New Router

Fallen god · 28 Oct 2013 at 23:39

Hi,

I recently got BT infinity through talk talk and the provided router is a peice of junk, I get 80mb if im in the room with the router, but if I move to my bed room which is located directly above it, it will drop too 1-10mb, most around 1-2mb meaning I can't even get 720p Netflix.

So I thought it was about time to upgrade so I have a few questions, is wireless ac even worth it, I read it is just a stop gap till wireless ad so I think its more or less useless for me.

So my requirements are not too complicated, I want something that is dual band at a decent speed, that I can connect to a HDD that I can use as something similar too a NAS to store all my media and also as a time machine back up if possible (not super important but would be nice since I'm getting a Mac that I will use as a dev machine so it can break often).

I have a budget of £100 but I would rather speed £60~ if it fits my requirements as I also want to buy a really nice monitor soon.

varkanoid · 29 Oct 2013 at 11:51

Fallen god said:
Hi,

I recently got BT infinity through talk talk and the provided router is a peice of junk, I get 80mb if im in the room with the router, but if I move to my bed room which is located directly above it, it will drop too 1-10mb, most around 1-2mb meaning I can't even get 720p Netflix.

So I thought it was about time to upgrade so I have a few questions, is wireless ac even worth it, I read it is just a stop gap till wireless ad so I think its more or less useless for me.

So my requirements are not too complicated, I want something that is dual band at a decent speed, that I can connect to a HDD that I can use as something similar too a NAS to store all my media and also as a time machine back up if possible (not super important but would be nice since I'm getting a Mac that I will use as a dev machine so it can break often).

I have a budget of £100 but I would rather speed £60~ if it fits my requirements as I also want to buy a really nice monitor soon.

Talk Talk dont provide BT Infinity. Thats a BT product. Talk Talk provide their own called "superpowered fibre" or whatever on their web page.
If you do truly have BT Infinity then your router is a Home Hub 4 or possibly Home Hub 5 but you didnt say what router you have.

Also dont forget its not just dependant on your router but the wireless card in whatever device you are using. It could have a crappy antenna for instance. Also is it wireless b/g or n. If its just b/g then the signal degrades more as you move away than band n.

You really need to clarify your details.

PapaLazaru · 29 Oct 2013 at 11:56

Stock routers are generally crap. Get a TP-Link TL-WDR3600 N600 for under £60 and in certain places you get a free TL-WDN3200 N600 Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter worth £17 as well. A few of us on here using Plusnet fibre have. Mine should be delivered today.

Fallen god · 29 Oct 2013 at 12:43

varkanoid said:
Talk Talk dont provide BT Infinity. Thats a BT product. Talk Talk provide their own called "superpowered fibre" or whatever on their web page.
If you do truly have BT Infinity then your router is a Home Hub 4 or possibly Home Hub 5 but you didnt say what router you have.

Also dont forget its not just dependant on your router but the wireless card in whatever device you are using. It could have a crappy antenna for instance. Also is it wireless b/g or n. If its just b/g then the signal degrades more as you move away than band n.

You really need to clarify your details.

All my current stack use wireless-N outside of my PS3 which I don't mind about. TalkTalk fibre runs over BT I believe, a BT engineer came over to install it, all support goes through BT and I even have a BT modem connected to a crappy talktalk router.

The crappy router is wireless N which is why I can achieve the 80mbs at a close decent but whenever I move even a few meters away it drops really quickly. The link speed on my laptop drops too, from 300mbps to 120/60mbps or below at times.

PapaLazaru said:
Stock routers are generally crap. Get a TP-Link TL-WDR3600 N600 for under £60 and in certain places you get a free TL-WDN3200 N600 Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter worth £17 as well. A few of us on here using Plusnet fibre have. Mine should be delivered today.

It looks like a decent router I will need to check some reviews. If you can drop me some feedback once you get it that would be awesome.

KIA · 29 Oct 2013 at 12:59

varkanoid is correct. BT Infinity is a BT retail product. It has nothing to do with TalkTalk.

It's easy to get BT retail, BT wholesale and Openreach mixed up.

PapaLazaru · 29 Oct 2013 at 14:36

Fallen god said:
It looks like a decent router I will need to check some reviews. If you can drop me some feedback once you get it that would be awesome.

Will do.

Fallen god · 29 Oct 2013 at 19:12

KIA said:
varkanoid is correct. BT Infinity is a BT retail product. It has nothing to do with TalkTalk.

It's easy to get BT retail, BT wholesale and Openreach mixed up.

Ahh Ok, that makes sense didn't know they where separate products. I just know it's handled all by BT.

PapaLazaru said:
Will do.

Thanks it looks like a really good buy.