"N" Router

[thecraw]

After having a few issues with broadband connection and upload speed my supplier has said that they'll send me out a new style "N" router as mine is an old style "G" router. This is meant to boost the signal and whatever else he said!

Does anyone on here ken what he's on about and if this will help my poor connection and speed issues at times!

I've also just secured half price internet for the next 12 months all from phoning the cancellation team.

 

[brendy]

Wireless speeds and quality are labelled in two ways, either by good old numbers ie 54mbs etc or B,G,N etc. N being the later of the technologies. All sounds great on paper but if your laptop or phone can only connect at G speeds then the N rating is meaningless.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11

Part way down that page gives you the speeds and distances they can provide signal over (give no obstacles like walls etc)

 

[thecraw]

Wireless speeds and quality are labelled in two ways, either by good old numbers ie 54mbs etc or B,G,N etc. N being the later of the technologies. All sounds great on paper but if your laptop or phone can only connect at G speeds then the N rating is meaningless.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11

Part way down that page gives you the speeds and distances they can provide signal over (give no obstacles like walls etc)

My laptop is a Dell and less than a year old I'd hope it will be able to connect to a new style router? Thoughts????

 

[GreiginFife]

As Brendy says Crawford, it's not about "boosting" the signal. The range of the N router (over an obstacle free distance) is greater than that of a B or G router (older technologies).
What he may have been referring to the the probability of getting a stronger signal in the same part of the house with the N router. Good in theory but if the wireless receiver is in a part of the house that is 50ft away with 6 or 7 walls and floors to pass through, it's not really going to solve that much.
If you have a B or G (54 or 108mbps respectively) wireless card in your laptop/PC then that is the maximum speed it will be able to transfer data.
That said, I had 2 or 3 bar signal with my old G router, replaced with a N and now 5 bars all the way. My router is one room away but has to pass through a 14" thick sandstone wall to get from the sitting room to the study.

 

[GreiginFife]

My laptop is a Dell and less than a year old I'd hope it will be able to connect to a new style router? Thoughts????

It will connect, it's just the speed that it can transfer data that is bound by the card in the laptop. For example a G router putting out 108mbps but the laptop with a B card can only handle 54mbps of that 108...
That made more sense in my head

 

[ScienceBoy]

Backwards compatibility, N routers probably can be set to broadcast in G or B (type 192.168.0.1 in address bar for router homepage usually).

BUT G and B wireless receivers can not pick up N, they would need replacing if you cannot change your router settings.

 

[bobmac]

If a field has a narrow gate where only 2 cows can fit through at the same time, there's no point in trying to get 5 cows through at the same time.
It sounds as if your house has a narrow gate.
I'm here all week :ears:

 

[GreiginFife]

Backwards compatibility, N routers probably can be set to broadcast in G or B (type 192.168.0.1 in address bar for router homepage usually).

BUT G and B wireless receivers can not pick up N, they would need replacing if you cannot change your router settings.

Au Contraire mon capitaine, I am using a 2nd generation Atheros G card and an N router and it works fine but only up to 108mbps

 

[Val]

I thought routers were used to cut shapes in wood?

 

[Khamelion]

Don't get me started on the whole router and rowter phrasing, I work in IT networks and have to put with the engineers in the US talking about rowters, for me:-

Router <Roo ter> a device on a network designed to direct traffic to where it needs to be.

Router <R out ter> a carpentry tool used in wood working.

 

[thecraw]

OK, as I'm a 36 handicapper with 200 mulligans per round IF my current router is the problem which I suspect as it used to work fine, will this new router solve my problems?

 

[GreiginFife]

OK, as I'm a 36 handicapper with 200 mulligans per round IF my current router is the problem which I suspect as it used to work fine, will this new router solve my problems?

IF it was your router that was the problem THEN it should solve the problem. OR it could be the laptop that's NOT working correctly NOR picking up a signal.

It's just logic

 

[RGDave]

Lets face it. It won't do anything at all for your speeds.

G rated = 54 Mbit/s.

N rated = more...

Since your internet is going to be less than 54Mbit/s, unless you live in Seoul, S Korea, it serves no purpose whatsoever.

(Actually, that's not entirely true, but essentially........)