What is the best bang-for-the-buck router that is readily available at FredgyMeyer or WalMart?

My girl kid needs to get one for her new apartment.

I like NetGear........very easy to set up & trouble free; I've set up a half dozen or so.

Not sure Wal-Mart carries them though but BestBuy does; you can get the entry level for around $40 & it will work in an apartment.

MM

They don't have best buy.

Maybe they can wait a week. It's 4 college girls in the apt. and one ethernet line.

Likely there will be an electronics store in a college town and the girls should be able to set it up pretty easily.
I also like the Netgear line .

ASUS are highly rated and pretty reasonable. Should be able to get them most places.

Amazon ??

http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Wi-Fi...1-1&keywords=netgear+wireless+router

http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Wirel...1-3&keywords=netgear+wireless+router

I got her in the apt on Sat. By this point I expect there is some urgency and online is not fast to AK.

I guess they could even go to Radio Shack.



As an aside, is there much practical difference between brands?

What are some specs the girls should consider?

I think I have one you can have. Yep Linksys Wireless G 2,4 GHZ Broadband Router

If your going to get a router make sure it's an "N" router. Also make sure the modem is a Docsis 3 and capable of running the wifi speeds your getting. Docsis 2 modems are going to be end of life towards the end of this year.

I know this because I work for the biggest internet provider in the country and we are going to stop supporting certain modems and routers at years end.

Mike- if your girl complains, tell her that where I am, they walk electrons up one at a time. At gunpoint.

I love going back to Soldotna!

Them electrons run up there. She has 15 down and 1 up.

At the HQ here it's 1 down and 0.3 up. lol....

Between brands to the normal user such as college girls in an apartment there isn't a lot of difference. Devices of similar prices will have similar features. A $150 Linksys will be similar to a $150 ASUS. A $150 Linksys will not be similar to a $300 ASUS.



I could really geek out on you here and go crazy technical on ya. I'm really going to try to spare you that headache!

Given that they will be living in an apartment, I'd look for a dual band router (both 2.5ghz and 5.0ghz). The reason is that routers, like walkie-talkie's, have channels. If you're running the same channel as your neighbor, your network speeds will be much much slower. Having a dual band router, in an apartment with several other tenants gives them options. Options are good.

I would also look for this number that will be plastered boldly on the box and in any description of the router: 802.11ac

802.11n routers are great for a number of things, but for an apartment, with several devices (laptop, cell phone, tablet, tv, dvd player, roku, etc) the advantages of the 802.11ac are real-world throughput of 400 to 500 megabits per second (mbps) at close range; that's twice the speed of the best 802.11n routers. Told ya I could get geeky...

If you like, there are some simple security configurations that I'd highly suggest. They aren't uber secure, but they certainly help. I'd turn off the SSID broadcast so that when anyone else looks for a network to connect to, her's won't show on the list. I'd also enable DHCP routing. What that means is that instead of giving each device it's own permanent IP address, the router has a range of IP's that it assigns to each device. She turns on her laptop in the morning and her IP address could be 10.0.0.7. In the evening it could be 10.0.0.18. Finally, I'd enable MAC filtering. Basically, think of the best bar/club in town. The bouncer has a list of names of people to let in. Nobody else gets in. Her router can do that with MAC filtering. You set it up with the MAC address of every device she owns. No other devices can connect. That way nobody else piggy backs on her network for free, or other nefarious deeds.

Granted, somebody will come along and tell you that the above stuff really doesn't do much for security because hackers can spoof your MAC address, sniff your SSID, and spoof your IP address thus bypassing all of that.

They'd be right. This won't keep out talented and determined hackers. It will keep out that nosey neighbor kid in apartment 3b....

If you'd like help setting it up, PM me. If you're a DIY kinda guy then there are a ton of video's out there on YouTube that will explain exactly how to do that with which ever Router she decides to get...

Hope that helps a bit, Mike.

Good luck and congratulations to your daughter on her new apartment!

Thanks for "not" getting into geek mode.
sonofa.......

Anyone know what Mark just posted?



College girls on a scholarship budget don't want $150 routers, let alone $300 units. They will probably want to keep it under $50.

They just need to have access for all 4 girls.

I tried man, I tried....

The geek was really wanting to come out.....big time....

For $50 they could probably find a $150 router on Craigslist, or better yet, her college Computer Science department. Often times they get rid of excess stuff for cheap.

HERE is a decent one for $80.

I know you tried and I appreciate the effort!

Did you see my eyes roll backwards for a few seconds?

Sometimes higher cost is the cheapest.

I just hate to see their network crap out on them the night before that big paper is due...

Mike-
I set my wife up with the Cisco 1200 version we found over at Wally's big store there in Farbanks last fall; it was a cheap way to go - and it still works ......even as I type this and send via said unit.

Yeah, good stuff. Some of it I even knew.

For a good cheap one these work fine,
Netgear at Walmart

Has WPS, for one button setup. Has 4 ethernet ports to add a printer etc.

Not bleeding edge by any means, but in almost every wally world.

Netgear, Linksys/Cisco or maybe a SonicWALL if want to spend a bit more.

Stay away from Dlink.

You won't find much of a difference between them at that price range.

They can go ethernet if needed. The wifi is just convenience, as I see it. Freddys has a huge sale for UAF students starting in 1-1/2 hours...midnight here. I passed on the recos and my advice that they should step up the unit with 4 of them splitting the cost.

Do they make splitters for the ethernet connection?

It's interesting what different providers provide.

I called ACS last week to find out when a faster connection would be available. In the course of the conversation, the tech reco'd going to the ACS store and getting new phone filters and modem. The modem they give now is a combo modem/router. We have had situations with having to reset the router to connect an iToy and Kindle Fires.

Ah! I see...

Yep! If the apartment is set up for ethernet cabling then my concern is a non-issue.

Ya know, they may be able to get their service provider to set them up with one... worth asking about.

The only ethernet splitting things that I know of are patch panels, switches, hubs and wi-fi.

That doesn't mean that somebody doesn't make a basic splitter. I just haven't seen them.

Yeah Mark, they did ask. They got the cable box and modem and 'a bunch of wires'.

They are online, but one at a time.

BTW dude - when do you sleep?

Bummer, that's got to be frustrating for the girls.

Depending on how much cabling they have, they could consider a network switch. It works like a splitter. Cables are more stable and far more secure than wireless.

I've seen 5-port switches at Walmart for $15.

Wireless really would probably be better for them though. I'm sure they have cell phones and tablets as well as computers. You can't plug a cable in those and having wi-fi saves then from using all of the data plan up on their phones.

I'd stick name brand (warranty), avoid d-link, and try to find a cheap dual band router. Netgear, Linksys, Cisco, Asus.... All good.

Sleep!? What's that?

I have work, school (I'm back in college), kids, pregnant wife, and a jack russell. I don't know this sleep you speak of....

Maybe I didn't represent that right.

It wasn't just a pile. They are all set!

Thanks.

Sure, you can do all that, but that stuff really doesn't do much for security because hackers can spoof your MAC address, sniff your SSID, and spoof your IP address thus bypassing all of that.


I'm just here to oblige...

Belkin AC1750 DB. Got mine at Walmart in Fairbanks. Really simple to set up. I was able to set mine up using the browser on my smartphone.

I don't know networking but I see nothing but termination problems without at least a hub. Don't think I'd settle for less than wi-fi for college kids sharing a pipe, even if it isn't the fastest spec. They can always get a friendly nerd to help them with security settings.