Here is something I get questioned about 100's of times per day :)

Which one to buy?
Router or modem, Router & modem combo?
Which one will work with my laptop, phone, desktop, ISP?

First the basics:
Modems:
Modems are what connect you to your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Comcast, Time Warner (road runner), Verizon, Charter, DSL Extreme and so on. AOL IS NOT AN ISP they are a NSP (Network Service Provider)
A modem must match your internet Dial-UP, DSL, A-DSL, Cable, FIOS.
I would always get the modem from the ISP or NSP. Tech changes by the minute, you buy a modem. Your ISP or NSP upgrade their hardware your purchased modem needs to be purchased again. :( If they provide the modem every time they upgrade just call them and get another modem! (Rent the modem from the ISP never buy from them)

Router & Modem Combos:
The router part will work with any ISP internet service provider. But the modem half will only work on what that modem was designed for. So if you buy a Router & Modem for DSL it WILL NOT work on cable internet. Some do work on Cable & DSL but you need to be sure. If you have DSL and want more speed and upgrade to cable the combo may not work. Or you have cable and want to upgrade to FIOS again the modem half of the combo is no good.

Good news is some ISP's provide their modem with a built in wired & wireless router. You won't be able to personalize, tweak it to your needs. But if all you need is internet access with wireless this is probably best for you.

Now the bad news most likely the wireless will not be top speed. (2.4 - 5ghz) Your ISP can see 100% off everything on your home network. Your NAT (Network Address Translation - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_address_translation) will most likely be locked and you can't change it. You will not be able to restrict nasty sites like google, facebook and the rest of the spyware, maleware driven sites. :( If you or your kids play online games you will suffer, high pings, massive lag.


Routers, Wireless, WiFi - Your Residential Gateway:
Routers determine where to send information from one computer to another. Connect your computer, phone, tablet to anywhere on your personal network or any web server in the world. You can do this with a single modem & single computer. But with a router you can have up to 150 devices using one modem! A router is the brain or switchboard of your network.

The good news, most new routers are very easy to set up! Plug it in, READ & follow the instructions and you are online and surfing in minutes! Not like even 5 years ago, where every question the router asked you, you needed to call someone. lol
Most newer routers also have tons of protection built in. They will even protect you from your ISP's spying eyes. You can set up different times for use. This is a great setting if you have kids and you want to stop their internet surfing on school nights. You can set your own custom SSID (wireless network broadcast name - beast-usa's wireless DO NOT USE lol). Want to block nasty sites, need to setup certain ports for certain software or games. Block software on your computer from phoning home behind your back. :) They also have Auto settings for almost everything, no need to be a super geek!

The bad news, most have default settings for passwords, admin login, IP address that no one changes. :(

Which Router Do I get?
This is based on what you use your router for? Gaming, web surfing, how many devices do you use, are they all wireless, how far are the wireless devices from the router, how old is your hardware?

Newer routers have many different speeds and connections, a,b,g,n,n,ac Only a few new pieces of hardware will use the fastest wireless. 5GHZ Do you need dual band? Most of the time NO. You would only need that if you are using something on the 5GHZ wireless (BlackBerry Z10 or Z30) and something on 20mhz to 40mhz (Iphone lol sorry had to do it old tech in a new dress) And you want to use both on their separate speeds at the same time. Most people will not need that function. But not to worry anything new can use the slower 20 to 40mhz speed :) The 20 to 40mhz speed is going to be the most common. So single or dual band is up to you, single will most likely do everything you need. (2.4 & 5ghz will have better range)

Here are the best & easiest routers to use in my super geek opinion.

And please remember 99.9% of router problems ARE NOT THE ROUTER. It is a problem with the ISP. I know when you call they always say "It's your router". But almost NEVER is that true! It is their - place the blame on the router get out of jail free - default reply. And very upsetting for those of us that no better!



This is a great router and will work with most wireless devices made in the last 10 years! It is super fast, really easy to setup, great software. A complete novice will have no problems setting this up! Again this is dual band very very fast.

$169.99
Netgear R6300 Wireless 802.11 AC 5GHz Dual Band Router
802.11 AC - offers speeds of up to 450+1300Mbps (3x faster than 802.11n) with reliable connectivity.
4 ports at 10/100/1000 (Never get one with less then these speeds)
2 ports USB 2.0
IEEE 802.11
ac 5.0 GHz
802.11 a/b/g/n Compatible
DOS, WPA, NAT, SPI, WPA2, and WPA2-PSK security protocols; prevents unauthorized access

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2688070



Another great router, easy to use, easy to setup. The main difference next to price :) is range & speed. The R6300 has much more range & speed on the wireless then the R6100.

$99.99
Netgear R6100 Wireless Router - Dual Band
802.11 AC - speeds of up to 1200Mbps
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
4 ports at 10/100/1000 (Never get one with less then these speeds)
2.4GHz - 5.0GHz
USB 2.0
DOS, WPA, NAT, SPI, WPA2, and WPA2-PSK security protocols; prevents unauthorized access

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8465416&CatId=373