What is a good wireless N router for Telstraclear cable?

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dafman

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Topic # 94466 12-Dec-2011 14:20

My old D-Link DIR300 g router has died and I am looking for a good home n router to replace it. I like the look of the Netgear Wireless N Router Model: WRN2000 ($119 at Dick Smith) but after looking at reviews on the net it looks like this is now an aging model. Is is a good buy, or is there a newer router out there with better all around performance? Any help greatly appreciated.

Hammerer

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Reply # 556989 12-Dec-2011 14:44

dafman: My old D-Link DIR300 g router has died and I am looking for a good home n router to replace it. I like the look of the Netgear Wireless N Router Model: WRN2000 ($119 at Dick Smith) but after looking at reviews on the net it looks like this is now an aging model. Is is a good buy, or is there a newer router out there with better all around performance? Any help greatly appreciated.

Netgear WNR2000 can be bought online for much cheaper. See Pricespy.co.nz.

Yes, there will be newer ones with better performance but what do you actually need?

If LAN speed is most important then get one with Gigabit connections.

If extended wireless range then check the reviews with wireless test results. Generally, the more aerials it has then the better the performance, ie it becomes less of an issue as you pay more. I wouldn't recommend a cheaper Linksys as WIFI range is average. I think the Belkin range has similar issues. Not sure about the other brands.

If you want Full-HD video over WIFI then look at a router with 5GHz support as well as the usual 2.4GHz. There will be less contention on that band. The routers typically $300+ but Netgear has one for $200+. It's cheaper because it only has 100Mbps LAN connections rather than the Gigabit you'd expect.

I spent $150 (on sale) on a dual-band Linksys router that can only use one band at a time but has Gigabit LAN. The idea is that when all our WIFI devices are compatible I'll switch over to the 5GHz band. But all my kids have now bought WIFI phones that can't use 5GHz so I'll need to attach an old router/access point for the 2.4Ghz band.

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chiefie

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Reply # 557005 12-Dec-2011 14:57

I got Apple AirPort Extreme though Cisco Linksys E4200 would be a great candidate too. They both are simultaneous dual-band, if you need or want UPnP then definitely recommend E4200.

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theEd

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Reply # 557017 12-Dec-2011 15:12

+1 for the E4200. Nice box.

Hammerer

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Reply # 557118 12-Dec-2011 17:46

theEd: +1 for the E4200. Nice box.

+1 for E4200 or any of the other full-time dual-band routers with Gigabit.]

I noticed that the price of my Linksys E2000 is now down to $130 at Noel Leeming/Bond & Bond. It is only average on WIFI range but everything else runs very well. However, I don't like its software setup which requires me to use their Cisco Connect software.

chiefie

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Reply # 557122 12-Dec-2011 17:54

Hammerer: However, I don't like its software setup which requires me to use their Cisco Connect software.

You can bypass that and just use web interface. The IP is 192.168.1.1 (most cases) and login is admin/admin usually otherwise admin/password.

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Hammerer

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Reply # 557152 12-Dec-2011 19:02

chiefie:
Hammerer: However, I don't like its software setup which requires me to use their Cisco Connect software.

You can bypass that and just use web interface. The IP is 192.168.1.1 (most cases) and login is admin/admin usually otherwise admin/password.

Unfortunately, Cisco Connect does not support all configurations and certain configurations can only be set with Cisco Connect. From memory, one of the problems was as basic as wanting to have different passwords for the router and WIFI access. That prevented use of Cisco Connect which expects one password. That's when I discovered the other issue which I confirmed in their documentation.

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Reply # 557360 13-Dec-2011 11:25

I use a TP-Link wifi router flashed with Gargoyle firmware with TelstraClear cable. It's great being able to set quota and throttle once I reach 95% to avoid expensive overage. (Despite TelstraClear saying no throttling on cable is a 'feature').

chiefie

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Reply # 557371 13-Dec-2011 11:46

Hammerer:
chiefie:
Hammerer: However, I don't like its software setup which requires me to use their Cisco Connect software.

You can bypass that and just use web interface. The IP is 192.168.1.1 (most cases) and login is admin/admin usually otherwise admin/password.

Unfortunately, Cisco Connect does not support all configurations and certain configurations can only be set with Cisco Connect. From memory, one of the problems was as basic as wanting to have different passwords for the router and WIFI access. That prevented use of Cisco Connect which expects one password. That's when I discovered the other issue which I confirmed in their documentation.

Once you got the actual web management access, why would you need Cisco Connect. The whole point is ditch Cisco Connect software and do it all through the web interface.

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Hammerer

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Reply # 557484 13-Dec-2011 15:02

chiefie:
Hammerer:
chiefie:
Hammerer: However, I don't like its software setup which requires me to use their Cisco Connect software.

You can bypass that and just use web interface. The IP is 192.168.1.1 (most cases) and login is admin/admin usually otherwise admin/password.

Unfortunately, Cisco Connect does not support all configurations and certain configurations can only be set with Cisco Connect. From memory, one of the problems was as basic as wanting to have different passwords for the router and WIFI access. That prevented use of Cisco Connect which expects one password. That's when I discovered the other issue which I confirmed in their documentation.

Once you got the actual web management access, why would you need Cisco Connect. The whole point is ditch Cisco Connect software and do it all through the web interface.

As I said, there was a feature I wanted that was not available on the web interface. At the moment, I can't remember the exact problem but it will come to me, probably a week from now.

MikeB4

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Reply # 557494 13-Dec-2011 15:18

I tried a few when I first started with TelstraClear. I finally settled on an Apple Airport Extreme. It has never missed a beat.

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Reply # 557503 13-Dec-2011 15:51

KiwiNZ: I finally settled on an Apple Airport Extreme. It has never missed a beat.

My Extreme has been chugging along for five years without a single hiccup :) (although I'm on DSL, not cable, but I don't see it making much/any difference).

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Reply # 557607 13-Dec-2011 21:16

Whatever you do, don't buy a Cisco/Linksys WAG320N, WAG160N or any of the other 'UFO' wireless routers. Utterly useless.

dafman

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Reply # 557651 13-Dec-2011 22:42

Thanks everyone. After a day of unsuccessful rebooting, my old router fired back into life the next day, so I have a temporary reprieve. The WRN2000 I was looking at looks like it is at the end of its life cycle, so am glad I didn't get it. I also will look a little more into UPnP and gigabit options to ensure I future-proof as much as I can when I upgrade, so thanks for all your feedback.

chiefie

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Reply # 557654 13-Dec-2011 22:46

UPnP is already quite common in many routers since Windows XP days - it is for ease of automatically open and close ports based on applications' demand.

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