Decent Router / AP for Plusnet Fibre

blueacid · 5 May 2013 at 18:07

Hi There,

My friend is with Plusnet Fibre for internet, but they're having a problem with their wifi.

Connect in with a cable and the speeds are very good (65mbit:line speed!) - however with wireless the range is pretty dire and, when even within range, they can only get around 15-20mbit on the wifi.

I've scanned around using InSSIDer and the Wifi Scanner on my android phone. Found that nothing else is using their channel (1). Channel 11 is also clear - moving to that made no difference, so have moved back to 1.

So to improve this, what should we get? A standalone access point to connect to the router (and therefore turn off the wifi on the existing router?) or just get a new router &make sure it's one that's got decent wireless built in.

In either case - what would you recommend?

Thanks,
Blueacid

ChrisD. · 5 May 2013 at 19:03

Asus RT-N56U.

alex24 · 5 May 2013 at 19:08

I just bought the RT-N56U for Plusnet fibre.

At first, it was a pain. The old firmware it was on out of the box appeared unstable, but I later found that this was the 5GHz connection. After some tweaks (channels, 20/40mhz etc.) and a firmware upgrade, it's solid. Signal is good on 2.4GHz (better than standard router) and OK on 5GHz, but limited as we can't select the higher freq. channels in the EU, or so I understand.

I seem to be able to get decent speeds, but I'm not maxing out my 78mbit connection over wireless it appears. Running a cable isn't practical however for my location, but it would be preferable.

Oh, and it's pretty.

Dave L · 6 May 2013 at 09:27

Netgear WNDR3700, works a charm.

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blueacid · 6 May 2013 at 13:25

Dave L said:
Netgear WNDR3700, works a charm.

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How does it cope with the speed of fibre? I'm using one for my 10mbt adsl connection and it copies fine; can the same be said for fibre?

Dave L · 6 May 2013 at 18:48

Absolutely fine, both wired and wirelessly.

Caged · 6 May 2013 at 20:23

My AirPort Extreme is excellent for the money. Never had to touch it since setting it up well over a year ago. Very fast, great Wi-Fi range.

blueacid · 6 May 2013 at 22:25

Dave L said:
Absolutely fine, both wired and wirelessly.

Given that i've got one of these, and that they can run Gargoyle (custom firmware) I think I'll go for this. I know my way around it, and didn't know they were good enough for FTTC!

Thanks all, if it fails then I'll try one of the other options listed here :-)