10 Key points to look at when choosing a wireless router for your home office 2018

Starting up your home office is one of the biggest and best decisions you can make this 2018. The rush of entrepreneurship is great considering how you can steer your business in your own direction and set up business timetables that suit your lifestyle. Reasons why people set up home offices include financial freedom, time and the ability to drive your business within your own limits.

Thanks to technology, it is now possible for everyone to have internet connection within the home. This has gradually become a global phenomenon and since the internet is one of the most valuable expenses you will make for your home office, it is quite important for you to get it right the very first time.

Apart from internet routers being popular in most home offices, they have become a necessity. The router you choose is often the main fragment of your wireless connection. While there are a lot of internet routers on the market these days, there are also quite a number of counterfeit ones. In this article, we will be taking a look at some of the essential things that you must consider in 2018 before you buy a wireless router.

1. Speed of the internet: This seems like a major ‘duh’, but it is easy to get caught up in whether there is even internet coverage than the actual speed of the router. However, if you are actually looking to get any work done, the speed of your router is perhaps the most important thing for you to consider. Mostly referred to as megabytes per second, it represents the speed with which your router is downloading and uploading data. It is very important to check the speed of the router(this will mostly be indicated on the back of the box or the ISP). For reliable output, it is often best you get a router with speed above 150mbps. This will ensure that you have faster internet and less interruptions. It is also advisable to buy established brands as some routers can have wrong speeds written on them.

2. Range of the connection: You have the speed all sorted out, the next should be the range of your connection. This refers to the distance between your router and computer or other mobile devices you may have connected. A lot of times, the positioning of the router would determine the transmission. You must know that not all places in your home have the same range, so you should get advice or professional installers to detect the areas of your home to provide the best range.

3. Bands are everything: This is a tricky one, as not a lot of people understand the band of the network. Routers usually come in 2.4GHz and 5GHz variants. It can also be referred to as single, dual or tri bands. You should properly understand what type of network your device is requesting before you go ahead and buy a router.

4. Smart technology: Technology is evolving by the day, and with each of these advancements, we are also starting to see changes in the quality of routers. You don’t want to be setting up your ultra-modern home office with old router technology as this would often have effects on the speed and range of your network. Smart technology also affords you the option of optimizing your bandwidth for either streaming, updates or even video games. Recent routers also come with IFTTT integration for the complete smart home.

5. Price: Another ‘no-brainer’, but this is another aspect where some people get it horribly wrong. You don’t want to be paying over the top for a regular router. On the other hand, if a router seems too cheap, then you should have suspicions. You should ensure to do proper research on the internet about the brand and type of router you are purchasing in order to have a proper price range in mind.

6. Standard of the wireless connection: Standards of your wireless can either be 802.11a, 802.11c and lots more. A lot of older computers make use of the 802.11n standard and will connect to the 5GHz system. However, properly understanding the standard your computers need can be a key factor in increasing all round performance.

7. Do some research: As much as we’d like it to, this single article is not enough research for you to go out and get your router. It is important for you to narrow down your search to one or two routers and do some extensive research. You may also want to read a couple of honest consumer reviews as this can be very helpful in deciding on what router to go ahead and buy.

8. Encryption: According to recent trends, the WPA2 encryption is the most recent. This basically refers to the type of security that your router comes with. You don’t want a router that any Tom, Dick or Harry (or even all three of them ;)) can hack into. With cyber fraud being a major threat these days, it is very important that you purchase a router that can provide you the security that you require. This will give you full access to the internet without any form of disruption.

9. Gigabit Ethernet capabilities: With technology evolving ever so rapidly, it will be very important for you to get in on the action. These routers will prepare you for the future and keeps you ahead in terms of fiber technology.

10. Lifespan of the router: Aha, the last bit that we all fail to consider – just how long we expect the darn thing to last. Since network hardware does not last infinitely and standards change so frequently, there can be a lot of stress on your router. Since you are using it for your home office, it is likely there will be a lot of computers, printers and other peripheral devices that will be connected on a daily basis, leading to the gradual degradation of the network. However, if you get a router that is quite durable, you shouldn’t have a problem at all.