Any advice re: Routers?

[gyruss]

I've been using IDNET's Fiber Unlimited for a while now, but since upgrading my Sky TV to SKY Q i've noticed that i'm getting latency and drops of connections in some cases over wireless .

My current router is the Netgear WNR1000v3 (connects to internet via the Openreach NGA ECI-CPE-MODEM TYPE 18 fttc box) which i'm sure is not up to the extra load i'm now asking of the wireless side of the network.. so it may be that i need to buy a new router.

Any advice on which models i should strongly consider?   I'll literally run out and buy one.   

I've used netgear routers for a long time now so i'm quite faithful to them.. which netgear router type should i buy?  cable?

[Glenn]

I have Fritz!box 7390 it runs faultlessly and is still receiving updates 5 years after I bought it. When it does eventually need replacing, then I would consider something like a 4040 https://en.avm.de/products/fritzbox/fritzbox-4040/, available from Amazon for around £90.

[Steve]

The Asus range perform well also, if your connecting via WiFi try and find the least interfered band and consider using 5Ghz for nearby devices.

[Simon]

I've just bought an Asus DSL-N55U off eBay as a spare, as I've had one or two recent issues with my connection, and I'm not sure if it's anything to do with my current Billion 7800DXL.  I've yet to try the Asus, but I've gathered that they have quite a good reputation.

[mervl]

I have Fritz!box 7390 it runs faultlessly and is still receiving updates 5 years after I bought it. When it does eventually need replacing, then I would consider something like a 4040 https://en.avm.de/products/fritzbox/fritzbox-4040/, available from Amazon for around £90.

Just out of interest Glenn: I used to run a 7390 on VDSL2 but gave up a couple of years back when the uploads dropped off the scale (into fixed-rate ADSL kbps territory) due to what I thought was a firmware incompatibility? AVM were very coy about the issue and would only supply a modified firmware on a select case by case basis. I was one of the unlucky ones who got no response from them. I kept it as a spare. Did you have that issue, and if so has it now been sorted by a public firmware release and when?

Currently I'm using the 7490, and whilst it's reliable, I don't think it's particularly good with VDSL speeds, latency or errors compared to much cheaper mass market routers on the market. And certainly doesn't seem to perform with data to the quality I'd expect from its reported stats. It's good enough for my low level use, but i don't think anything to write home about, unless having an All-in-One for both analogue and digital phone services is critical; and I'd have to ask "What for?" unless we're living in a cupboard or mad for the Fritz!Fon.

[stevenrw]

I have the Netgear Nighthawk R7000 which performs well. It is a dual band 1200AC unit. I use it with the BT Infinity modem. Just be aware that there has recently been a vunerability issue which Ray highlighted in his post on this board a few days ago.
Netgear have released a Firmware Update which addresses this so as your unit will automatically download the latest firmware when you install it, the problem has been addressed.
The unit is farly simple to set up and is not quite as funky looking as some out there.
Broadband Buyer has a good selection.
However, there is a potential issue for you whichever router you buy (assuming you will go for the most recent AC wireless unit). Take a look at my post on this board dated Nov 8th - "USB Adapters - A tale of Woe".

[Glenn]

Just out of interest Glenn: I used to run a 7390 on VDSL2 but gave up a couple of years back when the uploads dropped off the scale (into fixed-rate ADSL kbps territory) due to what I thought was a firmware incompatibility? AVM were very coy about the issue and would only supply a modified firmware on a select case by case basis. I was one of the unlucky ones who got no response from them. I kept it as a spare. Did you have that issue, and if so has it now been sorted by a public firmware release and when?

Currently I'm using the 7490, and whilst it's reliable, I don't think it's particularly good with VDSL speeds, latency or errors compared to much cheaper mass market routers on the market. And certainly doesn't seem to perform with data to the quality I'd expect from its reported stats. It's good enough for my low level use, but i don't think anything to write home about, unless having an All-in-One for both analogue and digital phone services is critical; and I'd have to ask "What for?" unless we're living in a cupboard or mad for the Fritz!Fon.

Mervl, no I didn't get any of those problems, my router currently connects at 75Mbit/s down and 20Mbit/s up giving me around 67/19 at the PC on a wired network.

[mervl]

Mervl, no I didn't get any of those problems, my router currently connects at 75Mbit/s down and 20Mbit/s up giving me around 67/19 at the PC on a wired network.

Thanks Glenn, I might try the 7390 again over Xmas then! I used to be pleased with it, before the uploads issue. The lines here are poor, but although the Fritz! 7490 reports a consistent 43/6 attainable, and 40/6 achieved (consistent with BT checker), speedtests to a wired connection (even on different PCs running either W10 or Vista), including TBB (both single and multi-threaded), come out as low as 7/6 and rarely above 15. Same via WiFi. TBBQM doesn't reveal any problem nor does the Fritz! error reporting. Latency is usually around 8-15ms. Interestingly the fastest download speeds come out on the Android phones via a wifi connection, which can get well above 20Mbps on the downloads. I'm actually better off streaming on phones! The wired Android TV box seems better than the Windows PCs too - I could almost think it's a Windows issue!!

[Glenn]

Mervl, if it is any help, my router is using Fritz!OS 6.53, hopefully checking for an update should pull it down.

[mervl]

Mervl, if it is any help, my router is using Fritz!OS 6.53, hopefully checking for an update should pull it down.

Ha, the 7490 is still on 6.52, no update available, so I'm hoping the 6.53 is just to deal with the 7390 UK issues, perhaps?

But after 6 years of stability with a Fritz! and no change to the attainable at 44-5Mbps, the router  monitoring page is now showing a DSLAM max restriction that's gone down from 40 Mbps to 35Mps with a decline in the sync accordingly. Obviously time to downgrade from Fibre Pro, methinks. No material errors either, so it looks one of those inexplicable BTOR things - perhaps the exchange is getting congested with all the new development?