What should I look for when getting a new router? I’ve had 3 routers from chunghwa but would like to get my own now that the latest one has decided to die again! Are there any I should avoid like the plague?
Sounds like your wanting a dsl modem not a router.
I have also been through a few modems with Zhonghua. I really see no reason to buy my own though, they replace them fairly quickly and I have the password so I can do anything I want with it. Not that there’s anything to do once you’ve got it working with your router. I think all that I did was set the connection, disable the wireless, and put the lan side on the same network as my router.
The bin lang chewing install techs are always completely clueless, but once I get them to either let me do it, or to give up, then it’s a piece of cake. Apparently most folks in my area don’t use routers and connect their pc directly to the modem. <— crazy in my opinion.
If you’re after an easy to use router, can I suggest the TP-LINK TL-WR941ND tp-link.com/products/product … TL-WR941ND
It’s about NT$1600-1800 and beyond being dead simple to set up, it also has very good range on the Wi-Fi being a 3T3R MIMO router (that means it has three sending and receiving antennas which gives it longer ranger at higher speeds).
They also have a slightly cheaper model called the TL-WR940N which doesn’t have removable antennas which should be fine for 99% of home users and which is a wee bit cheaper as well.
If you’re on a tighter budget, then TL-WR841N would do the job as well, but it doesn’t have as good range on the wireless as it only has two antennas, but you should be able to get that one for under NT$1100.
[quote=“TheLostSwede”]If you’re after an easy to use router, can I suggest the TP-LINK TL-WR941ND tp-link.com/products/product … TL-WR941ND
It’s about NT$1600-1800 and beyond being dead simple to set up, it also has very good range on the Wi-Fi being a 3T3R MIMO router (that means it has three sending and receiving antennas which gives it longer ranger at higher speeds).
They also have a slightly cheaper model called the TL-WR941N which doesn’t have removable antennas which should be fine for 99% of home users and which is a wee bit cheaper as well.
If you’re on a tighter budget, then TL-WR841N would do the job as well, but it doesn’t have as good range on the wireless as it only has two antennas, but you should be able to get that one for under NT$1100.[/quote]
Nice one swede I somehow knew you’d come to the rescue. I thought about naming the thread “help me swede” but that may have been a bit presumptuous!
[quote=“Homey”]Sounds like your wanting a dsl modem not a router.
I have also been through a few modems with Zhonghua. I really see no reason to buy my own though, they replace them fairly quickly and I have the password so I can do anything I want with it. Not that there’s anything to do once you’ve got it working with your router. I think all that I did was set the connection, disable the wireless, and put the lan side on the same network as my router.
The bin lang chewing install techs are always completely clueless, but once I get them to either let me do it, or to give up, then it’s a piece of cake. Apparently most folks in my area don’t use routers and connect their pc directly to the modem. <— crazy in my opinion.[/quote]
Last two guys refused to give me the password saying there was no such thing! Right pissed me off that did!
So swede all I want it for is my laptop and my mrs iPhone so I’m guessing I’d be in the 99% of users? My house isn’t that big though the router will be in another room I don’t think range is a big issue for me.
[quote=“TheLostSwede”]If you’re after an easy to use router, can I suggest the TP-LINK TL-WR941ND tp-link.com/products/product … TL-WR941ND
It’s about NT$1600-1800 and beyond being dead simple to set up, it also has very good range on the Wi-Fi being a 3T3R MIMO router (that means it has three sending and receiving antennas which gives it longer ranger at higher speeds).[/quote]
I’m also interested in purchasing a router. From the way you describe it, there should be no problem receiving the signal one floor above or below, right?
irishmoe, I think you’ll be fine with the cheapest model and the TP-Link routers are pretty much as easy to set up as possible with these things.
adikarmika, I’d recommend one of the 3T3R MIMO routers, as I have a 2T2R MIMO router and it’s really not cutting it and I have it on the middle floor of three. I guess some of it depends on the router as well, but this is a model from Buffalo which I even modified and fitted external antennas to and it still doesn’t have enough range to work with my notebook when I’m downstairs or upstairs.
It’s hard to predict what will work well and all the manufacturers are making a lot of claims, but I’ve set up two different TP-Link routers, one for my old man and one for a friend here in Taiwan and they’ve been easy to configure and are imho competitively priced. They’re by no means the best money can buy, but I’d say they’re far superior to Buffalo and I’m getting one myself as soon as I have the money to spare. One advantage the TP-Link router have is a feature called QSS, it’s a button on the front or rear that makes it easy to connect other devices to the router, as you push the button and then join the network on the device without any need to type in passwords and things. Other router manufacturer also have this, but it’s generally only found on slightly more expensive models. Do note that this feature doesn’t work with older wireless network cards and I’m not sure how well it works with versions of Windows prior to Windows 7.
Best place to get TP-Link routers at the moment is from eclife.com.tw they have two shops in the computer market, one on the 4th floor I think and one in the underground facility by TK3C. Both the TL-WR841N and TL-WR941ND are on sale this month and they’re about NT$200 cheaper than anywhere else.
Buildings in Taiwan seem to have very tough to penetrate walls and floors, excessive amount or reinforcement maybe? The Wi-Fi signals don’t like it anyhow, but as long as you’re only using it on one floor, you don’t need anything excessive.
That said the MIMO routers, even the basic models, tend to offer better signal than cheaper single antenna routers, no matter what.
One thing to look for in a new router is IPv6.
Not that it will do you much good right now. I’m not aware of any Taiwanese ISP that supports IPv6. However, it’s going to become a big issue eventually, so you may want to prepare.
D-Link seems to be serious about supporting IPv6:
A current router that doesn’t have IPv6 should theoretically be able to support it with a firmware upgrade. Not every manufacturer can be counted upon to do this - many will no doubt prefer you just buy a new router for full retail price.
Forgot one nifty thing, they have a simulator on their site, so you can have a look at how hard or not they’re to set up tp-link.com/support/simulator.asp
In theory you don’t need to touch most of the tings, just run the setup and that’s it.
Excuse the aside, but I have a tougher question on this subject.
Assuming that the generally agreed pronunciation of the object that acts to route digital information is based on the American rowt, thus rowter," is it more correct in Australian/English to pronounce it as “rooter”?
HG
Uhm, it’s rooter, not rowter as far as I’m concerned…
Dunno who told you it’s rowter…
[quote=“TheLostSwede”]Uhm, it’s rooter, not rowter as far as I’m concerned…
Dunno who told you it’s rowter…[/quote]
Definitely rooter! I even accidentally recommended the previous post in my haste to reply.
Generally agreed pronunciation? Hm…
When i lived in Canada and worked in IT there, everybody around me called those things “routers” (sound like “rooters”), in line with the “route” (sound like “root”) that a signal or car takes when in Canada.
When i visited the US i heard the thing being called “router” (sound like “rowder”) there, similar to the “route” (sound like “rowte”) a signal or car takes when in that country.
So i figure you’re dealing with a generally agreed difference in pronunciation here. 
I’m an American, and I’ve always pronounced it “rowter,” or maybe “rowder” if I’m slurring my speech a bit. Ditto for road names like “Route 66” (rowt 66), and the verb “to route” (to rowt).
But since we’re in Taiwan, maybe I’ll just call it a 路由器 lùyóuqì.
But back to the more important stuff - I’ve had my ASUS RT-N13U 路由器 for two days now, and it’s performing flawlessly with my 3G USB modem. Yeah!
cheers,
DB
Well, I’ve had nothing but good experiences with TP-Link, but as this is a forum, you have the right to share your experiences.
I’ve set up the same router you got and so has someone else here and neither of us experienced the kind of problems you had.
But good for you that the Asus router works for you.
The TP-Link TL-MR 342 路由器 i bought on recommendation of TheLostSwede has also been working fine since i set it up (which was easy) - but during the years i lived in Canada and set up people’s computers, modems, etc., i’ve had on the add occasion had an experience like yours, too, where some out-of-the box item wouldn’t play at all. In cases like that reputable companies will take the duds back, of course…
Any recommendation on wireless bridge?
A lot of routers now have a switch at the back that lets you set them to AP, bridge or router. Don’t really have experience of wireless bridges, what is it going to be used with?
It will be used to connect my tv in the living room…
So last night i bought two TP-LINK TL-WR841N as recommended here and tried to do the bridge but fail…there’s no button or switch at the back except power button and QSS button
The web browser installation can enable wireless bridge option but it is in chinese, is there anyway to change to english?
it routes data. verb. /rout/ thus it is a route er. ro-out-er
if it pulled tree stumps out of the ground, then it could be called a rooter.