Wireless Router Purchasing Help?

Started by Faustus, June 14, 2016, 08:53:56 PM

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Faustus

Backstory: For almost twenty years I have been on dial-up internet. No joke. The home that I will be in for another ten days still has dial-up AOL running to it for almost $50 a month. To get what I have thus far, I've been tethering off a mobile phone and just kind of rolling with it. Anyway, the home I am moving to (spouse's mother's home) actually has high-speed internet that runs to it via Charter. Now, his mother doesn't have any use for the internet, so no worries about sharing it.

Having said all of that, this is my first time needing to purchase a router for my purposes, and I have no idea what I actually need.


Internet Uses: I'm exceptionally simple with internet uses and desires. The following are the primary uses it will need to work with:

  • Internet Browsing
  • Social Media [Tumblr mostly, but low-use Facebook]
  • Netflix and other Streaming media
I don't go any online gaming, so no need to worry about that. Basically, I'm pretty par-for-the-course standard.


The internet will only be used in one room of the house, with everything in fairly close proximity to itself, though the laptop will need to remain mobile if at all possible for long writing sessions. I tend to live on it a little bit as well. My preference is to spend $100 or less on the router because of tight funds, but I can understand if we need to pay a little more for it.

BASICALLY this is the first time I have ever had to buy a router and I have no idea what I am doing thanks to dial-up for years. Any suggestions on good ones to use are greatly appreciated! I had seen this Tenda AC15, and I think it is okay? But some users have struggled to set it up, while others have said it gives up the ghost after six weeks, so I'm not sure.

“You may my glories and my state depose,
But not my griefs; still am I king of those.”


ON's and OFF's || Plots and Ideas || A/A's and Owed Posts [Updated 02/12! Please see.]

Oreo

The only advice I have is to make sure which type of line you are hooking the modem to. Some have a cable (looks like an antenna portal) hookup and others have a telephone line type hookup (looks like an ethernet slot.) If you are hooking to one item only a modem is fine. If you are using multiple devices you need a modem-router.

You might also check with your provider. Mine is Frontier and for $6 a month they provide my modem-router and all repair, service calls, tech support, and exchanges if it breaks.

She led me to safety in a forest of green, and showed my stale eyes some sights never seen.
She spins magic and moonlight in her meadows and streams, and seeks deep inside me,
and touches my dreams. - Harry Chapin

Nessy

Not sure if you purchased your router yet. If i were you, I'd stick to more of the name brands if you're going to spend more than 50 on it, Netgear, Linkysys, Asus isn't too bad too. Since you like Newegg here is an example:

WNDR3700
Ons and Offs    Short Term Ideas,
Misc. Long Term Ideas

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Some heroes don't wear capes. Some just #holdthedoor.

The Dark Raven

Definitely check with Charter on the plan you want to get.  We have a Netgear with Charter, and it works well.  Just make sure that when you do the wireless part, you won't have interference.  I started with a wireless link to the Netgear for my desktop and it was less than successful in keeping connection.  Once I plugged in a cable, I was good to go.

Check my A/A | O/O | Patience is begged. Momma to Rainbow Babies and teetering toward the goal of published author. Tentatively taking new stories.

Faustus

Just wanted to drop a comment in here updating everyone. :-) I ended up purchasing this
Asus Dual-Band Wireless-N600 Gigabit Router
and took it to the new place to set everything up. Had excellent speeds and connectivity without any difficulty, and it services all the way out into the yard - which I was not expecting it to do. I'm thrilled with it, and this harrowing, confusing period is now over. *A*

(I ended up getting my Husband's friend - who is dating an man in IT at their work - to recommend something to me. Bonus Side: If something goes wrong, I can drag him in to fix it, haha.)

Thank you for all of your help and assistance, everyone!

“You may my glories and my state depose,
But not my griefs; still am I king of those.”


ON's and OFF's || Plots and Ideas || A/A's and Owed Posts [Updated 02/12! Please see.]

Oreo

I'm glad you were able to find something that works for you. : )

She led me to safety in a forest of green, and showed my stale eyes some sights never seen.
She spins magic and moonlight in her meadows and streams, and seeks deep inside me,
and touches my dreams. - Harry Chapin