The Most Boring Technology Story Ever, but You Need a New Router

The Most Boring Technology Story Ever, but You Need a New Router
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The Internet has gotten really fast. It’s pretty common today for people to have upwards of 100 megabytes of bandwidth from their service provider. But I’m guessing that the large majority of that speed is hobbled by the 5+ year old routers that most of us are using.

A router, which takes your service provider’s signal and sends it throughout your home in the form of WiFi, reminds me of a tooth cavity. It’s painful and filling it is something you’d like to do once, and then never think about it again. But as time marches on, fillings get old and so do routers. If you haven’t thought about that devilish looking little box blinking Morse-codian lights on your shelf in a while, it’s time (besides, the dust balls will appreciate it).

What’s changed since you bought your first router is the number of connected devices fighting for bandwidth in your home. Good chance that you’ve got a mobile phone, tablet device, a game machine or two, your new TV, a voice activated system and more. There’s no end in sight as every device we know goes digital.

The devices are doing more too. While they used to deliver you to text based websites it’s now de rigueur to be immersed in streams of photos, videos and audio. If you haven’t replaced your router since you gave up the DVD player, it’s a sign.

More devices are doing more in every room of the house. A few years ago, you could get by pretty easily having WiFi where your computer was ― maybe the home office or den. Now your digital appliances are everywhere, demanding a stronger signal throughout the home.

The new routers speak a new version of their language: 802.11ac (ac is the new part). It lets you access more bandwidth and includes a new technology that can pinpoint the devices it sends information to rather than just sending a slapdash signal.

Add the latest cyber exploits (many targeting your newer IoT devices) and you’ve got another good reason to buy a new router: security. The new routers help protect you by alerting you when something unusual is happening to your devices.

The final reason to buy a new router? They’re morphed from the ugly ducklings of technology into beautiful pieces of usable technology. It’s not often that I write a “buy this now” column, but for the moment, I’m all about the router.

Meet the Contenders: Clever Design, Built for the Internet of Things:

Norton Core ($199 when it ships). Norton says its new router takes notice of your IoT devices and watches for communication with suspicious IP addresses. The accompanying mobile app (somewhat of a novelty for routers) even displays a “security score” for each device connected to it. Plus, there are built in parental controls. Suspicious pings to your devices trigger a SMS alert. Plus, from a design standpoint it’s a dead ringer for a Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome.

NETGEAR Orbi ($400) ships as a pair and is part of the growing breed of consumer based “mesh” routers. Mesh routers talk to each other making sure that you’re getting adequate coverage over large spaces of your home. The Orbi claims to have a McMansion style coverage of up to 4,000 square feet including coverage through thick walls. Testers and reviewers praise its speed. On the downside, there’s no app included. As for design, the Orbi looks like a nifty glowing obelisk.

Ubiquiti Networks, Inc.’s AmpliFi ($200) wins my design award. It looks like an ultramodern digital clock that you’d find in a boutique hotel. The accompanying app tracks who’s on your network, how much bandwidth their using and it flags any unusual incidences. Favorite part? It’s got an LED screen that displays time, speed and IP addresses trying to talk to your devices. Great solution for smaller spaces.

Linksys’s Velop, another mesh router option, comes in single, twin or triplet packages depending on the amount of coverage you need. A triplet package will set you back $500. It’s attractive enough -- looking rather like the Amazon Alexa. The Velop was the winner of The Last Gadget Standing at CES in January and I’ve been using it at home with great results. No more complaints about the guest room not having reliable WiFi now that one of the Velop satellite routers is on the night table.

A few random notes. All your cables still need to get plugged into the routers so make sure your new router is designed to hide them nicely. Make sure there’s some sort of app or readout that lets you monitor the network to make sure your money has been well spent. If you’re looking to cover an entire home, you’ll want the new mesh router systems like Velop or Orbi.

Boring? Even I’m half asleep writing about these but trust me, it may be the investment in new tech that you’ll make this year.

Robin Raskin is founder of Living in Digital Times (LIDT), a team of technophiles who bring together top experts and the latest innovations that intersect lifestyle and technology. LIDT produces conferences and expos at CES and throughout the year focusing on how technology enhances every aspect of our lives through the eyes of today’s digital consumer.

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