ISP Routers vs Aftermarket Routers?

BennettWHU

BennettWHU

BennettWHU

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I don't consider myself to be a technology genius and when it comes to internet hardware, I know very little. When I signed up for my internet package with my ISP, they sent me one of their company branded routers which I've had no problems with so far. However, when I browse the web for new PC hardware, I always come across routers from companies like NetGear, ASUS, Linksys and Belkin. What I want to know is, why are there so many different routers on the market and what purpose do they serve over the standard one from an ISP?
 
never used the crap you get free and never will. At the moment in my opinion asus are very good and i would recommend one of those over the other brands you suggested.
 
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BRIGGBOY81 said:
never used the crap you get free and never will.
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+1

My VM SuperHub crappy thing has WiFi disabled, it's just a modem then it goes to three routers around the house, the WiFi drops out on that thing every minute, might as well put the signal through a potato.
 
ISP supplied routers or combined routers/modems is a recent trend. The ISPs found it was a pain with customers buying their own routers and having to attempt to support 1001 different types that they had no control over. Some ISP routers have more features than others - the Sky one is a bit behind the times for example but on the upside is appears reliable and stable. Some were just horrible like the original "Superhub". The latest AC version finally appears to be a decent bit of kit.

As always with computer gear, some people just want to tinker, hence Asus etc continuing to sell routers here. Not sure what the ISPs outside the UK do, as we're only a little island. ;)

As for post #2. <sarcasm> Well done, very helpful. Have loads of rep points.</sarcasm>
 
VM router is ****ing useless for wireless, I've resorted to running a couple lan cables from it, only way it isn't super gash.
 
BennettWHU said:
I don't understand what makes the after market routers better than the standard ISP ones? I don't even know the difference between router and modem.
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1. More features e.g. faster wireless, faster ethernet ports, QOS to prioritise gaming traffic.
2. Modem - device that sends/receives data over a communication line, e.g. telephone line, cable network.
Router - forwards data between two different networks. In laymans terms it shares out the modem.
 
ISP supplied routers are usually cheaply made and are usually fine for the very basic setup, eg one computer and perhaps a couple of smartphones/tablets.

But from what I noticed, if you're after better range and speed, as well as using multiple devices that can connect to the internet, they start to get pretty unreliable and a 3rd party router is better for the job.

I had a HH3 which couldn't handle 20+ devices, so that was replaced, I also wanted something with QoS so a heavy user will not slow everyone else down. I tried a SH2 which had very weak range, so was switched into modem mode with a better router. The Plusnet one was ok but was replaced anyway for one with 5GHz wifi to take advantage of fibre speeds.
 
Some ISPs supply decent routers and/or supply their own rebrand of a decent router but even then they often tend to lock them down or put their own **** all over the UI.
 
Recently upgraded to the VM superhub to get the additional speed on the line, touch wood it's running fine but the minute it starts to even give me jip I'll be turning it to modem mode and attaching an aftermarket router to it.

Never used the "free" stuff from ISPs for any longer than I've needed to... Just personal preference.
 
Another reason to use you own equipment is you get a good known setup and then even if you move providers you do not have to set it all up again, you just unplug the old and plug in the new, and everything inside stays the same, just with a different route to the internet.
 
For normal home users, ISP supplied routers generally do the job fine.

If however you want more features or better wireless then upgrading is the way to go.

Don't forget ISPs will want the cheapest option, in terms of supplying you kit/service.
 
The latest round of AC units from BT and TalkTalk are incredibly capable. If you want to tweak stuff then yes you will probably want to replace it, but give their stuff a chance first.
 
I use the HH5 BT gave me and can't say I've got any complaints about it. Wifi on it seems great, I get near enough max speed on my Nexus 7 (only 5Ghz device I have). I've never had the constant reboot/resync that some complain of, I was surprised how nice it is for an isp supplied device.

I even find it gets a higher sync than the much praised hg612 modem.
 
BRIGGBOY81 said:
never used the crap you get free and never will. At the moment in my opinion asus are very good and i would recommend one of those over the other brands you suggested.
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The gap is much smaller these days with some ISPS BT and Virgins latest offering for example are very very good especially when you consider the price. Others are admittedly still rubbish my sky box was terrible the wifi coverage was so poor sky had to give away free extenders, without the extender my original grey BT broadband router offered better wifi range which was frankly laughable!

I've used a mixture down the years, currently have a BT home hub of some description which seems to be working well after my Netgear N box died a few years back.
 
Absolutely no issues whatsoever with my Sky Hub on Fibre? Up,times of weeks and weeks all the time. Wireless is ok too, I can access throughout my house.
 
My big gripe about ISP routers (signal/channel/bugs issues aside) is that they strip out a lot of basic functionality because they want to keep it simple to support, and they don't want customers messing about with settings.
 
MissChief said:
Absolutely no issues whatsoever with my Sky Hub on Fibre? Up,times of weeks and weeks all the time. Wireless is ok too, I can access throughout my house.
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10/100 ethernet ports, single-band Wi-Fi. I know you work for them but you can't say the Sky Hub is competitive to the main rivals offerings and maintain a straight face.
 
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