Get the best wireless routers 2020 for long range home gaming streaming from brands such as Netgear, Asus, Google Wi-Fi, TP-Link, and Netgear. It’s our first WI-Fi 6 (802.11ax) router pick. Rather than just looking at the mean (average) of all the results during our five-minute test window, we look across the spectrum of results, from good to bad. TP-Link is one of the best router companies in the world and has been leading the industry in technological development and technological innovation. So far, Asus has announced the ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 gaming router, but others will follow in 2021. Instead, it has basic firewall security and no monitoring. Like our top pick, the AX20 broadcasts a speedy Wi-Fi 6 network with good throughput, better-than-average range, and solid responsiveness (low latency), but it drops a few niceties to reach a lower price. In our tests, it connected rapidly and transferred data smoothly and consistently. In any case, if you want the best router to get the most out of Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, you should be ready to spend a few hundred dollars. As a result, a simple task—click a link, get a web page—is actually complex, and a relatively minor number of errors and slowdowns can magnify rapidly into a situation where web pages don’t load and you have to hit the refresh button. Another option are mesh extenders, which like mesh-networking kits, automatically hand you off from router to extender and back, using the same network name; that makes the mesh experience a little more seamless. Joel Santo Domingo is a senior staff writer covering networking and storage at Wirecutter. The Wi-Fi 6 version of Eero’s basic mesh kit has an attractive price, particularly when it's on sale, but we found that it underperformed when we put it to the test. That left us with almost a dozen kits from eight vendors (Asus, D-Link, Eero, Motorola, Netgear, TP-Link, TrendNet, and Ubiquiti) to test, in order to find the best Wi-Fi mesh network kit. If you’re happy with your Wi-Fi, you don’t need a new router—it’s as simple as that. This setup can’t replace a full-featured NAS, but it could help you back up your laptops regularly in the background. Before joining Wirecutter in 2018, Joel Santo Domingo tested and wrote about PCs, networking, and personal tech for PCMag.com, Lifewire, HotHardware, and PC Magazine for more than 17 years. The Wirecutter’s premise is that there is a best option, and that it can be discovered through rigorous testing. We ran each test six times, and we then averaged the results. Replacing poor connections with better ones is what helps mesh shine. However, the Trendnet’s admin interface was unpolished, and it placed dead last on our latency tests. This is usually true for wired networking, but it doesn’t work well for Wi-Fi. But to folks who just want a simple-to-use router, Ubiquiti’s interface could look like an impenetrable wall of technical details. In contrast, the TP-Link Archer AX6000 was excellent at long distance, topping the charts at 160 Mbps, but it was merely adequate at close distances (185 Mbps versus 643 Mbps for the Asus RT-AX88U). This third band allows more devices to connect and be busy at once without slowing the network down so much. However, the competition has surpassed it in price and performance on our tests. It’s not that hard to use, but it definitely feels techy enough to scare off some less-technical people. Wirecutter tests and reviews the best tech, appliances, gear, and more. D-Link COVR-C1203 Access point: An access point provides a Wi-Fi connection to your devices but passes all its data back to the main router via an Ethernet cable to be sorted. —SPEEDY PLUG … *At the time of publishing, the price was $64. Our previous pick: Netgear Orbi RBK50Netgear’s Orbi RBK50 was our pick in the 2018 iteration of this mesh-networking guide. While all that drives its price up … In its quest for simplicity, it removes even basic niceties (it has only one extra Ethernet port on the base unit, and none on the satellites). The UniFi Dream Machine—from the highly regarded networking company Ubiquiti—and the Synology RT2600ac were in the same ballpark, showing that good radios and reception are more important than whether a router has the “latest tech.” And at long range, the benefits of better Wi-Fi radios were more clear: While the AX50 averaged 140 Mbps, the less powerful Archer A20 and Archer A7 were as slow as 39 and 24 Mbps, respectively. Wi-Fi range extender: Wi-Fi range extenders (also known as Wi-Fi signal boosters) are less expensive than mesh nodes but are also slower and less capable. Here's what you need to build the best home network along with reviews of our top-rated routers for a range of needs and budgets. If present, the third mesh node was placed in the master bedroom on the first floor, with one interior wall between it and the base router. If you want to make the leap to a Wi-Fi 6 router, it's important to learn what these wireless internet routers can (and can't) do for you, as well as some of the best ones to consider. In addition to testing for raw throughput and the quality of web browsing, we made sure roaming worked well on our picks by checking each router’s interface (if present) to confirm that all the laptops weren’t bunched on a single node, router, or satellite. If you’re an even more technical sort and have a (possibly humongous) home with some truly troublesome coverage zones, you might wonder how a UDM/BeaconHD mess setup compares with a more traditional multiple-access-point setup such as Ubiquiti’s UAP line of devices. TP Link’s Archer A7 router is a relatively inexpensive, slightly older router that can still provide a good network for small homes or one- or two-bedroom apartments without many devices. It’s a bit slower overall than our upgrade pick, but that’s like saying an eagle isn’t as fast as a falcon, and it’s easy to set up and manage. From The Wirecutter: The best Wi-Fi router (for most people, anyway) Only a couple of stragglers (the TP-Link Archer AX10 and D-Link DIR-X1560) fell far behind at 100 Mbps. All routers walk you through initial setup, but TP-Link’s administration page for the AX50 resides in the Goldilocks zone—it’s neither too simple nor too complicated. Metaphorically, Joel has been a wire cutter for decades: Testing wireless home networking has been a part of his life for the past 20-plus years through all versions of Wi-Fi, back to the wireless phone extension he tacked onto the back of his Apple PowerBook. But TP-Link has improved the Archer A7 since we tested it in 2018, adding via frequent firmware updates features such as compatibility with TP-Link’s OneMesh extenders. Best Wi-Fi 6 routers to shop. If you already have a good router that you like, and you need just a little more range in part of your house, you might consider adding a wireless extender. Although all modern routers are at least dual-band—offering one slower but longer-range 2.4 GHz band and one faster but shorter-range 5 GHz band—it’s not easy to take full advantage of both bands. The Samsung SmartThings Wifi uses discreet disk-shaped devices to offer whole-home Wi-Fi for less. The kicker here is that the phones, laptops, game consoles, and other devices you’re using are almost always 1×1 or 2×2 (so they support either one or two spatial streams, respectively), and the speed of the connection is determined by the device with the fewest spatial streams. Orbi Tri-Band WiFi System, 2.2 Gbps, Built-in Cable Modem Router + 1 Satellite. The TP-Link Archer T4U V3 is the best, easiest way to add reliable Wi-Fi to a desktop computer that doesn’t have it. The RE220 is universally compatible to any router, but also can function as part of a seamless mesh system when paired with the Archer A7 router. These kits promised more performance, added range, extra capacity, and more powerful radios. Routers with MU-MIMO support are common but not necessarily ubiquitous; same with client devices. Each color bar represents a task waiting for something to happen after you’ve clicked a link, and longer bars mean you’ll spend more time staring at a spinning circle or pinwheel. remote controlled camera drone The Five Factor Model was suggested by two researchers, Costa and McCrae, in 1989 Common wisdom would say that the last thing the world needs is another technology news website. In addition to being one of the most expensive mesh kits here, the Orbi RBK752 failed one of our 4K streaming tests while the network was crowded. We wanted to test an inexpensive mesh kit like the TP-Link W2400 and compare it with the other mesh networks here. But the upgrade is worth the added expense if you’ve already invested in gigabit internet service and need a powerful mesh network to work with all that bandwidth. AX6000 WiFi Mesh System. From mesh to gaming to Wi-Fi 6, these are the best we've tested. We also let the router choose its own channels using the automatic setting, if that was the default. If ever an electronic device could be considered the brains of an operation, it would be the purpose-driven processor known as a wireless router. If your household really hammers your Wi-Fi network—lots of video calling, streaming, and browsing all at once—spending more on the AX50 or AX20 will make a bigger difference. In another router review a few months ago, the best 8011.ac routers were not also the best for 8011.n. For those homes, there seems to always be at least one dead spot. In October 2018, the Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry organization responsible for certifying that Wi-Fi devices work together, announced that it was rebranding Wi-Fi 802.11n as “Wi-Fi 4,” 802.11ac as “Wi-Fi 5,” and 802.11ax as “Wi-Fi 6.” We hope the new terminology will help simplify explanations. By looking at the latency of requests made while all six laptops were working simultaneously, we got a good measure of how well the network might function for you during a busy time. For nearly $100 more than the CT8, the speed improvements won’t be worth it for most people in most homes. AiProtection Pro’s internet security helps prevent malware from infecting your phones and PCs, and also offers options intended to filter objectionable content from your children’s devices. One thing to note is that while most of our competitors were able to download at 25 Mbps or better at long range, the Linksys MR7350 and D-Link DIR-X1560 failed to break the 10 Mbps barrier. Here are the top wireless routers you must consider when shopping around for one this 2020. Better, faster Wi-Fi routers are here -- and yep, they're fast. When we updated our Acer laptop with Wi-Fi drivers straight from Intel, which were newer than the ones Acer offered, our problem went away. The D-Link COVR-C1203 is a dual-band three-piece mesh-networking kit that is easy to hide virtually anywhere in your home. The Best Wireless Router Deals This Week* Netgear Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR500 AC2600 Router — $219.99 (List Price $249.99) TP-Link Archer A7 … We encountered this issue once during our previous testing: One of our laptops, an Acer, would connect to a router’s wireless-ac network but drop the speeds to almost nothing. Aside from Wi-Fi 6, WPA3 compatibility, and the speedy 2.5 gigabit port, the XT8 is functionally identical to the CT8. Wi-Fi 6 brings improvements that we’re hoping will help routers and mesh networks better handle the increasing number of wireless devices, using technologies like OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) and TWT (Target Wake Time); however, devices must be Wi-Fi 6 compliant to take full advantage of them. Like most of the routers we tested, the AX50 has five Ethernet ports: a WAN internet port for connecting your cable modem or fiber terminal, as well as four network ports for wired devices. The UDM has a built-in 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) access point, whereas Ubiquiti’s more enterprise-level options separate the router and access-point functions into different boxes (and saddle them with enterprise-level prices). TP-Link WDR6320 Wireless Router. See the How we tested section below for more details on our testing method and results. We determined our recommendation using the 10 criteria below, drawn from research and extensive testing. These features cost more, but they’re worth the expense. In an addendum to our mesh-networking guide, we found that a Ubiquiti setup with wired UAP access points outperformed a top mesh-networking kit in wireless-only mode. On the other hand, the AX20 was less responsive than the AX50 when multiple devices were active, so a busy household might notice more lag on the AX20 than a home with fewer devices. Some other mesh kits use proprietary nodes, with different components inside (Google Nest Wifi and Netgear Orbi’s simpler nodes come to mind), which means that expanding the network is often cheaper than with the CT8. D-Link COVR-2202-US Arris has released the SURFboard mAX mesh Wi-Fi system based around three models with increasing speed promises (and prices). By running multiple web browsing tests while other laptops are streaming video and large files, we test the worst-case scenario for a mesh-networking kit. We believe that mesh’s purpose isn’t to make Wi-Fi fast somewhere—it’s to make Wi-Fi fast everywhere. The neighbors and our home network also kept their Wi-Fi networks going, which left somewhere in the vicinity of a half-dozen to a dozen network names visible at any given time. A deep dive into why Wi-Fi kinda sucks, Ars Technica, March 4, 2017, Glenn Fleishman, Wi-Fi gets quicker with 802.11ax, but buying early might offer few advantages, PCWorld, April 25, 2018, Which Building Materials Can Block Wi-Fi Signals?, EyeNetworks, May 5, 2017, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, What is Wi-Fi 6 and why you’re going to want it, ZDNet, May 20, 2019. After new testing, including the Eero 6, Eero Pro 6, and Linksys Velop AX4200 (MX12600), we affirm the the Asus ZenWiFi AC (CT8) as our top pick. The XT8 can also serve a strong, responsive signal to all corners of a larger than average home, and it outperformed the pack in speed and latency in almost all of our tests. It comes loaded with advanced features and very capable management software. A great router should provide many years of reliable service, and buying one with more recent technology can future-proof it for longer. Basically, if you feel that your old router cannot get the job done anymore, i.e. This isn’t an unusual use case in homes that would particularly benefit from a mesh setup, but only 4 of the 11 mesh kits tested well in this situation, with the CT8 on top. In addition to supporting Alexa, the Asus RT-AX88U is a little geekier in that it allows you to use IFTTT (If This Then That) to automate functions such as an alert that sends you a check-in email when your kids come home from school and connect their phones to the Wi-Fi. In addition to Alexa support, the CT8 offers the much geekier IFTTT (If This Then That) protocol to automate functions, such as an alert that sends you a check-in email when your kids come home from school and connect their phones to the Wi-Fi. Most people, however, don’t need mesh Wi-Fi and can do just fine in smallish homes and apartments with a regular router. That’s something you can’t get just by adding another access point or wireless extender to your existing router. The Trendnet TEW-830MDR2K was one of the least expensive mesh kits in our roundup and also had small unobtrusive nodes. We also tested raw speed in terms of throughput at the farthest spot in the attic/sunroom, at a closer spot about 15 feet away with no obstructions, and in a bedroom on the second floor with several interior walls in between the laptop and the main router. our editorial process. And it actually topped the XT8 in one of the bedrooms that proved a particularly tough testing spot. The Linksys MR7350 and Netgear RAX40 are moderately priced Wi-Fi 6 routers. Unless you have a large home better suited to mesh networking, the AX50 is a good choice, as it can provide a better network than what you get from routers more than a couple of years old or many networking kits rented from an internet provider. Its small size makes it easy to blend it with your home’s decor. A dual-core Intel processor and 256 MB of RAM power the AX50, and we found that those components were sufficient to keep four laptops and devices chugging along successfully in our performance tests. If you have gigabit internet service or want to dig into the settings to fine-tune your network, the RT-AX88U’s extra features and improved speed and range are worth the higher cost. TP-Link could add WPA3 as a feature in a future firmware update. It did fail one of our 4K streaming tests and one of the browsing tests when the network was fully loaded. You might be experiencing symptoms such as dropped connections outside your home, the need to turn off your media streaming box when you want to play an online game, or worse yet, slow surfing even while you’re sitting just a few rooms away from your router. For example, like the Asus ZenWiFi twins, you can separate the Synology’s 2.4 GHz band into a separate SSID to facilitate connecting smart devices like cameras and smart switches. Though it does a good job operating on only basic settings, this Asus router is the one you should look at if you think our pick doesn’t allow enough customization and you want more settings and sliders to tweak your network. The XT8 came the closest to providing this though, achieving a throughput of over 600 Mbps at close range—almost 30% faster than our main pick, the Asus Wi-Fi AC (CT8). The BeaconHD is a wireless-only extender like Eero’s Beacons, however, so you’ll need another solution if you want a mesh node with an Ethernet port. What We Liked: One of the best things about this mesh router is its customizability. It performed better on our tests than our previous pick, the Wi-Fi 5 TP-Link Archer A20, even though it lacks the A20’s third Wi-Fi band. The UDM’s administration app and web interface look polished and professional compared with those of home routers, and they offer plenty of settings and graphic monitors familiar to network engineers. This allows these routers to support older 2.4GHz-only Wi-Fi clients while newer devices that support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz can use whichever band offers the best signal at any given time. TP-Link sells a variant of the Archer A20 called the Archer C4000. Although the AX20 didn’t perform as quickly as the AX50, it didn’t lag too far behind: It was almost as fast in our speed test as the AX50 was at close range (7% behind) and a little behind at long distance (about 20%). We repeated each test set six times and averaged the results to smooth out spikes. A Facebook feed, for example, has multiple resources, like HTML code, CSS libraries, and Javascript, that load after each click. We found it easy to set up, and it’s compatible with AmpliFi HD routers and mesh satellites. A good rule of thumb is that if you’ve considered adding a wireless extender or an extra access point to an otherwise satisfactory router, get a mesh system instead. The ZenWiFi AX (XT8) is almost a clone of our CT8 pick, but with significant upgrades in the form of future-proof technologies like Wi-Fi 6 and WPA3. Firmware updates help keep the two-year-old Archer A7 current. Flagship phones and high-end business laptops are beginning to show up with Wi-Fi 6 support, but budget phones, tablets, and smart devices are stuck with Wi-Fi 5 and will probably stay that way for another year or two. Every time we do a router review or a mesh-networking guide, readers ask us about enterprise-level networking options like Ubuquiti’s UniFi networking line. FAQs. It’s still a good choice if you have lots of devices, as they can take advantage of its tri-band radio. The AX20 looks like the AX50 and offers a strong, responsive network that’s nearly as good, especially if your house isn’t larger than our 2,300-square-foot-test home. Although its rack-mounted models are decidedly overkill for most homes, we were intrigued by the recent introduction of the UniFi Dream Machine (UDM), which seems tailor-made for homes and small businesses. Most notably, there are rental fees for the cable modem and router that can add $100 or more per year to your cable bill. Although your network probably isn’t always that busy, those busy times are when you’re most likely to get frustrated by poor network performance. He did that so he could connect to the internet from his desk, his couch, and his bed seamlessly (a rarity for the time). There may be spots in your home where the Wi-Fi sucks, which is often more frustrating than no Wi-Fi at all. In our testing, the Nest Wifi kit excelled at the single-client throughput tests but lagged the Eero Pro + 2 Beacons when all six laptops were using the network at the same time. All 802.11ac and 802.11ax routers come with an AC or AX speed rating meant to tell you how fast the router is, formatted as “AC1900t” or “AX3000,” for example. The best router 2020 has to offer boast the best range and speeds necessary for everything we do online. TP-Link Deco X20 Shenzhen, China, October 16, 2015 - A recent review of dozens of wireless routers by the New York Times in collaboration with The Wirecutter concluded that the Archer C7 is the best option for most consumers. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. 2.4 GHz versus 5 GHz: The 2.4 GHz band is slower but is compatible with more devices and can reach farther and through walls better. You can check the AX50’s settings in both an internal website and TP-Link’s Tether smartphone app. Prior to writing for a living, Joel was an IT tech and system administrator for small, medium-size, and large companies. Like the AmpliFi HD, which we tested and dismissed in 2017, the compact and inexpensive AmpliFi Instant has a front-mounted touchscreen that lets you monitor your network bandwidth. Testing for most Wi-Fi router reviews consists mostly of connecting a single device to Wi-Fi at various distances, trying to get the biggest throughput number possible, and declaring the router with the biggest number and the best range the winner, at least in terms of raw performance. This expanded wireless standard will take advantage of newly deregulated 6 GHz radio frequencies. And make no mistake, the Asus RT-AX88U is pricey, about double the cost of the TP-Link Archer AX50. The AX6000 is another router that costs twice what our pick costs, and even then it delivered speeds that were only 11% faster. AC1900 WiFi Cable Modem Router for XFINITY~~®~~ Internet & Voice The TP-Link Archer AX10 and D-Link DIR-X1560 were our budget router contenders. (Use your router’s mixed-mode setting—AES and TKIP—only if you have older devices that don’t support WPA2.). Many networks are prone to lag and delays while you wait for sites to even start loading. ... D-Link WiFi Router AC2600 Dual Band, MU-Mimo, Smart Parental Controls, Works with Alexa By d-link 9.8 If you place the mesh node in your den or home office, you can connect your laptop or desktop PC to it for better speeds. These routers promised more performance from added radios, antennas, extra ports, or a combination of those. As far as security goes, the AX50 comes with TP-Link’s HomeCare by Trend Micro, which includes a basic malware filter (blocking access to known phishing, spam, and scam sites), intrusion prevention (firewall), and infected-device quarantine. Testing mesh kits this way—in the most difficult spots to reach, in a space with a mix of building materials—ensures that we find the ones that work best throughout your house, rather than just looking good in the easy spots. We analyzed the leading Wireless Routers to help you find the best Wireless Router to buy. Parental controls, security, and performance are relatively easy to configure in the Tether smartphone app. The RT-AX88U was the top performer on most of our tests, and we think investing in this model’s extra performance will pay off if you’re one of the lucky people who have 500-megabit or faster internet service. We also considered the Asus RT-AX92U mesh kit, but passed, because it uses its Wi-Fi 6 radios solely for wireless backhaul when setup as a mesh network. This is a tough test, but we think a good network should respond reliably all the time. The raison d'être of a mesh network is to provide good Wi-Fi performance all over the house, not just near the base unit. Cable modem router combos are often provided by the cable company for a fee that is part of your monthly bill. Each band is broken down into separate channels so more devices and networks can communicate in the same area without interfering with each other. One notable feature is that it keeps a historical log noting when it has blocked malware sites; you can monitor this log and use it to warn family members that the bad sites they’re visiting are trying to phish them, for example. We researched dual- and tri-band mesh kits from each of the major router manufacturers, including Asus, D-Link, Eero, Netgear, and TP-Link. But the only router that was notably faster is also notably more expensive: Our upgrade pick, the Asus RT-AX88U, was more than 20% faster but typically costs as much as double the price. It’s generally speedy and able to reach long range, it has little lag even when the network is busy, and it’s a great choice if you have a high-performance internet service plan. We repeated each test set six times and averaged the results to smooth out spikes. We suggest skipping the Synology MR2200ac as a standalone router, but it performed well when we combined it with the RT2600ac in our testing for our mesh-networking guide. For example, if you find that some devices or laptops in your home keep trying to connect to weaker (but ostensibly “speedy”) signals that provide an unreliable connection, you can set the Asus mesh network to reject weak connections and shunt the devices to the slower but more reliable bands. 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