Top 10 Wi-Fi routers

Even the youngest representative of the Home Access Point line of the Latvian manufacturer works under the control of the RouterOS system (Level 4), which allows it to solve a really wide range of tasks. In particular, to work simultaneously with two providers, limit the speeds of individual ports, organize VPN tunneling, support several local networks, act as a bridge or repeater, etc. Naturally, all of the above requires a good understanding of the network "kitchen" and is beyond the power of the average user, although the step-by-step wizard is ready to help him make the basic settings. In an apartment, for the conditions of a multi-family house, this single-band router is not the best option, but in a less “populated” broadcast it will manifest itself in all its glory. At least, hAP ​​Lite is able to create a sustainable coating in a two-room dwelling, as far as the legislative limit on power is almost completely chosen.

The Keenetic brand has several good modern entry-level routers, and the KN-1310 model seemed most interesting to us. It is not only equipped with a special amplifier, which increases the range, but also allows you to conveniently change modes of operation using a 4-position switch. The latest Keenetic Lite is able to perform the functions of a router, Wi-Fi adapter / twisted pair, repeater and classic access point. The computing needs of the device are provided by the MT7628 single-chip system. The chip is thin, besides it does not have a PPE block, therefore it is diverting resources to perform numerous routine operations. Simply put, the hardware of this router is not designed for high loads. At the same time, the KN-1310 wireless module is able to operate according to the 2T2R scheme, and its WAN port is able to memorize the connection features to different providers.

What always attracts TP-Link routers is the availability of advanced functionality even for the most affordable solutions. It is unlikely that the overwhelming majority of TL-WR841N owners will organize virtual servers on their local network machines, but the manufacturer of such models provided them with this opportunity. For home use, the functions of parental control or traffic restrictions, which are also available to the router in question, may be of interest. The device has a developed and very flexible configuration system and supports all current connection protocols.

The design of the router claims for reasonableness and some originality. The device looks stylish, conveniently mounted on a wall or installed on a horizontal surface, and the abundance of ventilation holes will not allow the electronic filling to overheat in the most difficult operating conditions.

Despite the stated theoretical wireless exchange rate of 300 Mbit / s, real figures do not exceed hundreds of megabits. On the other hand, wired interfaces are designed for this speed.

A special feature of routers manufactured under the trademark MikroTik is simply the widest functionality comparable to “adult” systems. It allows you to implement almost any network task, but the reverse side of universality here is expressed in the complexity of configuring the device itself. The router is best suited only to trained users, for whom the capacity of home-grade routers is not enough, or for small and medium-sized businesses. But competently tuned MikroTik will work stably for a long time, seamlessly skipping large amounts of data and providing a confident coverage area at the expense of a powerful transmitter. By the way, the model is equipped with three built-in antennas, each of which can be controlled independently, translating the device into different MIMO configurations (1x1, 1x2, 2x1 or 2x2).

Given that home routers change quite rarely, the next model of a router for a house or apartment is more practical to choose “with a margin”, but without fanaticism. By such can be understood the desire to acquire a good wireless router with the highest class of the radio path, because a very limited circle of client devices is able to fully reveal the speed potential of the latter. At the moment, it seems to us, the best features are demonstrated by class AC1300 routers, and the recommended model is one of them. The device has a productive stuffing that supports hardware NAT, operates at 2.4 and 5 GHz using MU-MIMO technology and is theoretically capable of providing exchange rates of up to 400 and 867 Mb / s, respectively. Of course, paired with a client familiar with 256-QAM and made according to the MIMO 2x2 scheme, and for both bands. By the way, unlike the previously discussed Keenetic Viva, this router boasts a USB 3.0 port. True, only one.

Top-end router RT-AC87U from ASUS can be called by right. The eccentric design of this access point will attract the attention of even a skeptical user. The standard Wi-Fi 802.11ac with four removable antennas allows you to work with several clients at full speed. And the Ai Radar technology covers an area equal, as the manufacturer claims, to 465 m2 at speeds up to 2334 Mbps. This allows you to broadcast video in UltraHD / 4K format. Dimensions of the router are amazing - with a size of 29 x 17 x 5 mm, its weight is 750 grams. This is not for you tiny cubes, which we considered at the beginning of the article. In this model, there are familiar to us features from ASUS - beveled corners, straight lines and patterns on the body in the form of textures. The controls include two large Wi-Fi and LED buttons on the front side - they allow you to turn off the wireless network and the backlight of the indicators in one click. Behind are the WAN port, four gigabit LAN ports, a WPS client button, a reset and power button, a USB 2.0 port? as well as faster USB 3.0, located behind a special plug. You can also find the familiar power connector and connectors for removable antennas on the case. Independent operation of the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands is provided by a dual-core processor, thanks to which the router shows such a data transfer rate.

For users who prefer wired internet, the access point offers Gigabit Ethernet technology, which allows one of the LAN ports to be used as the second connection to the Internet. Convenient and intuitive interface completely Russified software allows you to fully enjoy using this router.

If you prefer to keep all the parameters of your home network under tight control, and prescribe scenarios of interaction with the "outside world" personally - this router is for you. For a relatively reasonable price, the owner of the MikroTik hAP AC receives a flexibly configured router equipped with an optical (SFP) and five gigabit wired ports. Connecting users to GPON networks is now far from uncommon, so instead of a converter, it makes sense to use more efficient equipment, ideally suited for such tasks. As for the wireless part of the device, it is now difficult to find a competitive offer that provides MIMO 3x3 independently in two bands. By the way, out of three pairs of internal antennas, instead of one you can connect external ones. Given the solid power output of the final amplifiers, such a step would provide a very large coverage area.There is only one drawback to the device - setting up MikroTik routers implies a good knowledge of network protocols, but this is already a problem with any universal tools.

One of the most attractive top Wi-Fi routers in terms of price / features. Powered by the powerful single-chip system MT7621A, implementing hardware address translation. Regarding the filling, only a modest amount of internal memory is perplexing - only 16 MB, which negatively affects the duration of the application of new settings and firmware updates. The radio path corresponds to the class AC2600, i.e. The DIR-882 uses the 160 MHz band (MIMO 4x4) to exchange with the client equipment. Another thing is whether your laptops are able to work on this technology themselves and whether 256-QAM modulation is supported. The router offers a good level of security, which implies the use of several external DNS filtering services, while it is fairly simple to configure for a poorly trained user. Unfortunately, the speed of the web interface DIR-882 leaves much to be desired.