Need Advice on Home Router - Dual Band or Single 5Ghz?

[kaysonwel]

It's been many years since I'd worked at a networking equipment company, so I'd love some advice here. I'm looking for a router for my one bedroom apartment. I've narrowed it down to two TP-Links, an N600 Dual Band ($60) and N300 with two 5dbi bands ($20).

Here are my concerns:

1. Is the dual band router too much for my space? I know the advantages of dual band, but if I'm not planning on moving to a much larger space for 3-4 years, is the tech going to get that much better by then?
2. I like the 5ghz on the N300, but am concerned about compatibility with some devices I believe are compatible with only 2.4ghz. What kind of devices are not compatible with 5ghz? Am I correct to assume that since the bands are only 5ghz, some of my devices won't be able to connect.

Thank you in advance!

 

[jeremymau]

From my personal experience, TP-Link was never reliable for me, I had a lot of dropped connections. As far as routers go, it's all backwards compatible. So if you can get a wireless 5ghz router go for it, you can still use your older (slower) adapters (devices) with it provided it does 2.4ghz and 5ghz. Personally, I would buy a either an D-Link or an ASUS router, there are many for less than $60. The D-LINK DIR-842 Wi-Fi AC1200 Gigabit Router is $60...the D-Link Xtreme Gigabit Router (DIR-655) Wireless N300, USB SharePort, Gigabit is $55 and has thousands of reviews, I personally own one and love it. I have had it for years and it's always worked great. (and of course, you can use it with all of the newer and older devices)

 

[kaysonwel]

From my personal experience, TP-Link was never reliable for me, I had a lot of dropped connections. As far as routers go, it's all backwards compatible. So if you can get a wireless 5ghz router go for it, you can still use your older (slower) adapters (devices) with it provided it does 2.4ghz and 5ghz. Personally, I would buy a either an D-Link or an ASUS router, there are many for less than $60. The D-LINK DIR-842 Wi-Fi AC1200 Gigabit Router is $60...the D-Link Xtreme Gigabit Router (DIR-655) Wireless N300, USB SharePort, Gigabit is $55 and has thousands of reviews, I personally own one and love it. I have had it for years and it's always worked great. (and of course, you can use it with all of the newer and older devices)

Thanks for the advice.

Just so I'm clear: only if the router is dual band (with both 5ghz and 2.4ghz) will my devices that are only 2.4 ghz compatible will work? Or like you said, they're backward compatible?

 

[jeremymau]

Sorry for the delayed response. Most newer routers support all the different types of modes. IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g and IEEE 802.11n Each one in order (over the last 20 years) added more speed and bandwidth depending on the type of wireless adapater you have. Let's say for example you have a usb wifi adapter from 2001, it will still be able to connect to the newer routers since they are dual band. Wireless N (IEEE 802.11n) is currently the fastest right now. As a base speed wireless N will provide 150 megabits per second, however some of the newer routers can deliver up to 600 megabits per second if you use multiple channels and have a wifi card/adapter that can support multiple channels. Of course though, with those speeds brings up the price quite a bit.

If you read all of that, to answer your question directly, no matter what wifi adapter/interface/card you have, it WILL connect to the routers you chose and I chose. Yes, it's all backwards compatible. So, don't worry and choose whichever router you feel is best and meets your budget. It's going to work. Over the years I have setup many wirless routers, some of which were commercial units that cost several thousand dollars each and even so, older and newer computers were able to connect with no problems. To be honest, if you want a reliable connection and speed, invest in a good wifi adapter/card/dongle too. But in most cases if you are using a laptop, notebook or tablet or whatever, the built in wifi adapter will usually work flawlessly.


One more thing, that router I recommended (the one I have) has a built in firewall, which can help keep you safe on the internet and it also has many features like usb, so if you wanted, you could plug in an external backup drive and use it on your network to save files. I think you can plug printers into it too, but don't quote me on that.

Good luck with your new router.

 

[bill001g]

I don't think I have seen a router that will only run on the 5g band. Almost all single band routers run on 2.4g. Do not confuse the number of antenna and a feature called MiMO for dual band.

Dual band also has nothing to do with coverage. All it means is you have a 2.4g radio and a 5g radio. Dual band means dual radio in most cases. The 2.4g radio chip will have more or less the same coverage no matter if you put it in a dual band device or in a signal band device. The coverage is related to output power and most routers transmit at the legal maximum. The 5g radio in the device does not expand coverage. In many cases the coverage is much less on the 5g radio because it is more easily blocked by walls.

Unless the price is a huge concern I would buy a mid level dual band router. These are compatible with almost all device. If you only have 2.4g device the 5g radio chip will just not be used.

Do not buy the cheapest router you can find though. Some of those cut cost by use lower quality parts. Almost be better off buying a used name brand router.