Is your Wi-Fi router outdated? Time for Upgrade

Wifi router is the gatekeeper of the wireless connection at home. If your wi-fi router is 4-5 years old, it is outdated and you should consider buying a new one. The reason we are suggesting an upgrade is because advanced routers are coming with enhanced security features, supporting frequency and extended range. Many router with parental controls time limits are nowadays dominating the market because parents want to keep an eye on the type of content being accessed by kids. Coming back to router purchase, when you are switching to a new one, make sure to do an extensive market research. To make things easier, here we are discussing some important pointers to keep in mind when shopping for a router.

Speed of the router

The devices, be it smartphones or laptops we use today demand a lot of high-speed because it won’t be possible to play online games, watch high-quality video and do video conferencing. Look for routers with 802.11n standard as they can support up to 1300 Mbps on 5GHz band. The routers with MU-MIMO standard can attain speed up to 1700 Mbps. If you watch a lot of HD videos, consider buying the latter.

Beamforming

Beamforming is an advanced feature in routers that can improve the signal strength and speed of the Internet significantly. While routers transfer signals of same strength across the house, this feature lets the router focus the signal towards the specific devices in the house. With this feature, the router will find the location of the device and you will get high-speed Internet.

Antennas

Some routers have antennas coming out and others don’t have the antennas. Although the latter look better, the ones with external antennas may provide stronger signals. If the router has multiple antennas, adjust them in the direction where you need more signal strength.

Ethernet Ports

Wifi routers also have Ethernet ports so that you can connect an Ethernet cable in addition to connecting the devices to the Internet wireless. By connecting to ethernet port, you can keep the wi-fi bandwidth free for non-portable devices such as computer, smart tv etc. Old routers have ports supporting speed up to 100 Mbps while the newer ones can support up to 1000 Mbps of speed.

Network Management App

Nowadays, you will find some routers with mobile app compatibility so that you can check the wi-fi network settings remotely. It is an excellent feature, specially for parents who want to keep an eye on the Internet usage of kids or restrict sensitive content, while they are not at home.

eSata

eSata means External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment that allows an eSata external hard drive to transfer date at a speed higher than Wi-Fi or ethernet. The feature is helpful when it comes to transferring a large amount of data, say in Terabytes. Routers with eSata feature lets you connect external storage device to the router, making it easy to backup heavy files at a speed of upto 6 Gbps.

If your router is outdated, you will not get an optimum speed irrespective of how expensive your wi-fi data plan is. So, make sure you utilise the technology in the best way by having an advanced router installed at home.

Mark Jepson is an IT Engineer and his recent presentation about having parental control on computer has made many parents think about having parental control router settings enabled on their computing devices.