Best, most reliable router?

[marc_t]

so i just bricked my WRT160N v3 Toastman style...

Can you recommend a very reliable router? no need for special features.

thanks

[elgros4]

Netgear, TP-link or Lynsys ( more expensive).

[weedb0y]

so i just bricked my WRT160N v3 Toastman style...

Can you recommend a very reliable router? no need for special features.

thanks

Wnr series from netgear is very reliable

[will888]

Get one of these. I purchased one about a week ago. Flashed the latest dd-wrt right away, rock solid performance so far. NCIX has extended this sale the third time now.


http://ncix.com/products/?sku=61375&vpn=E3200-CA&manufacture=Linksys&promoid=1068

[PiusPatronus]

I second TP-Link, never had a problem with their routers and other related hardware.
And on a side note, if you're still using Wireless G, I definitely suggest the old school WRT54G.

[jacquesstrap]

Asus RT-N66U. Been rock solid since I've bought it.

[rageking]

Get one of these. I purchased one about a week ago. Flashed the latest dd-wrt right away, rock solid performance so far. NCIX has extended this sale the third time now.


http://ncix.com/products/?sku=61375&vpn=E3200-CA&manufacture=Linksys&promoid=1068


Your E3200 has no 5 ghz support from either dd-wrt or tomato. This means you're limping along at G speeds - rather unacceptable. It's been 3 months since there was a rumor of tomato support that might have 5ghz support, at this point might not happen.

[Rainne]

Can anyone recommend a good router I don't have to reset every 3 days to return to my maximum connection speed?

[will888]

Your E3200 has no 5 ghz support from either dd-wrt or tomato. This means you're limping along at G speeds - rather unacceptable. It's been 3 months since there was a rumor of tomato support that might have 5ghz support, at this point might not happen.
What do you mean limping along at g speed. Wireless n operates at 2.4 GHz as well. I bet most people don't even have a 5 GHz adapter at home. Anyway, 5GHz support is coming for sure.

[will888]

Can anyone recommend a good router I don't have to reset every 3 days to return to my maximum connection speed?

I already did. E 3200 running on dd-wrt is rock solid.

[0xffff]

I already did. E 3200 running on dd-wrt is rock solid.

+1. Upgraded my rock solid WRT54GL to an E3000 recently for the upgrade in processor & RAM. I think I've got a 6month uptime on the thing now. Didn't even flinch when I pulled cables around and was hanging down by its power cable for several weeks.

Definitely recommend these devices.

[deim]

Asus RT-N66U. Been rock solid since I've bought it.

+1. It also has an amazing range and strength of wireless (N). Before it I had Asus RT-N56, Asus RT-N16, D-link DIR-655. Nothing could compete with new Asus RT-N66 for now.

[Nyl]

For nearly 200 bucks I would hope that the Asus RT-N66U was good :D.

If you have the money go with the N66U, but I believe that kind of router is better for hardcore uses (multiple devices, lots of streaming, etc).

[lead]

I think when it comes to most stable router you should consider hardware, stable on stock yes or no, stable on 3rd party which build. Plus you have dsl vs cable theirs plenty of dd-wrt which could be rock stock on cable but timeout on dsl. Good usb bad usb some dd-wrt versions have crippled wireless to increase stability but have lost throughput on 5ghz n the list goes on etc etc.

So if you point out your router mention connection mention wireless devices and speed, if it has usb mention support and throughput. If its running on stock stable or not.Requires 3rd party to be stable, but as important, specific to a certain build? What works fine for one under their conditions might be missing something for another. Stability all around can be a hard thing to narrow down.

eg.

say since a few mentioned e3000/e3200 good all around but its very well known to have heat issues many have to lift from table to increase circulation. A well documented flaw, as snb pointed out stressing the gigabit weakened the wireless by %50.

say the tplink wd1043. Its common to here after 1-2 years it stopped working one day. Many were bummed many passed it off as a new stuff isn't built to last. Someone figured out the power brick had a short life span a problem appearing across many products(even posted here at rfd). Swap it out and all would be fine. I also know from experience that router had a weak gigabit controller, no firmware could improve performance but was fine in other areas. A simple switch was heads over better and common to alot of athero's based chipset of that time/combination.

another like the buffalo 300nh. Decent enough hardware but lousy firmware all around stock or 3rd party, similar atheros chipset to tplink and weak gigabit but powerful cpu. It also offered argueably the most powerful wireless for range. I found 1 firmware that never needed a reboot, just 1 that was stable but the wirless was crippled to 150 range in mix mode. It was a dd-wrt version not available for public that was never released a beta of sorts that implemented the latest atheros driver used in gargoyle that is stable for that router(flashing to gargoyle/openwrt untill recently was not recommended and was very easy to brick). So I could say that router with that firmware was stable! Or the dir 655 with 1.21 was its cherry firmware all the others were problematic.

But seriously does 1 firmware make you decide to buy it? I should hope not. I would recommend buying a year old tech stable router vs the latest available. By a year from now everything is worked out or all the problems are well documented. But to spend 200 dollars on a bleeding edge new router is insane. It hasn't had time to weather anything.

[studolf]

I have a tp-link wr740n, which i bought for $20. It's a great router, and you can install aftermarket firmware; such as dd-wrt or gargoyle.

On another note, ncix has this asus router on sale for $20 this week, seems like a good one.

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=59802&manufacture=ASUS&promoid=1382

[infamouskid]

hey op if you do not want that bricked router i will gladly take it off your hands.

[toalan]

TP link WR340GD/WR340G for $16

It is a basic wireless G router, no 3rd party firmware support. The thing is a tank, and just works without issues. I have an asus Wl-520GU running tomato, I am using it instead of my tp-link because the asus has a removable antenna and I put in a high gain antenna. If it was not for the antenna, I would run the TP-link instead as it is even more stable than the asus+tomato.

The first versions of the WR340G/GD consumed around 250 ma @ 9v, which is about normal, but the newer revisions consume around 100 ma @ 9v, I have yet to test another budget router than consumed less power. My concern is not cost of power, but how hot the unit will get as overheating is a big factor in reliability and stability.

The kicker is that TP link offers a 2 year warranty, where as others only offer a 1 year warranty on routers costing 5x as much. I called tech support once, it got picked up by a human on the 2nd ring, and the person who picked up was the one who troubleshot the router, no computer phone menu, no "what is the serial number of your router and when did you purchase it, blahh blahh blahh", it was "what is the problem" and "do this to solve it".

I am so impressed with them that for one of my products that I designed which has ethernet connectivity, I bundle the WR340GD with the product to provide wifi capabilities to my product.

With that said, I have a budget TP link N router which was around $25, it is a bit of a turd pie.

[wilsonlam97]

Yeah the most reliable is tp-link. I can vouch for that. Next to it is asus, Linksys and then apple.

[death_hawk]

I haven't met a consumer router that I like.

I have a pfSense with an uptime approaching 1000 days and a few others with over a year of uptime.
It's VERY hard to break them, unless you do it intentionally.

If you don't want to set up a pfSense, my other recommendation is Mikrotik.
I've thrown everything but the kitchen sink at them and I can't seem to crush them.

Consumer level routers can burn in hell.

[Tha DraGun]

Asus RT-N66U. Been rock solid since I've bought it.


+1. It also has an amazing range and strength of wireless (N). Before it I had Asus RT-N56, Asus RT-N16, D-link DIR-655. Nothing could compete with new Asus RT-N66 for now.

+1 Totally agree. Love my router. Havent had one problem with it.

You guys on Stock firmware, or custom? I'm still on stock, and I also upped the Wireless Tx Power. Dunno what is a good safe number tho so I just did it a little bit more. Works good so far.

EDIT: actually there was one thing I couldn't get working, just thought of it. Wireless - WPS. Tried and tried and tried.
Still an excellent router tho. Would recommend if in the budget.

[M1K3Z0R]

May be old and doesn't support third party firmware, but the Dlink DIR-655 has performed flawlessly for me, even with heavy torrenting and multiple users. It was connected to a SpeedTouch 516 (bridge mode) on Teksavvy DSL.

Heard good things about the asus router previously mentioned, but have not used it personally. I probably would go with it if I were buying a new router, as being stuck to stock firmware is really limiting (the 655's firmware did what I needed, but choice is always best)