Introduction
With the covid 19 pandemic taking its toll around the world and the lockdown imposed on some parts of the world, it has been becoming increasingly monotonous for many people to spend their time and entertain themselves within the confines of their home. Due to this reason, having access to the internet has become one of the most important necessities for most people. Many families are considering having WiFi in their homes. And being a popular choice, here is the link on how to Vodafone router panel login, which might be helpful for you. It might be difficult for some people to decide what WiFi router might be a good one for them. So written below are a few pointers that one needs to remember while buying a router.
Pay Attention To The Price
There is this conception among the commoner that the more expensive something is, the better performance it will deliver. While, for some devices or pieces of equipment or amenities, this notion is absolutely true, for some, it is not. It is usually observed that people run after brand names without even considering to take a look at some less popular or known brands. Do not waste your money behind some branded router, rather it is recommended that you take a look at all kinds of routers before you decide what to buy. Always remember that in the case of a router, it does not mean that the more expensive the router is, the smoother it will run. Just because a Wi-Fi router belongs to an expensive brand does not mean that it will run more smoothly than routers that belong to less expensive brands. So yes, it is very important that you pay attention to the price of the router before buying it.
- Speed Ratings are Basically Useless
Let us talk about a misleading notion regarding Wi-Fi routers. So, many of you might have noticed that the speed limit of WiFi is written on its package. For example, some tri-band routers read that they can reach a speed up to 2.2Gbps (Gigabit per second), equal to 2200Mbps (Megabit per second). This is wrong. This 2.2Gbps speed combines the speed each band provides and uses that to lure customers. One thing should be clear to buyers that there is no such thing as combined speed because a one-time connection can be made to only one of those bands. You cannot connect to all the bands at the same time, and the fastest band available provides 867Mbps speed. So be careful about that.
- Your ISP Sets The Speed Limit
As long as we are still on the topic of Wifi speed, let us make one thing clear. Your Internet Service Provider, that is, your ISP, sets your speed limit. No matter how fast your router is, ultimately, it is up to your plan with the Internet Service Provider that how much speed you will get. For example, if you are paying for a 100Mbps speed, then that is as fast as your internet will go while you are browsing the web or streaming a video.
- Do Not Forget About Coverage
It is a very common habit of people to just focus on the speed while buying a router. “fast enough” and “not fast enough” are the only two speeds that actually matter when it come to internet speed. So yes, going hand in hand with the speed is the coverage of your WiFi. For example, when you are in the same room as the router, you are getting amazing speed, but when you are at the other side of the house, in your room, trying to stream movies and shows late a night, you do not get a good speed. So, you see, even though speed matters, a good router is all about the coverage.
One thing that can be done to fix this coverage problem is that you can make an expandable mesh system instead of a single-point router. Mesh routers might not deliver steady fast speed like a single point router, but they will ensure that “fast enough” internet speed is available at all corners of your house.
- The Mesh Router and Wi-Fi 6 is a Great Combination
WiFi 6 is the latest and the fastest WiFi available. In a mesh setup, as you know, there are multiple devices set up throughout your house for better coverage. Make sure that all those devices support WiFi 6. After this setup is done, then the data will move throughout your house faster and more efficiently.
- The Router Should Be Dual Band or More
The days of single-band routers are long gone. Make sure that the router you buy at least dual-band, maybe a triple-band, or more. Dual-band routers broadcast wireless signals on two frequencies, and tri-band routers broadcast wireless signals on three frequencies, and so on. Also, another thing to be known is that one of the frequencies is always 2.4 GHz because it works with old WiFi standards like the WiFi 4. This is a major advantage of the 2.4 GHz band, along with the fact that it has a wider coverage area. But also it has the disadvantage of being slow and also, congestion is always a problem. Specifically, due to these disadvantages, a dual-band router or more is preferred.
Conclusion
So these are basically the essential point that one needs to remember before and while buying a router. With the help of these pointers, any person can find the router they desire.