Best Wireless Router For Home - Buyers Guide

Looking at buying a wireless router for home may seem like a daunting task if you don't know what all the different variables are in a router. This is not the truth and with a simple explanation of the seemingly complex routers you can very easily pick the one that is right for you and your family.

The first thing you are going to want to look at is the type of wireless cards you have for your laptops or desktops. There are several different wavelengths of signals that are used and you want to match your router to your laptop or desktop. The current signals are 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n. Check what type of wireless card your computer has so they are compatible.

The signal types also account for the distance the router sends out the wireless signal. It is said that (G) and (B) travel 150 feet indoors and 300 feet outdoors. Which is a pretty good distance for most houses as you wont be going much further than that in the house unless you have some type of shed or outdoor patio you'd like to use your wireless from. The (A) signal will get about 1/3 the distance as the previous two. The (A) seems to be old technology and is slowly being phased out of production. Be sure to try to avoid getting this type of wireless card if possible.

Now that we understand what TYPE of wireless router we want, which brand is the best? What is the best wireless router for home? Which is the easiest to set up?

Linksys is the leading brand when it comes to routers. Although if you have an Apple or Mac you will want to go with the Airport Extreme because it was designed to be used with that brand and will be a breeze to set up. So picking up a linksys router will be the easiest products to deal with. They are usually very straight forward. Now you'll want to stay away from the extremely cheap routers as they will require a lot of additional steps to correctly set them up and offer less user friendly options. A mid priced linksys router will be the way to go. The high end high priced routers will usually just get you more range and are designed for bigger office spaces and buildings.

Other brands to consider if the Linksys doesn't fit your style are the Belkin and NETGEAR routers. They are both very solid brands and you will most definitely be happy with that choice. A wireless router gives you ultimate freedom in being anywhere in the house and being able to instantly connect to the internet with no wires. Once you get a wireless router you can really never go back to the way things used to be. It's amazing to be able to lay in bed with your laptop and just simply click on an icon and BOOM you are connected to the internet and did not have to connect any more wires to your laptop.