Wi-Fi Router Buying Guide

A router is the hub of your network – it connects us and our devices to each other and the internet. With so much of our lives taking place online, a Wi-Fi router is more crucial than most of us give it credit for. There are numerous routers to choose from, all with different features and advantages. With the right router plugged in, you can enjoy optimal speeds and performance on your network. 

There is massive range of networking options for home and business with top brands such as Netgear, Ubiquiti, TP-Link, Asus, Synology, D-Link all striving to create products to meet the demands. To help you decide which model is best suited to your needs, we've put together a guide that offers some quick advice and information on key features to take note of when shopping for a Wi-Fi router.

The Difference Between a Modem and Router

First of all, it's important to understand that a modem and router provide different functions. A modem creates and maintains the connection with the internet provider's service and converts the signals from and to the router. The router forwards traffic destined for the internet to the modem, while preventing internal traffic from leaving the network. Using assigned numbers, the router keeps track of which computer made a request to the Internet in order to send responses back to that computer only. It is now common place for many Wi-Fi routers to also include built-in modems.

Features To Look For In A Router

While wired routers are still available for purchase, they require an ethernet cable to be plugged into your devices, which can be inconvenient. The good news is, Wi-Fi (wireless) router models are now the norm and they offer a much more flexible way of staying connected across various devices. There are numerous options available on the market today and with so many to choose from, it pays to know what you're looking for. Here are some of the key features to pay attention to when buying a new router. 

Bandwidth

When shopping for a router you’ll likely notice some numbers that follow the term N, AC, AX and so on, with titles looking like AC900, AC1200 and AX3000 - but what’s the difference between them?

These numbers refer to the max theoretical bandwidth the router can provide over all its wireless channels. This bandwidth is commonly referred to as Mbps, which means megabits per second - translating this further, 8 megabits per second = 1 megabyte per second. So a router with AC3200 can hypothetically transfer a total of 400 megabytes per second. Looking at this from a real world, end-user situation, it’s unlikely (at the moment) that a connected device could handle all this data at once and that’s OK. This number is a perfect world maximum (one with no walls or interference) and this is the total split through the various wireless networks the router is providing.

Looking specifically at the very popular AC3200 Tri-Band Routers, we can see how this bandwidth is split between the wireless networks it provides.

• 2.4GHz @ 600Mbps (75 megabytes per second)
• 5GHz @ 1300Mbps (162.5 megabytes per second)
• + another 5GHz @ 1300Mbps
• For a total of 3200, 400 megabytes per second.

Having this much potential bandwidth available allows for a better experience when you’re connecting multiple devices to your wireless network. D-Link summed it up pretty well saying, "When there’s traffic on the motorway and you’re crawling along at 10km/h, increasing the speed limit won’t help anyone get anywhere sooner. If you were to add another lane, traffic would clear faster and congestion would be less of a problem," and we love that! Splitting the traffic is a great way to ensure all Wi-Fi users in your home or office have an enjoyable experience. This means that you can have that new TV streaming HD videos on one wireless network, while the kids are happily gaming away on another!

Knowing this, you can opt to use the bandwidth to help find the right router based on how many devices you expect to connect. The image above will provide a general guide as to what you should be looking for. 

These bandwidth numbers, like AC1200 and AX11000, can be used directly in the PB Tech search bar to narrow down the range.

It's important to remember that your bandwidth will be shared between all the connected wireless clients, so having too many clients connected to a band will inevitably lead to slower internet access for everyone!

Take a moment and think about how many devices are going to be connected at once. It’s normally more than we think – a smart TV, laptop, desktop, tablet and smartphone already make up five! Something else you'll want to consider is the Wi-Fi range – how far does the signal need to reach? Are you planning on using a tablet in the garden hammock perhaps? We'll dive into this more below. 

Wi-Fi Standard

The Wi-Fi Standard refers to the generation of Wi-Fi the router is built for. They always begin with 802.11 and end with a letter or a set of letters. For example, 802.11n/ac/ax and so on. The main thing to take note of is the letters at the end, as this will tell you what generation of Wi-Fi the router supports. We recommend AC (Wi-Fi 5) as a minimum, though future-proofing with an AX router (Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E) is a great idea. 

• AC supports up to the fifth generation of Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5)
  • Operates only in the 5GHz band
• AX supports up to the sixth generation of Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 6)
  • Operates in the 5GHz + 2.4GHz band delivering increased speed, reduced congestion and better battery life
• AXE expands on the existing sixth generation of Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 6E)
  • Operates in the 6GHz + 5GHz + 2.4GHz band
  • Wi-Fi 6E routers will be listed as 802.11ax but have AXE in the name

AX (Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E) routers don't just offer increased speeds but they also offer greater capacity, performance, efficiency and security. You should keep in mind however, that to enjoy the full benefits of a Wi-Fi 6 or 6E router, your devices (such as your laptop and smartphone) will need to support these standards. The good news is, these standards are backwards compatible meaning they will work with your devices at a lower standard regardless, but will future-proof you for the wider shift to Wi-Fi 6 that's to come. In the mean time, you can get the AX Wireless adaptor for your PC to take advantage of all this new speed.

Using the PB Tech Website, in the Networking Category, you can use our handy "filter" menu on the left to show just the options you are looking for. You can even select multiple options, e.g. to show just "AD" and "AX" options.

Wi-Fi Bands

Wi-Fi bands are the frequency ranges within the wireless spectrum that are designed to carry Wi-Fi. In the past, you may have seen single-band routers, but these days, dual-band and tri-band routers are what you'll commonly find in the market. This means that most routers broadcast over more than one band or frequency. The benefit of this is that your connection is less prone to interference from other devices which generally results in faster speeds.

Dual-band routers transmit over the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz band. 

Tri-band routers transmit over the 2.4GHz band and often two 5GHz bands. With the release of Wi-Fi 6E, we are starting to see tri-band routers that broadcast over a 2.4GHz band, a 5GHz band, and a 6GHz band.

The main advantage of multi-band routers is that they decrease the amount of congestion, even when more devices are added. If you have multiple Wi-Fi users in your home that all use multiple devices, you'll notice that the more bands that your router has, the faster and better your Wi-Fi connection is.

Wi-Fi Frequencies

You might be curious, what are the differences between the different frequencies? The main differences are the range (coverage) and speed (bandwidth) that each band provides. Our friends at NETGEAR have summed it up perfectly in the three points below.

• The 2.4 GHz band provides the most coverage but transmits data at slower speeds.
• The 5 GHz band provides less coverage but transmits data at faster speeds.
• The 6 GHz band, introduced with the new WiFi 6E standard, provides the least coverage but transmits data at the fastest speeds of the three frequencies.

The range of your coverage will decrease with higher frequencies as they can't penetrate solid objects such as walls and floors very well. However, they can transmit data much faster than the lower frequencies. The good thing about modern day multi-band routers is that they will automatically switch your devices between the different bands based on what is best for your current usage.

Mesh Wi-Fi

If your home or property is large and/or has thick, dense walls and floors, you might want to consider a Mesh Wi-Fi router system. Mesh WiFi systems are designed to blanket your entire home in Wi-Fi, eliminating dead zones and providing uninterrupted lag-free Wi-Fi all throughout your home. While regular routers use a single device, mesh networks often contain a main router, along with two or more connected devices or 'antennas' placed throughout the home to offer more Wi-Fi signals. Unlike range extenders, mesh systems keep everything on the same seamless network, keeping you connected as it automatically switches you between the closest mesh node as you wander about your home.

Special Router Features

MIMO, wireless signals and beamforming technology

Multiple antennas and multiple inputs, multiple-output (MIMO) is a technology which many wireless routers use to broadcast. MIMO specifically refers to a technique for sending and receiving more than one data signal on the same radio channel by simultaneously using multiple antennas.

Beamforming technology is added to more advanced routers. This provides devices with improved performance and coverage. These beamforming routers identify and track devices on your network and direct Wi-Fi signals straight to the devices. As a result, this technology provides a more powerful signal, which is very favourable when using mobile devices.

Virtual Private Network 

A VPN creates an encrypted and secure connection between the device it's installed on and the internet. Once you've set up a router VPN, every device connected to that router will have its traffic sent through the encrypted tunnel so you don't need to install and run special software on each PC.

Cloud services

Routers with cloud services enable you to access and control your home network from any location. You may want to take into account an Asus AICloud router if achieving remote access is something you require. View and block devices which are connected to your network as well as view web browsing history from your smartphone or tablet with the easy to use, free mobile app.

4G LTE

These are great for when your regular cable internet isn't available. The 4G LTE Router lets you connect to your 3G/4G mobile connection giving you the speed you need for fast, responsive Internet access. Surf the web with ease and stream music and video over the Internet to your PCs and mobile devices.

We hope this Wi-Fi router buying guide made shopping for a new router easier! If you're ready to embark on your home wireless upgrade, head on over to check out the full range of Wi-Fi Routers today!