Wifi signal is a global necessity in 2015. This is article is aimed to explain which router you should get from a list of the best wifi routers 2016
I bet that probably you, and me, and everyone you know has had at least one episode of weak wifi signal at some corner of your flat or house. This problem multiplies its frequency if you consider public places, hotels, house of friends, working places, and bigger buildings. Read more and understand what you should know about the best wifi routers 2016.
Understanding your Wifi signal strength
If you are experiencing weak wifi signal at home or anywhere else where you are responsible for the network, you should first of all, understand the profile of your network. There are two main factors which influence heavily your wifi performance
The first problem is the wifi reach. If you live in a house with thick walls and more than one floor, its unlikely that one simple router with one antenna will be enough to guarantee a decent access to the network in all corners of your house. It’s very likely that you will see yourself with a weak or dropping wifi signal in the rooms which are not close to the wifi. The number of walls and its thickness is also a determinant for your wifi signal performance.
The second problem is related to how much traffic your wifi network processes. If you live alone you will never notice any change in your wifi transfer speed as your network is never flooded with traffic. However, if you share your household with a number of other internet users who have multiple devices each, you will certainly notice a drop in performance when everybody is connected to the wifi network.
Tri-Band Wifi Routers
Tri band routers were released in the October of 2014 with the goal of improving the quality of wifi signal in household. Tri band routers aren’t necessarily faster dual band ones, but they do have substantial differences.
While dual band routers offer one network at 2 frequencies (2.4ghz and 5ghz), tri-band wifi routers actually offer 3 different networks (one at 2.4ghz and two separated ones at 5ghz).
That makes a lot of difference for networks with multiple devices connected, since the router can split its signal and avoid interference produced among all devices connected to the same wifi.
Is it Worth to Buy a Tri Band Router?
The answer is most cases, is yes, but not always. If you live alone, and have just one device connected to the network, the answer would be no.
But, in 2016, we can easily expect that a normal user has at least a computer and a smartphone connected to his wifi, but it can easily be a number of devices such as your: tv, xbox, playstation and even kettle, to name a few.
Real Speed of Wifi Router
Most wifi routers have in their specs amazing transfer speeds advertised, such as the NETGEAR Nighthawk X6 which boasts a speed of 5.3 gbps on its product description. This is truly nice, but we must remember that these speeds were achieved in controlled environments.
However, it’s important to stress that a product with advertised speed of 5gbps will probably perform better than one with a specification of 1gbps.
Number of Antennas on a Wifi router
Do the number of antennas make any difference on your wifi signal? Yes, the number of antennas aren’t purely to make your wifi router to look cooler.
They transmit and receive the wifi signal on slightly different versions, increasing speed, but specially connectivity and reliability of your network.
Here is our list of the best wifi routers 2016:
D-Link AC3200 Ultra Tri-Band Wi-Fi Router
Ultimate Wi-Fi Performance: Stream HD multimedia across your home without interruption using ridiculously fast wired and wireless speeds
Simultaneous Tri-Band: Deliver faster Wi-Fi speeds of up to 3200Mpbs (600N on 2.4GHz + 1300Mpbs + 1300Mpbs on 5GHz)
Smart Connect: Prevents older devices from affecting optimal performance
Advanced AC Smart Beam: Bring dead zones back to life by delivering individual beams of bandwidth where you need it the most
Latest Processor: 1 GHz Dual Core Processor for a faster network speed for a more powerful router
This router, as the others, has “intelligent” beams that help your wifi signal to permeate all the rooms of your home. Click here to read more and buy your D-Link AC3200 Ultra Tri-Band Wi-Fi Router from Amazon.
NETGEAR Nighthawk X8 – AC5300 Tri-Band Quad-Stream Wi-Fi Router
Get fastest speeds available up to 5.3Gbps
Tri-band Wi-Fi delivers more Wi-Fi to more devices
Quad Stream delivers up to four data streams per Wi-Fi band
4 active antennas and 4 internal antennas to amplify and maximize range
6 Gigabit Ethernet ports-aggregate two for faster file transfers
Smart Connect intelligently selects the fast Wi-Fi band for every device
MU-MIMO capable for simultaneous streaming of data to multiple devices
Dynamic QoS prioritizes bandwidth by application and device
This is the fastest among our best wifi routers 2016, but the design is not so nice as the other ones. Click here to read more and buy your NETGEAR Nighthawk X8 – AC5300 Tri-Band Quad-Stream Wi-Fi Router from Amazon.
NETGEAR Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Tri-Band Gigabit Wi-Fi Router
Get the fastest speed available – up to 3.2Gbps for uninterrupted streaming
Tri Band WiFi delivers more WiFi for more devices and 1GHz dual core processor delivers lag-free gaming
Dynamic QoS bandwidth prioritization by application and device
Six high performance antennas & powerful amplifiers maximize range
Smart Connect intelligently selects best WiFi for every device
Implicit & Explicit Beamforming+ focuses WiFi signals & delivers stronger connections
USB 3.0 port offers high-speed, storage-ready access and Free ReadySHARE Vault app provides automatic continuous/scheduled backup for your Windows PCs on your home network
The famous Nighthawk X6 has coolest design among all AC3200 wifi routers. It performs as good as it looks. Click here to read more and buy your NETGEAR Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Tri-Band Wi-Fi Router from Amazon.
