If you are looking to buy a new router you should check this page best Wi-Fi routers in India router list before buying a new router. Generally when we buy a internet connection, we use the router provided by our internet service provider. It's convenient since you don't need to set up anything, and it saves both time and money.
We use router for as long as it works properly. After long use the router Stops working properly. The network is become slow, or doesn't reach most parts of your house - and there's not much you can do about it. Buying a router is a exhausting task because of the complication of the specifications and the effort it takes to understand them. And it also takes a really long time before we finally decide to buy a specific router
The information provided for a router page on the company website or an e-commerce website doesn't provide you the details in a simple language that would help you understand them and make a confident informed decision. Therefore we are stuck with our old router.
To get your home network working according to your needs, it is advisable to invest in a better router. This way, you can make sure that the router has enough range to cover your house and is fast enough for your usage.
You can even use the router even without an active Internet connection to connect your devices like smartphones, tablets, TVs, computers to each other for streaming videos, file transfers and more. The most common use of a Wi-Fi router is to share an Internet connection between various devices, but that's not its only use. Therefore your internet service provider cannot help you there and will need to invest in a router of your own.
Now your Internet connection can either be cable or ADSL. If it's the former - you should check with your ISP to identify what kind it is if unsure - you typically wouldn't need anything other than the router.
When you have a DSL connection - the kind supplied by the likes of BSNL, MTNL, and Airtel, which usually comes with a landline - you'll also need a ADSL modem. Therefore it is better to buy a router with a built-in ADSL modem, which will take lesser space on your table and there will be fewer wires to manage. Most users, however, need a router to use the Internet connection on multiple devices.
A standalone ADSL modem costs less than Rs. 1,000. An ASDL routers are a little bit more expensive. So keep this in mind when comparing a router with inbuilt ADSL modem against a modem with router combo.
There are a lot of different specifications you will see on different routers. Below are the important numbers and specifications you want to keep in mind buying a router.
When buying a new router the first thing you'll want to check is the Wi-Fi standard that the router supports. Older ones would be 802.11 'b' or 'g' - but almost all new routers also support 'n'. The 802.11n standard gives a data transfer speed at 600Mbps (mega bits per second) theoretically, though some 802.11n routers come with top speeds of only 300Mbps (which translates to downloads of 37.5MBps or mega bytes per second).
The 802.11ac. standard gives a data transfer speed of 1.3Gbps. This is the latest Wi-Fi standard. The speed is reduced a lot practically. This means that 802.11ac allows you to connect more devices with high data transfer speed, thanks to better multi-antenna and MIMO (Multi Input Multi Output) support. MIMO allows multiple streams for a single connection for faster connections, particularly if you are doing multimedia activities.
The technology is more expensive at the moment than 802.11n routers. In the market there are very few phones and laptops support 802.11ac and So which one should you go for? For now, the choice is simple - the 'n' standard is more than fast enough for your Internet connection in India, and it's more likely to be supported by all your devices. As a bonus, you save money too.
Now days wifi routers come with two frequencies 2.4GHz and 5GHz standards.
Your wifi Router's frequency play a big role in deciding the strength your network would be for multiple devices. Interference and range are the things which separate these two frequencies.
Advantage of 5GHz frequency
Less disturbance for each device. Devices attain maximum gain from the bandwidth. Interference from the other Wi-Fi networks is very less.
This means that if you are connecting lots of devices, or if there are overlapping networks in the same area (like a multi-story apartment building) then a 5GHz network is the better choice. At this moment 5GHz routers are more expensive as compared to the 2.4GHz routers, so you should go with the 2.4GHz ones, unless interference is a real issue with your network.
You should look at the dBi ratings of the antenna of the router, which will be included in the specifications. There is no straightforward method to measure the range of the WiFi router, since it depends on a wide variety of factors.
You need to consider the environment you're in. Also, your home or office's architecture plays a major part in the range of a particular router.
If you have many obstacles (walls, other household electronics like a fridge or microwave) between where you will be sitting and your router's position, you will need a router with higher dBi ratings. In a small to medium sized apartment, 2-4dBi is sufficient.
A study says that the signal strength gets very weak after 3 to 4 walls. So if the router you got from the ISP isn't up to the mark, you must look at this dBi specification, and go with a higher number. Walls play a large part in blocking the WiFi signals. Concrete walls and even thin wooden doors create a hindrance for the signals.
The actual speed depends on the hardware used in the specific model, even if the router is following a certain standard. The slower router is often cheaper. If you are only going use the router to connecting devices to the Internet, then you should buy the cheapest one, considering that even 300Mbps is several times higher than the typical 4Mbps or 8Mbps connections in India. The maximum speed in the router is usually specified in the spec sheet. You would have the speed written under "High Speed Upto".
If you want to stream full-HD (1080p) movies to your laptop or tablet a 300Mbps router would be more than enough. If you're using it to stream movies inside your house from your computer to the home theatre, you might want to spend a little extra for more speed. 600Mbps routers are for you, if you want to stream the content to multiple devices simultaneously, or to stream 4K content.
You should check for the number of LAN ports available to connect, If you have a small office and desktop computers in place. This can often be more convenient. Newer routers also provide additional USB ports. That would help you connect the printers for network printing or a hard drive for file-sharing.
Once again, the router you buy has to match your needs - if you're connecting just your phone and laptop to the Internet, then you should choose a router without extra ports instead.
Some routers come with extra features, like Apple's Airport Express which has AirPlay support. It comes with a 3.5mm port where you can connect any speakers and wirelessly stream music from your PC, Mac, or mobile.
For security, check if it supports 128 bit encryption, and WPA2 standard compatibility. These are pretty standard now so you don't have to worry much about this.
Following the advice above, you know what to look for if you want to expand the range of your network or have a new Internet connection; if you need more range or more speed; if you're planning on sharing files and streaming video between your devices or if you're just planning on connecting your laptop and mobile phone to the Internet. While the free router you get from your ISP is a good way to get connected quickly, if you're facing any problems then you should consider investing in a router yourself.
A basic user can get decent a 150Mbps or 300Mbps routers from Rs. 700 onwards. You can stick to well-known brands like Netgear, Asus, D-Link, Cisco Linksys, not for any other reason but because there will be a lot of documentation on the Internet if you're ever having trouble and need help figuring things out.
You can also look at other new brands which are providing really good value for money tp-link, digisol, tenda.
If you're in a large space and getting the connectivity to the router is difficult, look for one with a higher dBi rating. Is network interference an issue because of all your neighbours' routers? Look for a 5GHz router for your own connection instead. Unless you're an advanced user with very specific needs for very high speed data transfers, you shouldn't have to spend more than Rs. 2,000 on a router, and it could make a pretty big difference.
We use router for as long as it works properly. After long use the router Stops working properly. The network is become slow, or doesn't reach most parts of your house - and there's not much you can do about it. Buying a router is a exhausting task because of the complication of the specifications and the effort it takes to understand them. And it also takes a really long time before we finally decide to buy a specific router
The information provided for a router page on the company website or an e-commerce website doesn't provide you the details in a simple language that would help you understand them and make a confident informed decision. Therefore we are stuck with our old router.
To get your home network working according to your needs, it is advisable to invest in a better router. This way, you can make sure that the router has enough range to cover your house and is fast enough for your usage.
Router with or without Internet
You can even use the router even without an active Internet connection to connect your devices like smartphones, tablets, TVs, computers to each other for streaming videos, file transfers and more. The most common use of a Wi-Fi router is to share an Internet connection between various devices, but that's not its only use. Therefore your internet service provider cannot help you there and will need to invest in a router of your own.
Now your Internet connection can either be cable or ADSL. If it's the former - you should check with your ISP to identify what kind it is if unsure - you typically wouldn't need anything other than the router.
When you have a DSL connection - the kind supplied by the likes of BSNL, MTNL, and Airtel, which usually comes with a landline - you'll also need a ADSL modem. Therefore it is better to buy a router with a built-in ADSL modem, which will take lesser space on your table and there will be fewer wires to manage. Most users, however, need a router to use the Internet connection on multiple devices.
A standalone ADSL modem costs less than Rs. 1,000. An ASDL routers are a little bit more expensive. So keep this in mind when comparing a router with inbuilt ADSL modem against a modem with router combo.
There are a lot of different specifications you will see on different routers. Below are the important numbers and specifications you want to keep in mind buying a router.
Router's Wi-Fi Standard (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
When buying a new router the first thing you'll want to check is the Wi-Fi standard that the router supports. Older ones would be 802.11 'b' or 'g' - but almost all new routers also support 'n'. The 802.11n standard gives a data transfer speed at 600Mbps (mega bits per second) theoretically, though some 802.11n routers come with top speeds of only 300Mbps (which translates to downloads of 37.5MBps or mega bytes per second).
The 802.11ac. standard gives a data transfer speed of 1.3Gbps. This is the latest Wi-Fi standard. The speed is reduced a lot practically. This means that 802.11ac allows you to connect more devices with high data transfer speed, thanks to better multi-antenna and MIMO (Multi Input Multi Output) support. MIMO allows multiple streams for a single connection for faster connections, particularly if you are doing multimedia activities.
The technology is more expensive at the moment than 802.11n routers. In the market there are very few phones and laptops support 802.11ac and So which one should you go for? For now, the choice is simple - the 'n' standard is more than fast enough for your Internet connection in India, and it's more likely to be supported by all your devices. As a bonus, you save money too.
Router's frequency
Now days wifi routers come with two frequencies 2.4GHz and 5GHz standards.
Your wifi Router's frequency play a big role in deciding the strength your network would be for multiple devices. Interference and range are the things which separate these two frequencies.
Advantage of 5GHz frequency
Less disturbance for each device. Devices attain maximum gain from the bandwidth. Interference from the other Wi-Fi networks is very less.
This means that if you are connecting lots of devices, or if there are overlapping networks in the same area (like a multi-story apartment building) then a 5GHz network is the better choice. At this moment 5GHz routers are more expensive as compared to the 2.4GHz routers, so you should go with the 2.4GHz ones, unless interference is a real issue with your network.
Router's antenna range
You should look at the dBi ratings of the antenna of the router, which will be included in the specifications. There is no straightforward method to measure the range of the WiFi router, since it depends on a wide variety of factors.
You need to consider the environment you're in. Also, your home or office's architecture plays a major part in the range of a particular router.
If you have many obstacles (walls, other household electronics like a fridge or microwave) between where you will be sitting and your router's position, you will need a router with higher dBi ratings. In a small to medium sized apartment, 2-4dBi is sufficient.
A study says that the signal strength gets very weak after 3 to 4 walls. So if the router you got from the ISP isn't up to the mark, you must look at this dBi specification, and go with a higher number. Walls play a large part in blocking the WiFi signals. Concrete walls and even thin wooden doors create a hindrance for the signals.
Speed of the router
The actual speed depends on the hardware used in the specific model, even if the router is following a certain standard. The slower router is often cheaper. If you are only going use the router to connecting devices to the Internet, then you should buy the cheapest one, considering that even 300Mbps is several times higher than the typical 4Mbps or 8Mbps connections in India. The maximum speed in the router is usually specified in the spec sheet. You would have the speed written under "High Speed Upto".
If you want to stream full-HD (1080p) movies to your laptop or tablet a 300Mbps router would be more than enough. If you're using it to stream movies inside your house from your computer to the home theatre, you might want to spend a little extra for more speed. 600Mbps routers are for you, if you want to stream the content to multiple devices simultaneously, or to stream 4K content.
Router ports
You should check for the number of LAN ports available to connect, If you have a small office and desktop computers in place. This can often be more convenient. Newer routers also provide additional USB ports. That would help you connect the printers for network printing or a hard drive for file-sharing.
Once again, the router you buy has to match your needs - if you're connecting just your phone and laptop to the Internet, then you should choose a router without extra ports instead.
Router Security
Some routers come with extra features, like Apple's Airport Express which has AirPlay support. It comes with a 3.5mm port where you can connect any speakers and wirelessly stream music from your PC, Mac, or mobile.
For security, check if it supports 128 bit encryption, and WPA2 standard compatibility. These are pretty standard now so you don't have to worry much about this.
Following the advice above, you know what to look for if you want to expand the range of your network or have a new Internet connection; if you need more range or more speed; if you're planning on sharing files and streaming video between your devices or if you're just planning on connecting your laptop and mobile phone to the Internet. While the free router you get from your ISP is a good way to get connected quickly, if you're facing any problems then you should consider investing in a router yourself.
A basic user can get decent a 150Mbps or 300Mbps routers from Rs. 700 onwards. You can stick to well-known brands like Netgear, Asus, D-Link, Cisco Linksys, not for any other reason but because there will be a lot of documentation on the Internet if you're ever having trouble and need help figuring things out.
You can also look at other new brands which are providing really good value for money tp-link, digisol, tenda.
If you're in a large space and getting the connectivity to the router is difficult, look for one with a higher dBi rating. Is network interference an issue because of all your neighbours' routers? Look for a 5GHz router for your own connection instead. Unless you're an advanced user with very specific needs for very high speed data transfers, you shouldn't have to spend more than Rs. 2,000 on a router, and it could make a pretty big difference.
Comments
Post a Comment