[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

I ended up buying two separate devices (for different reasons and both serving me well). Both meet all three requirements you mentioned.

- HUAWEI E8372H-155 4G Wingle Data Card (White)
- TP-Link Archer MR200 AC750

With advent of 5G SIMs will these 4G investments get outdated soon?

I mean, will these service providers support 4G SIMs and for how long?

[civic-sense]

My ISP provided FTTH modem's wifi keeps dropping quite often which the technician says is because of the 2.5GHz band. I have an option to upgrade to a 5GHz modem from the ISP (approx Rs. 1500) or buy my own 5GHz router. I am more interested in going the router route, but not sure which is better.

Also, is this router any good? https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B08442MP43/

Please advise.

[IamNikhil]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

My ISP provided FTTH modem's wifi keeps dropping quite often which the technician says is because of the 2.5GHz band. I have an option to upgrade to a 5GHz modem from the ISP (approx Rs. 1500) or buy my own 5GHz router. I am more interested in going the router route, but not sure which is better.

Also, is this router any good? https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B08442MP43/

Please don't buy a D-link Router. The quality has severely taken a beating.

I have been using the TP-Link Archer C80 since Sep 2020 for an FTTH connection and it's actually the best. Had selected this one after months of research. Absolutely recommend it. Have posted a review on this thread a couple of days back. Never ever go for the routers that these ISPs provide, they are useless.

[TT-S]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

With advent of 5G SIMs will these 4G investments get outdated soon?

I mean, will these service providers support 4G SIMs and for how long?

Right now there is no clarity on what frequency bands the various providers are going to use for their 5G networks. There is supposed to be spectrum auction, but if it proves too costly for the providers, they might re-use the bands allocated for 4G previously, for 5G. Currently many providers and reusing their 3G band allocations and converting them to 4G.

Even with 5G adoption, a large user base (many budget/entry level devices that have no 5G) would still be on 4G for cost reasons, and providers would not want to lose this subscriber base - So I think 4G will stay for a long time and co-exist with 5G services.

Even if you buy a 4G router today, not all 4G frequency bands will be supported. For example, earlier versions of the TP-Link MR200 does not support band 5 (850MHz) which is used by Jio. Lower frequency bands are crucial when it comes to range and connectivity indoors or in far flung rural areas. Do keep this in mind while purchasing.

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by IamNikhil

Please don't buy a D-link Router. The quality has severely taken a beating.

I have been using the TP-Link Archer C80 since Sep 2020 for an FTTH connection and it's actually the best. Had selected this one after months of research. Absolutely recommend it. Have posted a review on this thread a couple of days back. Never ever go for the routers that these ISPs provide, they are useless.

Thanks for the recommendation. Although the price of ~4K isn't exactly unaffordable, I wonder whether there is enough utility in spending that much on a router. Don't get me wrong, cos I say this only because I know almost next to nothing about wifi routers. I see routers as cheap as a 1000 bucks and go up to more than 10K. So since you have done the research, what do these expensive ones provide more than the cheap ones?

Thanks in advance.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

I see routers as cheap as a 1000 bucks and go up to more than 10K.

Even 20k-plus is still in the domestic level of the market.

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by IamNikhil

Please don't buy a D-link Router. The quality has severely taken a beating.

I have been using the TP-Link Archer C80 since Sep 2020 for an FTTH connection and it's actually the best. Had selected this one after months of research. Absolutely recommend it. Have posted a review on this thread a couple of days back. Never ever go for the routers that these ISPs provide, they are useless.

I checked the reviews and some comparisons and see that the C80 is a solid router. Learned some stuff like beam forming and MIMO on the way.

Now, I see that the Archer A9 (same price but AZ has a Rs. 500 discount) has similar features and performance but adds a USB port. The only advantage I see is that you can plug in a USB drive and create a storage server. But I don't know if that is really a big deal as I have a NAS which I have never connected to the network in the last 3 years. All photos go to google and movies get streamed online. Is there anything else we can do with the USB port?

[IamNikhil]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

I checked the reviews and some comparisons and see that the C80 is a solid router. Learned some stuff like beam forming and MIMO on the way.

Now, I see that the Archer A9 (same price but AZ has a Rs. 500 discount) has similar features and performance but adds a USB port. The only advantage I see is that you can plug in a USB drive and create a storage server. But I don't know if that is really a big deal as I have a NAS which I have never connected to the network in the last 3 years. All photos go to google and movies get streamed online. Is there anything else we can do with the USB port?

Most importantly, good quality routers like the Archers, unlike the cheaper options available, have good wall penetration capabilities and no speed drops since the bandwidth is divided as per the connected devices.

The Archer A9 is an older device, as compared to the C80 and is infamous for the 2.4Ghz band going defunct within some months of usage. As you mentioned, the C80 does lose out on an USB port, but I had no use for it anyway, so didn't matter much. If it's not a dealbreaker for you, you should go ahead with it.

The Asus RT-AC59U is another solid device, just to give you an option, but that's upwards of 5k.

Ultimately, everything depends on your level of use, number of devices to be connected, your budget and the internet connection. But trust me, a solid router is a small investment in the long run. Hope this helps. Thanks.

[Swapnil4585]

I need to go out for a week for an urgent, unforeseen work. I will have to use my mobile phone as a hotspot for my office work. However there is a trouble with that.

My mobile hotspot name is "Swapnil4585". Whenever I connect it to my laptop, it is discovered as "Swapnil4585 2" and I am prohibited from access to internet. In fact, I am prohibited from access to internet on any device that I connect to my mobile hotspot.

Is there any permanent and fast solution to this?

[StarryFurry]

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

I need to go out for a week for an urgent, unforeseen work. I will have to use my mobile phone as a hotspot for my office work. However there is a trouble with that.

My mobile hotspot name is "Swapnil4585". Whenever I connect it to my laptop, it is discovered as "Swapnil4585 2" and I am prohibited from access to internet. In fact, I am prohibited from access to internet on any device that I connect to my mobile hotspot.

Is there any permanent and fast solution to this?

Why don't you change your mobile hotspot's name?

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

I need...

Is there any permanent and fast solution to this?

Reset your hotspot, reconfigure.

[Swapnil4585]

Originally Posted by StarryFurry

Why don't you change your mobile hotspot's name?

Originally Posted by mvadg

Reset your hotspot, reconfigure.

I did it. Still does not work.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

My mobile hotspot name is "Swapnil4585". Whenever I connect it to my laptop, it is discovered as "Swapnil4585 2" and I am prohibited from access to internet. In fact, I am prohibited from access to internet on any device that I connect to my mobile hotspot.

Is this a phone procured outside India? I have heard that operator-locked phones sold elsewhere sometimes have hotspot features blocked because such phones have very cheap data plans and operators don't want people to hook up laptops/TVs onto these plans.

[Swapnil4585]

Originally Posted by binand

Is this a phone procured outside India? I have heard that operator-locked phones sold elsewhere sometimes have hotspot features blocked because such phones have very cheap data plans and operators don't want people to hook up laptops/TVs onto these plans.

No. This is a Redmi 7S bought in India, but I think is manufactured outside India.

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by IamNikhil

But trust me, a solid router is a small investment in the long run. Hope this helps. Thanks.

After doing some research from my side too, here is the final shortlist:

Archer C80 - Rs 3600
Asus RT-AC59U - Rs 5040
Archer AX20 - Rs 5670

The C80 should work for me but the "what if tomorrow" syndrome is making me not want to overlook WIFI 6 and USB.

2.4GHz performance is important because I just discovered that my TV only supports 2.4GHz and the C80 seems to be a champ there. Is there a way I can add a USB 5GHz wifi module to the TV?

I started with a couple of thousands in budget, but am willing to spend more if the added features are worth it and I plan to keep it for 3-4 years at least. So do you think it is worth going for the AX20 for the WIFI 6 and USB if the price is not a problem?

Thanks!

Edit: Add the Archer AX50 to the list @6120. Added advantage is the parental controls.