Should I get AC 750 or AC 1200 router for 100 mbps internet?

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The Tiger

The Tiger

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Aug 30, 2013
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I got a 100 mbps internet connection. I get 96+ Mbps while using LAN. While connecting through WiFi, my 300 mbps Dlink N router only gives 21 Mbps maximum even when link speed shows 300mbps and the receiver is right next to the router. Transferring files to and fro between computers in local network also gives 20 mbps (2.5 mBps). Tried changing channels, channel width but nothing works. Also my neighborhood has only 3 WiFi signals in range and no channels are conflicting with mine. Don't know why it's so slow. So I have decided to upgrade the router and receivers to AC protocol.

Considering a 300mbps connection realistically gives 21 Mbps (yes I know the difference between bits per second and bytes per second) do you think I need to upgrade to a AC1200 router to utilize full 100mbps of my internet connection, or do you feel AC750 will suffice?
 
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B
Although you would have to dig though the fcc database almost all routers transmit at the maximum allowed level. A router that has 2db of antenna likely has 28db of radio transmit power. Legally the total can only be 30db so most times it just means the other device has a transmitter at 25db.
Although some people change antennas it technically is illegal to do it in many cases.

It is massively more complex than that but unless you get some router designed for mobile use there is not a huge difference between the output power on routers.

In most cases the ac1200 routers are pretty much $50 routers now days so it does not save much to get less. Both asus and tplink have ac1200 routers for about $50. A ac1200 matches the radios...
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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The router is only half the connection your end equipment must also support the higher rate data protocols. This is why people buy fancy routers with huge numbers only to find out that because their device only has 2 antenna it will not run any faster than lest costly router.

21mbps is not a uncommon number for the so called 300mbps connection. The 300mbps is based on how the data is encoded but ignores important things like the fact wifi is half duplex.

The actual speeds you get will be greatly affected by your house and how far you are from the router.

This site has some more common test information but even they warn you can not expect the same results in your house.
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/charts/router/view

Changing channels is pretty much old information that many times does not apply. 300mbps connections use 40mhz of bandwidth and there is only 60mhz of bandwidth on 2.4g. This means it is impossible for 2 radios to coexist no matter what channels you choose. The older recommendations where based on 20mhz bandwidth. This problem also now occurs on the 5g band also. 802.11ac uses 80mhz of bandwidth. There are only 2 blocks of channels you can select that are that large. Someone with one of those fancy tri band routers will use all the available bandwidth on both the 2.4g and 5g with a single device.

Then again the scanner tools mean nothing really. They only see the router announcement messages not the actual data. What is more important is how much usage there is on each which you can't see. I used to have my router transmit a bunch of different ssid on the same channel so it would look to these tools as if there were a lot of people using it to get people to not select the channel I was using.
 
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Rdslw

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Aug 1, 2017
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Wifi Analyzer - Apps on Google Play
take this app and walk around house. It will show you signal strength, bands used etc.
what you will gain is more antennas not range going from 750 to 1200 so it does not matter which one MOSTLY.
please tell us if you're using 2.4 or 5G it changes a lot when you look at performance. 5G is faster but shorter range.
IF you have FLAT, please have a look on Asus RT-N14UHP. Big ass antennas will make signal travel further (left right) and less (up and down), should help with poor range (around -60db -80db).
if reason for weak wifi is noise, consider switching to 5G. in general shorter range means less neighbour signals to interfere.

ALSO 21 mbps is usual for ~54 mbps "G" wifi standard. are you able to confirm your receiver is not forcing you to use G ?
 
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The Tiger

The Tiger

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Rdslw, yes I can confirm it's in the N band because I have forced use of N in router settings page. Connection speed shows 300 mbps, though. Is it possible the router is going bad? The router has 2dBi antennas. Could that be the reason? Because most routers sport 5dBi antennas.
 
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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Although you would have to dig though the fcc database almost all routers transmit at the maximum allowed level. A router that has 2db of antenna likely has 28db of radio transmit power. Legally the total can only be 30db so most times it just means the other device has a transmitter at 25db.
Although some people change antennas it technically is illegal to do it in many cases.

It is massively more complex than that but unless you get some router designed for mobile use there is not a huge difference between the output power on routers.

In most cases the ac1200 routers are pretty much $50 routers now days so it does not save much to get less. Both asus and tplink have ac1200 routers for about $50. A ac1200 matches the radios in most end devices. The vast majority of end devices only support 2 antenna. This gives you 300mbps on 2.4g and 900mbps on 5g. Note on the 2.4g band this will be exactly the same as your current router. It may or may not run any faster it really depends what the cause of the problem is. If the router is truly defective it might help, if it is how your house is build then it will not.
 
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failboat

failboat

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Feb 19, 2010
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unifi ap lites are great wifi access points if you want to upgrade. unifi hdnano is their fastest if you are wanting to drop some $$.
pair with an edge router. you could use your old one and turn wifi off when using an access point.

if your old one only does 2.4G i'd replace it with one that has both. unifi has band steering so it picks the fastest one for you.

to get faster mobile speeds when you buy devices make sure to research that part.
 
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