How to Choose the Best Wireless Router for your Home Office

Working from the comfort of your home is definitely a luxury that many persons look forward to especially when you have previously experienced the boring routine of working within the enclosed space of an office. However, working from home also comes with its own deficiencies. One of the first you are likely to notice is the absence of amenities that are readily available in a formal office space. You probably never had to bother about your internet connection because the IT department took care of it. Now, that you are working from home, how do you ensure you choose the best wireless router for your home office?

Consider your needs

The natural thing that most people do is to compare pricing when looking to purchase a product. But when it comes to choosing the best wireless router for your home office, you would have to dig deeper than that. If your kind of work requires transferring large files and online video streaming, you would be experiencing serious lag in your internet speed if you go for lower end routers that offer below 1300 Mbps.

Getting to know router types

In today’s modern technology, wireless routers which are compatible with a wide range of devices belong to the 802.11 group. On the initial branch of this group of routers, there are 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g while on the faster end, there are 802.11n and 802.11ac.

It is also important to know how many bands you will require. Your choice is made easier since most wireless routers now come with dual bands and even the newer tri-bands. The dual bands give you a chance to switch between the lower frequency of 2.4 GHz to the higher 5.0 GHz. Digitaltrends sounds a note of warning on checking that the dual-band wireless router actually comes with two radios because some purported dual bands only come with one radio. This would mean that you can utilize one band at a time and not simultaneously.

Cost consideration

While cost should not be the initial determinant of your choice of wireless router for your home office, it would still matter in the end since you are likely working within a budget. One of the biggest mistakes you could make is assuming that high cost equals to a high-quality wireless router. Rather you should be considering the following:

• The wireless router being within your budget but you should be ready to go a bit above if the best comes at a higher cost.
• To avoid wasting your resources, it is important to consider your devices’ compatibility with the wireless router you want to buy. Imagine trying to plug a USB into a parallel port, pretty ridiculous right? That is how it would feel buying a wireless router that is incompatible with your devices. If you are unfortunate to buy from a store without a return policy, you would be left with a product you have no use for, except of course if you are ready to go another extra mile to change all your devices.

The best wireless router

Forbes recommends going for a wireless router that offers 802.11ac support. This will ensure that you will not be stuck on your work and end up frustrated. Everyone knows how tiring and annoying it can be when that video you are streaming keeps buffering or you lose important business offers because your connection is too weak to sustain a steady video call. This is not to say that the older 802.11n wireless routers will not work for you. It is likely you would be tempted to go for them especially since they are less costly than the 802.11ac routers. However, you should know by now how it all works in the tech world. You either get on with newer offers or go through the stress of upgrading your older devices to meet up.

Cio.com sums up the essential attributes of 802.11ac wireless routers in a succinct manner:

• With this kind of router, you can get to send data to two different devices at the same time instead of the usual manner in older routers of transmitting data one after the other.
• Since the 802.11ac wireless router is quite new in the market, it is crucial for you to check that it is compatible with your device before purchasing it.

Securing your data

Even though wireless routers are a great way to make your access to the internet easier, it can also put your data at risk. Digitaltrends.com highlights the ways in which the wireless router you use in your home office can be putting you in harm’s way:

• It is possible for someone else to get into your business activities.
• Someone could pilfer your internet connection.
• Your files and system can be comprised through identity theft or infected with malware and viruses.

All these risks can be taken care of by ensuring that you purchase a wireless router that comes with a WPA2. This comes with a stronger wall than the ordinary WPA to protect your network.

Guarantee of seamless operation

Sometimes, it may seem like a game of ping-pong when buying devices for your home office. But you should not have to depend on mere luck when purchasing a wireless router for your home office. To get the best wireless router, you would have to depend on these two old tricks advanced by lifewire.com:

• Stay with the popular brands. This might sound cliché but if many people are patronizing a particular product, there is a high likelihood that they are of a great quality.
• Look out for longer warranty options.

Choosing the best wireless router for your home office should not be taken lightly since the stability and speed of your internet connection to a large extent determine the success rate of your business. Do not be in a hurry to just dash into a store and rush off with the first wireless router you come across.

Author Bio: Rik Flaxman is the CEO & Founder of 11must.com. He loves to write useful articles and recently he has written an informative article about the wireless routers on his blog.