really need the extra speed. Sorry, I’m not much use there…
I was googling and I found this article of yours, if you don’t mind, I would like to ask for your suggestion to my problem. Thanks.
I currently using Belkin Wireless N router.
The router used to have this problem:
– File transfer of computers connected via the router (LAN) is extremely slow. <1 mb/s at usual and max is 2 mb/s.
I ignored that problem for a long time now, but some new problems arise:
– My modem refuse to detect any activity from my wireless router.
Tried changing the cable to connect modem to router, but still:
– Sometimes the modem still not detect any activity from the router.
– File transfer is slower than ever. Under 10kb/s?
– Internet access is extremely slow. I'm sure this is not a problem with my internet connection, because direct connection from notebook to modem works just fine.
Really need a fix for this problem. Everyone in the house needs internet access for their own computers. If a fix isn't available, I really like a recommendation for a good wireless router. My requirements are only:
– My house has two floors and it need to cover all areas of my house, so I extremely need good signal strength/coverage.
– Budget is less than US$100.
– Low priority (just plus point if its there): Setting for bandwidth prioritize/cap per computer.
I hope I'm not asking too much out of you. Thank you.
I would recommend the Linksys WRT54GL, put the Tomato firmware on it, potentially with the Tomato -MOD for per-PC throttling / bandwidth caps, and depending on how much you have left over get yourself some larger antennas for the WRT54GL too. I’ve got a How-To here for installing / setting up basic prioritization for Tomato which will get you pointed in the right direction, but it will likely be a bit of work. It’ll be rewarding, and worth it though! 🙂 Post back with how you go.
Hi Chill,
Nice article! I am currently using a NB6PlusWn I could say I upgraded from a DG834PN, but my speeds have been reduced by a huge amount.
I’ve gone from a 21,000Kbps sync, to 18,500Kbps. The modem is extremely stable (Not a single drop out) but it’s missing many tweak options to get the speed back up up.
In my opinion this modem is much better suited and should be recommend to people who have more the 3kilometers (I’m about 50meters) from there exchange, or the non-technically minded.
I’ve also tested a Linksys AM300 and it didn’t seem to get my speeds back up either, was about the same as the Netcomm.
I’ll be getting my hands on a Billion soon, once I work out which one!
Hi Goon,
Good to hear from you, thanks for the feedback. It’s good to hear you’re getting such good stability from the NB6Plus4Wn. As you can see with the Linksys gear, one manufacturer never seems to get them *all* correct, so it could be that the Netgear is a good upgrade?
I’ve personally had bad experiences with the Billion routers, YMMV, but would be very interested in what sort of speeds you get with the likes of a Draytek DV120?
I’m using a Netcomm NB6Plus4Wn & it is great, but I am always weary of new products from Netcomm – I sold a couple of netcomm wireless routers (not ADSL) that were rebadged dynalinks, then my supplier replaced them with a new Netcomm wireless router & it was flaky as hell. They have since gone back the the rebadged dynalinks.
Yeah pretty much. When one company bought out the other, things were topsy turvy for a bit, but let’s be honest, they’ve made some good stuff and made some bad stuff. Same as Linksys, they make some darn fine hardware, but they’ve also fouled up horribly at times too!
nett comm ADSL2+/3G Wi-Fi Router -3G15Wn
Hi
How does the neettcomm 3g15Wn stack up for a home user and how does it compare to the netcomm nb6plus4wn …looking for a 3g option
thanks
Hi Michelle,
That’s a very good question. To be honest, I’ve not actually used the NetComm 3G15Wn, however I *have* used the N3G005w:
http://www.netcomm.com.au/netcomm-products/wireless-broadband/n3g005w
From what I *do* know of it, the 3G15Wn is likely just a combination of the two, and you should be fine. I’ve found my N3G005w to be absolutely brilliant, though the 3G data charges are absolutely horrible. I’ve used it with both Vodafone and XT, both worked without a worry, though in my area in West Auckland I got *significantly* faster speeds with XT.
All in all, if you’re going for 3G, it should be good!
Hope this helps
Chill.
Hi. I gotta say:
I have two of the free routers you mentioned above. And I tell you. They’re extremely bad quality and f…..king slow. I’ve been searching youtube and the web for “how to increase your speed and improve quality of the internet connection” and found a thousand different ways of doing so but in the end nothing works. Now I know my suspicions about my router were correct and you my friend. You put it in a single webpage!
Thank you. I’m getting two new routers
Glad I could help mate. Mind my asking which ones you’ve currently got ?
I work from home and rely on my ADSL. 5 children 9 thru 16 yrs and suddenly my bandwidth is on fire. No-one changed habits (they say) so I need to know where the GBs are going. 60 GB plan and averaged 40-50 per month till now – then 80+ GB last month.
Sounds like tomato with WRT54GL and either Draytek DV120 or Linksys AM300 make sense.
I reckon once I know which devices are sucking the bandwidth, I’ll probably want to throttle them somehow.
Q1. Have things changed much since this blog was last updated?
Q2. Still recommend the same modems?
Q3. For throttling, am I better off with tomato or gargoyle…
…in page http://pressf1.pcworld.co.nz/archive/index.php/t-120429.html?s=fbef7bc6a3c14f982a3784dbaafb44a6 you said…
“Gargoyle is great, allows cool things like per-device bandwidth allowances etc”
…but then in this blog at March 17, 2010 at 11:29 pm you wrote…
“potentially with the Tomato -MOD for per-PC throttling / bandwidth caps,”
…so I am left wondering which way to go to exercise some bandwidth control over my mad household! We’ve got iPhones, iPods, PCs, Macs and Servers running around.
I use PB Technologies a lot – looks like I can get a Draytek DV120 there, but not the Linksys AM300 at the moment. Would that change the tomato vs gargoyle decision?
I’ve worked in IT Infrastructure for 20+ years so learn fast, but this area baffles me – I feel a complete newbie. I haven’t been back in NZ very long, and things are quite different in the uncapped worlds of the UK and USA!
Thanks – really appreciate your advice, as I have been struggling with what to do here – help!
Just posting this line so I can choose to be notified of follow-ups and new posts – missed that first time round 😮
Hi snoi,
I’d still personally opt for the DV120 (Draytek really are top of the line devices) in a PPPoA -> PPPoE Passthru mode. Then have something behind them like a WRT54GL running Gargoyle. Gargoyle is definitely better, the Tomato -MOD was experimental, I never played with it enough to recommend it.
Post back here or on PF1 if you have any troubles 🙂
Cheers
Chill.
Since this post was written in 2009, do you have an update of recommendations for today? I’m currently looking for an ADSL2+ modem that I can half bridge to my N1 (it hasn’t failed and works well). I believe the Linksys AM300 has been discontinued as a product.
I use the Draytek DV120 in a PPPoA -> PPPoE passthru mode with great success. Same deal, just the device behind the Draytek handles the Auth.