The most common thing if we have fiber optics at home is that we settle for the router that the operator lends us and that a technician installs for us at home once we contract a rate or a company. But you may have wondered whether the router is good or not or you may want to change it for another one. In that case, there are a series of aspects that will tell us if it is good.
Just take a look on the Internet to find out more details about the main routers installed by operators… The Livebox 6 from Orange, the Smart WiFi from Movistar… But you may have any more unknown model or one that has been loaned to you, given away, etc. . In that case, we can check if it is good.
Top speed and risers
The maximum speed of a router is the fundamental factor that you should look at to know if it is good or not, if it is worth it. It makes no sense for you to pay a rate month after month in which you have contracted 1000 Mbps if your router is not compatible with this speed. You will not take advantage of the contracted rate, it will not make sense to have it if you do not have a router that knows how to make the most of it and is capable of it.
Also, we must bear in mind that most routers work in two bands but not all. All routers currently installed by operators allow us to connect in the 2.4 GHz band and in the 5 GHz band. What differences are there between them? The first offers us less speed but more range and the second offers us more speed but less range. It depends on the device or the use you want to give it that we use one or the other. Connecting to one or the other will depend on whether the router is smart and chooses for us or we can choose if we configure both networks from its settings, which will give us a choice depending on what we prioritize.
We must also take into account that we can have a router compatible with the maximum speed and a rate that allows us the maximum speed, but that does not imply that we can have this speed in any device. The device itself must also be compatible.
Other aspects
There are other aspects that are fundamental when it comes to knowing if a router is good or not. For example, what encryption has the router we have at home or the one we are going to buy. The most advisable thing is always that a router has WPA-3 and it will be available in the most advanced models. This way we will protect ourselves against possible attacks or intruders. But it can also be an option that has WPA-2. But we must avoid obsolete ciphers such as WEP or WPA that are no longer used since 2004 and that will not protect us due to some flaws and deficiencies.
We can also take into account the coverage that the router in question is capable of covering, although this can be solved thanks to network extenders or other devices such as a repeater that makes WiFi reach everywhere. Here we can look at the number of WiFi antennas, for example.
Ethernet ports
One of the fundamental factors that we must look at to know if the WiFi router is good or not are the Ethernet ports that the device has. Ethernet ports allow us to connect a number of devices by cable instead of using the wireless network, which allows us to achieve better speed and more stability. Generally we are not going to need many ports because the usual thing is that at home you use WiFi to connect from your mobile, tablet or Smart TV but it will always be good to monitor the ports if what you are looking for is to connect using the cable. In addition, we must look at the type of ports because not all are the same and it depends on them that they support more or less speed. It may be a Gigabit port that allows up to 1 Gbps but it may not be and allows much less.
firmware
In addition, there are other aspects such as the firmware of the router, although this will be much less important if you are a basic user since you will not generally enter the configuration of the router. Even so, it is a very interesting option thanks to the fact that it will allow us to manage all kinds of parameters and improve the experience with it.
