Today families are using electronic devices more than ever and most households have more devices than people in the home. According to the Global Internet Phenomena Report Spotlight, the average household in North America has about 7 devices in use every single home. A small percentage of those households have as many as 15 devices in use a day, an overwhelming amount for a basic or aging wireless router.
All of those devices can be too much for a basic wireless router and that’s why it’s important to invest in a newer long-range router with advanced network technologies like MU-MIMO and dual-band or tri-band networks. Without these technologies home, users will experience slowdowns, loss of connection and other frustrating issues.
6 Things to look for in a Wireless router:
Look for these 6 router technologies when buying a new router to improve your network performance in a home with multiple users:
MU-MIMO (Stands for multi-user, multiple inputs, multiple outputs):
MU-MIMO technology splits the available bandwidth up into between 2 and 4 streams that separate users can all access at the same time. This reduces slowdowns when multiple users are accessing the internet all at the same instant.
In layman terms, think you’re in line at the DMV office – you’re served after patrons in front of your served first by a single DMV person at the counter. You now get two, three or four people serving at the same moment with MU-MIMO instead of one counter, which reduces the time you need to wait.
Triband Routers:
Modern routers are designed with dual and tri-band setups. A Tri-Band router has three independent WiFi networks running at once. One is at 2.4 GHz with the 450 Mbps maximum, then there are two running at 5Ghz each with the 1300 Mbps maximum speeds.
802.11n vs 802.11ac:
Newer routers come made to the 802.11ac specification rather than the 802.11n specification from over a decade ago. 802.11ac routers offer an improved network range and dramatically higher transfer rates offering approximately 3x as much bandwidth, which is perfect for high-user homes.
Powerful CPU and RAM:
While not as important as most of these other features, a router with a powerful CPU and RAM is still good to have. This will ensure that your network will never slow down and experience what’s known as buffer bloat if you have a high-speed network connection. The router will move web traffic around efficiently utilizing it’s higher computing power to do the job.
Mesh Network:
This network technology builds a wireless network from many different wireless access points and bridges working together to create one unified network. Mesh networks offer better coverage in large homes and improved speeds.
Dynamic QOS:
Dynamic Quality of Service (QoS) helps improve your router’s Internet traffic management capabilities through better application and device identification, bandwidth allocation, and traffic prioritization techniques. This router technology identifies what applications and devices are being used and prioritizes the most important services so that essential services have the bandwidth they need for smooth user experience.
Taking the time to pick out a router with the right technologies is key to achieving the best performance, but positioning that router properly also makes a big difference. New routers have excellent transmit ranges but they will only work well for multi-user households if all the users can get a good connection to the router.
To accomplish this, especially in larger homes, the router needs to be centrally located. Take time to find a central location in your home to achieve excellent network coverage for everyone in your space, whether they are upstairs or down, or at the end of your house.
If you are looking for a router with these features, look at these two routers with long-range and high performance to support multiple devices at the same time.
NETGEAR Nighthawk AX8:
- Ultra-fast speeds, 6 Gbps transfer capacity – It takes less than a minute to download a 25GB Blueray movie
- Unique wing antenna design, Four hidden Antenna design
- Dual 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks
- 5X 1Gbps Ethernet ports, 2X USB 3.0 ports
Linksys AC2200 Tri-Band Router:
- Budget-friendly long range router, Check prices at Amazon
- Up to 2.2 Gbps transfer speeds, with one 2.4 GHz and Dual 5 GHz network bands
- 4 external antennas to cover wide range
- MU-MIMO technology provides the same high-speed WiFi to multiple devices
- Provides Internet to 20+ devices and 2000 sq.ft WiFi Coverage
