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Who study EAD college or work at home, needs a good internet package and a wireless router to ensure a secure, stable and fast connection.
Among the differentials of the wireless router, we mention the simple settings and practicality to connect to mobile devices. Unlike a wired router, the wireless router can be used to intensify the internet connection from a strategic point in your home or office. Read on to learn more about it.
Summary
- With a wireless router, you can transmit internet signal to mobile devices such as notebook, smartphone, tablet, smart tv and others without the need for connection cables.
- Some wireless router models also work as a signal replicator, a very interesting option for those who prioritize the quality of the internet connection.
- To choose the best wireless router, you should analyze some features such as connection, frequency, speed and antenna(s). Another feature that you should evaluate is the price, which ranges from 50 to 500.
The Best Wireless Router: Our Picks
Buying Guide: everything you need to know about wireless router
A wireless router is the tool you need to access the broadband internet with a stable, secure and fast connection. But you’ll find wireless router options for different audiences, as you’ll understand by reading this buying guide.
What are the differentiators of a wireless router?
Internet access can be provided with or without a numeric password, depending on the modem settings. The great differential of this device is the search for alternative routes to receive and send data, making the internet connection much more efficient, stable, fast and secure, facilitating the upload and download of files.
To access the internet, the router may use internal or external antenna(s), essential to transmit the internet signal to the devices connected to the network. The equipment also works as a signal redistributor. The router connects to each mobile device and assigns it an IP address, which can be temporary or change as you connect and disconnect the electronic device from the broadband network.
How should I configure a wireless router?
- To configure the router you need to connect the device to a computer via Ethernet cable.
- Before you start configuring the Wireless Router, check the IP address of the device. You can find this information on a sticker attached to the packaging or in the product’s manual.
- Type the IP address of the Wireless router into the search bar on an internetbrowser and then press the enter button.
- You will access the router’s settings page, then you just need to enter the Wireless tab and the SSID field, which will be used to set the nickname given to the device.
- To add a password protection for your device, you must access the “security” option, changing the authentication to “WPA” and from “WPA key” to “WPApassphrase” to enter a password with greater complexity.
You can also configure the wireless router through the smartphone, instead of the computer. To make the process easier, you can access the digital setup wizard.
Where to place a wireless router?
Prioritise placing the wireless router in a central point in the home or office that is free from interference. Keep the router as far away as possible from electronic devices such as telephones and microwaves, as the electromagnetic waves emitted by these devices can decrease the internet signal.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a wireless router?
- Possibility of connecting several devices at the same time.
- Some models work as a router and signal replicator.
- Options for different needs and in all price ranges.
There are also some disadvantages associated with using a wireless router, such as loss of speed compared to a traditional router, loss of signal quality when there are obstacles, and difficulty in configuring the device according to the user’s affinity for the technology.
Buying Criteria: How To Choose A Wireless Router
This last section of the buying guide will be dedicated to present and detail the main buying criteria when it comes to a wireless router. It is important to stress the importance of buying a quality device that offers a secure, stable and fast connection:
Router standard
When choosing a wireless router, look at the device protocol standard. The number that indicates this standard is 802.11 which is followed by a letter that indicates the version of the standard, being a, b, g, n and ac. Check out the features of each of them in the comparative table below:
| Router standard | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| A | 54 Mbits/s speed, 5GHz frequency, 64 access points and 150m range |
| B | 11 Mbits/s speed, 2,4 GHz frequency, 32 access points and 150m range |
| G | 54 Mbits/s speed, 2,4 GHz frequency, 32 access points and 150m range |
| N | 300 Mbits/s speed, dual band, 64 access points and 150m range |
The newer the router standard, the higher the data transmission rate, range and internet signal stability. However, you should pay attention to one detail: there is no point in buying a router with a more modern standard if the devices that are connected to the network offer outdated and incompatible versions, because the result will be loss of speed.
Antenna(s)
You can find the wireless router with internal or external antenna(s). An important factor is that the internal antenna(s) offer less coverage than the external antenna(s). Models with external antennas may offer one or more antennas, depending on the model.
The greater the number of antennas, the better, as the greater the ability to manage the range of the network and the number of associated mobile devices. In addition to the number of antennas, it is important to analyse the dBi index, which indicates the power of the router in distributing internet signal.
Frequency/bandwidth
Another interesting buying factor is the frequency of the wireless router, which is measured in gigahertz and determines the speed at which data exchanges occur between the wireless network and the connected mobile devices.
The models offered by the market offer support for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz networks. You can also find models that support these two frequencies, called dual-band, models with this technology allow you to switch between frequencies.
Connections and data consumption
Also evaluate if your router offers multiple connections, always taking into account that if the device offers broadband network for several mobile devices and each consumes a certain amount of data, there should be a limit for both.
By choosing a wireless router with adequate connections capacity, you avoid certain problems such as connection drop, slow loading, crashing, among others.
Summary
Anyone who uses the internet for study, work or entertainment with games and movies needs to invest in a good wireless router, a dedicated device to provide broadband internet connection on a variety of mobile devices.
To find the best purchase option, you should analyse some factors such as connection standard, frequency, connections and the number of internal and external antennas. The models presented in the list of buying suggestions meet the main quality standards.
(Featured image source: inlytics | LinkedIn Analytics Tool/ Unsplash.com)
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