Recommend an ADSL + Wifi router :)

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ravihpa

ravihpa

Forerunner
Hey guys,

I've decided to get a good wired broadband connection and wanted to get a good ADSL plus Wifi router for the same. My work involves me sitting on my desktop PC for more than 8 to 10 hours, and I'll be using Wifi for my phone and may be an Android or Ipad tablet in the near future :) The Wifi range should cover a 1 BHK apartment :)

Good brand, sturdy quality, and good warranty coverage is a must :)

Apart from that, I've read people installing custom softwares, etc., to enhance their router abilities. Am not sure why they do that or if that is at all required but it would be a nice feature to install custom firmwares, etc., for future upgrades, if at all required :)

Any help in this regards would be highly appreciated :)

Thanx a lot in advance :)

Edit: How good is this ?

TP-LINK TD-W8951ND 150Mbps Wireless N ADSL2 Modem Router
http://www.flipkart.com/tp-link-td-...YMJY&ref=5bcbcaf1-884c-4b65-8aa1-736f1b2e7e4f

It's a 150Mbps one and how is it different from a 300 Mbps one ?
 
Deep Saha said:
why dont you try, asus N13U B1..
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Wow, that router has a nice feature list but it does not have ADSL built into it.

I have decided to drop the idea of getting BSNL and will try to go for local cable broadband and see if that connection requires an ADSL router in the first place :)

Any more info or models would be greatly appreciated guys :)
 
custom firmware is available only for routers so any router with adsl modem is not customizable.a router with modem will work on both adsl connections as well as cable broadband.a 300mbps modem/router is always preferable over 150mbps one mostly because almost all 150mbps models come with single antenna while 300mbps model come with 2 antennas meaning better range.also in India only companies licensed to provide ADSL connections are BSNL,MTNL,Airtel & Reliance.
 
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Go for Asus if you want the best router. buy a good ADSL modem which doesnt have any connectivity/disconnection issues, then buy a powerful router with 3 or 2 antennas from asus, bridge it with the ADSL modem and you are good to go.

Not like TPLINK is not good, but ASUS will be surely better IMO...
 
i don't agree with you.tp-link is as good as asus & sometimes even better as per some users who have used both asus rt-n13u b1 & tp-link 300mbps wifi router as far as range is concerned though feature wise dd-wrt+torrent client make asus seems ahead but then not evrybody is looking for such features,many just want good old long range.
 
stay away from 2750u as it is not worth its price.i only recommend tp-link & asus for models costing under Rs.5000.no doubt dlink,cisco,belkin make some good models but all their worthy good models costs above 5000.
 
guest_999 said:
stay away from 2750u as it is not worth its price.i only recommend tp-link & asus for models costing under Rs.5000.no doubt dlink,cisco,belkin make some good models but all their worthy good models costs above 5000.
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Care to elaborate why the 2750u is not good? For 2100 bucks, it's a frigging steal!

I obviously am not comparing it with the 5k+ costing models and the ones which support dd-wrt...
 
I think you should get the standard ADSL+Wifi Router (or just the modem) from a reliable ISP like Airtel and hook that up to a second (dedicated) Wireless Router or repeater for extended range.

That's the setup I have at home and Airtel's ADSL+Wifi Router has been going strong for many years now. I underestimated its reliability. My second wireless-N router is from ASUS and it works really well.

It was definitely ASUS over TP-Link for me.

Hope this helps.
 
guest_999 said:
i don't agree with you.tp-link is as good as asus & sometimes even better as per some users who have used both asus rt-n13u b1 & tp-link 300mbps wifi router as far as range is concerned
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Which tp-link 300mbs model are you referring to ?
 
no adsl modem supports dd-wrt so that's not an issue here.TP-LINK W8961ND costs 1875 on flipkart(local cost lower) & has nice design,detachable antennas so future upgradeable with more powerful antennas to increase range & it also supports WDS.dlink 2750u does have a 3g usb modem support feture but it is practically useless since it only supports dlink 3g usb modem(DWM-156) & even then it may require many calls to customer care to make it work(read all about it here http://broadbandforum.co/topic/53897-configure-d-link-dsl-2750u-to-3g-usb-dongle/ ) so as i see when i can get a modem with all the same features+detachable antennas for possible future upgrade for ~Rs.500 less(flipkart price difference) then why would i buy costlier 2750u.
 
Hi guys,

Thanx for the fantastic response. I've decided to drop BSNL because their wait times are 8+ months, and I have decided to go for the local broadband internet and love their unlimited packages. I might just go for 1 MBPS unlimited package, and since this is the case, I guess ADSL is out of the picture as the local broadbandwala will just drop the lan cable in my home, and I think getting a wifi router will suffice :)

By the way, since I am getting an unlimited connection, I would love the idea of the router downloading torrents for me. I have a 1TB external HDD and would just love the idea of connecting it to the router and router downloading the torrents 24/7 WITHOUT the need of PC being turned on :)

In this changed scenario, which wifi router would you recommend ? Remember, I only have regular 1BHK apartment (close to 700 sq ft - 1 room 1 hall) :)
 
guest_999 said:
TP-LINK W8961ND costs 1875 on flipkart(local cost lower) & has nice design,detachable antennas so future upgradeable with more powerful antennas to increase range & it also supports WDS.
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Since you did not reply to my question, will take the liberty of assuming this is the tp-link you were comparing with the n13u.

The W8961ND is most likely a V2. The same radio is used in the engenius ESR750H.

Close but no cigar. No wonder your friends had a tough time deciding between the two.

I'd still choose the n13 over the tp-link on the basis of range and versatility.

However if the requirement is an adsl modem as well then this tp-link is an acceptable model. But no 3rd party f/w option, as you said.
 
i did recommend rt-n13u b1 when op decided to drop idea of adsl broadband.even for adsl broadband i do suggest asus rt-n13u b1 if someone is interested in using its torrent client but there are also many users(including me) who prefer to use a low powered PC for 24*7 downloading because of a variety of options/reasons & to such users W8961 or the latest W8968(which also supports usb 3g modems) seems better choice than asus.:)
 
The w8968 seems to have the same radio chip as the 8961 so wi-fi performance should be similar.

Better ? How do you define that.

If they are not interested in 3rd party fw.
They save the price of an extra modem so effectively ~Rs.1k

But range is little less with these tp-links.
 
range is subjective as it depends on many factors like design of the house/building,construction material used etc.usually a modem with external antennas has better range or at least same range but never less range than modem with internal antennas assuming same dBi.in fact if range is the only concern W8961 is the best option since it has detachable antennas so range can be increased greatly by buying something like this & replacing the default antenna.
[url=http://www.ebay.in/itm/TP-LINK-TL-ANT2408CL-2-4GHz-8dBi-Indoor-Omni-directional-Antenna-/200909267954?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item2ec72023f2]TP-LINK-TL-ANT2408CL-2-4GHz-8dBi-Indoor-Omni-directional-Antenna[/URL]
 
guest_999 said:
range is subjective as it depends on many factors like design of the house/building,construction material used etc.
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Yes. 1 wall or 2 walls which are 6 inches instead of 11 inches means you can afford to get away with cheap.

guest_999 said:
usually a modem with external antennas has better range or at least same range but never less range than modem with internal antennas assuming same dBi.
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Ah, you're comparing external antenna vs internal antenna ADSL models.

I do not like internal antenna ADSL models because they are more expensive than seperate modem+ router. Additionally the choice of internal antenna ADSL models is quite limited.

The argument for me isn't external vs internal antenna ADSL model. Its ADSL model vs no ADSL model. Choice is much greater with no ADSL model. I don't mind paying extra for the modem because the vendor only has to work on the wifi bit. And there is the possibility to add more features with 3rd party f/w.

The only reason your tp-links come close is because they use ralink radio chips, any other and the results could have been worse. So radio chip used matters a lot.

Good radio chip + ext antenna is better than avg radio chip + ext antenna.

Bear in mind traversing a wall you can lose anywhere from 5-10 dBi. If you have external antennas say 3dBi then you will need to add at least 6dBi gain with externals to notice a difference, ie need to replace the original 3dbi with 8 or 9dBi.

guest_999 said:
in fact if range is the only concern W8961 is the best option since it has detachable antennas so range can be increased greatly by buying something like this & replacing the default antenna.
TP-LINK-TL-ANT2408CL-2-4GHz-8dBi-Indoor-Omni-directional-Antenna
Click to expand...
Right, 8dBi will do it. 2x8dBi = Add ~Rs.1k extra. In doing so, given the tp-link performance OOTB then its conceivable that your tp-links will beat the n13u on range for the same price. You will need to do some colour matching though. The external antennas are black and the tp-links are white. Btw w8968 also has detachable antennas.

If you play about with inssider. You can see what level signal you get at a certain point. Imagine what adding 8dBi will do. It means you can traverse one wall more. That is all. Inssider shows a 80 dBi signal or lower then you need a boost. Now your external antenna model has reached its limit.

The thing with lower price is you get lower of every thing. If its new model then there are firmware issues to work out. Might be cheaper but you will have to hope the vendor can fix problems like disconnects etc. How stable the connection is etc.

Also your tp-link adsl models are acceptable for light to moderate use. 24x7 downloading means the modem will give out in 1-2 years. Possibly longer if you are close to the exchange. Then you have to replace the whole model so seperate modem would be better in the latter case.
 
i usually recommend wifi ADSL modem to non-technical users who just want a no hassle setup for their bsnl/mtnl/airtel connection & such users are also unlikely to indulge in heavy 24*7 downloading all the time but i agree that modem+wifi router is best setup.btw i don't know about wifi but my 2 years old tp-link 8840T is working fine with almost 24*7 usage even in delhi/NCR summer in a top floor room with just a cooler/fan(no AC) though i only download from 2-8AM(bsnl night free plan).
 
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