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Even if they do, USB 2.0 is old and slow compared to USB 3.0, which we typically find on new routers nowadays. When we moved the routers to a central location in our 2,000-square-foot test house, the AX21 outperformed AX50 on all of our upload and download tests across both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands — a clean sweep. Its average 5GHz performance was 30% to 40% slower than the Asus RT-AX86U and its closest competition, the TP-Link Archer AX6000, but it was still an excellent showing given its much lower price. Most routers come with an installation guide that will walk you through the process without any issues.
While those are generally a few years old, they still perform quite well—and are often cheaper than their WiFi 6 counterparts. They’re just less equipped to deal with the heavy traffic of a home or apartment building filled with internet-connected devices. When selecting the best wireless router, it’s important to think about the devices you own that could benefit from a wired connection.
A Solid Alternative to the Eero 6 Plus
This Linksys Dual-Band is Tri stream router with an open-source operating system. The tri stream technology doubles the bandwidth of the 5 GHz band by almost 2.6 Gbps Wi-Fi speeds to support high-speed internet activities. It is perfect for homes and offices looking for higher speeds and a wider range.
Experts said you should upgrade your router at least every five years, not only to increase your speed and reliability but also to make sure your device is receiving the latest feature and security updates. If you’re still using the dusty Wi-Fi router you bought when you first got broadband internet — or the basic unit your internet provider rents to you — it might be time to move on. Starting at $700 for the two-piece setup seen here, the AX6000 version of the Netgear Orbi is far more expensive than the dual-band version listed above, but it's also a lot more powerful.
Best Budget Gaming Router
TP-Link’s Archer A6 is a solid budget router that’s ideal for users in smaller living spaces. While it doesn't have the range to handle larger homes, it offers more than enough for a single user or a small family living in a bungalow, apartment, or condo. Google’s Nest Wi-Fi is one of the things that distinguishes the Google Home ecosystem from the competition, offering a tight level of integration that most others can’t match.
A tri-band AC3200 router gives you 600Mbps over the 2.4GHz band and 1,300Mbps over each of the two 5GHz bands, and an AC5400 router is capable of speeds of up to 1Gbps on the 2.4GHz band and 2.1Gbps on each of the two 5GHz bands. Nowadays, any router worth its salt will offer at least two radio bands, a 2.4GHz band and a 5GHz band. The 2.4GHz band operates at a lower frequency than the 5GHz band and offers better range because it is more adept at penetrating walls and other structures. However, it doesn't offer the fat pipe and high-speed access that you get with the 5GHz band. The three-piece Eero 6 Plus is ideal for use in larger homes of up to 4,500 square feet. It uses low-profile nodes that are designed to blend in with any home décor while providing a strong Wi-Fi 6 signal to every corner of your house.
Motorola Q11 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh System
In addition to eliminating dead zones, the Eero 6 Plus doubles as a home-automation hub that uses a Zigbee radio to control smart devices such as cameras, locks, lighting, and thermostats. 802.11n – Provides higher performance in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands and supports speeds up to 100 Mbps. The integration of MU MIMO technology allows simultaneous connection to all devices at the same speed. Its beamforming technology sends signals directly to Wi-Fi devices instead of spreading them out.
Select a router that doesn’t have enough bands to support all of the users and devices in your house, for example, and you’ll set yourself up for a disappointing experience. With up to 2,500 square feet of coverage along with support for 160MHz-wide channels, this router will make sure you get the streaming, video calling, and gaming performance that you need. On the hardware side, the RT-AX88U also offers up a powerful beamforming antenna array that can cover a 5,000-square-foot home, with a total of 6Gbps of bandwidth for your devices.
Netgear Nighthawk AX12 (AX Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router
Recent developments in Wi-Fi technology have greatly improved the way we use the internet to stay connected with speed, security, and IoT . Keep your home network secure by accessing your settings and changing your Wi-Fi password, no matter what type of router you use. From next-level gaming to streaming your favorite content, get the fastest connection to everything you do.
Not only does this mesh Wi-Fi system provide the full Google experience, but it also packs some other really nice bonus features. Back in the day, computers needed to be wired to one another in order to communicate. But in 1999, Wi-Fi was introduced, giving people a new way to connect their devices without cables.
Still, Gordon said looking at the frequency of each band is “getting way far down into the weeds” — as long as the overall speed is strong, you should be good. Wi-Fi routers primarily do the same thing as a traditional router, but instead of relying only on wires, they convert data into radio signals that are then picked up by your connected devices. The devices on your home network comprise your WLAN, or wireless local area network. Mesh routers use multiple devices to relay a better Wi-Fi signal throughout your home, with fewer dead zones.
If you want more perks, like time limits for apps, downtime, and real-time security protection, you'll need to upgrade to HomeShield Pro ($6 per month or $55 for the year). We were thrilled to see Asus throw in an extra 2.5Gbps Ethernet port alongside the typical Gigabit WAN and four Gigabit LAN ports. While most people will never need that much speed, it’s a critical addition for those lucky enough to already have access to gigabit-plus internet plans or desktop computers with 2.5Gbps ports. The RT-AX86U even supports link aggregation, which lets you combine the connections of two LAN and two WAN ports into one of each, in case you need the extra speed or redundancy. One of the router’s Gigabit LAN ports is a “gaming port,” and the RT-AX86U can prioritize traffic from whatever device is plugged into it. On the “Consumer 101” TV show, Consumer Reports expert Nicholas De Leon explains to show host Jack Rico how mesh networks provide faster speeds and better coverage.
Additionally, 802.11ax takes advantage of previously unused radio frequencies to provide faster 2.4GHz performance, and it uses refined uplink and downlink bandwidth management to provide enhanced Quality of Service . It also offers uplink and downlink MU-MIMO streaming (whereas 802.11ac only supports downlink MU-MIMO). As with the 802.11ac protocol, 802.11ax is backward-compatible and will work with devices that use 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi radios.
If you are looking for an affordable wireless router for your home use, TP-Link Archer AX21 is a good one. The Archer AX6000 performed very well on our initial data transfer tests between two Wi-Fi 6 smartphones. We think it’s important for a router to also be able to function as an access point, which will help you extend its life (and the range of your Wi-Fi network) if you upgrade to something newer. Your next router should also have Gigabit Ethernet ports, at minimum; if you have a gigabit internet plan already, look for something with a 2.5Gbps port. Nor should you set up your router with a TP-Link ID so you can adjust its settings from anywhere via the company’s Tether app.
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