Suggest me a nice budget wireless router

my knowledge over routers and wireless network setup is currently very limited so I need a hand here:
I live in a house with this crappy router. It is so crappy it is limited up to 5 connected users with unbelievably very low WiFi range. I put it right in front of my room door yet I'm only getting 2 or 3 bricks of WiFi signal strength out of 5 in my laptop computer (1 or 2 out of 4 in my Android). In fact it is so low that sometimes I need to open the door just a little bit so that my devices won't disconnect so by this weekend I'm hoping to get a new router, I just need to know which one..

My preferences are:
1. I have an unlimited data plan over cable with the speed up to 3 Mbps (as the ISP have claimed)
2. I live in 2 story house so I can live with moderate strength WiFi signal, I just need it to be stable. (my current router tends to weakened and strengthened by its own will)
3. There will be at least 3 devices connected at most time, 5 when mom and dad are home and a lot more when friends come by lol.
4. I use AirDroid app quite often, it's wireless, easy to use, and no PC setup required. With a stronger router I'm hoping the transfer rate between my Android and PC is noticeably faster.

That's about it. I think I can spend no more than $100 but of course lower cost is preferred. I have no preferred or favorite brand, in fact I don't know anything about wireless router. So a help would be nice thanks in advance!

 

I now have the Asus N55U and it's the best modem-router I've ever tried. I live in Europe though, so you have to check the price there: here I bought it 6 months ago for 100€. Great wi-fi range (actually the best), great stability, no issues with 9 clients attached (tried myself), wonderful software support (giving out new betas continuously, even adding new features).
I suggest that you don't go with a budget modem-router, it's not worth the small saving.

 

Asus N55U is an ADSL modem and a router wheres Anggrian needs router that supports 3G modem over USB- at least that's what how I understand that.

 

Nope that crappy router actually works with ADSL as well, I bought it originally with 3G modem but now that I have faster connection over cable I'm not using the modem anymore

 

And what do you need now? An ADSL modem-router or what else? You want to keep your router and just buy an ADSL modem? Consider that your problems are related to the router part, so you should change everything IMHO.

 

In addition, I forgot to mention that I have this cable modem installed by the ISP. I believe what I need is more reliable wireless router. Or if it sounds like the modem is also the problem then I'll just need the entire new setup, won't I?

 

I agree that everything should be changed although I would recommend a separate ADSL modem and a router.

Modem router combos (almost) always get poor firmware support and are never supported by 3rd party firmwares. Also most of them (combos) have rather poor hardware- Asus N55U being the exception here.

Still buying an ADSL modem and connecting a router to it gets you more flexibility- you can use the router with a XDSL modem or a cable modem if you change the provider or you may change the router leaving the modem in place if you want wireless running 802.11ac.

All in all $150 for a combo like RT55U is too steep- you can get a good modem like a TP-Link TD-8616 for $30 and any router you want with the best hardware and best firmware support (either one from the router guide or one of your choosing).

EDIT: Just read your edit. That's where incomplete information lead Scratch anything about 3G and ADSL written before and buy a good router.
Do not replace a cable modem- modems are very rarely the root of any trouble (unless these are complete crap- which yours apparently isn't).
There's a router guide sticked. If I was to buy a reasonably priced router these days it would be a TP-Link TL-WDR4300 for $80 (seeing as router prices wen up recently).

 

Yes, forget about everything said before!
Go for a router, your problems are very likely caused by the router.

@downloads: the N55U is the exception about firmware support too! There's a guy called Paul, from the official Asus support page, who directly talks to users in the forum and implements features and fixes bugs, continuously delivering new betas to the users who make requests. Never seen anything like this! Of course you are right about 3rd party firmwares though.

 

That TP-Link TL-WDR4300 seems nice, comparing to the similarly priced Linksys E2500: http://www.linksys.com/en-apac/products/routers/E2500
Which one would you prefer?

Sent from my PadFone 2 using Tapatalk 2

 

E2500 uses 100mbps Ethernet ports while WDR4300 has 1000mbps ports. Also Linksys lacks USB while TP-Link does have two with print server function and storage sharing (the latter is quite slow though).

Also TP-Link has twice the RAM and uses power amps on both radios while Linksys has no power amps (that would help wireless signal quality and range on TP-Link). Also TP Link is capable of 450mbps Wi-Fi connection on 5GHz band while E2500 works @ 300mbps (which is relevant only if you have a three stream card in your notebook or plan on buying one)

I'd definitely go for a WDR4300.

 

Then WDR4300 it is!

Also, I have a question about dual-band technology on both routers. It says to have both 2.4 and 5GHz bands simultaneously. I just found out that my notebook and my smartphone actually support 5GHz band, then will it automatically connect to 5GHz instead of 2.4? And what is the actual advantage? Let's say if I was to buy the Linksys E2500 which have the same 300Mbps speed on both bands, why is it matter to choose between 2.4 and 5GHz knowing that they both have an equal speed?

 

It's best to name both networks (SSIDs) differently so you have control over which band your notebook is using. If you don't do that it may switch between networks (migrate) in less than optimal way.

Each band has its advantages and disadvantages- 2.4GHz is more commonly used (all Wi-Fi devices support it) which is an advantage but also a disadvantage since there's a lot of traffic on this band and a lot of noise- therefore it's hard to achieve max speed on it. Still 2.4GHz signal penetrates obstacles better so it has better range.

5GHz is less used therefore it's easier to get max speed on it (hence 450mbps Wi-Fi only on 5GHz range in TP-Link- it wouldn't be any faster than 300mbps is on 2.4GHz).
A significant disadvantage of 5GHz band is the rage- higher frequency signal is not particularly good at penetrating obstacles and fades quicker with the dostance compared to 2.4GHz.

So basically 2.4GHz range is for range and accessibility but 5GHz if for wireless transfer speed.

 

So basically with the WDR4300 I can get 2 network access points active at the same time. One being wider range wireless network for daily internet use and one being lower range but faster for wireless file transfer?

But let's say I put my router in 2nd floor next to my room where my notebook is located. Being close to the router, my notebook will use faster 5GHz band. But me and my smartphone are downstairs using 2.4GHz band because 5GHz won't make it that long. Can I still access my computer from my phone despite both of them are connected to different access point? Vice versa, could somebody in my room access my phone?

Sent from my PadFone 2 using Tapatalk 2

 

You can if you don't enable wireless client isolation in router settings.

 

You can just leave it with the same name for both (dont name the 5ghz band) and your phone/laptop will connect to the fastest one available. I end up connecting to the 5ghz band anyways (you can check which band on windows). The 5ghz band is still deceptively strong though. Best of trying that first, then if you have issues (not picking the faster one or signal strength) then name your 5ghz band seperately.

 

I end buying TP-Link WDR3500 because WDR4300 is unbelievably hard to buy here. It is slower than WDR4300 at 5GHz band, there's no gigabit support and 1 fewer antenna. Despite the size of this thing, I'm not impressed by its coverage area, but it's still better than my current crappy router so I think I can live with that.


and here's my cable modem teaming up with my new router


And I heard from some other topics that 2.4GHz band have better range, but 5GHz are more capable penetrating obstacle like walls and stuff. However in real usage, this WDR3500 is right next to my room separated by a thick wall, but somehow my 2.4GHz band connection manage to get stronger signal than 5GHz, which makes most of my devices automatically sticks with 2.4GHz most of the time. In this situation, on what occasion I'll be using 5GHz band?

 

It's not true what you've heard- 2.4GHz band penetrates obstacles better therefore it ends up having better range- that's exactly what you're seeing.
5GHz band is less crowded- that results in less interference and better transfer speeds assuming you are close enough.

WDR3500 is not known for its Wi-Fi performance on 5GHz band (even though it does have a power amp) so I'm not surprised to see you've made the same observation.