Hi Gizmodo, are you able to recommend a good modem? I’m with Internode. I need a modem router, with wired ports and wireless, and support for naked DSL. In terms of the wi-fi area it needs to cover, I’m in a pretty small townhouse. Someone’s buying it for me as a gift, so price is flexible. Thanks, Mork
Hi Mork,
There are a few questions you should answer whenever you’re thinking of buying a new router or modem router — how much do you want to spend, how big is your house, and so on. If you’re in a smallish townhouse, you won’t necessarily need a multi-room setup like Google Wi-Fi or Netgear’s Orbi, so a single powerful wi-fi router should be enough for your needs. If you want a modem router, your choices are a little more limited.
If someone else is paying, I’ll make a couple of mid-priced suggestions for you. You can get a good wireless router at around the $200 price point in Australia, and a good modem router around the $300 price point. With that in mind, and the fact that you’ll want a few wired ports as well as decent wireless for your Internode naked DSL connection, my first two suggestions would be the AVM Fritz!Box 7490, which Internode actually recommends and sells, and the Netgear Nighthawk D7000, a modem router version of the excellent R7000.
You could spend more and get something even gutsier like a Netgear D8500 or D-Link Taipan, but in a smaller house without a surfeit of devices connecting simultaneously, it would be overkill. Remember you can extend the range and coverage of your wireless network with extenders in the future, too. A mid-range router like the D7000 should be all that you need.
The most important thing with any router that you buy is that it’s stable and consistent in its performance. I’d much rather spend a little while longer actually setting up my home wi-fi — rather than with a simple set-and-forget, one-size-fits-all router — to know that I won’t have to muck around with the settings in the future. Wi-Fi is a tricky beast at the best of times, so you want something that just works — and I can vouch for both of these devices from personal experience.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2014/07/fritzbox-7490-adsl2-modem-router-australian-review/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/DSC6913-410×231.jpg” title=”FRITZ!Box 7490 ADSL2+ Modem Router: Australian Review” excerpt=”For all intents and purposes, your home network’s modem router is the nexus of all of your communications. It handles your ‘net connection, as well as all your home devices talking to each other and the outside world. So when you’re looking to buy one, you want all the features you can get, right? That’s why the new FRITZ!Box 7490 should grab your attention.”]
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2014/05/netgear-nighthawk-r7000-router-australian-review/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/SAM_0646-410×231.jpg” title=”Netgear Nighthawk R7000 Router: Australian Review” excerpt=”Having good Wi-Fi in your house makes life so much easier. Faster speeds mean you can stream HD video from your PC to TV without tangling cables all over the place. The extra range means you can check emails in your car before you back out of the driveway. Netgear’s Nighthawk R7000 router promises all that and more.”]