Router with better 802.11n range than my wndr3400v2 ?

[DT4K]

Hey all,
I've currently got a Netgear wndr3400v2. It's in a downstairs corner of my house, where my office is. I get a decent signal throughout the house, except on our smart tv in the bedroom, which is upstairs on the opposite side of the house. So trying to watch Netflix is a frustrating series of connection errors or frequent pauses and loading screens.

So I'm thinking it's time to replace the router, but when I look at reviews, I'm having a hard time finding info on how good or bad the 802.11n range is on all of these new ac routers. The TV in our bedroom only supports 802.11n.
I don't want to buy something that's fast and has good range with ac, but isn't any better with n wireless than what I currently have.

I'd rather not move the cable internet to another room because I prefer to have all my home office stuff hard wired. Running ethernet from the cable modem in my office to the router in a more central room is possible, but would be a PITA.

So my preference would be to get a new router with better range if that's possible.

Any tips or links to reviews/tests that include 802.11n range would be great. Thanks.

 

[Emulex]

I'd just setup another router as a client AP - or repeater. I've done this for an office it works great. Airport extreme extending Time Capsule! Solid and easy!

 

[smitbret]

Hey all,
I've currently got a Netgear wndr3400v2. It's in a downstairs corner of my house, where my office is. I get a decent signal throughout the house, except on our smart tv in the bedroom, which is upstairs on the opposite side of the house. So trying to watch Netflix is a frustrating series of connection errors or frequent pauses and loading screens.

So I'm thinking it's time to replace the router, but when I look at reviews, I'm having a hard time finding info on how good or bad the 802.11n range is on all of these new ac routers. The TV in our bedroom only supports 802.11n.
I don't want to buy something that's fast and has good range with ac, but isn't any better with n wireless than what I currently have.

I'd rather not move the cable internet to another room because I prefer to have all my home office stuff hard wired. Running ethernet from the cable modem in my office to the router in a more central room is possible, but would be a PITA.

So my preference would be to get a new router with better range if that's possible.

Any tips or links to reviews/tests that include 802.11n range would be great. Thanks.

You could get lots of recommendations for many different routers but ultimately, none of them are a sure thing nor would they be the best option for you. In reality, the range between an average router and a great router is only a few, small percentage points. Keep in mind, too, that the router is only half the equation. If the wireless adapter in the devices can't put out a strong enough signal to make the return connection then all of the power in the world from the router won't make a bit of difference.

You would be much, much, much better off doing something like setting up powerline or MoCA adpaters if possible. Even better, if you can get a wire closer to the rooms getting bad reception then set up an AP with a cheap router like this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...re=tp_link_n300_router-_-33-704-039-_-Product

 

[Puffnstuff]

For streaming high bandwidth over wireless you will want 802.11ac with the highest possible radio power to reach to the far side of the house. I'm was using a wndr4500 rangemax router and it was decent, however now I'm using a netgear nighthawk x4 r7500 and it has the power to project a clean signal for a good distance. If you read the reviews on routers in the class it comes in at the top of the class. In the meanwhile you might want to change the settings on your netflix account to reduce the bandwidth until you can give it enough to stream without issue. In my neighborhood there are a pile of wireless networks and mine drowns them all out .

With that said I run my smart tv hardwired through a hp procurve enterprise grade switch to keep bandwidth at maximum. As was mentioned you might consider one of the powerline ethernet adaptors instead of buying a router unless you are planning to spend the money to get a good one. The better ones have dual processors to handle different traffic patterns on the network.

 

[smitbret]

For streaming high bandwidth over wireless you will want 802.11ac with the highest possible radio power to reach to the far side of the house. I'm was using a wndr4500 rangemax router and it was decent, however now I'm using a netgear nighthawk x4 r7500 and it has the power to project a clean signal for a good distance. If you read the reviews on routers in the class it comes in at the top of the class. In the meanwhile you might want to change the settings on your netflix account to reduce the bandwidth until you can give it enough to stream without issue. In my neighborhood there are a pile of wireless networks and mine drowns them all out .

With that said I run my smart tv hardwired through a hp procurve enterprise grade switch to keep bandwidth at maximum. As was mentioned you might consider one of the powerline ethernet adaptors instead of buying a router unless you are planning to spend the money to get a good one. The better ones have dual processors to handle different traffic patterns on the network.

He's having trouble with the 2.4GHz wireless N. 802.11ac would actually be worse than what he has now since it runs on the 5GHz band. By the time the signal penetrated all of the walls and floors to get to the client, the signal would be so attenuated that it wouldn't even be detectable.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Actually the ac units are dual band and have n and and they also have a better radio setup delivering a stronger 2.4 signal. My lowly old ipod touch is 2.4 and always has a great signal. I ran a 2.4 ethernet bridge to a tv for streaming netflix and even with it's 54mbps rating it was able to stream hd just fine with a clean signal. His tv will do the same if it can get a good enough signal from the router. With that said most smart tv's also have 5ghz radios so that would benefit him even more. Either way the better antennas of the newer units will deliver better wireless performance on either band.

 

[JackMDS]

N600 Wireless Dual Band Router WNDR3400v2

According to your description it does a Good Job beside one remote point.


Thus "So my preference would be to get a new router with better range if that's possible", is the least probable solution.


Find a way to lay one cable to the second floor and Install there a similar Wireless Router configured as an Access Point.


Using Wireless Routers (or Modem/Wireless Router) as a Switch with an Access Point - http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html

 

[DT4K]

Thanks everyone.
I got an app for my phone to measure the signal strength and after doing some testing, I found that it stayed strong until going past that last wall into our bedroom. I had a cat5 cable that was long enough to move the wireless router out of my office, one room closer to the middle of the house. One less wall to go through turned out to be enough to get a strong signal in the bedroom and Netflix now works without any issues.

I have another issue with my setup, but I'll start a new thread for that one.

 

[NazForum]

If the problem is only with your TV then I will suggest you to sue one of the powerline Adapter to connect the TV