Recommend me a cheap and cheerful router

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stupar

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Im planning on putting my VM superhub into modem mode and attach a router that will offer better wifi ability.

What can you folks recommend for me to look at thats cheap and cheerful.

(my rationale is that anything will be better than the superhub set up as a router)
Thanks
 
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Upto £50 budget
Cheerfully wifi performance that exceeds that of the superhub itself
 
For 50 quid I doubt it.

The sh2 ac wasnt too bad for coverage. Bigger properties it starts to struggle.

Is it throughput or range that's the issue? As a single wifi point may not help in a larger property or one with blocking wall materials.
 
neil_g said:
For 50 quid I doubt it.

The sh2 ac wasnt too bad for coverage. Bigger properties it starts to struggle.

Is it throughput or range that's the issue? As a single wifi point may not help in a larger property or one with blocking wall materials.
Click to expand...

We are on the original superhub (not the two)
As for property - we are on one level (built circa 1950) so internal walls made of brick.

The issue is more throughput.
During non peak times with the phone in the same room as the hub i am lucky to get 30mb of our 100mb limit.
 
I have the new VM media hub. It works absolutely fine.Is yours the new one?
 
nero said:
I have the new VM media hub. It works absolutely fine.Is yours the new one?
Click to expand...
No we are still on the original hub from 2012.
Superhub 2 isnt available anymore and i dont want the 3 because of the intel chip issue that affects online game play (jitter/latency issues).
 
Ok.I am not sure if it is 2 or 3 .I just got the one which was sent for a £20 fee but it works fine for me so far.

Thanks for the info
 
In the same room is interesting.

Need to prove whether it's the WiFi first I guess. Have you tried both 2.4 and 5ghz networks also ethernet cable to see where the problem is?
 
neil_g said:
In the same room is interesting.

Need to prove whether it's the WiFi first I guess. Have you tried both 2.4 and 5ghz networks also ethernet cable to see where the problem is?
Click to expand...

Upto 30mb down is on 2.4ghz. If i switch the hub to 5ghz i get about half of the 2.4 speed.
Interestingly when plugged in through ethernet i get within 10mb of my vivid 100 package.

This to me suggests its the wifi signal that is the issue but i am not fully clued up on networking so any help that can be given is much appreciated.
 
Those are definitely odd results. I'd expect better of the ethernet result too (most vm cable users get over the prescribed speeds if everything is running okay).

Thing is even if you replace the WiFi / router side your ethernet speed is still slower than I'd expect and would still be evident in modem mode.

I'm struggling for recommendations on the budget though. Maybe something second hand would help.
 
neil_g said:
Those are definitely odd results. I'd expect better of the ethernet result too (most vm cable users get over the prescribed speeds if everything is running okay).

Thing is even if you replace the WiFi / router side your ethernet speed is still slower than I'd expect and would still be evident in modem mode.

I'm struggling for recommendations on the budget though. Maybe something second hand would help.
Click to expand...

I will re run the ethernet test. Its possible i did it at a time when they traffic manage the network.
Either way between 90 and 100mb is better than 30mb or less.

I could always get VM to check my downstream and upstream results.

Ive heard good things about the
Asus RT-68U and if i stretch my budget a bit its within reach 2nd hand.
 
i had a similar issue with my bt homehub 5, some very strange deadspots in the house (like 6ft away from the router in the same room as it) and a couple of months ago replaced it with an openreach modem and ASUS RT-AC68U router, the wifi issues are no more thankfully. If you can get that router second hand for a decent price then i highly recommend it, i have been really happy with mine. I also like the asus cloud feature to a point (seems to only give access to a limited number of files on my home server, like A-C in my photos folder) and the guest wifi is really handy for parties etc rather than giving out your proper wifi code
 
Stuart.
I have a new and unused Sagecom 2704N sat here doing nothing.
I also have a Thomson TG585V7 which could be unused.
You can have either, or both, for the cost of postage.
 
The ASUS stuff is pretty much sopposed to be the dogs nuts.
ASUS RT-AC68U is very well respected but pricey for sure.
 
mickledore said:
Stuart.
I have a new and unused Sagecom 2704N sat here doing nothing.
I also have a Thomson TG585V7 which could be unused.
You can have either, or both, for the cost of postage.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the offer frank.
Let me do some research and if it loks doable i will let tou know so you can create the appropriate classifieds ad.
 
@mickledore thanks for the offer frank however research suggests your routers are ADSL but im on cable so not suitable for my needs.
 
No worries Stuart. Such niceties are above my head. I just get sent them and use/store as seems appropriate.
 
Just a thought are there any sources of interference near the router? Power bricks (transformers), fridges (pumps or motors), any other wireless device (cordless phone, baby monitor, smart meter vdu, smart home device such as hue, hive etc)
 
neil_g said:
Just a thought are there any sources of interference near the router? Power bricks (transformers), fridges (pumps or motors), any other wireless device (cordless phone, baby monitor, smart meter vdu, smart home device such as hue, hive etc)
Click to expand...

The closest thing to it similar to the above is the powerbrick for the Xbox which sits inside the sideboard that the hub sits on top of.
Other than that there is the cordless phone at the other end of the room.
 
Mr Bump said:
The ASUS stuff is pretty much sopposed to be the dogs nuts.
ASUS RT-AC68U is very well respected but pricey for sure.
Click to expand...
The RT-AC68U is what I use but I bought it when PCW had a sale on so it was a reasonable price.
 
Snapsh0t said:
The RT-AC68U is what I use but I bought it when PCW had a sale on so it was a reasonable price.
Click to expand...

yeah it is worth setting up camel camel alerts on stuff like this and as you say sometimes they just come up.
 
neil_g said:
Maybe. Generally isp routers are manufactured by some of the big names like dlink or Netgear (although all are capable of releasing rubbish product, Netgear especially).
Click to expand...

I believe the original superhub was made Netgear :whistle:

admirable said:
Are you using http://www.speedtest.net/ for test results?

How old is your PC/ laptop ?
Click to expand...

PC was built just last year.
I do my speed test on the computer using the one on think broadband website.

On the phone i use speedtest.net
 
I'm on the Virgin 200 with the Superhub 2ac made by Netgear and I've just done the speed test;
on my PC via cat 5 cable = 228
laptop via wireless 5ghz = 217
laptop via wireless 2.4ghz = 97
 
I would go for something that you can flash dad-wrt onto which allows you to enable some additional settings that are usually only available on more expensive routers!
 
If you are confident it is a Wi-Fi issue, you don't need to put the hub in modem only mode. You should be able to disable the Wi-Fi and continue using its other features. Then get a dedicated access point (or two) and plug those into the Superhub via Ethernet.
I picked up a couple of second hand Unifi UAPs which seem to work reasonably well.
 
afasoas said:
If you are confident it is a Wi-Fi issue, you don't need to put the hub in modem only mode. You should be able to disable the Wi-Fi and continue using its other features. Then get a dedicated access point (or two) and plug those into the Superhub via Ethernet.
I picked up a couple of second hand Unifi UAPs which seem to work reasonably well.
Click to expand...

I would be tempted to do this with a secondhand Draytek AP800 if you can pick one up. We have three of these in place at work and have had no issues in 3 or 4 years and they have good coverage ( I can pick up one over 30 meters and through 4 brick walls, despite it being in a metal warehouse full of racking).
 
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