Replacement Router, strong signal over 40-50 feet, 802.11N

My parents have a Linksys WRT160N router. It sits on one end of their house (in their den) but use their laptops primarily on the complete other kitty corner of their home, going through a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, etc until it reaches the family room. The internet is always spotty at best. I want to replace it with a router with a strong signal, and don't need AC, of course will go that route if the router can push signal well. I am sure most any modern decent 802.11N with actual external antennas would be better than the WRT160N which has none.

I'd like to keep it inexpensive, but will spend up to $100 if I need to.

 

This is not an easy one. Unfortunately wireless range comes at a price - namely power amps for each radio (three antennas for 2.4GHz bands = 3 amps for that band and the same for 5GHz radio). My point is that cheap routers don't really offer good range (that's how they keep the price down) and routers with good range aren't below $100.

Admittedly WRT160N was by no means good as far as the range is concerned, so it shouldn't be hard to outperform but it might come at a price.

Best solution would be Asus RT-N66U although that is $130 new, I wouldn't shy away from a used one though.

 

Thanks. I was looking at that router, but was trying to avoid the cost. But it will be worth it in the long run I think. Make my mom happy and me and my sister happy when we visit.

How about the Archer C7 you recommended to octiceps? Seems decent for $100.

 

Version 2 is OK but hwardware version 1 should be avoided at all costs (it uses faulty radio - QCA's fault)
Overall it is a good router but wireless range is not outstanding in any way. It might not be the best one for you - it offers throughput that you don't need but not as much in terms of range that you do.

 

Any chance a wifi repeater would work better?

 

Thanks. I considered a wi-fi extender but just seems like another piece of hardware to troubleshoot. I think I will go with the Asus router, and then worse case try a wi-fi extender if it needs a little extra boost. Or convince my mom to move the router to a more central location in the home, but I don't know she'll go for that. All the "computery stuff" is in the den and that's where she wants it.

 

Any possibility to get the router's location in the home moved to a spot closer to where the notebooks are being used?

At the stated distance going through walls can be troublesome for any consumer router you decide on.

My desktop with an AC-7260 that's 30' from an R7000 router connected to an AT&T modem has a fluctuating link speed much greater and much lower average speed than notebooks with AC-7260 cards that are used at least 10' closer to the router and separated by only one sheet rock wall.

While a new router may help somewhat,the real problem may still exist due to the 40' to 50' distance going through a few walls.

 

Nope. As noted in my previous post, this is my mom's house, and she doesn't want that anywhere else. There's really no good spot for it either considering the layout of her house. She doesn't want any more holes drilled in her walls or floors just for the sake of internet. Even though she complains of frequent drops.