GoKawiil
Tech News
When ISPs only offer device rentals, consumers face a decision between ongoing fees and upfront purchases. Buying a $200 modem/router can be more economical over time, especially with typical rental costs of $20 per month. If users can select their own equipment, they gain customization options, improved security, and greater privacy, though initial costs may be higher.
Amazon has cut the price of the TP-Link Archer BE3600 wireless router to $79.98, a 33% discount and its lowest price on the site to date. The router supports Wi-Fi 7 on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, though it lacks the 6GHz band found in full Wi-Fi 7 implementations, and includes multiple 2.5Gbps and 1Gbps ports plus a USB 3.0 port.
A technical guide explains that Wi-Fi extenders generally work best placed 20 to 40 feet from a router, depending on whether the device has internal or external antennas. It notes that obstacles like concrete, brick, metal and appliances can weaken signal strength, and recommends using an extender's signal LED to fine-tune placement rather than relying on fixed distance rules.
TP-Link's Archer BE550 (also called BE9300), a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router with six antennas and a combined theoretical throughput of 9.3 Gbps, is on sale for $169.99, a 32% cut from its list price. The router includes five 2.5 Gb Ethernet ports, a USB port for network storage sharing, mesh support, per-device QoS, and tagged VLAN configuration.
Weave OS released Weave Router 2.0, an open-source model router that dynamically switches between LLMs for coding agents like Claude Code or Codex. On Terminal Bench 4.0 and SWE Atlas benchmarks, the router matched GPT-6 Astra's pass rates while running at roughly 52-54% of its cost and 2.2-2.5x faster. The company attributes the gains to a new routing architecture, a larger training dataset, and improved cache-eviction calculations.
Asus has received an FCC exemption dated September 9th from the new US ban on foreign-made consumer routers, allowing it to sell its upcoming Wi-Fi 8 routers domestically. Under the rules, manufacturers must submit a 'detailed, time-bound plan' to build or expand US manufacturing to qualify, and Asus says it has submitted such a plan, but it has repeatedly declined to confirm whether that plan involves actually manufacturing routers in the United States.
Rather than throwing out an old router when upgrading, it can be reused as a dedicated access point to extend Wi-Fi coverage, using either a wired Ethernet connection or a wireless bridge/repeater setup. Some routers, such as certain Asus models with AiMesh, can also function as mesh nodes alongside a newer router of the same family.
A router will continue to function normally after a manufacturer stops issuing firmware updates, as there is no mechanism that disables the device once support ends. However, without updates, any newly discovered security flaws in the router go unpatched indefinitely, leaving it exposed to potential exploitation.
Travel routers can reroute and secure a hotel or public Wi-Fi connection, but they cannot increase the bandwidth an upstream network provides. They add cost, setup and troubleshooting overhead, and using a router-level VPN may require its own subscription. Cellular tethering via Android or iPhone hotspots offers a simpler alternative, though carrier data limits and weak reception can restrict its usefulness.
A tech guide advises homeowners to first optimize their existing router's placement and antenna orientation before buying any new equipment. For persistent dead zones, it recommends mesh Wi-Fi systems over traditional extenders, since mesh nodes share a single network name and hand off devices seamlessly rather than causing them to bounce between signals.
A how-to guide walks users through logging into their home router's admin panel to review and adjust default security settings. It explains how to find a router's IP address on both Windows and Mac systems and locate the separate admin login credentials, often printed on a sticker on the device itself.
When a router runs out of Ethernet ports for devices like smart TVs, consoles, NAS drives and desktop PCs, the fix is an inexpensive plug-and-play Ethernet switch rather than a router upgrade. The switch connects to one of the router's LAN ports and instantly adds four, seven, 15 or more wired connections to the network.