New Router

[Indy Coug]

Very happy with my Netgear N300.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I just need Wi-fi honestly we are not very high-tech people. We use our internet for Netflix, surfing the web and gaming. The guy at Best Buy reccomended the Netgear N300 or N600. Anyone have an opinion on these? I found brand new still in the unopened box N600 on KSL for $25. They are $80 at Best Buy.

Check the reviews on Amazon. Very large sample sizes for routers so the reviews should be fairly reliable.

[Pelado]

My brother helped me set up a Linksys router with Tomato firmware. It's been very reliable and gives a great signal throughout the house (unlike my prior Actiontec/Qwest DSL modem/router).

[mtnbiker]

I've got a Linksys as well, the E1000, and have been happy with it. Haven't had to reboot it yet. It has several hardwired ports as well as wifi, and I have my main computer plugged directly into it. If I were to get a new one today, I'd get a dual-band one, since they're supposed to be a lot faster. Prices are still coming down on that type of thing.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Just ordered me a second Apple Airport Express to put in my computer bag for use at work and when traveling. If I am in a conf. room or hotel room that has a wired connection, I just plug it into the unit (which is nice and compact) and I have an instant private wifi for my laptop, ipad, iphone, etc.

I have noticed in many hotels that the wifi is terribly slow and the connection varies depending on where you are in the hotel. But they almost always include a wired option. Now I can plug in and enjoy a wifi connection every bit as fast as the wired connection, and no messing with the annoying wifi verification stuff each time I connect.

Cha-ching.

[doctorcoug]

I just bought three of these. I'm really excited about mesh.

My gateway is in the middle of the house and my two nodes will be on opposite ends. One node will jump through two walls and the other will jump through one. My home is a long ranch-style, with a basement and upstairs (we never use the upstairs). ~5000 square feet on the main floor, so a single router just doesn't cut it. If mesh works as advertised, then I'll get two more nodes, one for the attached garage (two hops) and one for the barn (my future wood shop), which is about 100 feet away from the house.

Anybody use this and enjoy it? Any problems?

[Surfah]

I just bought three of these. I'm really excited about mesh.

My gateway is in the middle of the house and my two nodes will be on opposite ends. One node will jump through two walls and the other will jump through one. My home is a long ranch-style, with a basement and upstairs (we never use the upstairs). ~5000 square feet on the main floor, so a single router just doesn't cut it. If mesh works as advertised, then I'll get two more nodes, one for the attached garage (two hops) and one for the barn (my future wood shop), which is about 100 feet away from the house.

Anybody use this and enjoy it? Any problems?

So are these true mesh? Self-forming, self-healing?

[Uncle Ted]

So are these true mesh? Self-forming, self-healing?

According to the planning guide they are self-configuring and self-healing. The big problem with mesh networks is you lose half the bandwidth for every "hop" you are away from the gateway (as shown in this planning guide). Not to mention the added latency of going through another "hop". This is usually why hotel wireless networks usually suck. They usually put the gateway at the front desk. If you are at the other end you may be multiple hops away. There are a lot of good tips in this planning guide.

[Uncle Ted]

I just bought three of these. I'm really excited about mesh.

My gateway is in the middle of the house and my two nodes will be on opposite ends. One node will jump through two walls and the other will jump through one. My home is a long ranch-style, with a basement and upstairs (we never use the upstairs). ~5000 square feet on the main floor, so a single router just doesn't cut it. If mesh works as advertised, then I'll get two more nodes, one for the attached garage (two hops) and one for the barn (my future wood shop), which is about 100 feet away from the house.

Anybody use this and enjoy it? Any problems?

No. My house is much smaller than the size of a hotel.

[doctorcoug]

According to the planning guide they are self-configuring and self-healing. The big problem with mesh networks is you lose half the bandwidth for every "hop" you are away from the gateway (as shown in this planning guide). Not to mention the added latency of going through another "hop". This is usually why hotel wireless networks usually suck. They usually put the gateway at the front desk. If you are at the other end you may be multiple hops away. There are a lot of good tips in this planning guide.

That is why my gateway will be in the middle of the house. I sure hope it works as advertised. My biggest gripe is my current setup gets "stuck" on the current access point, so when I walk through the house my phone will stay connected via the AP in the bedroom, even as I walk past two other access points. Then, it will stay connected to that first access point for hours. Total PITA.

via a galaxy s3 far far away

[doctorcoug]

No. My house is much smaller than the size of a hotel.

Trust me, I'm not rich, I got a smoking deal on the house.

via a galaxy s3 far far away

[Uncle Ted]

Trust me, I'm not rich, I got a smoking deal on the house small hotel.

via a galaxy s3 far far away

FIFY.

[doctorcoug]

It came in the mail today. HOLY SMOKES!!!! It is so so so easy to setup. I used the administrator tool, without hooking up any devices. I entered in the MAC addresses on top of a map of my house via google maps. I then plugged my first node into my already installed gateway, which consisted of plugging in a CAT5 cable into the port and plugging in the power. (I'll disconnect it tomorrow when the support opens and I can change my MAC with them). I then connected power to the other two nodes at various parts in my house. And...DONE!

I now have full coverage throughout the entire house, AND, I have at least some sort of signal throughout the entire property.

The network administrative website is pretty slick and easy to use. I REALLY love how the wireless network will be taken offline if the internet drops. This is a huge deal for me, since our ISP sucks. This way, when the internet drops, my wife will still be able to get on the internet as her phone will automatically connect to 3G. When the internet comes back on, it will automatically connect to WiFi. She doesn't understand how to turn wifi off on her phone when the internet goes out.

I highly recommend you check it out if you are interested in providing WiFi to a small hotel

[FMCoug]

I don't have a small hotel but I do have WiFi issues in my house ... I may check this out.

[doctorcoug]

I don't have a small hotel but I do have WiFi issues in my house ... I may check this out.

I'm very happy with the decision. It is so simple, yet has some advanced features as well.

via a galaxy s3 far far away