Spec me a new router please?

[Helen Barber]

I'm with plusnet with their fastest fibre broadband. I have the router below.

Can I get faster wifi with a new router?.... I notice streaming 4k UHD is choppy

BT Smart Hub (Home Hub 6) Fibre FTTC ADSL Broadband Wireless AC Router

Details

Network Connectivity · Max. LAN Data Rate · To Fit · Max. Wireless Data Rate · Supported Wireless Protocols · Country/Region of Manufacture · Item Length · Maximum LAN Data Rate · Item Height · Item Width · Number of LAN Ports · Ports

Network ConnectivityWireless‑Wi‑Fi 802.11ac

Max. LAN Data Rate1000Mbps

To FitADSL/VDSL/FTTC

Max. Wireless Data Rate217 + 1700 Mbps

Supported Wireless ProtocolsWi‑Fi 802.11ac

Country/Region of ManufactureChina

Item Length240mm

Maximum LAN Data Rate1000 Mbps

Item Height32mm

Item Width160mm

Number of LAN Ports4

PortsEthernet (RJ‑45), USB 3.0

 

[bremen1874]

The router you have isn't terrible. From the above, there's no way of knowing if buying something better would help or not.

Start with the actual WAN connection speed. Is it fast enough to support reliable 4K streaming?
Is the choppy 4K experienced only when using wireless?
Are cabled devices okay?
If wireless, are the devices too far away from the router?
What devices are having problems?
Are there other devices on the network activity using the available bandwidth when the streaming problems are experienced?

 

[Orcvader]

As above, make sure to rule out it's not the router at fault.

The BT router UI should be able to tell you what speed it's syncing at, but you can also test with a cabled device.

What are you trying to stream on? How far is it from the router? Are there any thick walls or other possible interferences between it and the router? If yes, then a new router may not be the best solution if it's the Wi-Fi struggling to reach to the device, running a cable to get around those problems is the best option. If you can't do that, then a mesh setup is the next best thing.

 

[Avalon]

Given ‘4K’ can cover anything from about 12-100+Mbit, and given you haven’t told us your actual connection speed, we would need (at a minimum) the following info:

What is your connection syncing at? Hint: Router status page.
What 4K content? Local BDREMUX, Netflix etc. and what bit-rate?

If you’re pulling a 20Mbit stream on a 20Mbit connection, then that could be your problem. If you are for example on an 80Mbit connection and someone else happens to be saturating the uplink, then that’s your problem. If you have a crappy wireless device and are trying to pull 40Mbit local rips over Wi-Fi with PoE signal then that’s a different problem… non of those are likely to be fixed by just randomly buying a new router without specifying QoS and either better coverage by re-siting the router or adding an AP/Mesh set-up.

 

[Turn]

Local BDREMUX