Which router to choose for an apartment in 2020

The availability of an Internet connection is a major need for many people. Every office has a connection to help you get going. Thanks to this network, many people at home can have fun, communicate through social networks, study, etc.

Technology development — Technological advances affect almost all people.

In order to connect more devices to the global network, you will need a network router. To understand how to choose a wifi router for an apartment 2020, you need to familiarize yourself with the features and characteristics of this equipment.

The emergence of the Internet — The advent of the Internet has made modern life easier.

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WAN Port Types
Wi-Fi network and its basic parameters
How to choose the right router
Rating of the best routers
Video: how to choose the best Wi-Fi router?

WAN Port Types

The WAN connector is the ability to connect the router to an Internet provider. The latter depends on which router to pay attention to when choosing.

Modern technology providing Internet access has evolved a lot.

Categories:

Ethernet. Found on most devices. It is quite popular. ISPs run a network cable that can be plugged into this jack. They have WAN ports - RJ-45.
Modems with ADSL distributing wifi. It has a jack where you can plug in a phone-type cable. WAN connector - RJ-11. If this device is available, you need to buy the previous Ethernet model and connect to it.
3G or 4G. You will need this modem if you have a USB device. He can distribute the Internet. When buying a router, you should look for these characteristics.

internet connection at home — You need high-quality equipment to connect your home to the Internet.

On sale you can find universal models. They can have two ports: Ethernet and 3G. This is reflected in their value.

Wi-Fi network and its basic parameters

To determine the most powerful wifi router for home 2020, you need to consider the network parameters. It has a specific frequency, range and speed.

Routers are small computers with a personal interface, processor, and RAM.

The frequency of the Wi-Fi can be as follows: 2.4 and 5 GHz. There are many first frequency models on sale. They are of low cost. Modern models that are sold on the market have a frequency of 5 GHz. This allows them to demonstrate the best communication performance. You can buy dual band equipment. It is universal. Can adapt to existing network.

Modern routers differ not only in technical characteristics, but also in external data.

Inexpensive models of routers can produce speeds, Internet distribution up to 150 Mbps. This equipment can be suitable in cases where you do not need a high quality Internet connection for low needs. With this device, you can watch low quality videos, go to social networks. Ideal for country cottages. For other needs related to study, work, and other requirements, you must choose a router with a speed of more than 150 to 300 Mbps.

choice of router — There are several parameters that you need to pay attention to when choosing a router.

When buying, you should pay attention to the standardization of support. It can be 802.11n on low-cost models and 802.11ac for the high-speed standard on modern routers. Also, the speed can be affected by: how many devices are connected to Wi-Fi, power characteristics, the presence of interference, etc.

An expensive router will provide a long range.

Long range is the desire of many users. It may be affected by wave interference from other devices or walls. It also affects the power of the router, its location in the apartment. Signal degradation is affected by metal. If this material is in the baffles, then the radius of action deteriorates.

Install multiple routers in a large house.

For a large home, one router may not be enough. This also applies to powerful models. Don't assume that the most expensive routers have the longest range. It is not always so. For rooms with small dimensions, you do not have to worry about this function, it is worth buying inexpensive models.

For large housing, you need to select a router with a large range. Do not think that external antennas can increase this characteristic. There are devices with built-in antennas.

equipment selection — In order not to experience problems with the connection, you need to carefully approach the selection of equipment.

When buying, you need to clarify this point, find out if this device is removable. This may be needed in the future, if you wish to replace them with other, more powerful ones.

How to choose the right router

Important! In order to decide which router for the home is better than 2020 in terms of price and quality, then you should pay attention to many parameters. Differences in it may be different in functionality, additional features. To understand what to consider when buying, you should consider each characteristic separately.

You need to pay attention to the design of the device, the list of communication standards and interfaces, software and other parameters.

Connectivity technology

If the routers have the ability to support multiple frequencies and ranges, then this equipment can distribute several Wi-Fi networks, independent of one another. This device will be ideal for office environments.

There are several connection technologies.

Modern models have the ability to support two different frequency bands:

2.4 GHz will be able to serve mobile gadgets well with the Internet.
5 GHz is set to distribute Wi-Fi for equipment that plays high quality video, multimedia devices, for working with large-volume programs.

External parameters

These include connectors and antennas. With a standard Ethernet WAN port, you can quickly connect to a wired network. But also the speed can be provided by a certain number of antennas. If their number is large, they are powerful, then the exchange of various data will become faster between the router and the devices connected to it.

The regular model has one antenna and is capable of operating in standard 802.11n mode, distributing Wi-Fi up to 150 Mbps. Each antenna has such an indicator. Accordingly, a device with three antennas will distribute up to 450 Mbps. The standard modern production model with 3 external amplifiers runs at 802.11ac, 433 Mbps.

White router — The white router will suit any interior.

These speeds are described in the characteristics, but in practice these figures can be underestimated. It is also worth considering the capabilities of providers. They can provide internet at a lower speed. According to many users, they recommend choosing models with external antennas. The coating in these models is reliable and, if necessary, these parts can be replaced.

Speed

What is the router speed described in the specifications actually? This is a theoretical value. If the functionality of the router has a speed of 150 Mbit / s, then in reality it will only give up to 100 Mbit / s of an Internet connection. If you convert this value to megabytes, then it will be about 12 MB per second. Technically, this is enough for one or two devices or a laptop.

In the characteristics, you can find the indicators of the LAN ports.These are dedicated connectors for system cables. They are 100 Mbps. But you can choose modern models with a gigabit rate - 1000 Mbps. This may be suitable for hardened software on complex hardware. It should also be borne in mind that the speed through the router will always be "cut". The real value can only be seen on a computer directly connected to the cable. Through a router, the speed decreases by 5-20 units.

Design component — The design component when choosing a router is of minimum importance.

Many users discuss these issues on the forums. But each individual case has its own special situation, which may differ from others. If you configure the equipment correctly and the connection speed provided by the provider will correspond to the declared one, then the distribution will be good.

Hardware filling

In order to choose a powerful 2020 wifi router for a large apartment, you need to pay attention to the amount of RAM, processor frequency. This is a "small computer". It also has its own characteristics, the more there are, the more powerful and better it is.

If an Internet connection of up to 100 Mb / s is enough for the user, there is no need to play network games, download torrents, watch movies in high quality, then 32 MB of RAM, 300 MHz processor frequency will be enough. In other cases, it is worth choosing powerful hardware.

technical specifications — You will find all its technical parameters in the instructions for use.

Look for multiple LAN connectors for wired devices. For high-speed Internet, for extended gaming resources, the ability to create a gigabit network, you must choose a router with ports that have Gigabit Ethernet. Alternatively, you can buy a router with a Fast Ethernet port for small needs.

Additional functions

This category includes:

Firewall built-in type. This is a pass-through filter that prevents the system from being hacked from the outside. It is able to create protection for your home network.
Additional USB port. This will allow you to connect a 3G or 4G modem as an alternative communication method. This will make this device versatile. It will be possible to take it with you on vacation or to the country. It will also be possible to connect a printer system if the router has the function of a printer server.
Repeater. It will help direct a weak signal to the desired device. But it should be borne in mind that the data transfer rate will not be optimal, but will become low. You can use this router with this functionality outside your home.
IPTV support. This allows you to watch TV channels using the Internet network.
The ability to connect a virtual network, tag your traffic.
FTP server / Samba.
Torrent.

You will have to overpay for additional functions.

It is worth paying attention!
You don't need to buy a router with great functionality - this will affect the price, but you may not need it. At the same time, a large number of used functions reduces its productivity by several times.

Rating of the best routers

After reviewing the 2020 home router review, you can choose the best model for yourself. The rating includes expensive and budget options, different in quality and functionality. Each of them is popular with users. They can be used for apartments or houses.

Budget

TP-Link Archer C1200. The average price is 6 thousand rubles. Speed up to 1.2 Gbps, while the frequency is 5 GHz, up to 300 Mbps at 2.4 GHz. There are gigabit ports. They provide great speed. 3 external antennas. Can be controlled from the phone using a special program.
Xiaomi Mi Wi-Fi Router 3. Its average cost is 3 thousand rubles. It has the 802.11 ac standard, supports 5 GHz frequency. Advantages: stylish appearance, good memory capacity, it is possible to manage it using a special mobile application, there are functions: built-in ad blocker, assistant manager.

Average price level

Linksys EA6900. Cost - 13,000 rubles.There are 3 antennas, two 2.4GHz, 5GHz channels, which can be broadcast at the same time. It is possible to set parental controls. Easy to use.
Zyxel Armor Z2. Cost - 15 thousand rubles. 4 GB flash memory, 802.11 ac technology, equipped with 4 antennas, 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports.
Asus RT-AC86U. Its average price is about 17,000 rubles. Dual band. Has three detachable antennas, one internal. RAM 515 MB. Advantages: high speed, good firmware, extensive signal distribution.
Netgear Orbi RBK30. It costs about 17,000 rubles. Consists of two parts: router + repeater. It can cover an area of 200 sq. m. a stable signal. Has two channels 2.4 and 5 GHz. Installation, settings are simple.
Asus RT-AC88U. Price - 18,000 rubles. Has 8 Gigabit Ethernet connectors, 4 external antennas.

Premium segment

Asus ROG Rapture GT-AC5300. The price is 25 thousand rubles. Suitable for avid gamers. Will provide 5 GHz. Large coverage radius. Protective system against online threats. Powerful.
Linksys WRT32X. Suitable for lovers of local games. The average cost is 22 thousand rubles. The standard is 802.11ac. Has high speed, 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports, 1 USB 3.0, USB 2.0 / eSATA.
TP-Link Archer C5400. Has an approximate cost of 20 thousand rubles. There are three bands: 2.4 and two 5 GHz. It is possible to connect high-speed Internet up to 1000 Mbps. Gigabit, has ports: 1 WAN, 4 LAN. Two USB connectors. Antivirus.

You can choose the best router for yourself if you take into account all the necessary characteristics and find the best one for cost. This will allow you to connect a fast Internet network, watch videos, work and use the global network for your needs. The most important thing is to make the correct settings at home.