802.11n Wireless ADSL Modem/Router advice with Macbook

[eASY aDDICT]

I currently have a Netgear DG834PN ADSL Modem/Router which works wonderfully when used wired but is complete and utter tosh when I try and use it without wires!

I had great problems with my old mac mini with it and resorted to permanent ethernet connection. Now I have a new Macbook I need to change it before it drives me mad.

I have tried every fix I can find to stop it dropping packets etc but have decided it needs to be replaced.

There are so many mixed reviews about that its hard to be sure. Can anyone give me any first hand experience of a wireless N ADSL modem/router used with a mac with good results.

[Strolls]

For the benefit of everyone else: avoid so-called "802.11n" products like the plague for the moment - the problem is that the standard isn't ratified, yet, so this router isn't really 802.11n, but "pre-N". And wifi is a bit flakey anyway - 802.11g stuff is really solid now, but 5 years ago it was still quite a bit of a pain as it went through its teething stage, and that's the position the pre-N products are in at the moment.

Because none of these "pre-N" products meet a shared standard, a router from one manufacturer may not work (satisfactorily) with a wifi card from another manufacturer. And when you use a standard "b" or "g" wifi card with a pre-N router, performance is going to fall back to the lower speed, anyway.

I have to say that the guys at BroadbandBuyer have told me they had great results using a router & NIC from the same company - they just started walking across the field next to their offices and ended up (I guess) 1/4 of a mile away! - but I don't know what brand that was.

And that's no good, anyway, if your laptop has built in wifi and you want to avoid using an external wifi dongle (or you're using a Mac for which no external USB pre-N dongles are available).


eASY aDDICT: Check the router's settings - it should have an option to operate as "802.11b/g only". If you don't have any 802.11b devices (older laptops?? Nintendo DS) then you can use "802.11g only" mode, if it has one.

Also fireup Kismac (from here, I think) and check what channels other nearby wireless networks are using. Try to pick a free one. Channel 13 is used in Europe but not in the US, so is not a common setting on many routers - if your equipment works with it, then it may be worth a go. But if there's a lot of base stations set to channel 11 then they'll still cause a little interference with channel 13; if channels 1 to 4 are unused locally then it might be better to use channel 1, instead.

Stroller.

[eASY aDDICT]

Strolls thank you for the response it confirms a long conversation I had with my service provider last night.

I use fast.co.uk as a provider and I think their support is one man and his dog but they are based in the uk and always answer in about 3 rings.

The guy I spoke with pretty much mirrored what you have just said. He said that the Netgear DG834PN that I have which is now about 2 years old has was at the time supposed to be extended range and in fact when they did their own testing was worse than any of the standard range routers available at the time. He also suggested that if you use a microwave in the house it can send this router into meltdown for quite a while afterwards and it should really be consigned to the bin.

He then as you have said recommended not going for anything fancy but a well established Wireless G router like a Netgear 834GT or G and then an additional repeater or range extender on another floor of the house.

I downloaded a similar program to kismac the night before last and there doesn't appear to be much noise about on a few channels so have selected those.

[Strolls]

He then as you have said recommended not going for anything fancy but a well established Wireless G router like a Netgear 834GT or G and then an additional repeater or range extender on another floor of the house.

I really like the Netgear DG843G, the GT not so much.

The GT also has a non-standard 108mbps mode (some manufacturers call this "hi-speed" or "turbo"), but it's not part of the 802.11g spec (that only goes to 54mbps, which isn't blistering, but it's faster than your broadband & otherwise adequate).

The Netgear DG843G is a really mature product - it has been around a while and is now, I think, on the v4; it is my recommendation to customers. It does WDS for range-extending - I am not sure how you'd extend the range of the GT, because the one I've used doesn't (do WDS).

[eASY aDDICT]

It's a good job I bagged a DG834G on the bay last night then!

I will then look at putting something else in to extend the range.

[eASY aDDICT]

Well the 834G turned up today and was up and running in about 90 seconds. Set to G mode only and I get a great signal for Macbook, PS3 and iPhone. Much better than the rubbish I had before and it's a two week old V4 fully boxed and mint for £22 so all in all I'm chuffed.