Upgrading to a new router can potentially improve your Ethernet and Wi-Fi performance.
Upgrading to a new router can potentially improve your Ethernet and Wi-Fi performance.
I own a fiber connection and have watched many tutorials showing different routers improve performance. I’m curious if switching one up will actually help. My speed is 500 Mbps upstream and downstream, and I already have an Ethernet cable connected to my PC. I’m new to this and want advice on what works well. I’m looking for recommendations within a $50–100 budget, and my location is California with servers near L.A. Could anyone share their experience? Thanks!
It varies. Are you experiencing problems like drops, slow speeds, or unstable connections?
It really varies. Usually it's the number of connections that limit performance, not just how fast the internet is. Many routers built over the last five years, even the budget models, can manage a 500Mb connection quite well.
Maxing your payments doesn't guarantee improvement. Remember, the other side of the connection also plays a role, and you can't influence their performance or upload speeds.
Varies by source; Steam and consoles usually handle 500Mbit well for new downloads, especially outside peak times. Updates may differ. Other content often performs inconsistently, particularly browser downloads that run single-threaded and can be affected by network conditions or server limits. IPv6 issues on AT&T are reported when enabled. Can you adjust your router settings?
Their IPv6 support works well overall, but the real issue lies in their implementation—limited to /64 requests forces repeated /64 PD calls even though they assign a /56 and only give you part of it. You're often forced to rely on their BGW device. While you can technically work around the 210, the 310 is much harder and a hassle for most users. I’d skip that and suggest using it in passthrough mode instead.
They likely use another network for the Fibre service compared to DSL. Your friend’s experience with IPv6 on DSL seems to have been resolved, possibly due to a regional issue.
It seems you're wondering why it makes sense that you've used their fiber service for over five years with IPv6 always active without any problems.