Wi-Fi routers aren't the most exciting subject, but paying an extra $10 to $15 a month to rent one can add up quickly. With 71% of Americans choosing to rent their routers from their internet service provider, most of us are spending hundreds of dollars a year instead of making a one-time purchase. Your router is the gateway to the internet and affects every aspect of your online life.
"The router is the heart of your home network," said Gianmarco Chumbe, CNET's lab engineer who leads router testing. "Just like the heart pumps oxygen and nutrients everywhere it's needed, your router pumps data to all of your devices. And just as a bad heart can affect your whole health, a bad router can ruin the internet experience in your home."
Most of us know the feeling. According to a new CNET survey, 86% of Americans experience Wi-Fi drops at some point, and 19% say drops happen always, daily or frequently.
If you've spent any time looking at routers over the past two years, you've probably seen a lot about Wi-Fi 7. As always with tech products, there's a lot of jargon to wade through, and it's hard to tell what's marketing and what will actually improve your internet experience. Is Wi-Fi 7 really that much better than the Wi-Fi 5, 6 and 6E generations of routers?
The Netgear Nighthawk RS700S was the fastest Wi-Fi 7 router in our lab tests, and the fastest overall. Gianmarco Chumbe/CNET
Key Takeaways
During testing, Wi-Fi 7 tri-band routers were faster than previous generations at every distance and on every frequency band.
Our test data shows that a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router offers substantial performance gains and is a better value than a dual-band (even though dual-band is cheaper).
Wi-Fi 7 routers are more expensive, but prices are dropping compared to a few years ago -- making it a worthwhile investment now.
Be sure to check the specs. If it says dual-band Wi-Fi 7 router, keep shopping. Only tri-band Wi-Fi 7s are strong performers.
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