Receive an email a day with our articles:Routers are the heart of our smart homes.Communications between computers, consoles, smart TVs, stereos, appliances, smartphones and tablets inevitably pass through our main router when we use WiFi, where they can be slowed down and encounter significant bottlenecks.One of the main causes of these problems can be found in the modest equipment that the operators kindly give us, transfer or rent, generally designed to support the basic services that we have contracted but little else.Some time ago we saw the general characteristics of this type of device and now it is time to dig a little deeper and check exactly what the most popular models that most of us have installed at home offer.But before starting, let me clarify that given the enormous number of different brands and models of routers distributed by operators in recent years, it would be very complex and extensive to list the characteristics of all of them, so we are going to focus on a representative sample. with those that in general tend to be the most common, the most widely distributed and those that we most likely have in our homes, both for ADSL and cable and fiber optic connections.So if yours is not on the list, it is better or worse than any of those that we are going to point out, do not think that we have something against it, you can comment on it at the end of the article.Let's start!Fiber optic and cable connections are already present for many Spanish Internet users who can access speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps and with much lower latencies than in the case of ADSL.Operators tend to be more generous with the features of the routers they provide in these connections and are more likely to renew equipment, especially when they bring new access speeds to the market.In 2015 Movistar took a very interesting step towards the hardware sector by designing, establishing the specifications and supervising the manufacturing process of its new router for fiber connections that they named Home Gateway Unit or HGU and whose objective is to clear the number of devices in the room incorporating the ONT, router and videobridge functions in the same unit (although not the video decoder, requiring a separate unit).The HGU is designed with a compact size of 20 x 20 x 5 centimeters and a minimalist finish where the typical connection status LED lights have been reduced in size, number and power so as not to disturb or attract attention.The antennas are internal, with four of them for WiFi AC in the 5GHz band and 2 more for WiFi N in the 2.4GHz band, achieving a better range than in previous routers from the operator but not as good as in the case of routers with external antennas, so we can have coverage problems if we use it in large homes.On the back we find 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports and an additional FXS VoiP port for voice calls.All this controlled by a Broadcom BCM68380 SoC with support for when future symmetrical 1 Gbps connections arrive.However, there are no extra connections such as USB ports to share disks or network devices, which subtracts points from the equipment compared to other models.WPS 2.0 technology has also been incorporated into this router to facilitate and speed up the configuration and installation of new wireless equipment in the home using QR codes printed on the HGU's own casing.In addition, in the latest versions of the firmware there is the option (in fact it is activated by default) of using Band Steering technology, which automatically selects the best available band at all times (2.4 or 5 GHz), something that in general It works fine but on some older devices it can cause access problems.However, we are facing the best domestic router of the operator to date, comparable to the mid-range of the free market, which works very well, is very stable (I have had it for two years and it has never crashed) and complies perfectly its mission in medium-sized homes with multiple simultaneous users.Orange has also wanted to move to the router plus ONT system for fiber optics integrated in the same device, allowing equipment to be eliminated from the room and cables to be reduced.For this they have their LiveBox Fibra, an all-in-one router that they offer to their fiber clients and that is capable of supporting connections of up to 1 Gbps, so it is prepared for future updates in the operator's network.With a very discreet external appearance, front LEDs and internal antennas, its minimalist design goes unnoticed offering dual-band WiFi AC MU-MIMO 4x4 and N MIMO 2x2, being capable of reaching up to 1,700 Mbps in 5 GHz with 80 MHz channels and in 2 .4 GHz up to 300 Mbps with 40 MHz channels, making it theoretically one of the fastest on the current offering.It has a 600 MHz dual-core MIPS-32 CPU with 256 MB of DDRAM and 128 MB of NAND that allow the simultaneous use of multiple devices without slowdown problems, and wired connectivity is served by 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, two more RJ11 for VoIP phones and a 1A USB 2.0 connector for sharing network equipment.In other words, it is a powerful device and more than enough for the connections offered by the orange operator, although its wireless coverage may sometimes be compromised by the use of internal antennas, especially in large homes or with several floors.Since the beginning of 2015, Jazztel has opted for an advanced router for its new fiber clients with connections of up to 200 symmetrical Mbps.It was the ZTE F680 model, a simultaneous dual-band WiFi AC device that is also offered by the MÁSMÓVIL Group (MASMÓVIL, Yoigo, Pepephone) in its own fiber network and that incorporates three external antennas (two for 5 GHz and one for 2, 4 GHz) with which to improve speed and especially coverage inside the house and in homes with patios or outdoor gardens.It offers maximum theoretical speeds of up to 450 Mbps in the 2.4GHz band and up to 1,300 Mbps in the 5 GHz band over WiFi AC, assuming that we have devices compatible with this protocol.For wired connections, it offers us four Gigabit Ethernet ports, it also has two telephone outlets with an RJ-11 jack and two USB 2.0 ports from which we can share audio and video content up to Full HD (it is compatible with DLNA) without problems of cuts no interruptions.It stands out, therefore, for the fact of having multiple external antennas, which should improve the quality of the wireless network when there are several users accessing it at the same time and coverage in large homes, being a great option for customers can squeeze their symmetrical fiber connections to the fullest.After a few years with the ZTE F680 router model mentioned above, the new fiber customers of Yoigo and the rest of the MÁSMÓVIL Group brands have seen how their operator has progressively provided them with a new model called Sagemcom Fast5655 v2 AC, with a clearer and easier to use interface and improved features for the average user, although with some difficulties in configuring advanced parameters as an administrator.It is a compact device with an internal antenna design that incorporates the router and the ONT in the same device, so it is not necessary to have a separate one.It has a BCM 68380 CPU, 256MB of DDR3 RAM and is capable of generating a dual-band WiFi access point (AC+N) at 5GHz (with 20/40/80 MHz channels) and 2.4GHz (20/40/80 channels). 40 MHz) with wireless speeds of up to 1,300 Mbps and its ONT supporting fiber optic connections of up to 2,488 Mbps, so you should be seamlessly prepared for the Internet connections of the future.As for wired connections, it incorporates 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, two RJ-11 ports for landlines and a USB 2.0 connector for external hard drives and sharing content through SAMBA, FTP and DLNA protocols.It is a better team than the previous ZTE F680 in almost all aspects, but on some occasions it can fall short in terms of WiFi coverage, having to resort to an extender or complementary PLC network in these situations.Another of the operators that has been updating the router that they install for their clients has been Euskaltel, which in recent years has chosen to add the Technicolor CGA2121 to its catalog of equipment for cable connections.It is a model compatible with the docsis 3.0 standard with up to 24 download carriers and 8 upload carriers capable of reaching connection speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps, so it is prepared for future speed increases offered by the cable company in your network.It has a wireless interface that is already typical in this type of equipment with dual band WiFi N at 2.4 GHz (2x2) of up to 300 Mbps (with channels of 20 and 40 MHz) and WiFi AC at 5 GHz (3x3) of up to 1,300 Mbps. (with 20/40/80 MHz channels), enough for most users who connect in a medium-sized home, but its internal antennas mean that WiFi network coverage is not sufficient in large homes, with several floors or exterior gardens.It also has 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports to connect equipment via network cable, two RJ22 ports for VoIP fixed telephony and a USB 2.0 port from which to share content on the network, supporting WPA2 connection encryption, Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) security and the possibility of managing up to 8 wireless networks with independent SSID.It is, therefore, a good equipment sufficient for the service provided by the operator but somewhat poor in terms of wireless coverage.Another of the models in Movistar's fiber connections that has been widely distributed to support 100 Mbps but that has also become clearly obsolete if we have contracted a higher speed, such as its 600 Mbps, which we will not be able to take advantage of by Wi-Fi.It is compatible only with the 802.11n wireless protocol, offering maximum speeds of up to 300 Mbps with WiFi N in the 2.4 GHz band. It has an RJ-45 port for the 1 Gbps WAN to which we must connect the ONT and 4 other RJ-45 ports for LAN also Gigabit.It has a reset button, another for creating WPS secure networks, one to turn Wi-Fi on and off, and two 3dBi antennas that should offer good coverage in an average-sized home.The wired ports offer good performance, but the wireless network can present speed problems if we require several sequences in Full HD streaming or we are downloading at maximum speed, so a multiband system that is also supported by the 5GHz one.We find, therefore, a clearly outdated model for current fiber connections and if we have it installed at home it would be advisable to ask the operator to change it to achieve better performance in all aspects.With an appearance and specifications very similar to the Livebox Fibra, the Livebox+ router incorporates a few improvements as standard with respect to it (which also supports these improvements after an update) and especially with respect to other basic routers of the operators.It is what its creators have called "intelligent WiFi" (or Band Steering also present in the Movistar HGU) that is capable of automatically switching between the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands depending on the one that offers the best coverage.The main difference between both models is that the Livebox Fibra includes the ONT and this one does not (so we will need to have another connected device in the room), also losing an Ethernet port (it has 3 available for the user), leaving the fourth reserved for the WAN that will be connected to the operator's ONT.Inside we find a 600 MHz MIPS-32 Dual Core CPU, 256 MB of RAM, 128 MB of Flash, and its casing offers a 1 A USB 2.0 port and two RJ11 ports for telephony.Wireless connectivity is served by WiFi N at 300 Mbps with 40 MHz channels and AC at 1,700 Mbps with 80 MHz channels, so it is also at the forefront in this aspect, although its internal antennas mean that the coverage of the wireless network is somewhat scarce and insufficient in large homes.The Comtrend C5813 is one of the most popular fiber routers that Movistar installed a few years ago and that offers enough performance for only the most basic connections.It is a fiber router compatible with the 802.11n wireless protocol (also with 802.11g/b) capable of creating a network of up to 300 Mbps, so it is clearly insufficient if we plan to hire higher speeds.It has an RJ-45 port for WAN Giga Ethernet to which we must connect the ONT and with 4 RJ-45 ports for the LAN also at Gigabit speeds.It has a Reset button, another WPS for the rapid establishment of secure networks, another to activate and deactivate WiFi and two adjustable antennas with SMA connectors.It is a suitable router for fiber optic installations that offers good performance in connections of up to 100 Mbps, but if we have one of 300 Mbps or higher it will probably fall short in terms of the wireless connection, since by WiFi we will never be able to reach the maximum it offers us, which is why we would need to buy an additional model or ask Movistar to give us a more powerful one.Following in the footsteps of the New Livebox, Orange surprised in 2014 with the launch of the Livebox Next, a router designed especially for fiber customers (it is also compatible with ADSL2+) and which stands out for its high performance for a model provided by an operator.It has a Lantiq PSB 80920 XWAY VRX288 CPU at 500 MHz and 256 MB of RAM with which to move without problems dual-band WiFi AC connections.In the 2.4 GHz it is capable of reaching maximum speeds of 300 Mbps and in the 5 GHz it reaches up to 1,300 Mbps thanks to its two internal antennas in a 2T2R MIMO configuration and to the Beamforming technology that focuses the power of the signal towards the target device.It has two RJ-11 ports to connect the telephone cable and if we need to have an Internet connection through ADSL2+, it also comes with a Gigabit Ethernet port to which to connect the output from the fiber optic ONT and also with 4 Gigabit ports. for the home LAN.It has two USB 2.0 ports to share files on the local network, supports FTP, DLNA for streaming playback and is compatible with DECT wireless technology so that we can connect any phone and make calls via the operator's VoIP service.It is, therefore, a good router with the latest features, although in some cases with coverage problems in large homes, as it only has internal antennas.At the end of 2014, Ono began distributing the Compal CG7486E router among new customers, a WiFi AC device with which to guarantee connections of over 200 Mbps without slowdown problems for the operator's cable customers.It is therefore a cable-modem compatible with the EuroDocsis 3.0 standard that is capable of creating a dual-band wireless access point at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz over the 802.11b/g/n/ac protocols.It is compatible with WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) for the rapid creation of secure networks, it has 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, a VoIP port and another USB 2.0 from which to share content on the network or to connect a printer.It also offers interesting features to create an advanced firewall.Another of the operators that has joined the trend of WiFi AC has been Telecable.In the summer of 2015, it announced the distribution of its new router, the Technicolor TC7210, a dual-band cable-modem device capable of working at 2.4 and 5 GHz to reach maximum theoretical speeds of 1,300 Mbps.It uses a 3x3 internal antenna configuration and Beamforming technology to focus signal power towards target devices.It has two Rj11 ports to connect VoIP phones and 4 Gigabit Ethernet for wired LAN.It is EuroDOCSIS 3.0 and EuroPacketCable 1.5 certified, so it will not become obsolete in the medium term.In addition, it has a USB 2.0 input to which we can connect external hard drives with content that will play on any device compatible with the DLNA standard.For all these reasons, it is also a model that comes with the latest in features, although it suffers from limited wireless coverage in large homes.It will allow the operator's clients to make the most of their cable connections, especially if we don't go too far from where it is installed or use an Ethernet connection.The loyal customers of ADSL and its derivatives (ADSL2, ADSL2+ and VDSL) have been largely forgotten by the operators in recent years.If you don't have fiber or cable coverage and there's no other ISP with their own network in your area, you'll probably be stuck with the same old router and won't be offered the updated models and benefits that new customers do, a bitter reward for your loyalty. forced to the company.But let's see some examples of routers that we have right now in the houses:Losing the Internet due to a problem with the telephone line is not usually common, but it does happen more frequently in rural areas, making life difficult for both home users and professionals.For this reason, in 2017 Orange launched its Livebox Evolution, a hybrid router that combines ADSL connectivity with the 4G wireless typical of mobile telephony.The idea is that the user is always connected by the fixed ADSL connection and when it fails totally or partially, it automatically switches to 4G.In its 257 x 51 x 161 mm we find 4 RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, 2 RJ11 FXS ports for telephony and a 900 mA USB 2.0 port.It is compatible with ADSL2+ and 3G/4G connectivity, supporting the Orange TV television service and having DLNA and UPnP capabilities.As for WiFi connectivity, it offers dual band with up to 300 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band under 2×2 MIMO and another 1,300 Mbps on the 5 GHz band with WiFi AC and 3×3 MIMO, being a recommended model if we live in places where the ADSL connection is frequently cut off or if we want to directly choose to connect via 3G/4G.It is, therefore, a powerful router with decent wireless connectivity to squeeze basic ADSL connections and even 4G, being one of the most powerful provided by operators outside the fiber optic market.A couple of years ago, Vodafone bet on a new router model that would offer service to both its ONO fiber customers and its ADSL customers.The chosen one was the Sercomm H500-s model, with a rectangular shape designed to be placed vertically and that has a port for the direct connection of the telephone line or xDSL.In addition to two ports for telephony, we can find three Gigabit Ethernet LANs on the back, with which we lose one compared to the usual 4 of the rest of the routers, having another additional Gigabit for the WAN, that is, to connect to the ONT of the fiber optic or a cable modem and also has a USB 2.0 port on the side of the device for flash drives and network printers.The CPU chosen to govern the team is a 400 MHz Broadcom BCM63167 with two cores and accompanied by 128 MB of RAM.It offers dual band connectivity in 2.4 and 5 GHz and compatibility with Wi-Fi Beamforming technology that focuses the energy beam to improve the coverage of the wireless signal.It's enough to manage basic Internet access for one or two clients, but it can fall short if we ask for multiple data streams from multiple users at the same time.Orange bet at the end of 2012 on an original high-performance router for its ADSL clients, the New Livebox, successor to a slightly less powerful previous model known as Livebox 2.0.With a 500 MHz Lantiq psb 80920 CPU and 128 MB RAM, it is compatible with ADSL2+ connections and comes with a 2T2R MIMO antenna configuration for wireless connectivity that allows you to establish WiFi N links of up to 300 Mbps over the 2.4 GHz, but it does not have support for 5 GHz or WiFi AC, something that is already essential today.It has its own button to turn the WiFi network on and off, another for WPS connection pairing and two high-capacity USB 2.0 ports with a total current of close to 1 amp to seamlessly connect unused 2.5-inch external hard drives. additional power supply.In the back we find 2 FXS ports to connect conventional telephone terminals, the port for the ADSL line and with 4 Fast-Ethernet 10/100 Mbps ports and another Gigabit-Ethernet at 1,000 Mbps. It supports up to 3 telephones connected simultaneously , 2 conventional and one for HD calls, is compatible with DLNA and allows 3G connectivity through an external modem connected by USB.It is a suitable router for basic ADSL connections but given its wireless limitations and the absence of WiFi in 5 GHz, it has fallen short if we want to transmit data on the local network at high speed.One of the "star" routers that Movistar distributed freely in recent years was the Comtrend CT-5365.It is an ADSL2+ wireless multiport device that was customized with the Telefónica brand, including as standard everything necessary to start browsing if we have one of its lines.It is an already somewhat old model that was distributed mainly in the 2010-2012 period, but it is widely installed in many homes with ADSL connections of 10 Mbps or less, although it has clearly become obsolete in terms of features, as we can see see below.Based on the Broadcom BCM6348 b0 SOC, the Comtrend CT-5365 features a 240 MHz BMIPS3300 CPU, a mere 16 MB of RAM, another 4 MB of Flash memory for upgrades, and a single steerable antenna for wireless communications on a single 2.4GHz band.On its back we find an RJ-11 port for the ADSL line, four RJ-45 for the 10/100 BaseT LAN connection, a button for WPS connections, another to restart the equipment and a general power switch.Regarding the wireless section, it is compatible with WiFi networks that comply with the 802.11g standard (it is also backward compatible with 802.11b networks) supporting a maximum of 54 Mbps, so it does not support WiFi N or AC or 5GHz connections , resulting in a poor wireless connection insufficient to watch videos with ease.It is very stable if we are one or two users at home with a basic ADSL connection, but not if we want to stream HD content over WiFi or even over a wired network, since sometimes it gets stuck with the most demanding Full HD content (with 720p videos are usually no problem).The solution?Call to have it upgraded to a more modern one that has at least WiFi N.Also renamed VR-3025U, it is the wireless router widely offered by Jazztel for its 30 Mbps VDSL2 and ADSL2+ connections.It has support for annex M, so that we can obtain a few more megabytes of upload if we use it with this technology or configure it to improve the download channel and latency, according to our needs.It is compatible with connections of up to 100 Mbps download and 60 Mbps upload if the VDSL2 network is capable of offering them (which is not the case in Spain) and 24 Mbps download with 1.2 Mbps upload for ADSL2+ connections.It has 4 100Mbps Ethernet ports, WiFi with double antenna and support for 802.11 b/g/n with a speed of up to 300Mbps over 2.4 GHz, not supporting 5 GHz links or WiFi AC, so it is clearly obsolete in this aspect.It also has a USB 1.1 port that, given its low transfer speed, limits its use to printers and network peripherals without extensive bandwidth needs.Supports WEP, WPA-PSK, and WPA2-PSK, as well as DNS caching and basic QoS.It is, therefore, a suitable router for connections contracted by the user that could perhaps give a little more of itself in the wireless network but that does not fall as short as other competing models.If you are Vodafone customers you probably have or have had from 2012 one of the operator's most "popular" ADSL2+ routers, the Huawei HG556, capable of creating WiFi N networks of up to 300 Mbps and which stood out at the time for the possibility to connect a 3G or higher modem to support coverage in case of cable network outages.It has a Broadcom BCM6358SKFBG CPU with a speed of 300MHz and 64 MB of RAM memory that are a bit short when it comes to managing multiple network connections through its 4 Fast Ethernet ports at 100 Mbps, especially if we are several users at home asking for streaming videos with HD resolutions.It has 3 USB 2.0 ports, one of them reserved for the 3G modem, two connectors for the operator's telephones and it is compatible with FTP, Samba and DLNA to stream content to televisions and multimedia equipment.Once again, we are faced with a model that is sufficient for contracted ADSL connections but that could perhaps give a little more of itself in the local network if it incorporated better dual-band Ethernet and WiFi ports.As we pointed out at the beginning, the faithful (voluntarily or by force) xDSL clients are the great forgotten by the operators.The routers that many of us have installed at home have clearly become obsolete in terms of wireless and wired connectivity and functionalities.Some also use coaxial cable.Although those that are being installed right now are much better than those of a few years ago, old clients do not usually have access to them as they do with new registrations, except for the threat of unsubscribing or breakdown, something that they should take into account ISPs since it is not the ideal formula to retain customers.With the cable companies and fiber operators, the situation seems to have improved a lot.The increases in the speeds that the networks are capable of providing are causing ISPs to renew many of the routers that they delivered years ago, with which the fleet is gradually rejuvenating.The new models with WiFi AC and Gigabit Ethernet ports that we have discussed are quite good and are theoretically on par with the mid-range of the free market.However, some advanced traffic management technologies are missing and perhaps tri-band wireless networks that do incorporate the high-end routers of the most popular brands (with prices of more than 150 euros, of course).Internet connection technologyWiFi N at 2.4 GHz up to 300 Mbps and AC at 5 GHz3 Gigabit-Ethernet ports and another Gigabit WAN.Two ports for IP telephony, USB 2.0 port for network sharing.WiFi N at 2.4 GHz up to 300 Mbps and AC at 5 GHz up to 1,300 MbpsTwo ports for IP telephony, USB 2.0 port up to 900 mA.WiFi N up to 300 Mbps in 2T2R MIMO configuration4 Fast-Ethernet 10/100 Mbps ports and another Gigabit-Ethernet at 1,000 Mbps.two USB 2.0 ports, 2 FXS ports, DLNA, optional 3G connectivityWiFi G up to 54 Mbps with a single antennaOne RJ-11 port, good stability for connections of 10 Mbps or less.Wi-Fi N up to 300Mbps.One USB 1.1 port for printersWi-Fi N up to 300Mbps.4 Fast Ethernet ports of 10/100 Mbps.3 USB 2.0 ports, FTP, Samba and DLNAWiFi dual band N and AC up to 1.93Gbps.WPS 2.0 technology, integrates ONT, router and video bridge, FXS port for VoiPWiFi dual band N of 300 Mbps and AC up to 1,700 Mbps.Two RJ11 ports for VoIP telephony and another 1A USB 2.0WiFi dual band N of 300 Mbps and AC up to 1,700 Mbps.3 Gigabit Ethernet ports and another Gigabit WANTwo RJ11 ports for VoIP telephony and another 1A USB 2.0Wi-Fi N up to 300Mbps.One Giga Ethernet WAN port and another 4 also gigabit for the LANTwo steerable antennas with SMA connectorsWi-Fi N up to 300Mbps.One Giga Ethernet WAN port and another 4 also gigabit for the LANTwo 3dBi steerable antennasJazztel, MÁSMÓVIL, Pepephone, YoigoWiFi AC dual band 450+1,300 Mbps.One Giga Ethernet WAN port and another 4 also gigabit for the LANTwo RJ-11 phone jacks and two USB 2.0 portsWiFi AC dual band 300+1,300 Mbps.One Giga Ethernet WAN port and another 4 also gigabit for the LAN256 MB RAM, two RJ-11 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, DECT compatibleWiFi AC dual band up to 1,300 Mbps.One port for VoIP and one USB 2.0WiFi AC dual band up to 1,300 Mbps + 300 Mbps.Two RJ-11 phone jack outlets, one USB 2.0 inputMÁSMÓVIL, Pepephone, YoigoWiFi AC dual band up to 1,300 Mbps + 300 Mbps.Two RJ-11 phone jacks, USB 2.0, SAMBA, FTP and DLNAWiFi AC dual band up to 1,300 Mbps + 300 Mbps.Docsis 3.0, two telephone outlets with RJ-22 plug, USB 2.0Updated in 2020 with current routersThis is how bad (or good) the routers that your operator gives you are (2020)More Sites You'll LikeSee more articlesSee more videos