How do I choose the best Wi-Fi router for myself?

For most of us, choosing a broadband wifi plan router is a no-brainer, we usually go with the one that falls within our budget. For many, all internet wifi router regardless of their shape, size and technology offer the same value and buy the ones that our pocket allows. And this strategy has served well them fairly well so far.

However, in the last few years, new trends like online HD gaming, 4K streaming, increased connected home devices at homes, increased Smartphone capabilities, and an increased number of Smartphone’s per home have made our good old broadband router out of the league.

They can't go beyond capabilities they had been designed for and have already been pushed to their limits. So, this new wave of heavy users, pro’s as they are known, is bound to have underwhelming broadband experiences due to the limited capabilities of their existing routers. They should clearly be looking for a better upgrade.

If you are facing similar issues with your broadband router, before you decide on an upgrade, here are a few things to consider:

What speed do you really need?

Today far too many devices are connecting to the internet wirelessly at the same time in a home, shop, or workplace, requiring the broadband wifi router to carry loads of data to and from smartphones and computers. This is a bit overwhelming for your fairly old router that still runs on years old technology.

The result: you experience annoyingly long buffering and stuttering while doing regular stuff, such as streaming HD videos, live gaming, and web surfing. Mostly, you tend to blame the slow broadband speeds when you go through similar experiences and miss the real culprit. The outdated broadband wifi router.

If you are experiencing the same problem with your current router, you need to upgrade it. And to do that, first you need to decide on the right broadband speed for you. Only then you can pick the one you need:

Go for an802.11nrouter

802.11n routers came long after the 802.11g/a router, which were way slower and could support up to 56mbps data speed. Typically, 802.11n routers can support up to 600mbps speeds and are good for most use cases, barring the data-intensive applications, such as, 4K streaming, live gaming and live coding, video calling and multiple users.

If you use your internet for regular tasks, emailing, surfing, HD streaming and you only have a few users connecting to it simultaneously, an 802.11n rated router is what you need.

Go for an 802.11ac router

The recent advancements in broadband technology have enabled humans to achieve Gigabit speeds. This had left a huge gap when it comes to our broadband wifi capabilities that couldn't support these ultra-fast speeds. But, that’s no longer the case, a new breed of routers that can support very high-speeds up to a few Gbps are now available for masses: An 802.11ac or Gigabit router, as they are popularly known.

These are the ones you should go for if you have a high-speed broadband internet and do a lot of 4K streaming, live gaming, live coding and such data-intensive tasks, and also when there are multiple devices connecting to the internet wirelessly at the same time. Or, if you are, at least, planning to do the above in the near future, when high-speed broadband are available in your region.

That said, keep in mind when you have a broadband connection that offers up to a few hundred Mbps speeds and you don't plan to upgrade it anytime soon, you don’t need an ultra-fast Gigabit router, an 802.11n will do the job. Not only it is underwhelming for a Gigabit router, it will also save you money as well.

What's the extendibility or range you are looking at?

The second most important aspect you should be looking is extendibility. If you want to cover a large expanse of area with Wi-Fi connectivity and want to ensure seamless broadband experience at every corner of your home, you will need more than one Wi-Fi device.

Typically, a Wi-Fi router can cover a few square feet, meaning a few rooms, as you go away from it the signal strength starts depleting or become inconsistent. Most likely, you have already experienced Wi-Fi dead zones inside your home or workplace where it's hard to connect via broadband wifi. You did everything, tried different locations, but to no help.

In such cases, you need multiple routers which can offer you seamless Wi-Fi connectivity in and about your home, covering all areas where you like to connect to the internet. This requires special broadband router with Mesh Technology that allows them to connect with other mesh routers and share a broadband connection simultaneously. These are popularly known as Mesh Routers or Routers with Mesh Technology.

If you have a large area to cover and need high-speed broadband internet connection at every corner of your house or office, Mesh Routers are for you. Moreover, these often come with Gigabit speed support and capabilities so you don’t have to suffer on that front. Plus, you get greater mobility.

What's style and size you prefer?

One equally important, however, largely ignored aspect of buying a new Wi-Fi router is the design aesthetics and size of router. Since your Wifi router is part of the décor of your interiors, you may like to consider its appearance alongside the technical capabilities.

There are various theme-based designs available in the market at present that go with different user personalities – you’ll find plenty of options if you are heavily invested in gaming. Also, if you have got a palate for finer things in life, you may like to go with the expensive cool-looking ones out there.

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