I’ve suffered for many years with the home networking router syndrome … that being that your new router runs beautifully for a while and then it simply starts failing. And that happens with greater frequency until you feel like throwing it against the wall.
Over the last decade or so, I’ve used the Linksys WRT45G, possibly one of the most famous of all early routers and one for which there are many excellent third party firmware builds. I’ve used a D-Link, an Asus, a Netgear and for the last couple of years another Linksys, this time the 400N. This last router promised dual-band N and G performance that would blow your mind.
Well, I think it’s fast, but I’ve not been able to figure out if it works on dual bands, because I never really manage to get connected above about 55Mbps on my main machine upstairs.
Anyway, that’s not the real story … the real story is that the Linksys began failing pretty early and has become a total nuisance lately. I was using Skype for a couple of back to back conference calls last week and the network crapped out at the 40 minute mark of both calls. The coincidence is staggering, but so was the embarrassment.
So I’m done with this router … it is known to get hot and we know that fries electronics slowly but surely, so this one is over.
And finally … to my point. I have decided to get the one router that tops every list for simplicity, performance and reliability. The Apple Airport Extreme. It is a bit expensive at $179cad, but that is only 30 bucks higher than what I paid for the 400N POS. So I consider it a tax on using the Internet that must be paid semi-annually. Even Apple is not completely immune, or so I have read.
Anyway … more on this as I get it deployed …
Update: Wow! I have never had a setup this easy … it copied the key settings from my Linksys 400N and I simply swapped them out and all is well. Each device must reset the security to go onto WPA2, but that is a small price to pay. And the speeds …
Update 2: Jon’s machine is direct wired and here is his speed from this afternoon (29 Oct 2011)
Wow …
