What is the best wireless modem router to get?

snake689

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I recently got a Belkin F6D4630UK4A Wireless Modem Router that was mentioned in another thread that has disconnecting issues and they have become too much of a pain to deal with.

Within the last 2 hours, it has disconnected around 15 times so I'm taking it back and looking to exchange it but would really like to know which make or one I should look to pick up.

All I need from the router is to be able to connect to the internet through it, connect my PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 to it through ethernet cables and to be able to connect my laptop to it through a wireless connection. I also need the connection to be stable 24/7 without it disconnecting on me without me doing it.
 
As above, also which ISP are you with? and did they provide you with a router?
 
Disconnects from the ISP, my ISP is Tiscali but is now TalkTalk and in a span of an hour and 45 minutes, it disconnected 17 times. After that, I decided if I can't find away to fix it by the weekend I'll take it back and am looking to know which wireless modem router would be best to pick up that would stay connected to my ISP without it disconnecting itself and I can connect my PC, consoles and wireless laptop to it.
 
Usually your ISP will provide you with a modem/router, if you contact them they will probably as you to use their provider modem/router connected to the test socket in the master socket so they can run diagnostics.

The problem might not be with the router but with the line or your profile.

As for routers that work with Talk Talk, they have a page for supported devices here:
TalkTalk Help & Support - Supported Devices
 
I sometimes despair with the kit that ISPs hand over as "free" - nothing is free, the cost is built intthe prce and contrat. TalkTalk usea very poor DLink model which has a whopping 2 RJ45 port and a flaky Wirelss N cpability.

It is worth thnking about acouple of thinkgs - you are on TakTalk now and they are very proactive with working with thei clients WHO KNOW BETTER in modifying their line profiles for the individual. I think they also take the view that the majority are silent (or just ignorant and believe that what they get is all they can get)

It would be useful for you to join in the community forum that Talk Talk hosts as the OCEs (as they are called) can assist you if you post your problems on the forum.

As for router I have tested both their free DLink and Huweii modem routers on a Talk Talk line in place of the old Speed*** usb modem that Tiscali sent out. They are adequate.

I was able to also trial my Billion BiPac 7800N on the TT line (unlike Sky Talk Tak do not try t force you to stay with their kit). I was testing a Belkin Play Max modem router on my own line (not TT)) at that time. I would say that the actual line speed and stability was noticeably better from my friend's point of view and did not disconnc once duringthe week he had my modem router. Unlike his orignal usb modem and the Huwei modem routers which were kicking out constantly. I almost had to break into his house to get my modemroutr back.

What I did say to him was to force Talk Talk to deliver a better line altogether, including him making sure that all the local wiring inside his house fitted the Tak Talk expectations. They use company called Qube to provide engineer bisits fr difficult stuff, in addition to BT Openzone as well. If the problem is the house side irng you would be expected to pay for repairs and optimiation whic starts at about £99 and cimbs.

Aftr you havbe done that then thik abot the wireless kit itself. As the saying goes you cannoy make a purse out of a sow's ear - get the basics right and then look to wht your actual hosehold wireless/network needs are and sped wisely.

C
 
if you keep getting drop outs from the ISP side

check the MTU settings as this can have an effect
 
Check the MTU settings on the site, changed them accordingly and still disconnects at a large rate, last time I tried it, 5 disconnections within an hour.
 
I sometimes despair with the kit that ISPs hand over as "free" - nothing is free, the cost is built intthe prce and contrat.
I could not agree less. I have been installing those freebie routers from ISPs for some years now and my experience (not received wisdom from forums) is they compare very well with any entry level router that you could buy on the high street or on-line.
 
Usually your ISP will provide you with a modem/router, if you contact them they will probably as you to use their provider modem/router connected to the test socket in the master socket so they can run diagnostics.

The problem might not be with the router but with the line or your profile.

As for routers that work with Talk Talk, they have a page for supported devices here:
TalkTalk Help & Support - Supported Devices

Thanks for the link, when I take this router back I'll pick one of those and try them.
 
I could not agree less. I have been installing those freebie routers from ISPs for some years now and my experience (not received wisdom from forums) is they compare very well with any entry level router that you could buy on the high street or on-line.

This week I have dealt with 7 routers (5 Huwei Tal Talk ones - after Talk Talk service assistance they were still dropping connection orin one case max through put was 340Kbps). My own experience ith the BT Business Hub - 5 failures in 18 months - all tend to leave me with perhaps a blinkered view.

So far I cannot fault Billion, Draytek and Fritzbox units - perhaps over the top for the vast majority of domestic users but I believe the real test will come as more and more Network Ready peripherals start to appear (IPTV, NAS, Media Streamers, BD LIve Blu Ray etc etc) and the demands of the Home Network starts to get complicated.

Recently I have to say that I have been quite impressed with some of th TP-Link N series kit that we have been trying. The chap with the340kbps problem saw a jump immediately to 2.3M/bps the fastest he had ever seen (not fast for some here but this is on the edge of the distance issue from the exchange). Swapping back to the Huwei ad down it went. He is waiting for a new mode router form Talk Talk and we havlent theTP-Link tillth new one arrives - so my purpose is not to push people to buy something different.

My whol point is - if you want to do more with your network and the kit your ISP passes along to you "seems" to be struggling, have a read around. It may well be that a DLink 2 switc modem routr from Talk Tak does all you want, or the locked up tight Sky Box is coverig your needs then fine. It is my experince that a lot of people on say Talk Tak or are having connection problems - dopped connections, unexpected restarts, slow stream speeds - and have been through every bit of assistance from technical support and nothing has changed, that the option to try out a different router may well be the answer.

The other issue is that more and more households are dependent on their broadband for much of their daily lives - Banking, Working from Home, Kids school work etc. We will stick £1000s worth of media kit in our homes and then use a router that is often a cheap, and not particulrly robust , box of electronics that is the Critical elemet in connecting to the internet - then, as seen here, some people think £100 for something built to last, to do the job that businesses would see as Mission Critical, is a bit "expensive". That leaves me puzzled - its a matter of priorities really.

So I do take your points and cannot but nod to your obvious wider experience (I am a long time hobbyist in this field) but I do get results and am working in a rural copmmunity where we are trying to supprt an ageing population for which their Broadband is now proving to be more and more important as public authorities etc reduce their staff and information is more and more web based. For most of them they do not know the questions to ask of their ISP and volunteers like me often struggle to get things sorted. In many cases thy are more than hppy when we ge them back online but it would help if they coul learn to leave he routers switchd on!
Finally - thanks for your input on here Beerhunter - often your advice has helped us down here in snowy Somerset when you repsond to questionsthat we are struggling with.

Seasons Greetings

C
 
So really, what is the best wireless modem router to get if your ISP is TalkTalk?
 
Another vote for the fritzbox. Very very stable and has been ready for years for current communication types. Over at vodafone so many people have problems getting their sure signal VoIP femtocell working on the cheap provider provided routers mine is rock solid. A bit more money but I switch providers each year and move my router long, very stable, quick and configurable.
 
So really, what is the best wireless modem router to get if your ISP is TalkTalk?

It is as long as a piece of string.

I would point you to the Community Forums where a fairly "vocal" group is always testing new kit for themselves or as part of the tALK tALK lABS GROUP.

They all have their favourites.

I have mentioned a few times that I have been surprised by the TP-Link range and this is one I mentioned in my post above

TP-Link TD-W8960N ADSL2+ Wireless-N Router (300Mbps)

It is running on a Talk Talk line now BUT the person using it will be receiving a new Talk Talk provided modem router any time now (snow willing) so we will be able to compare like for like.

My own personal favourite is this one:

Billion BiPAC 7800N Wireless-N ADSL2+/Broadband Dual Wan Firewall Router with Gigabit Ethernet Switch (300Mbps)

Which has been used on a friend's Talk Talk line and was very stable.

While he used that one I tested his new one - A Belkin which did surprise me - it was stable on my line and he is now using it for his talk talk line. A bit gimmicky but very simple to set up. Belkin Play Max

Belkin F7D4401uk Play Max ADSL2+ Dual-Band Wireless-N Router (300Mbps)

As said very simple to set up with Gigabit switching if you need it. Pretty much manages itself and is settled (after training) on the TT line at my friends. It is also Dual Band (so in essence it has 2 wireless transmitters and with the 2.4Gz as the standard for most routers at the moment and therefore likely to encounter crowded airspace it had a 5Gz wireless transmission mode and that occupies a pretty much quiet area of the radio spectrum though you need a 5Gz wireless laptop etc or Dual Band dingle (quite expensive). I lve in a fairly rural location so we do not get that much intereference around here. The main suppliers, from my experience is Talk Talk and sky predominantly, so sometimes we get neighbours on the same router with the same preset channel - a little tweak and the problem is gone. Not like when I go to London and find my laptop picking up a huge array of wireless transmissions.

The Netgear range is good and solid. So a dig through the onliner Talk Talk community will show a liking for the Netgear DGNB2200 gets a lot of mention as being good.

Netgear DGNB2200 Wireless-N Router ADSL 2+ & Wireless-N USB Adapter (300Mbps)

What it all comes down to is for you to review your needs and use the kit that meets those needs accordingly, thus for most an ISP provided modem router does all they need.
 
All I was provided was a Speedtouch Modem and it does the job good enough, it connects and stays connected but I have found that when I'm connected through a router, the speed is alot faster for some reason. And because I signed up when it was Tiscali, all I got was the SpeedTouch USB modem so it's not the wireless router I need.

As I said, all I really need is a router that connects to the internet, stays connected and I can connect my consoles upto and have them online. The Belkin I got keeps disconnecting, fine if I'm just surfing, useless for playing online games or download of large files so I just need a router that stays connected all the time.

I had a D-Link G604T Wireless Router that died 6 months ago that the internet connection would go down and I would have to unplug it and plug it back in to get it working but atleast if I was downloading a file, it would continue to download and I could wait for it to complete before unplugging it and resetting it's settings, that was good enough and is all I'm really looking for. And aslong as a wireless laptop can connect to it and get access through the internet, it's all I need and I always assume most routers would be able to do this without problems. The Belkin doesn't so I'm looking at a Netgear as the best option because that's the one I've heard the best things about when it comes to stability.

If you hvae any recommendations on a router that suits me, please tell me because it would be extremely useful.

Thanks for all the help and happy holidays to everyone.
 
All I was provided was a Speedtouch Modem and it does the job good enough, it connects and stays connected but I have found that when I'm connected through a router, the speed is alot faster for some reason. And because I signed up when it was Tiscali, all I got was the SpeedTouch USB modem so it's not the wireless router I need.

As I said, all I really need is a router that connects to the internet, stays connected and I can connect my consoles upto and have them online. The Belkin I got keeps disconnecting, fine if I'm just surfing, useless for playing online games or download of large files so I just need a router that stays connected all the time.

I had a D-Link G604T Wireless Router that died 6 months ago that the internet connection would go down and I would have to unplug it and plug it back in to get it working but atleast if I was downloading a file, it would continue to download and I could wait for it to complete before unplugging it and resetting it's settings, that was good enough and is all I'm really looking for. And aslong as a wireless laptop can connect to it and get access through the internet, it's all I need and I always assume most routers would be able to do this without problems. The Belkin doesn't so I'm looking at a Netgear as the best option because that's the one I've heard the best things about when it comes to stability.

If you hvae any recommendations on a router that suits me, please tell me because it would be extremely useful.

Thanks for all the help and happy holidays to everyone.

If your DLink kept dropping first thing is to ue all the help that is availble on the alk Talk members forum inrespect of ensuringthat he telephone wiring inside your hom is as good as it can be to make the Broadband as good as ut can be when it arrives at your Modem Router. The best modem in the world will stll fail ifhe signal to it is compromised.

TalkTalk Members


Asto choice of wireless enabled ADSL routers, my previous post gave you 4, all of which should suit the requremnts you list. I will not recommend any particular one as you , in the end, will hve to decide your budget and style (look/manufacturer) - they all essentially do the same thing.

The TP-Link one has the lowest price and works well on Talk Talk - so far.

The Billion ad Belkin PlayMax worked fine (and in the case of the Belkin Play Max still is) working on a alk Talk line.

The Netgear one is a unit that is much admired by users who post on the Talk Tak members forum....

In your case if you ant something simple ask Talk Talk to replace your Speedtouch USB Modem with one of their routers but ask for one with more than 2 ports (their current DLink offering is such a unit) or else yo will be buying a switch to attach wired peripherals.

Other than that I personally cannot recommend a unit tha will sut you - all can do is offer you the results of my experience with Talk Tak - who are not my ISP - I just happen to live in an area where they are very popular and I get to help in my community with IT assistance to locals who would othrwise struggle with technical stuff. Most are using the wireless kit supplied quite comfortably and some no so, who ten want help choosing branded products that offer a bit more. The current Talk Talk giveaways do have CoS (quality o Service) features which will help keep your online gaming more stable - so you may find getting a new router form TalkTalk the way foward (check though that they do not tr to loc.k you into an extension to your service contract

Good luck with your search.

Regards

C
 

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