Re: Which Router should I buy?

ShandDG · ‎2023-05-17

I am currently using a Netgear Model DG834N from 2014.

I have a:

DownStream Connection Speed - 2848 kbps

and

UpStream Connection Speed - 448 kbps

Yes, it is extremely painful.

In addition the house is made of cob (mud and stones) and the walls are 2 foot thick. WiFi and mobile phone signals cannot penetrate this. So I've wired it with cat 6 ethernet cable.

I've just replaced an iMac 27" with a Mac Mini 2 which will not hold the ethernet connection. Having eliminated all the obvious potential issues I am left with a possible latency issue between a 2014 router and a 2023 Mini Mac which would not be a huge surprise given the advance in the technology.

Apologies for droning on. My question is what router to buy to replace the DG834N given our slow broadband and inability to use WiFi. I've assumed that the AX2400 WiFi Router (RAX30) being the most basic and cheapest will do the job but really I have no idea. Thanks.

plemans · ‎2023-05-17

If you've got your home wired for ethernet, I'd check out the MK63 or a RBK83 system. both systems have a renewed option on amazon.

You can hardwire them in and have better coverage throughout.

Its not going to make your speeds faster as the bottleneck is your service but they'll give you better coverage.

Are you using dsl? Because neither has a built in dsl modem but your isp should supply that.

I'd check to see if you have the option of verizon or tmobile's home internet. I have a couple relatives that switched to that from dsl with much improved speeds. I think one went from 7mbps to 50mbps. Not a huge jump but enough they can now stream 4k and have much better capabilities.

michaelkenward · ‎2023-05-18

@plemans wrote:

Are you using dsl? Because neither has a built in dsl modem but your isp should supply that.

These days ISPs prefer to provide modem/routers for DSL.

That's why many modem makers got out of that market. Netgear stopped selling DSL modems a few years ago.

If the modem bit of the DG834N still works, then @ShandDG could use that as the front end of whatever router they liked. But they would still be stuck with a slow DSL internet service.

Going for the most basic and cheapest sounds like a great strategy. Going for "last year's model" could be a good idea. Something that suppliers are trying to shift. Second hand even.

ShandDG · ‎2023-05-18

Dear All,

Thanks all for taking the time to reply.

We are the penultimate house at the end of the line 3 to 4 miles from an old telephone exchange. Changing supplier will make no difference. Nothing less than BT upgrading the exchange and line is going to give us a decent broadband speed. We were promised that 20 years ago...and 19 years ago and 18 years ago. You get the idea.

We do have the alternative of taking out a mortgage and giving the money to Starlink but we are not gamers and could not care less about streaming. We are also have to walk out up the hill to get a mobile phone signal. Hey, it keeps you fit.

We are not even hoping to get any increase in speed and as I said the walls are too thick for a WiFi signal so there is nothing to be gained in any high performance WiFi router.

All I am attempting to do is buy a router that might be more compatible and work that one ethernet connection with the new Mac that I have the problem with

I believe we have to use a DSL router. The DG834N still works. But you lose me when you say "could use that as the front end of whatever router". I have no idea what that means. If and I say if the DG834N is what is causing my problem then having it in the chain will, presumably, not help.

Forgive my ignorance but isn't the DG834N a modem and a router? It connects to via a telephone line through one of those little ADSL boxes. Ok, stop laughing.

I need to do more research so I understand what it is I am talking about!

Many thanks.

michaelkenward · ‎2023-05-18

@ShandDG wrote:

I believe we have to use a DSL router. The DG834N still works. But you lose me when you say "could use that as the front end of whatever router". I have no idea what that means. If and I say if the DG834N is what is causing my problem then having it in the chain will, presumably, not help.

The DG834N is a modem/router. It is from 2008. Since then there have been many generations of wifi.

Many modems can sit in front of a router with much better wifi and network support. You just plug into the Internet port on the back of the modem/router.

From what I can see, your DG834N is ADSL. That is an ancient subset of DSL. Most of BT's current DSL network is VDSL. Your speeds are in line with ADSL.

Looking at the manual for your device, I fear that it is so old that it may not have the "bridge mode" feature that bypasses the router bit.

@ShandDG wrote:

We are the penultimate house at the end of the line 3 to 4 miles from an old telephone exchange.

We are about the same distance from a BT exchange. But that is not what matters. We are just a hundred yards or so from the Cabinet that delivers the Internet to us. That's the big green box by the side of the road.

If you can't use your DG834N, you are a bit stuffed. New ADSL modems are hard to come by. But they are now so rarely used that you may be able to pick up a second hand version of something newer than yours for pennies.

ShandDG · ‎2023-05-19

Thanks for that.

It is all becoming a bit clearer.

When I know I have some patience in reserve I'll contact BT and see what is best for our phone line now that I know the correct terms to use. Thanks.

Yes, I know about the green Cabinets but there are none on our line just old fashioned copper cables from exchange to house. The broadband line is a dedicated line but our other numbers use the 1980's DACS box which was the solution to Party Lines. It confuses the BT engineers when we have a fault. The young ones have no idea what it is.

For all my perceived moaning about out broadband this is the price you pay for living in rural isolated Devon. Well worth any inconvenience.

Thanks for all your help.

michaelkenward · ‎2023-05-19

A good place to look for help on BT is its own community:

Welcome to BT’s official support community.

Lots of people who know more about the BT network than most.

Then there is:

thinkbroadband :: The UK's largest independent Broadband / ADSL troubleshooting website (incorporati...

A good place to see what's happening on the wider UK broadband world.

ShandDG · ‎2023-05-19

Thanks.

Enclosed screen shot shows you what our exchange can offer.

michaelkenward · ‎2023-05-19

Not even FTTC.

Try writing to your MP.

ShandDG · ‎2023-05-20

Ha, thankfully I've no idea what FTTC is. If I did I expect I could be really annoyed.

Honestly I do know how to waste my time just as much as the next person but I draw the line at writing to my MP. If I wanted to hear their feeble excuses and platitudes I can just watch the news. Fortunately they will be thrown out next year.

michaelkenward · ‎2023-05-20

@ShandDG wrote:

Ha, thankfully I've no idea what FTTC is. If I did I expect I could be really annoyed.

It is fibre to the cabinet. It is the link between the exchange the green box down the road. When that link is fibre, BT can deliver VDSL to you over the copper wires.

You may be one of the tiny percentage of people in the UK left without FTTC or even something faster.

The only way to get that changed is through pressure from people like your MP. (They can actually achieve more on that sort of thing than their posturing in the House of Commons.)

The other route is through local councils.

Decent broadband is on the way to becoming a "human right". With house prices depending on it, and the pressure to deliver all government and public services electronically broadband "not spots" are almost as politically sensitive as boat people.

ShandDG · ‎2023-05-21

I am sure you are right and the eventually they will have to provide us with a decent service, maybe not in my lifetime, but in the meantime BT and the government have an agreement that allows BT to avoid the issue. The Broadband Universal Service speed being measured differently to a normal online speed test.

The Broadband Universal Service, giving us the right to a 'decent' broadband connection, tells me that I can already get speeds of "10Mb or more" and therefore we are not eligible to request network update.

At the same time BT's 'special offers' personalised for our postcode offer 3Mb download speed with1Mb guaranteed.

The BUS speed is measured differently to a normal online speed test.

Any complaint just receives the usual list of reasons why you might not get a higher speed but no help at all.

ShandDG · ‎2023-05-21

Oh and by the way even if we did qualify under USA the cost would be so enormous it would be unfeasible.