Upgrade Your Home Network with these Micro Center Champion Recommendations!

MicroCenterOfficial

Is your home network getting sluggish? Do you have spots where your WiFi just can't quite reach, no matter where you put your router? Or maybe you just don't want to run a long ethernet cable the length of your house? No matter your reasons, its never a bad time to upgrade your home network, and our Champions have pulled together some of their favorite home networking tech to get you back to browsing at blazing speeds.

Not sure what router to get? Check out our ASUS Router Finder!

ASUS RT-AX3000 AX3000 Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router by @Julia_V

The ASUS RT-AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 Router is the best router I have ever used at home. This router is perfect for a multi-bedroom apartment or a small house, as it gives you great coverage and speed. With a total networking speed of about 3000 Mbps, the RT-AX3000 is 2.5x faster than 802.11ac 2x2 dual-band routers. The RT-AX3000 can be paired with any stand-alone modem and supports service from major ISPs. For a quality upgrade to your home network without breaking the bank, this router is the way to go.

I have used the RT-AX3000 for about 2 years now and I can confidently recommend it to anybody who wants to game, stream 4K movies, and support a large number of devices all at the same time. The 2.4GHz band has such a wide coverage that I can get a Wi-Fi signal from outside of my apartment on the street, and the 5GHz band is blazing fast that it competes with the speed of my wired-in Ethernet connection. I don’t have to wait long for my games to update or download or wait for large images and videos to load when I’m browsing online. Switching to the RT-AX3000 has significantly boosted my productivity and quality down time at home.

I also love that the RT-AX3000 is ASUS AiMesh compatible. This means that it’s possible to take any amount of ASUS AiMesh compatible routers and create a whole-home Mesh Wi-Fi system. While the coverage from the RT-AX3000 is already amazing on its own, sometimes changes in room layouts or construction materials can prevent the delivery of reliable Wi-Fi to every corner of your home. With this feature in place, I can easily add any ASUS router to my home Wi-Fi system to get more coverage and speed everywhere in the house.

TP-LINK Deco X - AX4300 WiFi 6 Dual-Band TP-Link Mesh Whole Home Wireless System by @elcurr

The TP-LINK Deco X- AX4300 is a great way to expand your whole home Wi-Fi network. It is a dual-band whole home Wi-Fi system that will take your gaming and streaming to the next level allowing 150+ devices to stay connected without slowing down. The Deco X has 4 channels of 5GHz bands that can run up to 3843 Mbps of speed and 2 channels of 2.4 GHz bands that can run up to 459 Mbps of speed. The device also provides a strong wired connection with a 2.5GB ethernet port. Not only does the Deco X allow whole home coverage, speed, low latency, and tons of connected devices, but it is easy to set up and manage. I personally think one of the best features is that the mesh system is set up under one network name and password.

NETGEAR Powerline Adapter PLP2000 Kit

If you've got a gaming desktop, you're probably going to want to be hard-wired into your network. Unfortunately, your setup might be rooms, if not whole floors, away from your router. And if you don't want to drill holes in your walls to run ethernet, you might think your only option is a really really long ethernet cable. Thankfully, you can re-spool that 200ft cable in favor of a powerline adaptor!

Powerline adaptors essentially turn the wiring in your house into ethernet cables. Connect one of the two adaptors to your router then plug it directly into a wall socket (surge protectors will mess with the connection, resulting in slower speeds if the connection works at all). Once you've got that setup, simply connect the other to your system, and plug it directly into a wall outlet and boom, you're got a wired internet connection on the other side of your house, all without long, unsightly wiring or home DIY projects!

I've used these at nearly every place I've lived and they are absolutely fantastic. They're also a really great way to game at peak speed without losing your rental deposit because of "odd, small holes throughout the house."

ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 - AX6600 WiFi 6E Tri-Band Gigabit Wireless Router with AiMesh Support by @Lesaol

The Asus ZenWiFi AX6600 XT8 is a two-pack WiFi 6 mesh router system that provides amazing speeds, great range, and seamless connectivity. Using Asus AiMesh Technology, one module acts as the main router and transmits the main signal, while the second module takes the original signal and extends it further, very much like your typical range extender. However, unlike a standard range extender, there is no need to configure a new network name and manually switch Wi-Fi connections when entering the area where the second node is. While communicating, the two nodes also take full advantage of its high-speed Tri-Band signal by using an additional 5GHz band to communicate directly with the main router, preventing it from having to deal with clutter on the network. This ensures high speeds from the secondary node’s 2.4GHz band and primary 5GHz band.

Another great feature that the XT8 uses is MU-MIMO technology, which helps keep a stable signal when multiple heavy users are connected to each Wi-Fi node. ASUS routers do require downloading the ASUS Router App for setup, which gives you the ability to configure the network and adjust settings if you’re a more technical user or if you just want more restrictions like parental controls. It also has a clean, modern mono-color design, unlike many other high-end routers that have crazy designs and antennas, making it a little easier to blend in with the aesthetic of your home. 

lizzs

Great recommendations! Powerline adapters are so underrated. They're such a great solution when you can't run an Ethernet cable. I was rocking a set of adapters for years at my old place.