Netgear 834GT looks to have died. What to replace it with?

My faithful Netgear 834GT has had a WiFi problem today, laptop would connect, iPad would not. Desktop fine via network cable.

Decided to power down the router, wait a bit, then power it back up. After that it just sits there with the Internet LED and some of the LAN port LEDs pulsing every second or so. No Power or any other LED. Tried the Reset button, no difference.

So it looks as if the router has died, no complaints, it's given me good and faithful service. Got out my non-wireless DG834 and am using that.

Question. What do I replace it with?

I'm aware of this thread but that's 12 months old so things will have changed.

I'm not interested in Telnet ability, my usage is normal domestic, wired and wireless; no VPN or anything fancy. House isn't large, doesn't have especially thick walls.

I'm probably about 3km from the exchange. ADSL2. Line stats (attenuation/NM) down 41/6, up 12/6. Not interested in FTTC.

I've been happy with Netgear so would be happy to go with them again. Or with another make if recommended. TP Link? Asus?

I'd rather not put a specific budget limit, let's see what realistic suggestions I get.

Clearly I'd like to replace it as soon as possible, i.e. Saturday even

Could be the PSU. have you got another 12V power brick?

I tried the power brick from the non-wireless Netgear. Sure enough the router powered up.

But...

Although it went through the power on test ok, and wireless started up, it completely failed to connect to the internet. Reset it, rebooted it, no difference (yes, I had already copied the ADSL login and password - just in case). Back to the non-wireless, perfect. Tried the 834GT, no internet. So now I'm back to the non-wireless Netgear.

So I'm guessing that as the PSU died it took some of the router circuitry.

So still needing a replacement.

TP Link £33 fairly simple ADSL2+ modem/router not heard many people using that model, the popular stuff is the VDSL kit these days.

For ADSL2+ if in no need of anything fancy don't see the point in spending much more these days

Thanks, that's one I hadn't seen. Wondering about this Netgear DGN2200 at a similar price. And it's in stock nearby.

Tried many routers over the years and a friend told me to try a Billion BiPAC 7800DXL excellent router you can even tweak the SNR , bit expensive but well worth the money

Had one, the antenna was a little delicate and broke - the plastic swivel hinge but still seemed to work (best not to leave routers on the floor perhaps)

Advantage for you is GUI will be almost identical.

I suspect that may have been true of my present one, but as it will be on the top of a cupboard not a real issue. One nice thing is that it'll go upright exactly the same place as my present router so the space is there already

Got the DGN2200, completely painless setup. Autodetected my ADSL login details. I then changed the admin password, also changed the WiFi SSID and network key to be what it was with my old router, and everything reconnected.

Excellent, just as it should be.

Edit: Just realised, there is no antenna, must be internal, so nothing to break off.

Edited by cheshire_man (Sat 24-Oct-15 17:54:15)

In reply to a post by deezel:

Tried many routers over the years and a friend told me to try a Billion BiPAC 7800DXL excellent router you can even tweak the SNR , bit expensive but well worth the money

Bit late for the OP but for anyone else looking, I can second your experience. Excellent router. Used to have slowdowns and reconnects, now the line stays solid and just a tad faster than the 7700N I had before.