Ask Engadget: Best home WiFi router?
By Peter Rojas 
posted Oct 20th 2005 7:59PM
posted Oct 20th 2005 7:59PM
Ok, so Ask Engadget is back after a little hiatus. We can't promise that it'll be better than ever, but from here on out it should at least be as good as it ever was. Anyway, for this week's question reader Edward G. wants some advice on picking a new WiFi router. His question is straight and to the point (i.e. just the way we like it):
I'd like to submit the following question to Ask Engadget: "What's the best wireless router out there for the home user?"
Our Linksys WRT54G has served us surprisingly well over the past 18 months or so (at least given how sucky our first Linksys router was), but there are way fancier models out there now, so as usual we're opening up the floor to your suggestions. Any advice?
Hell, for the price and um, ease of use, the Linksys WRT54G is almost a steal.
Netgear's WGR614-series 802.11g routers are stable, have great range, and are pretty cheap. I have two and would buy another if I needed a wireless router.
I have an Airport Express and an Airport Extreme. They work together beautifully to extend the wireless network and allow music to be streamed wirelessly to any stereo in the house. I have tried lots of different models, but nothing is as easy to set-up, and as solid as the Airports. Also appriciated is the multiple levels of security and the constant high performance.
Buffalotech WBR/WBR2-G54 or newer equivalents.
Supports WDS out of the box, and it works with Airport Express. Great TWO year warranty.
I think Linksys hit the jackpot with the WRT54G - as far as I'm concerned it has been the perfect combination of stability, dependability and hackability. I just bought my dad the WRT54GC - the compact sibling of the original, and I'm blown away by how small it is, and how with no external antenna it seems to have comparable range and performance as the original.
Im corrently Rockin a WRT54GS, and it works great for all of my needs, including two PC's and one laptop on the network as well as a media center exntender. Also if you plan to hack it, the 54GS has more meory and faster processor then the 54G, so get the GS.
Airport Extreme and express... Works great 0 problems. Easy to setup and definantley unique compared to most pc items people own. Works with pc or mac. 2nd choice would be the linksys wrt54g.
I've got a WRT54GS, I like Linksys because they release their firmware under an OSS license and that opens up the possibilities of third-party binaries.
At my home and with my business I've been through at least 6 wi-fi routers. Off the top of my head...a couple from Linksys, D-link DI-624 wireless-g and a Microsoft branded wireless g I bought on woot.
I recently built a home office in my garage and my need for wi-fi range and speed at home increased. After reading many reviews for the Belkin Pre-N router I decided to give it a shot. Simple review: I never want to go back to wireless-g. This router even makes all my wireless-g devices work better. The range is amazing, I can get on at 25% strength from across the street and inside my home office I get like 50% and the router is sitting in my den in the house. I didn't even have to buy any of the pre-n cards...like I said the signal is just stronger even for wireless g devices.
The interface is also very useful, cleanly laid out and has all the options you would need to configure.
-Carlos
Oh yeah, one more thing anout the WRT54G that is good for a home user. It has the one-touch secure feature which is incredibly easy to set up, just push the button on the router and all connected networked deices will be added and secured.
If your cable company supports it:
RCA DCW615R cable modem/router
http://www.rca.com/product/viewdetail/0,2588,PI700645-CI700094,00.html?
One more vote to WRT54GS. Out of all the wireless routers I have (D-link, Netgear...D-Link is the worst), that's the one that can handle streamed video in my house.
linksys wrt54g all the way. I have three. Update the firmware to DD-wrt or Svensoft, and you get all the functionality of the linksys firmware, + the ability to increase transmit power, QoS, VPN termination, and my favorite distrubuted wireless using multiple wrt54gs, etc., etc., etc.
I have the D-Link DI-624 802.11G 108MB router its been great for networking all my computers and works great for me.
i personally say that for the price, Netgear's 108g is the best in all areas...and way cheaper than the 54g Linksys models...plus smaller...
the WRT54G is certainly doing the job for me. if you're looking for compatibilty with 802.11a networks as well, Linksys has got a WRT55AG just for you.
i just got netgear wgr614v6 AND a usb adapter from staples for like 40 bucks after rebates
so far works lovely, i like it better cosmetically than the linksys i had before this. and it hasn't crashed yet, linksys used to crash on me even w/ firmware updates.
I personally have the WRT54G and love it. I suggest that you stick with Linksys because they seem to have the most 3rd party mods.
I had a very old D-Link DWL-1000AP access point (not router). Old, and very weak. I was going nuts trying to get a signal in my house so I decided to try a new access point.
I went with the Belkin Pre-N and 2 Pre-N cards. I'm THRILLED with the range increase! Definatly recommend giving it a shot. I think a lot of my 'upgrade' was just getting away from a crappy access point to something better but also think that the new Pre-N MIMO stuff with 3 antennas is helping out as well. (I also relocated the access point to a more central location, our family room).
You can run this in access point mode too if you're running it behind a firewall or on its own network segment and not as your border gateway which is nice, also supports WAP. One complaint I have is that the client software for their cards does NOT support WAP (!?!!?!?). Thats a bit annoying...
Billion 7402VGP....
I love the Billion, very customizable gets me a solid 19Mbps on ADSL2 has VOIP built in and a telephone jack so it can also handle all of the regular phone connections.
I would stick with linksys. They make a quality product - and the setup page is easy to use even for beginners! If you want something more than the wrt54g, perhaps think about getting the updated model wrt54gx or even the wrt54gx2 (for further range).
I own a Netgear WGT624, and I'm really satisfied, got it for a great price too.
Netgear WGR614.. Only 20 bucks new from Best Buy. Amazing range, looks awesome, by far the easist to setup with a step by step cd for beginners or even the computer illiterate. I never expected so much from this. It is amazing.
I have to agree with all of the netgear fans out there. I use the WGR614 and would recommend it to anyone looking for an all-in-one router.
I have to put in a vote against the Netgear WGR614v4 (version 4). I don't know if the newer version 5 or perhaps even the older versions work better, but it doesn't support XBox Live (I hear the Linksys does), and I get my AIM connection dropped quite frequently. Also, the port forwarding is limited in that the external and internal port numbers must be the same. In general, the setup GUI is clean and the machine looks nice, but it just falls short on reliability and flexibility. Next time I think I'll go for the Linksys.
I liked the WRT54G at home but also wanted some protection from spyware, worms and viruses at my office so I got the Sonicwall TZ150. It kept my work computer from getting the spyware I got at home so I bought another for my house.
Does anyone know of a wireless router that doesn't crash? ever? I have a whole pile of these things in the closet from my quest to find one that doesn't crash. (And I've tried all kinds of firmware updates on these.)
I've had especially bad luck with the Netgear WGR614. I can make it crash every time just by viewing a long directory listing in an SSH session from my home PC to my server. Netgear wasn't interested in hearing about the bug.
I've also had problems with the Linksys WRT54G that everyone loves. With my luck, if there's a bug anywhere in the product, I'm sure to get hit by it. (I should be in QA, heh...)
One of these days I might just have to drop a few Ben's on some sort of high-end "better-than-consumer-grade" router from Cisco or some such. My current solution is to use an SMC router connected to an iBoot that reboots it when it goes senile.
As a professional that runs a domestic Wifi company, I can say that the WRT54G is a very good router. But, in terms of strength (especially through walls/floors) would be the Dlink DI-624. On just about every benchmark that we ran - range,throughput,reliability,connection speed etc. It came off far better than alot of other brands - Buffalo,Linksys etc. One router that I would stay away from is the Belkin Pre-N. Woefully crippled in regards to being able to configure the thing, flaky firmware and if you arent using it as a router, terrible at passing on DHCP traffic. Amazing range once you get it going though.
The WRT54G is certainly a great machine, but there's one thing I don't like: there's only a limited amount of port forward options. This can be problematic when you want to forward different ports to three or more different computers. I don't know if open or custom firmwares can give you unlimited forwards, though.
The Netgear DG834G has been giving me great range (still present at ~70 yds away from the building) and awesome uptimes (almost 2000 hours and going). And that's in a heavy P2P and VoIP environment with up to 4-5 computers accessing it.
i can confirm that the netgear 614v6 supports xbox no problem, no firmware updates for v4?
You should all know that the new version of the WRT54G is a piece of crap. It is the "v5" (version 5). It costs more than the old version, has less RAM, and doesn't run Linux (you can't flash it with your own firmware).
Avoid it like the plague.
Instead, I recommend the nice Netgear WGT634U. An excellent all-around unit and best of all, you can flash it with the latest Linux kernel and get all the goodies that entails.
The NetGear WPN824 works great with my LifeDrive.
A vote for the Belkin Pre-N router. I tested various routers from D-link, Netgear, Linksys, etc. and couldn't find one with enough range to reach from one side of the house to the other. That, and I have a Panasonic wireless phone which wreaked havoc with some wireless routers, causing dropped wireless connections whenever the phone was being used. Anyhow, the Belkin gives a strong signal where other routers gave none, is fast, and doesn't have issues with my 2.4GHz spread spectrum phone. In fact, I even noticed a neighbor trying to log on to my network, which had never happened before, and the houses nearby are fairly big and not so close together--my point is, this router rocks!
PS - For those who might think the Linksys with 'modified' firmwares are better, those were included in my comparison. I tried WRT54G and GS with boosted mW output, and the Belkin is still much better. Heavy .b and .g wireless traffic, zero problems, zero reboots over the course of a few months.
I work at a large university that allows students to bring their own wireless routers/access points. We even support them, too. I have come to greatly appreciate the stability and performance of the WRT54G (just the G, not any other model). With nearly any other router there is usually one or two examples of that model that will repeatedly lose settings for no reason or just stop working until they are hard reset. Admittedly, most of these problems go away if you use them in an out-of-box configuration (plus security of course). We require students to use routers as bridges, and this breaks a lot of them even though they appear to support this functionality. One thing about the newer Linksys revisions: that damn button on the front is bad news. Press that puppy the wrong way and you have to redo parts of your setup. It's a nice idea, but should be placed in the back and be made harder to accidentally activate. I also recommend Apple wireless products. Some Belkin and Netgear are good. Don't get a D-Link or Dell (which I believe are no longer for sale anyway). Motorola looks OK, haven't seen enough to give solid recommendation on. My sole gripe with Linksys routers is the lack of WDS out of box. Maybe they've fixed that in the newest models? I know there is firmware for that but it's a less than ideal solution.
linux server + wifi card (preferably one thats well supported under linux) this can be a cheap, yet potent and infinatly versatile/scalable combination.... my access point at home is my linux box.
I have had my share of Linksys and D-Link WifFi doodads and they have been fine but I really dig my Airport Express hanging off an 8 port switch connected to a smoothwall firewall. Works for me.
Thumbs down for the D-Link DI-624. I've had one for 1.5 years or so, and it was crap at first, constantly rebooting. They updated the firmware and fixed that, but over the last few weeks it has started crapping out again. Just shuts down and restarts every few hours. Based on these comments, I'm getting a pre-N or the Linksys.
DO NOT BUT A D-LINK 514 EVER EVER EVER EVER!!! mine has to be manually reset about once a week, beause the wireless/router stops functioning. It still works as the 4 port switch, but it no longer is accessibe via web interface nor can any wireless clients login. BAD ROUTER
i meant buy, not but....
D-Link routers in my opinion suck. I've had problems with the Belkin Pre-N router cutting non-belkin cards to 11Mbps. Awful.
either AirPort Extreme/Express because of ease of use/stability or WRT54G because of firmware/stability. I currently use both, with an AirPort Extreme routing to a WRT54G with OpenPSP firmware and an AirPort Express extending range and serving iTunes :) my signal is STRONG with all parabolic antennas - it is better than my friend's pre-N signal!
On cost and performance alone - D-Link DI-624.
I'm a consultant and I've installed over a dozen of each 514's, 524's and 624's and never had problems.
oh... and Airport is running my server just fine... about 5 computers macs windows and linux on wired and wireless without a hitch.
Linksys WRT54G version 4 (serial number on box starts with CDFA) or the current WRT54GS which I think is also version 4. Avoid the newest version of the G like the plague, bad hardware, etc. Running the current Sveasoft firmware these things are simply unbeatable for the price. QOS, ability to increase signal strength, and more or less unlimited port forward are just starters, how about the ability to use multiple internet connections and load balance across them?
Simply amazing for the price, I couldn't be more happy.
I am in no way affiliated with Linksys or Sveasoft other than being a happy customer.
I will say I don't like the cheap plastic housing of the linksys stuff, but seems like everyone has gone to it, netgear stuff used to have metal cases. All my other network stuff I get from ebay which for a while had an abundance of dead dot-com stuff on the cheap.
I have been very happy with my Netgear wgr614v5. It's never crashed and seems to have good range. I also like the aesthetics of it. Nice and clean.
I've dealt with the lynksis drama for two years, wired and wireless. God bless the Belkin Pre-N router and laptop cards. Strongest signal and fastes throughput than any other router. Easy to configure security, many different encryption options. Great performance when even using a non pre-n card. This thing has the stongest and most stable signal out there. Period. Downloads are faster, and the range is phenominal.
Netgear has the BEST (in terms of easy to use-ness) setup program and they are normally quite inexpensive (I got a 802.11b and g router for only 30 bucks (after 20 dollar rebate from Netgear and a 10 dollar rebate from Bestbuy.)
WRT54G + Modded Firmware = 500mW of love.
Belkin Pre-N router all the way! Just a great all round unit and way better then my old Netgear. The signal strength is incredible -I can stream video to my friend's place 4 houses down.
D-Link GamerLounge Wireless 108G Gaming Router. Long enough name, no it's not a home router considering it's not a cheap one. It can prioritizes the data your sending. I love it because I can tell it that this game is most important and let it send before my parents e-mail that will send anyways. Really nice if your a gamer at all or have VoIP. Really solid wireless with WPA2, also 4gigabit lan port! 4! thats right. Might not be much use now but if you have 2 computer with gigabit let me tell you it's nice to send files between them, And can you say Xbox360 and PS3 lanpartys?