Question Best Wi-Fi router for Slow DSL connection

[pcswig13]

I have a family member who lives in a rural area with very slow internet connections - 6mb down and 1mb up. Wow. Anyway, she has an AC1200 (TP-Link) router and it works well. It is about 5 years old, and I want to upgrade them to newer router, but they are stuck with that very slow speed connection. My question is - will installing an AX based mesh system for them be any benefit to them at all, given that slow connection, or should I just get a new AC or AX non-mesh router and call it a day?
Thank you

 

[Tech Junky]

Your ISP speed isn't relevant to a good router or AP.

Upgrading to AX on both the client and router will give you more speed and range on the LAN. M2's on the LAN side would be $30/ea

BE is right around the corner though as there are a handful of routers on the market already and a few devices with it built into the device. The perk of BE will be 320mhz on the 6ghz band which should provide at least 3gbps over wifi which is double that of AX and ~4X that of AC..

MESH = JUNK and waste of cash. If you properly setup your WIFI on differing channels the client will move from one to the next properly.

MESH just cuts the bandwidth in half to avoid running cables. If you were on a far node you'd top out around 400mbps which would suck if you were paying for 1gbps.

Now, if you want to add AX to the mix on the cheap get an AP like the NWA210AX $125 and then turn off the wifi on the router itself. When BE appliances become more common then take a look at those. There are benefits to upgrading besides the internet speed.

 

[JackMDS]

Given the info above there is No Technical reason to spend one Cent on new Hardware.

 

[mxnerd]

No need to upgrade WiFi router. Faster LAN access won't improve internet speed a bit.

If they can only get wired internet at 6Mbps, the only solution probably then is home plans from either AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile mobile 5G or Starlink from Space-X.

 

[pcswig13]

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

 

[aigomorla]

T-Mobile 5G home is a hit or miss under 99% of the cases.
If you have a uncongested access to a tower then its pretty fast.
If you live in a high density Metro where a lot of people also use Boost mobile or some other provider T-mobile sells to, then your connection will be spotty as heck, and you'll have horrible latency and speed, that will make spectrum cable seem like a godsend. (which spectrum cable isn't, and is absolutely horrible).

 

[myindjon]

I have a family member who lives in a rural area with very slow internet connections - 6mb down and 1mb up. Wow. Anyway, she has an AC1200 (TP-Link) router and it works well. It is about 5 years old, and I want to upgrade them to newer router, but they are stuck with that very slow speed connection. My question is - will installing an AX based mesh system for them be any benefit to them at all, given that slow connection, or should I just get a new AC or AX non-mesh router and call it a day?
Thank you

If I were you, I would go for a decent router. Your relative may not have a fast Internet connection, but that does not mean she has to adjust to a slower home network.

Always consider a future upgrade in mind while purchasing a networking device.

 

[pcswig13]

Update as of Sept 2024 - the infrastructure bill passed by congress has allowed FIBER to be made available in the rural area where my sister lives! I installed an AX3000 Wifi 6 router for her and all is well. She went from 6mpbs download to 400mbps speed!
Thank you all for the feedback last year. This forum is excellent.

 

[lakedude]

If I were you, I would go for a decent router. Your relative may not have a fast Internet connection, but that does not mean she has to adjust to a slower home network.

Always consider a future upgrade in mind while purchasing a networking device.

I see the OP has this all sorted out, congratulations that is quite an upgrade!

Most "normal" people don't use their local network for much of anything besides internet access. In fact most don't even know the difference between LAN and WAN. They mostly just want enough bandwidth to stream to all their devices.

I was thinking I used our LAN to share a file between my laptop and phone but now I'm wondering if it went direct bypassing the LAN all together...

We need a lot of local bandwidth for our wireless VR, otherwise we pretty much only use the LAN to print.