[SOLVED] Recommend router?

[drrca]

Hello! I am signing up for Spectrum service, and opted not to pay monthly for their router. Can someone recommend one that could be okay for 1,800 or so square feet over two floors, and 200+ Mbps?

Edit: budget is flexible, construction is wood frame and drywall. They are providing a modem for free, which I won't have to use. Connections are via coax cables, and there's several options for placing it upstairs and down.

 

[kanewolf]

Hello! I am signing up for Spectrum service, and opted not to pay monthly for their router. Can someone recommend one that could be okay for 1,800 or so square feet over two floors, and 200+ Mbps?

There is no way for us to know how WIFI will cover. Your construction materials, floor layout and router placement impact that.
Is there any ethernet cabling ?
Is there any coax cabling?
I ask these questions because you may have to have more than a single WIFI source to provide adequate coverage. Routers are all limited by the govt in their output. And the ability of a device to transmit back to the base is usually the limiting factor. Handheld devices have much lower transmit power (to save batteries) compared to routers.

 

[COLGeek]

What is your budget? Do you also need a cable modem?

 

[USAFRet]

In addition, your modem, or modem/router if a single device, should be something off their recommended list.

 

[drrca]

There is no way for us to know how WIFI will cover. Your construction materials, floor layout and router placement impact that.
Is there any ethernet cabling ?
Is there any coax cabling?
I ask these questions because you may have to have more than a single WIFI source to provide adequate coverage. Routers are all limited by the govt in their output. And the ability of a device to transmit back to the base is usually the limiting factor. Handheld devices have much lower transmit power (to save batteries) compared to routers.

Thanks, updated post to answer!

 

[bill001g]

Your problem is this is completely impossible to predict. There are way too many variables. All it takes is something as simple as closing a door to massively change the wifi coverage.

There is no magic router that is a lot better than others. You can't even trust user reviews because they did not go over to each others house and test they only tested in their house. The house and how it is constructed more than anything else affects the performance of wifi.

Your other issue is your end devices are 1/2 the connection. Just as your house is unique the mix of your devices is also. Many end devices unlike routers do not transmit at the maximum allowed power

So pretty much you blindly buy some router. Most better brands perform exactly the same that have the same "number" on them. Almost all wifi chipset are made by 2 or 3 companies so internally many routers are the same with some difference in the software.

It is going to be trial and error. You buy a router and try placing it in a couple locations and see what works best for you. If the coverage is still poor in some areas you buy another router to use a AP. Since you have coax cables you can use MoCa adapters to connect the second router to the first. Ethernet would be easier but if you do
not have the ethernet cables where you need them you can use moca instead.