You are here because you want to buy a WiFi Router and want to know how to buy a good WiFi Router for your home or office or business. A lot of wireless routers are nowadays available in the market. But before buying a WiFi Router, you should know which one is a good WiFi Router for your need based on some features and specifications of the router. We will now see some key points those should have well understand before buying a good WiFi Router.
What to Know before Buying a Good WiFi Router
Nowadays we cannot go a single day without a WiFi Router because every home or every office uses WiFi Router for wireless connection of WiFi enabled devices. So, we should know the points those will help to choose a good WiFi Router for our home or office. The following list will show the points those should have better understand to buy a good WiFi Router.
- Brand of the WiFi Router
- Frequency Band of the WiFi Router
- WiFi Standard of the Router
- Generation of the WiFi Router
- CPU and RAM
- WiFi Router’s wired Interface
- Authentication Security of the WiFi Router
- Number of antennas of the WiFi Router
- Functionalities of the WiFi Router
Brand of the WiFi Router
To buy a good WiFi Router at first you have to choose the best WiFi Router Brand. A lot of WiFi Router Brands can be found in the market but all the brands are not renowned who produces best WiFi Router. So, find a WiFi Router Brand who produces high quality and stable WiFi Router and then decide whether you will buy the WiFi Router or not.
Frequency Band of the WiFi Router
To choose a best WiFi Router, you should also know the frequency band of the router. WiFi Router operates on 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz (recently approved) frequency band which basically decides the speed and range of the connection. If frequency gets higher, we get high speed or bandwidth but range will be reduced. So, the 2.4GHz band will provide a greater range than WiFi at 5GHz band but slower speeds. On the other hand, WiFi at 5GHz will provide greater speed but lesser range because higher frequencies cannot penetrate solid objects, such as walls and floors.
According to frequency band, WiFi Routers are divided into three categories: Single Band WiFi Router, Dual Band WiFi Router and Tri Band WiFi Router.
Single Band WiFi Router operates only one frequency band usually at 2.4GHz which has a maximum of 300Mbps speed/bandwidth. Single Band WiFi Router offers longer range but the internet speeds will slow down if we connect multiple devices. So, a single band WiFi Router will be suitable for small home or apartment where connected device will be limited.
Dual Band WiFi Router which operates on both 2.4 GHz and 5GHz frequency band will be suitable for home or office where there will be a lot of simultaneous connected devices.
Tri Band WiFi Router (In WiFi 6 – one 2.4 GHz band, Two 5 GHz band and in WiFi 6E – 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz) is usually expensive but useful for multistory buildings (if we use mesh or repeater or extender) with heavy internet usages. Tri Band WiFi Router can offer up to 9.6 Gbps speed/bandwidth.
WiFi Standard of the Router
You should also know the standard that follows the WiFi Router. WiFi Router follows IEEE 802.11 standard which has some variations those operate on different frequency band as the following table.
| 802.11 Standard | Frequency Band |
| 11a and 11ac | 5GHz |
| 11b and 11g | 2.4 GHz |
| 11n | 2.4 and 5GHz |
| 11ax | 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6GHz (WiFi 6E) |
Wi-Fi 802.11ac standard or AC series routers are most common and are available in both dual and tri-band configurations. They come with MU-MIMO (Multiple Users Multi-In Multi-Out) technology. This technology allows routers to manage the available bandwidth among connected devices for better connectivity and speed. Wi-Fi 802.11ac standard routers make more sense for modern day usages.
Wi-Fi 802.11n standard or N series routers are affordable and available in dual band configurations and having Multi-In Multi-Out (MIMO) technology is important and enables manufacturers to put more antennas to offer better coverage and speed.
Wi-Fi 802.11ax standard or AX series routers, also known as Wi-Fi 6 offers Bi-directional MU-MIMO technology, makes it more suitable for gaming or streaming 4K and VR content.
Generation of the WiFi Router
The generation of the WiFi Router is also important. We are currently in WiFi 6 (speed 9.6 Gbps) which is 250% faster than WiFi 5 (bandwidth 3.5 Gbps). The WiFi generation table is shown below collected from Wikipedia.
| Generation/IEEE Standard | Maximum Link rate | Adopted | Frequency |
| Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax) | 600 to 9608 Mbit/s | 2019 | 6 GHz |
| Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax) | 600 to 9608 Mbit/s | 2019 | 2.4/5 GHz |
| Wi‑Fi 5 (802.11ac) | 433 to 6933 Mbit/s | 2014 | 5 GHz |
| Wi‑Fi 4 (802.11n) | 72 to 600 Mbit/s | 2008 | 2.4/5 GHz |
| 802.11g | 6 to 54 Mbit/s | 2003 | 2.4 GHz |
| 802.11a | 6 to 54 Mbit/s | 1999 | 5 GHz |
| 802.11b | 1 to 11 Mbit/s | 1999 | 2.4 GHz |
| 802.11 | 1 to 2 Mbit/s | 1997 | 2.4 GHz |
| (Wi-Fi 1, Wi-Fi 2, Wi-Fi 3, Wi-Fi 3E are unbranded but have unofficial assignments) |
CPU and RAM
You should also check the number of CPU core and its frequency. Multicore CPU and higher frequency make the WiFi Router faster. The size of RAM is also should be checked because higher RAM space makes the WiFi performance better.
WiFi Router’s wired Interface
WiFi Router may have either Ethernet interface or USB port or both to connect broadband network. So, you have to choose which one is suitable for you. Ethernet interface is common in any WiFi Router but USB port will give you some extra benefits for connecting either any SIM based network or a networked storage. A networked storage will give facility to share videos, files or software.
When looking at the wired connections, you should also check the speed of the wired connection. Cheaper routers may have only 100Mbps Ethernet switches. So, selecting the Best WiFi Router it is best to ensure the Ethernet connection rated at 1Gbps/1,000Mbps. Also check the type of USB connection. The USB3 is very much faster than the older USB 2.
Authentication Security of the WiFi Router
Wireless network can be very insecure without proper authentication security. If we don’t implement strong authentication security, hackers can pick up secure information like bank and card details. So, while buying the best WiFi Router, make sure that the WiFi Router supports at least WPA2 (the second implementation of the Wi-Fi Protected Access protocol).
The major reputable WiFi Router Brands are well aware of the need for security and they are designed with enterprise or advanced family security in mind. These devices come with many extra features, including the ability add extra encryption, monitor devices, block unwanted users from the network, and even see what people are browsing. Check what facilities are available and whether they meet the needs.
Number of antennas of the WiFi Router
The number of antenna of the WiFi Router is also important. If you have multiple antennas, you will get better WiFi performance. You should also check the gain of the antenna. Higher antenna gain will cover long distance than the lower gain antenna.
Functionalities of the WiFi Router
WiFi Routers have facility to be used as access point, repeater or extender. So, before buying any WiFi Router, check the WiFi Router has these functions. Most modern WiFi Router can be used as access points or repeaters and extenders to boost the connection range of the primary router and modem.
The WiFi range extender can be used to boost WiFi range. So, if you face range issue in your house, range extender will be so helpful for you. WiFi Repeaters will do the same thing but it can connect to the network wirelessly and rebroadcast the signal for better range and speed.
How to buy a good WiFi Router has been discussed in this article. I hope you will now be able to choose the best WiFi Router for your home or office. However, if you face any issue, feel free to discuss in comment or contact me from Contact page. I will try my best to stay with you.