Need Suggestions for Wireless router Under 3K

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Extender basically extends existing wifi network while repeater rebroadcasts the wifi signal creating a new wifi network with better signal strength but because of this the wifi network speed(so for 300mbps wifi N connected at typical 100mbps speed it will be reduced to 50mbps) is half of original.

You have to balance the position, if extender is too far from router then it is not much different than directly connecting to router with very less speed & if it is too far from device then again you will face same issue of weak signal strength.

How far is the distance from the main router to weak signal strength area? Best option would be to use another cheap wifi router as wired extender by connecting it via lan wire to main router & place it in/near area of weak signal strength.

@kg11sgbg is using a wifi extender.
 
OP
RumbaMon19

RumbaMon19

Feel Pain.
How far is the distance from the main router to weak signal strength area? Best option would be to use another cheap wifi router as wired extender by connecting it via lan wire to main router & place it in/near area of weak signal strength.

it is 20 meter, but in way comes 2 doors.

I am thinking of buying a cheap router as you suggested might as well get a hardwired ethernet connections
 
Airtel has given a good enough router, So i Dont need to buy any new one, The only problem is range.

So I have decided to get a WiFi extender instead.

I have a few questions:-

  • What is the difference between Extender and repeater?
  • What will be the optimal position for extender? Near the router or near the device?
  • What will be the speed drop?
Also, these are a few questions related to general router
  • How does no. of channels affect range of router?
  • What is Bridge Mode and Route Mode on the configuration page of router? It is limited to only ethernet ports.
  • Also, Are there any settings which I need to look after so as to increase the range?
Right now, in my room only laptop can get wifi signal, Both my phone and iPad cant even detect the WiFi.

@omega44-xt @whitestar_999 and all others please help on this.

Edit: I didnt mention my budget as I dont have much idea about it. But anything upto 1300-1400 would be good.

Edit 2 : are powerline adapters good?
No exp using an extender/repeater.

2.4GHz has a better range than 5GHz but latter has better speeds & lower latency.
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
it is 20 meter, but in way comes 2 doors.

I am thinking of buying a cheap router as you suggested might as well get a hardwired ethernet connections
If you place the wired secondary router between 2 doors then it should work so only need to cross one door for wire to connect primary & secondary router. There is another option of using WDS(wireless bridge), see if you can arrange another wifi router with WDS function(usually the cheapest/entry range tplink wifi router models all have this feature) to test.
 
OP
RumbaMon19

RumbaMon19

Feel Pain.
If you place the wired secondary router between 2 doors then it should work so only need to cross one door for wire to connect primary & secondary router. There is another option of using WDS(wireless bridge), see if you can arrange another wifi router with WDS function(usually the cheapest/entry range tplink wifi router models all have this feature) to test.

I am thinking of doing this only, I can put a second router between the 2 doors.

Actually the current router is in. Literal corner of house and I need access on another corner opposite to it.

So suggest me any router, as pppoe is no longer needed, so most of them should work. 5GHz is not at all required.
 

quicky008

Technomancer
Is AC1200(Archer C50) by Tp link a decent router for home use?Asking on behalf of a friend who needs a reliable router for using with his cable based internet connection.
 

TheSloth

The Slowest One
Is AC1200(Archer C50) by Tp link a decent router for home use?Asking on behalf of a friend who needs a reliable router for using with his cable based internet connection.
I have this router and I live in a house of 700-750 sq feet, using it with ACT. I don't get good connection from one corner to another corner of the house with walls in between. I keep router in one corner of room and try to access on the opposite corner, I get wifi signal but without wall. In other nearby rooms even with wall, the signal strength is decent.
 
OP
RumbaMon19

RumbaMon19

Feel Pain.
Any idea which brand to look for? I need high coverage router for area of 1500sqrft.

I don't need PPPoE, just ethernet port for wan and with WiFi extender mode
 
OP
RumbaMon19

RumbaMon19

Feel Pain.
I saw some reviews and most of them point to TP-Link Archer C6.

*www.amazon.in/dp/B07GVR9TG7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_0NC216TYTJJE4TDJRJJY

Any idea about its coverage?
 
OP
RumbaMon19

RumbaMon19

Feel Pain.
Ok so here is what I gather.

There are two cases
1) Amazon is either selling TP-Link C6 mu Mimo V2 but the case used is of V3

Or
2) the Product image is incorrect.

Now
View attachment 20299
what is this to do? I will use ppoe as used by my provider. Am a noob in network so pls tell abt this….

I just noticed this review is about Ac1200 and not C6 which is Ac1200 MU-MIMO. The later has good reviews on Amazon instead.

Except the one which White Star listed.


All this is very confusing and I need one immediately before 6 July.
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Archer C6 V2 was better as it had qualcomm processor, it looks like this:
1624952854681.png


Archer C6 V3 has mediatek processor & according to some reviews on amazon it is worse than V2, it looks like this(which btw is same as design of archer A6):
1624953012029.png


Also MU-MIMO impact can practically be ignored in budget range routers so don't focus on it. Just fyi btw, archer C6 v3 has 2x2:2 MU-MIMO configuration as opposed to 3x3:3 in V2 which supports more bandwidth.

@quicky008
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Under 3k you don't have much choice, your only options are archer C6 & dlink dir-841/825 models. I think for cheaper routers it is better to buy two of them & use wired extender/wds wireless bridge(if possible) to cover max area.
 
OP
RumbaMon19

RumbaMon19

Feel Pain.
Here is what is I have decided

I have ordered tp link archer C6.

I will be using it with WDS temporarily. After sometime, I will get hardwired cat6 SF/FTP HDPE cable. I will prefer solid core instead of stranded. I will get it wired for about 10 m and use this router with it.

As I will be using it through ethernet, PPPoE will not be required and V2 will work with it.

V2 is better than V3 in many ways except the design which is glossy and fingerprint magnet. But that doesn't matter much for a router anyways.
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
And how do you know you will get V2, as far as I know on amazon you will get V3 & on flipkart there is a seller who is selling V2 at 3k+ price so not worth it.
 
OP
RumbaMon19

RumbaMon19

Feel Pain.
And how do you know you will get V2, as far as I know on amazon you will get V3 & on flipkart there is a seller who is selling V2 at 3k+ price so not worth it.

v2 has qualcomm chipset. And amazon listing is also of qualcomm one. I saw a couple of reviews and all of them were of v2 and pointed to the same link. I am not going to buy anything from flipkart as whatever electronics i buy from there either comes faulty or failes.

if amazon gives me v3, i will get it replaced, as it is mentioned they are selling qualcomm one.
 

kg11sgbg

Indian Railways - The Vibrant and Moving INDIA
As mentioned by our Friend @whitestar_999 , I am using a Tp-Link Extender(which claims to have a MESH connectivity).
My main Router Archer C6 from Tp-Link is nearly 60 ft away from the room where I open my Laptop. In between there are 3 walls and 3 doors with a variable height in our rooms(olden style Mezzanine Level). The Extender is situated nearly 20~25ft from the Laptop(position where I sit on my bed or upon a chair besides a table).
Distance between main router and extender about 40ft or so.
 
OP
RumbaMon19

RumbaMon19

Feel Pain.
@whitestar_999 I got the router today.

Now I am having some problems enabling WDS. Do i need to just setup the router and enable it? I have enabled WDS as per official guide but it is not working.
 
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RumbaMon19

RumbaMon19

Feel Pain.
Update:- I have setup WDS and it is working on my phone, but when I connect it with my laptop, it is not working. the connecting screen is stuck on Verifying.
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Update:- I have setup WDS and it is working on my phone, but when I connect it with my laptop, it is not working. the connecting screen is stuck on Verifying.
Mention exact steps. Does the router settings page shows WDS connected to main wifi network? Have you disabled DHCP in secondary router?
 
OP
RumbaMon19

RumbaMon19

Feel Pain.
Mention exact steps. Does the router settings page shows WDS connected to main wifi network? Have you disabled DHCP in secondary router?

after struggling for 4 hours it worked now.

i first changed the ip address of router, than enabled wds on 2.4ghz then disabled dhcp.
after that, net is only working on 5GHz and not on 2.4. But that is not a problem for me as 5ghz has enough range.
 
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