Why not upgrade your Wi-Fi Here's our guide to the best routers! - Android

The best Wi-Fi routers can be lifesavers. The difference between good Wi-Fi in your house and poor connectivity can be the difference between a good day and a bad one. Whether you need something with a ton of speed and connections or just want to make sure you don't drop connection when you move around your home there's a router that's right for you. Here's our reliable guide to some of the best wireless routers you can buy today!

What are the best Wi-Fi routers?

The TP-Link Archer AX21 is the best Wi-Fi router thanks to its AX1800 speeds being enough for most people, along with offering the capacity for future Wi-Fi 6 devices. It also has an easy setup procedure thanks to the TP-Link Tether app for smartphones. If you're looking for something to keep up with most households without going overboard, the AX21 is a great fit.

The best value option is the TP-Link Archer A7. While there are cheaper routers available, the AC1750 speeds should keep up with HD media streaming and browsing without slowing you down. It also has great support for Wi-Fi 5 devices with up to 1300Mbps on the 5GHz band.

If you're looking to get more out of your router's software, Asus RT-AX55 has enough speed for most people thanks to Wi-fi 6. AiProtection Pro is included for free adding greater security and parental controls. The RT-AX55 also supports AiMesh so you can expand your network coverage down the road with another Asus router.

TP-Link Archer AX21

Best Wi-Fi Router Overall

• Top speeds: 1201Mbps @ 5Ghz, 574Mbps @ 2.4Ghz
• Top features: Wi-Fi 6, 4 Ethernet ports

With the Archer AX21, TP-Link delivers affordable Wi-Fi 6 with a spec list that most people should be quite happy with. A four-stream dual-band wireless setup pushes 574Mbps at 2.4GHz and 1,201Mbps at 5GHz. WPA3 security is supported and a 1.5GHz quad-core CPU keeps the modern software features running smoothly.

Around the back, there are four gigabit Ethernet ports for wired devices flanked by four antennas. There's also a USB port though speeds are limited to USB 2.0. This should still be enough for HD video streaming in a pinch. It would have been nice to see a few more software features to round out the experience but at this price, TP-Link packs in all of the most important features.

TP-Link keeps the styling traditional with a fairly large main housing coming in at 10.2 inches wide and 5.3 inches deep. A recent redesign adds some much-needed design flair to this router but it's still a fairly standard design. Still, it's nice to have a router that manages to look modern without going over the top.

Pros:

• Modern Wi-Fi 6
• Inexpensive
• AX1800 delivers plenty of speed for most people
• Four Ethernet ports and a USB port
• Supports WPA3 technology

Cons:

• Large size for its speeds
• Missing some software features

TP-Link Archer AX21

• $90 at Amazon
• $90 at B&H
• $90 at Newegg

The best router for most people

The Archer AX21 has great AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 speeds for a low price. With four wired ports, you don't give up any connectivity.

TP-Link Archer A7

Best Value Router

• Top speeds: 1300Mbps @ 5Ghz, 450Mbps @ 2.4Ghz
• Top features: Dual-band, 4 gigabit Ethernet ports, OneMesh

If you're for a wireless router with enough speed for HD streaming and even browsing on a few devices, TP-Link's Archer A7 gets the job done with no frills. The Archer A7's dual-band Wi-Fi 5 connection can deliver up to 1,300Mbps on the 5GHz band and 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz band. Typically, the 2.4GHz band will have a greater range thanks to better wall penetration. While this router lacks support for MU-MIMO, it should be able to handle several devices at once without issue. If you're looking to connect a lot of smart home devices, consider something with greater capacity.

TP-Link estimates this router should be able to provide a signal for a three-bedroom home thanks to its three external antennas. If you find out you need more coverage down the line, you don't need to replace your router. OneMesh allows you to connect other TP-Link routers with OneMesh in a mesh. Unlike a traditional extender, you only use one Wi-Fi name and your devices will connect to the best available connection automatically.

Basic QoS and parental controls are included with this router if you want to block certain URLs and prioritize a connection. Luckily, this router can be set up and configured with the Tether app on Android or iOS.

Pros:

• AC1750 speeds are plenty for most homes
• OneMesh allows for coverage expansion
• Four Ethernet ports allow for an easy upgrade

Cons:

• Lacks MU-MIMO support
• Not for larger homes

TP-Link Archer A7

• $58 at Amazon
• $50 at Best Buy
• $58 at B&H

Best Value Router

The TP-Link Archer A7 delivers more than enough speed for most people with support for future coverage expansion thanks to OneMesh.

ASUS RT-AX55

Best Value Router for Families

• Top speeds: 1201Mbps @ 5GHz, 574 Mbps @ 2.4GHz
• Top features: Wi-Fi 6, 4x Ethernet ports, AiMesh and AiProtection Classic software

The ASUS RT-AX55 isn't the fastest Wi-Fi 6 router you can get but for most families, it has plenty of speed. The 5GHz band can support a 1,201Mbps link while the 2.4GHz band supports up to 574Mbps. Wi-Fi 5 devices won't get the full speeds but as your family gets more Wi-Fi 6 capable devices, you will be ready. There are four open Ethernet ports on the back of the router for your wired devices as well.

ASUS recommends this router for large homes and its array of four external antennas should be able to reach most of your home easily. If you find you need more coverage, you can add another Asus router with AiMesh support to your home and configure the two routers to work together as a mesh system. Luckily, most new Asus routers support AiMesh.

The thing that makes this a great choice for families is Asus' AiProtection Classic software. AiProtection comes with antivirus software powered by Trend Micro as well as advanced parental controls. Asus includes this software free of charge for the lifetime of the product. Whether you are looking to block inappropriate web content or simply set up limited internet hours to keep students on task, this is a great inclusion.

Pros:

• AiProtection Classic included for the product's lifetime
• Good coverage for large homes
• Expandable coverage with AiMesh
• Wi-Fi 6 improves longevity

Cons:

• AX1800 speeds aren't a great fit for a large family

Asus RT-AX55

• $130 at Newegg
• $130 at B&H

Best Value Router for Families

With the Asus RT-AX55, you get solid AX1800 wireless speeds for a good price without giving up things like parental controls.

Netgear Nighthawk RAX50S

Best Router for Families

• Top speeds: 4.8Gbps @ 5Ghz, 600Mbps @ 2.4Ghz
• Top features: 4x Ethernet ports, USB 3.0 port, 160MHz channel, Netgear Armor included

For many parents, working from home means video meetings, remote computing, and constant communications. At the same time, many children will be attending school from home and will require many of the same services. The RAX50S is a version of the RAX50 Wi-Fi 6 router that comes with a one-year subscription to Netgear Armor. Netgear Armor is a security suite backed by Bitdefender that normally costs $70 per year and offers great network security so you don't have to worry about network intrusion and can focus on work.

The RAX50 has a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 connection capable of speeds up to AX5400. With 600Mbps possible at 2.4GHz and up to 4.8Gbps at 5GHz, this router will keep up with pretty much anything a typical family can throw at it. Four Ethernet ports are available for wired devices with one USB 3.0 port for storage. You will need some space for this router with its four large antennas and wide 11.65 inches wide and 8.11-inch deep housing. Still, this router should be fast enough for the whole family for quite a while.

Pros:

• Superfast AX5400 speeds
• One year of Netgear Armor included
• OFDMA keeps speeds fast with many devices

Cons:

• This large router will be hard to place
• Expensive

Netgear Nighthawk RAX50S

• $300 at Best Buy

Best Router for Families

The Netgear RAX50S combines a super-fast Wi-Fi 6 router with a robust security solution from Bitdefender with one year free.

Netgear Nighthawk XR1000

Best Gaming Router

• Top speeds: 4.8Gbps @ 5Ghz, 600Mbps @ 2.4Ghz
• Top features: Wi-Fi 6, Updated DumaOS 3.0 gaming software

The Nighthawk XR1000 from Netgear gets everything right for gamers with a fast Wi-Fi 6 router with top-notch hardware and a software package designed to get the most out of it. This router starts off with an AX5400 Wi-Fi 6 connection with 600Mbps at 2.4GHz and 4.8Gbps on the 5GHz band. The fast 5GHz speeds are thanks to the 160MHz 5GHz band. There are also four Ethernet LAN ports on the back.

DumaOS 3.0 adds some nice features aimed at gamers. They not only keep game pings low and consistent but make sure you have enough bandwidth left over for live streaming. You also get application QoS so you can prioritize games, no devices. Finally, ping heatmaps and geofencing allow the user to find and use the best servers while blocking the worst connections.

Playing a high-resolution PC game with an HD live stream to Twitch or YouTube Gaming will push your home network to the limit and the Nighthawk was designed to cope with it all.

Pros:

• Wi-Fi 6 AX5400 speeds
• Four Ethernet LAN ports
• DumaOS 3.0 adds geofencing application QoS
• Easy setup with the Nighthawk app

Cons:

• No tri-band Wi-Fi

Netgear Nighthawk XR1000

• $350 at Dell
• $332 at Amazon
• $350 at Best Buy

Best Gaming Router

The Netgear Nighthawk XR1000 is one of the best ways to make sure your internet is fast and consistent for gaming.

Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000

Best Wireless Speeds

• Top speeds: 2x 4804Mbps @ 5Ghz, 1148Mbps @ 2.4Ghz
• Top features: Tri-band, 2.5Gbps WAN port, 4x Ethernet ports, 2x USB ports,

The Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 is the ultimate gaming router with some of the fastest speeds possible with a 12-stream tri-band Wi-Fi 6 setup. The speeds break down into two 5GHz channels at 4804Mbps and a 2.4GHz channel at 1148Mbps. Needless to say, this is plenty of speed for pretty much any task. Around the back, there are four gigabit Ethernet ports for wired devices as well as a 2.5Gbps capable WAN port next to a gigabit WAN port.

Two USB 3.0 ports allow for multiple devices to be connected for storage. The outside of this router is covered by eight red-accented antennas. Finally, Asus' gaming prioritization software keeps latency low on games and even finds the fastest possible connection to a server. If you're looking for the fastest wireless speeds around, this router delivers.

Pros

• Blazing-fast AX11000 speeds
• Fast 2.5Gbps Ethernet support
• Latency reduction with prioritization software
• Works with Asus' AiMesh expansion

Cons:

• Huge size
• No WPA 3

Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000

• $425 at Amazon
• $422 at Newegg
• $423 at B&H

Best Wireless Speeds

The ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 has plenty of wireless speed for years to come and even supports 2.5Gbps wired networking.

Eero Mesh

Best Mesh Wi-Fi Router

• Top speeds: Dual-band Wi-Fi 5 for Internet up to 550Mbps
• Top features: 2x auto-sensing Ethernet ports per unit, Easy setup, Works with all other eeros

If you're looking to cover your home with a mesh network, Eero is one of the easiest systems to get up and running. While Eero doesn't disclose the exact speeds of its routers, we typically see speeds max out around 400Mbps. If you have gigabit internet, this is not your best option since much of your speed won't be utilized. Still, for most people, Eero is fast enough.

If you're a fan of the Eero platform but need a bit more speed, the Eero 6 and Eero Pro 6 will provide enough speed for internet connections of up to 500Mbps and 1Gbps respectively. Even without a Wi-Fi 6 device, the increased mesh performance can improve your connection.

Each compact unit measures 3.86 inches wide and 2.36 inches tall and has two Ethernet ports on the back. The Ethernet ports can be used to strengthen the mesh connection or to connect wired devices. The node will be able to automatically switch between modes. If you need more coverage than you get with the included node, you can add any Eero router to your mesh for more coverage including older units.

Pros:

• Works with all Eero models
• Easy setup with an app
• Compact nodes are easy to place

Cons:

• Wi-Fi is slow for the price

Eero

• $200 at Dell
• From $79 at Amazon
• $199 at Best Buy

Best Mesh Wi-Fi Router

You can add as much coverage as you need with eero. Dual-band Wi-Fi 5 wireless speeds are fast enough for most people.

Linksys MX10 Velop

Best Mesh Wi-Fi Router Upgrade

• Top speeds: 2402Mbps + 1733Mbps @ 5Ghz, 1147Mbps @ 2.4Ghz
• Top features: Wi-Fi 6, 4x Ethernet ports on each node, USB 3.0 ports

The Velop series of mesh routers has allowed Linksys to recapture some of the home networking authority it had earned in years past with a focus on the most important hardware features with a solid software package to back it up. The MX10 Velop is at the top of the stack with two MX5 nodes packing tri-band AX5300 Wi-Fi 6 speeds and four Ethernet ports on each unit.

Some other mesh systems like Orbi could be more accurately described as mesh-like as they require different hardware for the router and satellite. Velop is different and arguably superior in that each node is identical. If you want, you can use two MX10 systems together in one big mesh. This makes the Velop series one of the easiest to expand. You can even add in nodes from the slower, but still great AX4200 Velop we review earlier.

Velop's easy expansion and great wireless performance make it an easy choice for someone that wants to make sure they have not only great mesh speeds but great compatibility for easy mesh expansion down the line.

Pros:

• Fast AX5300 Wi-Fi 6 speeds
• Tri-band Wi-Fi for a stronger mesh
• Four open Ethernet ports on each node
• Works with all other Velop nodes

Cons:

• Large compared to older Velops
• Expensive

Linksys MX10

• $700 at Dell
• $543 at Amazon
• $700 at Best Buy

Best Mesh Wi-Fi Router Upgrade

The Linksys Velop MX10 stands out not only for its fast Wi-Fi 6 speeds but for its great compatibility with all other Velop nodes.

Netgear Nighthawk RAX70

Best Wi-Fi Router Upgrade

• Top speeds: 1.2Gbps + 4.8Gbps @ 5Ghz, 600Mbps @ 2.4Ghz
• Top features:Tri-band, Link aggregation, 4x Ethernet ports, USB 3.0 port

Netgear has been a leader in Wi-Fi 6 and continues the trend with the tri-band RAX70 with AX6600 Wi-Fi 6 speeds. With 1.2Gbps plus 4.8Gbps available on the 5GHz bands and another 600Mbps available at 2.4GHz, this router is ready to handle a large number of connections without breaking a sweat. Your devices will be able to connect to the best possible band automatically depending on the wireless congestion in your area.

This router follows Netgear's standard Wi-Fi 6 design with a wing on either side of the main body containing the antennas. While it looks nice and provides solid coverage, it won't be ideal for vertical mounting. Still, in most homes, you should have no