Hartford Courant (Sunday)

The 5 best Wi-Fi routers for working from home

- By Jason Aten Inc.

A lot of us are working from home right now. That’s likely to continue for the foreseeabl­e future. Fortunatel­y, the miracle of the modern internet means that most of the work that used to take place in an office can now happen with Slack messages, Zoom meetings and Google Docs. Of course, that also means having a reliable Wi-Fi connection is a must.

Whether you’re setting up a full-blown remote working office, or just trying to get a little work done while the kids stream Netflix, here are the top five Wi-Fi routers for 2020. save $70 off that base router if you don’t want the speaker. The Google WiFi starts at $99, and other than a slightly different look, contains the same technology, minus the speaker.

The Eero is easily one of the most popular Wi-Fi mesh systems. It’s also one of the most affordable. A single router is only $79 and covers up to 1,500 square feet. If that isn’t enough, you can get a three-pack for $199, and it’ll cover a 5,000 square foot home. It’s easy to set up, and it includes security features to help keep your home network safe and free from prying eyes.

It supports both 2.4 and 5 Ghz signals, and the base unit also has a 5.8 Ghz band that supports the satellites. The Eero is especially great for users who want a lot of control over their network and the devices that access it. built-in. I’ll save you some money — skip it, especially if you’re using a Mac. None of the current Mac computers have Wi-Fi 6 yet (thought the iPad Pro does). There is, however, a pretty good iOS app that allows you to control device access and set up the built-in security, which includes a VPN option.

The first thing you might notice about the Linksys is that, well, you’re going to notice it. It looks a bit like a spaceship landed from a planet of spider aliens. That said, it’s a triband router that can be expanded by adding Linksys Velop units for more coverage. I recommend it more for smaller areas where you only plan to use one base station but are looking for reliable coverage. With the MR8300, that’s exactly what you get, starting at $179.

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