Hi, not tech savvy at all so please bear with me. Does buying TP Link Archer A6 help maintain my bandwidth or is stock modem from Converge enough? We are subscribed to a non fiber plan from Converge with only 15 Mbps since fiber plans are not yet available in our area.
Download speeds are okay and I also don’t have problems streaming or browsing the net. The only problem I’m encountering is high ping in online games when my parents are connected for their work from home. That’s 2 laptops along with my PC.
Now I’m wondering if buying a third party router could help resolve my problem. Or would it just be a waste of money since I only have a 15 Mbps connection? I only tossed Archer A6 since it’s not that pricey and have good reviews in Lazada, please feel free to give your suggestions as well.
First off, try it wired. I know recently converge have batshit amounts of problems with their customer service and infra. If wired performance is the same, meh. I doubt a new router could help you.
I personally have an 802.11AC router and also have 2 gigabit switches (2 time capsules) connected to it. Does it improve my internet connection? No. Does it improve my overall performance in file transfers to my time capsules and network transfers to my other home devices? Yes.
Included wifi-routers from ISPs are normally garbage. I remember my sisters house where they have 500Mbps speed but only has an 802.11 abg router. Garbage. Being wirelessly connected we’re having problems getting even 100 down. They asked their ISP for a new router and eventually got to enjoy better speeds.
A wireless N on the 5ghz band should theoretically get you 900Mbps. An old 802.11g router at 2.4 has the theoretical speed of 54Mbps.
I could go on and on about other variables as wireless router placements, client placements, is your wall wood or cement, if you have 2.4ghz band wireless telephones or microwaves etc.
The purest form to test is always wired. If you’re still having problems even with wired connections, then dont bother, its your ISP.
Not entirely sure it will help with ping as I think that’s more dependent on the ISP but getting an aftermarket one does help in a lot of other ways.
I don’t have experience with Converge, I have PLDT and by default, for whatever reason they have, only one LAN port is activated (not sure if that’s just with my modem/router). That’s just one advantage (if it applies to Converge at least), but I found that aftermarket routers seem to have better stability both wired and wireless and overall better reliability.
TP-Link should be fine based on my experience and they’re very easy on the wallet compared to other brands. Agree though that a Gigabit router may be overkill but think of it as future proofing. You’ll be using that router for years to come, if you have the budget, would recommend going for it.
I’m connected via ethernet cable. In the first place, this piqued my interest because I discovered that bandwidth allocation is a thing. I’m wondering if a third party router helps with that one? One thing I suspect why I’m having this problem is when my parents connect to their respective company VPN. Their laptops might be hoarding our connection? Is that possible? Sorry kinda tip toeing here since I’m new with the topic at hand
Cant you do that with your stock router? make other ssid for your parents to connect to then limit their bandwidth from there? if not then a new router might help