10 Key Points to Look at When Choosing a Wireless Router for Your Home Office in 2018

The internet brought with it endless possibilities in the way people live, communicate and work. Good internet connection has become a necessity for many first world countries. It has enabled people to work from the comfort of their homes. People are continuously setting up offices in their homes. A home office requires good internet connection too. Having a good wireless router is a crucial part of ensuring you have a fast, uninterrupted internet connection at all times. There are a lot of routers, each with different capabilities. It is essential to be able to identify a suitable router that will be able to satisfy your needs. Internet needs differ depending on the nature of your work. Below are ten leads to getting your best-suited router.

Frequency Band

There are three types of routers as far as the frequency band is concerned. These are;

• single-band,
• dual-band
• multiband.

Usually, routers operate at a frequency of 2.5GHz or 5GHz. Single-band routers operate with one frequency while dual-band operates with both frequencies. Multi-band routers run on more than two bandwidths. An example is the D-Link AC5300 Ultra Wi-Fi Router. This router is a tri-band router that delivers very high internet speed. The number of people you anticipate will be on the router at any one point dictates the bandwidth choice. It is also informed by other gadgets that you might have in the home. Most devices that use radio waves and microwaves operate with the 2.5GHz frequency. It follows that if your router is a single-band, 2.5GHz such as the Linksys WRT32X Wi-Fi Router, then it is prone to interference with the mentioned gadgets.

Internet Speed

Slow internet speeds are very irritating. Everyone desires to have internet speeds that are as fast as possible. While setting up a home office, you will need to look for a router that delivers goods speeds to ensure fast downloads and uploads. A speed of not less than 150mbps is desirable for a home office. Such speed will comfortably cater for most of the office internet requirements. A router such as the TP-Link Talon AD7200 Multi-Band Wi-Fi Router delivers amazing speeds of up to 1Gbps. These are some of the highest internet speeds available.

Security

The security of your data and privacy of your communication is paramount. It is one of the essential considerations that should be put in place while purchasing a router. Some hackers will attempt to infiltrate other people’s networks, and their soft target is always the router. It is vital to ensure that the router you get is equipped with the latest encryption technology to ensure no one can get access to the network without your consent.  Always ensure that the router you get has the WPA2 encryption. It is the standard encryption level that helps you can keep evil characters at bay. Most popular brands of routers have this encryption.

The range of the Router

TX-power determines the range of a router. This power is the router’s strength to distribute signal. The higher the TX-power, the further the range. The range is usually subject to your range requirements. Routers such as the Netgear Nighthawk X10 AD7200 Smart WiFi Router offers some of the most extended ranges available, comparable to high quality mesh wifi products. For a home office, the range is not that much of a concern since most of the routers available with being able to cover the range of a home office. However, there is no harm in having the internet signal spread all across the homestead.

Signal Strength

The signal strength of a router is subject to its antenna gain. The antenna gain is the ability of the router to broadcast the signal within the router’s range. A high antenna gain means a good signal. It is essential to make sure that the router you get can broadcast signals that are strong enough even to the furthest points of its range. The Asus RT-AC86U AC2900 Router has a good antenna gain applicable to a home office. Aspects such as the antenna gain and TX-power are indicative of the price of the router. The high they are the more you will pay.

Technology

Innovation in technology has been constant in the last couple of decades. Routers have also passed through several advancements. Innovators have continued to incorporate advanced technologies into routers to enhance their efficiency.  These days we have smart routers with capabilities such as;

• Prioritizing bandwidth – Smart multi-band routers are set to prioritize which band to use under different circumstances.
• Controlling internet speeds – Smart routers can limit and increase internet speed depending on the need.
• Restricting and promoting range – Smart routers can limit or increase how far the signal of a router goes.
• Moderating signal strength- They also have capabilities to reduce or enhance signal strengths.

Examples of smart routers are Google’s On Hub routers or the Linksys Smart Routers. These routers offer endless possibilities as far as connectivity is concerned. This advancement in technology improves the operations of the routers but do not mean that the prices change. It is therefore prudent to ensure you keep up with technology.

The Random-Access Memory

RAM is a storage space within a router, where the router executes commands. It is ordinarily applicable in smart routers. This memory should be high enough to ensure the router does not hang. A router will interrupt internet connection if it hangs.

Extra Storage

Modern routers need to have extra storage for installation of programs. The smart routers can conduct their special operations through these programs. It is paramount to ensure that your router has enough of this space so that the programs installed work properly.

Lifespan

Ant gadget you purchase should serve you for a considerable amount of time. It is essential to consider this factor while buying a router. Router with a higher lifespan will be more expensive than those with a shorter one. Some routers are as cheap as $30 such as the Wavlink AC1200 Dual Band Wireless Router, while there are other others as expensive as $9000 such as the Cisco 2951 Integrated Router. Such routers as the Cisco 2951 are for more complex networks, and therefore there would be no need to incur such a cost for a home office. They are designed to handle large systems and last longer.

Price

Price is the boom line as far as purchasing a router is concerned. You are supposed to consider the above factors to help you decide which router is best for the price that you can afford.

In conclusion, the router you purchase should offer seamless service as far as your home office work is concerned. There are many router types available. Different brands combine different features mentioned here. It, therefore, boils down to specific requirements and budget. I usually advocate for a router that has good speed, range, and signal strength. It will ensure that your office work runs without hitting a snag.