The router happens to be the fundamental device of our home, at least in all those related to the connected home and Internet connectivity. We are talking about the gateway to the outside world of computers, consoles, audio equipment, household appliances, Smart TV, mobile phones… Everything goes through the router and hence the importance of having the right model.
The normal thing is that most homes have as their only device the router that the operator gives them. The usual thing is that these equipments that “give away” (the correct thing would be to say they give up or rent) are basic models that They are prepared only to support the contracted services, so they do not offer access to extra features. For this reason, in many cases, users also decide to get a neutral router, which serves as a substitute for the operator’s router or to manage Wi-Fi connections at home. And in this case article to see which may be the most advisable.
Carrier router or neutral router?
The usual thing is that in our home, it is the router of the operator that is in charge of all the connections in the house. All devices in the home, including all those in the IoT range (lights, plugs, sensors…) go through a device that is sometimes not prepared to manage a high number of connections.
Everything works correctly, until it starts giving failures in the form of cuts, drops in speed, jumps during streaming playback… and at that moment the question arises:The router that my operator has installed for me as standard is good enough Or would it be convenient to change it for a better alternative?
It must be taken into account that the basic objective of the router that our telephone operator gives us is to cover the services we have contracted. Depending on our rate, and the pack we have contracted, we will have a router with better or worse features.
Movistar’s old HGU
For example, If what we have at home is a basic ADSL, it is normal that we have a router with very limited connectivityand with little power. In fact, due to the low speed of our connection, the most common thing is that this model has ports that do not exceed 100 Mbps and the WiFi interface that hopefully will be type N at 150 Mbps.
If, on the contrary, our connection is fiber, we may be lucky and our operator will provide us with a router with WiFi 6. In fact Pepephone, Orange, Jazztel or Digi already offer it with their rates of more than 600 Mbps without being excessively expensive. The normal thing is that these routers, if they do not have WiFi 6, do have WiFi 5 and have Gigabit ports that offer a higher speed.
Therefore, when it comes to stating whether an operator router or a neutral one is faster, there is no clear answer. It depends on the device that the company has installed for us and the one we plan to buy.
Does my operator’s router work for me?
At this point the question may arise So is my carrier’s router good enough?. Well, everything depends on the use that we are going to give it, on the digital services that we access and above all on how it behaves on a day-to-day basis.
If, for example, it allows us to see the streaming platforms without problem at the quality that we demand (imagine 4K with HDR) and it does it without cuts or jumps or allows us to play without lag and manage connected devices without failalthough these are numerous, it may be that with this we already have enough and it is not necessary to make an additional investment.
If on the contrary and Despite having contracted a good connection with our ISP, we suffered problems frequent Wi-Fi outages, low Internet access speed, little wireless coverage radius, occasional hangups from the router itself… perhaps it’s time to get a more powerful neutral router.
If in the middle of 2023 you are thinking of getting a router to replace the one you have at home or to simply take care of managing the connections, The ideal is to buy a model with WiFi 6 (previously known under the name of the 802.11ax protocol) and value other benefits such as having 3 or 4 free Gigabit Ethernet ports that allow us to move large amounts of data through the local network and take advantage of the most powerful equipment.
We can also appreciate that it has extra connectivity in the form of USB 2.0 or 3.0 ports in case we want to share streaming content with all the computers on the network by simply connecting a USB memory to the router. Even look for a router that works as a client of this P2P network or to set up an FTP server.
Even we can assess a router that replace that of the operator and for this a concept that we already talked about is essential: the ONT. If our operator’s router has the integrated ONT, which is usually the most normal, we are not going to see and want to replace it with a neutral router, because it is not usual for our operator to provide us with the necessary data and we will also have to find the appropriate ONT in each case.
If, on the other hand, we have indirect fiber, we will have an ONT independent from the main router, so We can configure the router that we buy with the values provided by the operator (Digi does) and connect it to the ONT we have at home instead of the carrier’s router.
This second case is ideal for replace the carrier router with a neutral one. But if it is not possible, we can always use a neutral router to be in charge of managing home networks. In this section, it is enough to connect both devices by cable and cancel the Wi-Fi networks of the operator so that it is the router that we have bought that is in charge of managing all the connections of the devices that we have associated.
If we cannot eliminate the operator’s router, we can look for a more advanced one that will be in charge of managing a part of the internal local network, leaving the operator’s router as the central node and to provide access to the Internet.
If, for example, the operator’s router had bugs and offered a bad user experience with errors like the ones we have seen before, a more powerful router may be the solution. The free models market offers solutions for all budgets with affordable prices up to equipment of more than 400 euros. Obviously, price and features go hand in hand, also in free routers.
The key is in the interface
In addition, a router apart from being more or less powerful, also It must have an interface that allows us to play with the greatest number of options possible. As a general rule, the routers of the operators offer a very limited interface, which allows us to change only some aspects in relation to the services we have contracted, while others cannot be changed.
Faced with these, it is normal that the router that we buy free incorporates a user interface that is simple to use but powerful that allows us to configure the most common basic parameters (such as passwords, turn WiFi off and on, change frequency channels and power , etc) but also other advanced ones and also present them in a way that we do not get lost to change the values.
The normal thing is that the free router has more configuration options, but it is not an absolute truth and for example, the Movistar HGU router has more options than my Xiaomi router
At this point, when configuring a router, it all depends on the brand, model or even the operator in question, but there is much in common. The usual thing is that it is both an operator router and a free one, simply by plugging it in it offers us a formula that through a step-by-step guide allows us to add all the necessary parameters, from the names of the Wi-Fi network, to the network keys going through the username and password. The way they are presented may vary, but the options are the same.
Even some brands like Xiaomi, allow the use of mobile applications that help in the configuration process. It all depends on the make and model.
Definitely, it all depends on the use that we are going to give the routerwhich is what will determine if the one offered by our operator is good enough or if, on the contrary, we need an independent router that is in charge of managing all the connections at home.
Although it all depends on the circumstances, our recommendation is that you include your own router in your home network: As a general rule, it will be much more customizable and you will have more options to increase coverage. and transfer speeds. Even so, if your operator’s router already covers your needs, it is best that you do not invest more money: surely the improvements you obtain are not worth it
