Choose this NETGEAR router and receive high level wireless security, the ability to share photos, music and more, and a way to keep track of your kids’ activity online. Plus, with easy installation for tablets, smartphones and computers, you’ll be able to start enjoying Wi-Fi throughout your home right away.
I bought this router to replace A Vizio HD router that started dropping the wireless after three years. Before that, the longest any router I bought would last was less than a year. Even when the Vizio was new, our media streaming would frequently drop and stall. Since we installed this Netgear router 4 months ago, we haven't experienced a single media drop. We run a desktop, two laptops, a server, two smartphones, two game consoles and two wifi Blu-Ray players on this router with almost no trouble. And if you configure your wireless card properly, 54Mbps is very, very nice to have.
Installation was fast, easy and absolutely painless, and though the system specs say it's compatible with Windows and Mac, I did all the setup and configuration on an OpenSuse Linux laptop using the web interface so easily I could almost have slept through the process.
It broadcasts wireless on two separate channels (check my terminology, please), one at 2.4g and the other at 5g. I'm not sure how many devices support 5g yet, but its presence in this router means no worries when we upgrade devices.
The one problem we did have may be more a matter of location than a function of the router. There's one spot, about 20 feet from the router, where the sofa is, that seems to have trouble holding the connection with my wife's laptop. But just behind that is my son's room, and he has no trouble with the connection with his desktop, so it's probably not the router itself. But still, make sure of your router placement. Higher up is better. Properly placed, this router seems to be the best I've tried yet.
I'd definitely recommend this router to anyone looking for a fast and easy home or small business router. Not for a large network, of course, but it handles all our devices with ease.