Thinking about upgrading my router ...

[jim8193]

I have a Cisco Linksys E-2000 at present (set to 2.4) ...
... & am thinking of upgrading to the Cisco Linksys E-4200 ...

I have my home PC, my Atrix, & a HP dv7 laptop on the router at present; but will be adding a 2nd smartphone to the little group shortly - when she decides on which one she wants ...

I'm hoping to get a wider coverage area & stronger signal, along with possibly faster speeds from a new router ...

... any comments, thoughts, advice &/or suggestions would be appreciated ...

... tia ...

 

[andruoid]

Let's start with the amount of devices you have first. Essentially, 2 computers and 2 phones. Even downloading from the net at the same time won't hinder performance (speed). The speed limitation will be from your ISP, not your internal network.

On that note of speed, do you mean more speed on your LAN for transferring data between your desktop and laptop? The limit will be your laptop, most connect at 150Mbps as they have a single antenna. Your e2000 has the wireless ability to have devices connect at 300Mbps. Again, most wireless devices connect at 150Mbps. You'd have to buy a 300Mbps USB wifi stick to make things faster internally.

2.4GHz single-band vs 2.4/5GHz dual-band:

1. no device I own would take advantage of the 5GHz band.
2. I have 15+ routers in range of my house, channel over-lap / interference has not been an issue.
3. I have 2 desktops, 6 laptops, 4 phones, 1 Wii (running Netflix wireless) and a printer. No slow downs at all, even with my previous 25/2 connection.

 

[andruoid]

To add, if you really want a stronger signal, get a router with detachable antennas. Then depending on how many the router requires buy 2 or 3 higher end antennas to really boost the signal.

 

[Martimus]

Unfortunately with an "ash tray"-style Linksys router you are somewhat limited in terms of the signal that you can get out of the router. Replacing the E-2000 with an E-4200 may not improve the signal by much... if anything it'll increase the flexibility of your wireless network setup.

As already stated, using a router with external antennas will typically give you a stronger platform to work with. At that point if the signal is still insufficient you can switch to higher gain antennas. Additionally, depending on the router, you can upgrade to third party firmware like Tomato or DD-WRT. The third party firmware would provide you more control over the routers configuration... and to some extent the power level of the radio.

One thing that you might be able to do with your existing router is to move it to a higher location. This type of router, in it's standard horizontal configuration, typically has it's antennas placed such that it pushes the signal out horizontally more than vertically. Sitting at desk height there are typically lots of things that can potentially get in the way of the signal (thus reducing it). If you were, for example, to place the router on a shelf six feet off the floor you might find that your signal will propagate better throughout your home. Oh and if you have the router near a cordless telephone, move one or the other to the other side of the room. The signal from most 2.4ghz cordless phones will mess with your router signal.

 

[txusa]

Keep the router that you have and buy a second linksys router that has dd-wrt installed to be used as a repeater bridge. This will expand your coverage. I live on a small ranch and this is my system and it works over an area of about 800 ft from my main router.
There is a free Android app called wifi analyzer, it tells you what channel your router is set on and gives recommendations for better channels. I access my main router settings and change channels, router reboots and I open a new tab and run a speed test, I leave the settings window open so I can go back and forth until I find the optimal channel for that time of day.
I found I didn't need to buy a more expensive router all I needed was the right tools to tweak the router I already had.