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Most of these routers are still available, though some have been replaced by newer models; we didn't retest these routers in 2019, but we stand by our dismissals. You can configure the Synology MR2200ac as a standalone router, but this model is more notable because you can use it as a mesh extender along with the RT2600ac. The MR2200ac has only one Ethernet port, though you can use it to extend a wired network.
The Archer A20 also has a 1.8 GHz Broadcom quad-core processor and 512 MB of RAM to help it deal with the traffic from all your devices. Most routers also offer some other features such as VPN connections, USB ports to share printers or external drives, and limited parental filtering. We looked at those, but we didn't make them the main focus of our testing—we were more concerned about the quality of the Internet access a router provided, because that's what most people will notice day to day. It comes with Gigabit ports to give you 1,000Mbps for lag-free 4K video streaming & gaming.
Netgear Nighthawk CAX80 DOCSIS 3.1 AX6000 Wi-Fi 6 Cable Modem Router
You might have a 2×2 laptop, a 2×2 phone, and a 4×4 router—but unless all three of them support a technology called MU-MIMO, the router can talk to only one of them at once, using only two streams. With MU-MIMO, the router could talk to the phone using two streams and to the laptop using the other two, simultaneously. Right now, routers with MU-MIMO support are common but not ubiquitous; client devices with MU-MIMO are rarer than hen's teeth. So having MU-MIMO support—and more than three spatial streams—in your router is nice for future compatibility, but it isn't really a killer feature right now. The technology currently used to assign IP addresses, known as Internet Protocol version 4 , will eventually be replaced by its successor,IPv6.
With enough range to handle a modest-sized home, the AX50 offers great value for its affordable price tag, delivering up to 3Gbps of bandwidth to all of your Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 5 devices. It also supports 160MHz-wide channels, which is a pleasant surprise considering that’s something omitted by many more expensive Wi-Fi 6 routers. Several years ago, Google Wifi became a breakout hit thanks to its easy setup and its ability to spread a fast, reliable Wi-Fi connection throughout your home for all of your connected devices. Then, there was Nest Wifi, a second-gen follow-up that adds in faster internet speeds and a better-looking design, plus Google Assistant smart speakers built into each satellite extender. It was an immediate standout in our tests, and our top-recommended mesh router prior to the arrival of Wi-Fi 6.
Best Advanced Router: Asus RT-AC3200
In fact, the ZenWiFi AX offers the same multigig WAN ports as the Orbi AX6000, which is a great piece of future-proofing that you don't always get in this price range. On average, the Nest Wifi notched the fastest top speeds that I saw in my tests from any Wi-Fi 5 mesh router (and faster speeds than some of the Wi-Fi 6 systems I've tested, too). It also aced our mesh tests, never once dropping my connection as I moved about my home running speed tests. I never caught it routing my connection through the extender when connecting directly to the router was faster, either, which is a common pitfall for mesh connections.
We also thought about the TP-Link Archer A5 and Archer A6, since both rank among the least expensive 802.11ac routers with a typical price tag under $50. However, both also lack band steering, which is available in enough inexpensive routers now that we consider the feature to be a must-have. What this graph shows is how many milliseconds it took to simulate loading a Web page during our multi-client tests. On the left side of the graph is the 50th-percentile result—the result in the middle of the range. We also took a sample at the 75th, 90th, 95th, and 100th percentile—the last being the worst results we got from each device. Keep in mind that while the laptop in this test was loading Web pages, three others were downloading a big file, streaming 4K video, and browsing a second website—this was a busy little network, at a busy time.
The best WiFi router
Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi performance from the Almond+ was mediocre at best and particularly underwhelming at long range. The MR1900 will be discontinued soon, while the latter two routers lack band steering and are both more expensive than the TP-Link Archer A7. The Asus Blue Cave showed promise because of its design, AiMesh compatibility, and good reviews. It performed just as well as the Netgear R7000P and TP-Link Archer A7, landing in the middle of the pack, but it didn't distinguish itself beyond its easy-to-live-with exterior and middling price. D-Link released a set of 802.11ac Exo-branded routers and Wi-Fi mesh extenders at the CES 2019 trade show.
The Archer A20's quad-core processor, its 512 MB of RAM, its second 5 GHz wireless band, and its Smart Connect band-steering feature helped it cope with all of our network traffic. We left the router's configuration as close to out-of-the-box as we could, though we had to enable Smart Connect manually. This chart shows how long our test laptop took to simulate loading a Web page while three other laptops around the house were busy doing other things like downloading files or streaming video. TP Link's Archer A7 router is relatively inexpensive, and it's a great choice for small homes or one- or two-bedroom apartments. TP-Link has improved the Archer A7 since we tested it in 2018, adding band steering and TP-Link OneMesh support via firmware updates.
A guest network lets you offer Wi-Fi connectivity to guests without leaving your entire network vulnerable. In a nutshell, you're creating a separate network for guests with a Service Set Identifier and password that are different from your main network credentials. This lets your guests connect to the internet, but it doesn't give them access to your files, printers, and other connected devices. Whether you’re a gaming enthusiast or simply demand a top-of-the line router to power your home network, the TP-Link Archer AX11000 has you covered. It uses the latest 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) tech to deliver best-in-class performance, and comes with free anti-malware and parental control utilities that help keep your network and everyone connected to it safe from viruses and unsavory websites. We loved that the router prompts you to update its firmware at the conclusion of the setup procedure, but we hated that its default wireless networks are completely open—no password needed.
You’ll know if you have a faster connection because you pay more each month, and you likely had to ask to upgrade to the faster connection. So, yes, the faster Arris model costs more, but you are already paying for the connection, so you need the faster modem/router to take advantage of what you are already paying for. The Orbi CBK752 is different from the other products on this page because it is a different product. Sure, it's the same modem/router combo, but rather than being one unit, it's two to ensure your home is covered with a strong Wi-Fi signal—and if you have a really large home, you can add more to get virtually unlimited coverage. If you have a home big enough where a room isn't used all that often , and you have a super-high-speed gigabit connection , this could be the combo modem router for you. These capabilities are reflected in the higher price tag, and it could be overkill for the average user's internet needs.
The A7 lacks beamforming and MU-MIMO, two high-end features that can improve speeds but aren't vitally important, but still performs well at shorter distances. On our toughest test it outperformed two higher-priced competitors, though the Archer A20 and other top performers still beat it overall. It's typically less than half the price of the Archer A20, and we think it's the best router you can buy for less than $100. Having at least one USB port on the router makes it easy to plug in a printer or a USB drive and share it across the network, but with two ports you can do both. Some router manufacturers offer replacement high-gain antennas that will help boost performance, and there are a number of third-party antennas available.
The router has Netgear’s Armor cyber security software that was developed in conjunction with BitDefender, and it supports beamforming+ technology to help improve the signal connection. The following routers, though technically already out of date, continue to offer plenty of performance for just about any task. If you really want to get a jump on what will soon be the dominant networking standard, you should also check out the Netgear Nighthawk RAX80 at the bottom of the list, which features full support for the new 802.11ax standard. Setting up the EA7500 was simple, though we found it a bit odd that the EA7500 automatically enables guest networks as part of its initial setup.
If you want a fast router but aren't ready to upgrade to the new 802.11ax standard, this is one of the best options you have. The router is capable of transmitting on three bands simultaneously with advanced beamforming technology. Linksys equipped it with a quad-core 1.8GHz processor to process the traffic and help keep this router running at top speed even when under heavy load. In addition to being more stylized and decorative than your average wireless router, Asus's Blue Cave AC2600 offers excellent performance with a top data transmission speed of 2,600Mbps. Similar to TP-Link's routers, this one can also be conveniently controlled via a smartphone app, and it has built-in antivirus and security features powered by Trend Micro to help keep your data safe. Razer has developed one of the fastest routers on the market, the Razer Sila, able to cover up to 9,000 square feet when deployed as a mesh network.
It was faster than anything else we tested at both close and long range, it's reliable, and it shrugs off the stress of handling multiple wireless devices simultaneously. The three-piece Eero 6 Plus is ideal for use in larger homes of up to 4,500 square feet. It uses low-profile nodes that are designed to blend in with any home décor while providing a strong Wi-Fi 6 signal to every corner of your house. In addition to eliminating dead zones, the Eero 6 Plus doubles as a home-automation hub that uses a Zigbee radio to control smart devices such as cameras, locks, lighting, and thermostats.
Finally, we ran to test location #4 and used another 2014 MacBook Air to run NetBurn, a benchmark tool from Ars Technica's Jim Salter. We used this to simulate a typical web browsing session by downloading the 128KB PDF file at random times across a 300-second test. NetBurn tracks the latency of all the requests, and returns the results as averages, medians, and percentiles. Look me up on Twitter (@rycrist) or send a message straight to my inbox by clicking the envelope icon on my CNET profile page.
The easier, more modern way is to use the router's app, which will typically walk you through setup in about 5-10 minutes. After setup, you can also use either approach to access the router's settings or change your Wi-Fi password. TP-Link's Archer C5400 is a tri-band router offering MU-MIMO support and 4×4 radios.
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