[SOLVED] Will upgrading router give better wifi performance?

[perky890]

Hi guys.

Here in the UK my ISP is Virgin Media and im running their standard Hub 3.0. I have a 200mbs connection speed and when plugged into the router via ethernet i do get that speed, however when connected to wifi ive never seen it above 90mbs and often it is around 60mbs (on 2.4ghz).

I am thinking of upgrading my router to the Asus RT-AC86-U

My first question is...if i do the upgrade can i expect faster speeds via wifi than i am currently getting with my ISP router?

The router is in the far corner of the front room and im currently in the far corner of the back room upstairs, so literally the furthest I can be from my router, and im getting 20mbs. I have a range extender which will give me 40mbs when i connect to that.

My second question....will upgrading my router give me a better wifi range than my ISP router and therefore a greater speed at this distance?

Many thanks.

 

[RealBeast]

You will get higher speeds on an AC radio (5GHz) than on 2.4GHz G or N but the range will be about the same.

For dead spots it is best to run an Ethernet cable and add an access point (or cheap router set up as an AP). If cable is impossible then use AV2-1000 or better powerline adapter pair or MOCA, but don't waste your money on a wireless extender.

 

[perky890]

My current router supports 5ghz. I just wanted to know if a better router will show an improvement like for like.

 

[Grobe]

My current router supports 5ghz. I just wanted to know if a better router will show an improvement like for like.

That is probably not.

I mean - if the devices at both ends have multiple antennas and can utilize several bands at once, then yes probably bit better performance.

 

[bill001g]

The above answer is key. It is really easy for a router to have say have 4 large antenna but something like a cell phone has space limitation both for the size and number. So you can upgrade your router but unless you can actually use the extra features it does no good. Kinda like all the new wifi6 routers. The router might be faster but if your end device can't use it does it really matter.

In general the end device and not the router is the cause of most network limitations.

The 86u though is a very special router not so much for wifi but because of the CPU chip. It has a much higher clock rate than most other cpu in addition it has a vpn acceleration instructions. BUT all this doesn't really matter for your average person. Even very cheap routers most the traffic bypasses the CPU chip and can run gbit wan/lan. Only useful if you are using something like vpn or data filtering. It is a trade off since as soon as you turn off the bypass feature it will cap your speed to 200-300mbps even on this very fast cpu.

 

[perky890]

Just to update you, i ordered the 86U and received it this evening.

Wifi speed in the same room as the router more than doubled from 90mbs to 218mbs.

Wifi in the room furthest from the router jumped from 20mbs to 120mbs.

The new router has made a huge difference.