Blogs Router reboot

Looks like an excellent idea to me. The more mundane things are often overlooked, but as the number of comments on here shows, they can still be important.

 

Definitely something that is worth spending some extra money on to avoid any headaches. I bought a Linksys e4200 when they were new. I haven't looked back, had to reset it a few times in a year, but with three guys in an apartment, iPod touches, 360s, wireless bridges, 5 laptops, my TV, it's been solid. I would always appreciate a good router review, with something that is lacking from other stuff I find. Reliability, leave it up for X amount of days and see how it fares.

 

Well, Linksys/Cisco is not very good at support either. I own a Linksys E2000, guess what, last firmware update is from 12/01/2010, and considering AFAIK it was released in 2010, it kinda stinks. No IPv6 update at all, and it looks there won't be any. For a 2 year old router. With IPv6 hitting us hard in next 1-2 years.

So enjoy your E4200 while it lasts, but i doubt you will see any firmware releases for it in 2013. And same applies for nearly all router manufacturers. I had a SMC gigabit router, it had maybe 3 or 4 firmware revisions and then it was cut.

 

A couple of my friends have had router issues over the years but I've been very lucky - my SMC router, bought in 2003/04 is still going strong, serving a home network of 1 wired PC, 2 wireless laptops and wireless mobile phone without too much hassle - usually around 1 restart per month.

I'm sure a more modern router (with modern firmware) could probably squeeze a bit more performance out of my broadband connection but this router will (hopefully) see me through until fibre comes to my area.

 

I'm now running a Routerstaion Pro running OpenWRT after having a lot of similar issues. Bit more complicated to get up and running but now that it is setup only time restarts is if the power is out long enough to flatten the UPS.

The people that have mentioned that after 4+ years that they are just starting to have an issue with their router I'd suggest trying a different power supply. In my experiance when you start to have issues with them, especially under load it tends to be the PSU voltage dropping under load rather the the router it's self.

 

Got BT infinity and hating the new hub the moment it went in. Now comes with modem and router combo and the range is shorter not to mention the thing refuses to port forward. Want to replace it but not confident there will be any advantage to it. After reading this a router round up would actually be interesting.

 

BS, the signal BrightHouse's gives is garbage. My sister's D-Link router was more reliable. I bought NetGear N600 Router (WN3700? I think is the model) which has a way better signal-wise and very decently fast speed. I want an AC based router.. just not when they cost nearly $200.

 

Damn, I had no idea - I'm using the same Adaptec modem/router that I got when I finally got DSL 4-ish years ago, hooked to a $20 TrendNet router being used as a switch (trick I learned somewhere - plug the modem into one of network ports, not the 'in' port, and the TN router acts as a dumb switch.)

I've rebooted due to freezes a grand total of maybe 6 times - I'm yay close to bailing on my ISP (I've been overpaying for 1.5Mbps the entire time, and it's still the fastest they offer in my neighborhood), but I've got to say my experience with DSL (and routers) has been apparently freakishly good.

 

I've got the standard virgin hub which can't quite decide whether it has WiFi or not, I rarely get issues from the router itself (more the isp) as I'm using a cat5 but my flatmate uses wireless and it usually cuts out a couple of times a week

 

I bought a TP-Link TL-R460, no wireless. Seems fine. When they put in the FTTC, though, BT supplied a DSL modem that they elected to replace a scant few months later, although it had given no trouble.

I have to say that Eclipse really do appear to be a pretty solid outfit. Yes, I am very seriously saying something nice about someone. The TP-Link router gets uptimes in the months and their tech support is UK-based and non-patronising. They answer the phone quickly and the phone maze is shallow. They are pretty expensive, though, which I guess tells you something.

Two of my mates have BT and Sky respectively; both are having a horrible experience.

Edit: I thought Eclipse provided the router. They didn't; I bought it. Not sure what they would have supplied.

 

I've been using two routers provided to me by Sky. One Netgear and one Sagem. Both have been absolutely rock solid throughout their entire lives. The only problem I've ever encountered is that the Sagem one doesn't allow me to play DayZ for some reason, so I'm back on the Netgear one.

My parents had a Netgear DG834 which has also been fantastic. However the new Netgear DGN100 is supposed to be diabolical (check out the Amazon reviews!)

Its pathetic that companies can't get their gear together after so many years.

 

TP-Link
They are WTF how can this be so good for the price.

 

buy a RT-N16
it has the fastest CPU in a router ever
300,000 sessions for extensive P2P clients
im not sure whats faster the original firmware on it or DD-WRT
try it
i have one and its amazing

 

guys if you want the fastest router just buy a pc and a network card and install one of many available x86 router distributions
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157324
something like this good

 

These two websites hold a wealth of information.

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/review/top10.php
http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/index.htm

I've been through ISP-provided routers, D-Links, Belkins, Linksys and Netgears and all of them have eventually become unstable, except for the Thomson Gateway 585v7 (awfully slow interface) and the Billion BiPac 7800N (super super super router). The problem with reviewing routers is that:

- It is such a long process (how can you test the stability of a router without owning it for 5+ years?)
- Router requirements vary by user (a terrible router might give the casual web browser many years of stress-free internet, whereas a gamer/server host/ torrent freak/serial video "streamist" can make a router fall over in minutes
- ADSL connections are far more fragile than fibre connections (how can you be sure you're testing an ADSL router on the worst possible line? A router which is fine in one home might struggle in a less favourable environment). And don't tell me ADSL isn't relevant: most homes still have it.
- Router manufacturers aren't as affected by bad reviews. If a GPU manufacturer slips up in the release of a new architecture, their accountants are going to know about it . Why is this? I can think of many reasons.
-

Which is why I have resorted to reading customer reviews. If there are 270 five star reviews of a certain router on Amazon, there must be a reason.

The SHORT VERSION:

For those having problems with their internet connection: Xilo.net (seriously, all you Virgin users out there, for crying out loud, it's common knowledge that they are the worst UK ISP)

For those having troubles with their router: Billion BiPac 7800N (just get it, it's flawless)

 

After losing a flat mate with a dedicated router/server we've been absolutely ****ed when it comes to the internets.. The 'boxes' just don't seem to cope too well with heavy use. It's not like I'd like to buy another one, either, because all of them seem to suck rather equally.

 

I've been with Xilo for a while and they've been pretty solid.

 

Cisco small busines routers win.

 

Same here. My D-Link DIR655 has been up for over a year without a reboot. It just works. Wi-Fi is solid, with good range. Port forwarding has been simple, and the UI is great. Network speeds are great - I can transfer files and back up at around 100MB/sec.

[edit]

Same for my D-Link modem. It's been that long since I had to so much as look at that, I can't even remember how to configure it!

 

My router is a Netgear WPN-824v3 router, it's updated to the latest and apparently last update of 108_107 and I've been using it for about 2-3 years and the router still works with no problems, even with SuperG(108Mbps)...