TOP-9 Best Routers For Multiple Devices | Ultimate Buyer’s Guide

Products with a 5-star rating

Expert Opinion: Dong Ngo, IT Consultant & Writer

Many of you have complained to me that after having invested in a nice WiFi router, you didn't get the performance at home that you expected. Now, the keyword here is expectation. When it comes to buying networking equipment, there are 3 speeds that you need to be aware of. The advertising speed, the ceiling speed, and the actual real-world speed… There are many factors that affect the actual speed of WiFi. For example, the further away the client from the router, the slower it gets. There are also obstacles in between them, like the wall or furniture. There is also interference from other devices using the same signal on the same frequency band. And finally, hardware and software from different vendors may not work optimally with one another.

9 Best-Selling Routers for Multiple Devices Comparative Table

Testing & Customers Reviews

We found reviews from real YouTube bloggers about the products from our article.

Sneaky Tech Travels: "There are three pointers to summarize my actual experience on Asus Rapture GT-AX11000. Pointer number one - impressive boost on signal coverage from my previous router which was Linksys WRT1900AC that served me a rock-solid 5-year performance. The GT-AX11000 boosted the Wi-Fi signal horizontally from 40 meters to 50 meters. Don't get me wrong the Linksys WRT1900AC was already a monster router at the time of its production but a 25 increase in coverage is something that is really impressive. It's like accessing your home Wi-Fi two blocks away from your house. Pointer number two - proper router placement and use of AI mesh is the key. The right placement of this router is extremely crucial to make the most out of this beast. Based on my experience spreading the Wi-Fi horizontally and downwards is way easier than pulling it upwards which means that if you are in a multi-storey house it is most ideal to position this router at the top floor or on the middle floor. Having said that it is optimal to make use of other Asus routers to create a mesh Wi-Fi system via AI mesh.

In my case with the GT-AX11000 alone it was extremely hard to extend the Wi-Fi signal upwards towards the higher floor. But with the use of another Asus router with AI mesh I was able to significantly pull the Wi-Fi signal vertically from the second floor up to the third floor wirelessly. Please note that you don't need to buy another of these. A less expensive Asus AI mesh capable router will serve perfectly well. In my case I purchased and used the RT-AC86U as the mesh WI-FI node. But there's a lot of other aims compatible routers that you can choose from including ASUS RT-AX82U Gundam Edition. Pointer number three - WI-FI 6 works. WI-FI 6 works well across all devices especially on those that are designed specifically to support it. This equates to a significant improvement on the internet speeds across everything that is connected to it. Another thing worth noting is that spreading out the antenna helps. I know this might sound odd but maximizing the spread of the antennas gives a little push in terms of improving the WI-FI signal coverage. Is it worth it? I'd say, yes. And with the use of other ASUS AI mesh compatible routers to create that mesh WI-FI system will definitely put the performance at a much higher level."

6 Months Later Reviews: "It's been six months since we got our TP-Link Deco X60 system. Overall, I like the design of the routers, they look nice and are a bit tall compared to something like the Eero but are similar in size and shape to the Nest Wifi. The Wi-Fi points have an additional Ethernet port which is a big plus over competing products like the Nest Wi-Fi point. The only thing I don't like about the devices design are the power bricks. They're long and rectangular and if you're plugging them into a search protector power strip, that's already pretty full, it's going to be a challenge to get it to fit. Now one of the most critical parts of any Wi-Fi experience and where a lot of people actually run to issues with their Wi-Fi router is the setup experience. Thankfully with Deco the setup experience is dead simple. It took me like five minutes to set this thing up. You just download the TP-Link Deco app on your phone from the Play Store or App Store. Plug in the first point that is your main router connected to your modem and then follow the on-screen instructions. To add a new point to the Wi-Fi network, all you have to do is plug it in and it'll automatically be added to your system. 

One of the things I always look for when setting up a new router is the ability to turn on and off that LED status light. That's because my routers typically sit behind my television and yes I do know that is not the best place to put a Wi-Fi router. The Deco does have a way to turn off the LED status light and you can do that by going into the Deco app. You don't have the ability to turn on or off the status indicator on individual points or the ability to just dim the indicator lights. One thing that keeps tripping me up in this app is how to actually see the different points in the system. To do this, you need to tap the internet globe symbol which there isn't any indication from the design that it can be tapped so you just kind of have to know, which isn't the most intuitive design. Parental controls are table stakes for routers nowadays and are built into the Deco at no additional cost. You can filter content by creating profiles and then selecting specific filters for that profile and then block specific categories of content as well as apps or websites. You also have the ability to set time control so you can limit the time each profile has on Wi-Fi for weekends and weekdays and there's also a bedtime feature that you can set up for a profile to make sure your kids aren't staying up too late using Wi-Fi. Once you have a profile set up, the app makes it really easy to instantly pause or resume Wi-Fi for a profile.

QOS is another setting you may see in the home care section of the app and that feature allows you to prioritize specific kinds of traffic on the network as well as specific devices. So, for example, if you're uploading a video to YouTube, you might want to prioritize the computer uploading. You can set devices to always be a priority device or only prioritize devices for a specific duration. In the more settings section of the app, you'll find advanced features like being able to turn on and off the 2.4 gigahertz and 5 gigahertz networks you get from the router which can be useful if you need to force some smart devices onto one or the other. Here you can also test internet speed which is only testing the speed from the internet to the main router not to your end device, which I do think TP-Link should have included. Network Optimization is a feature that was added during our six months of testing and when you select it it gives absolutely no explanation whatsoever for what it's doing. It would have been helpful if they had included that description in the app itself because without it it comes across as more of a gimmicky feature than an actual serious one. One other really important feature that you'll see in this section is managers. You can invite others in your household to help you manage the network and this is really useful if you're setting up the router system for a grandparent or a parent. It allows you to monitor the network remotely and help them troubleshoot issues.

This Deco mesh router system is a Wi-Fi 6 system. Why is Wi-Fi 6 important? Well, while Wi-Fi 6 does offer increased speeds over the previous generation of Wi-Fi, where I've actually seen the biggest impact with Wi-Fi 6 router setups, including the Deco, is when you have multiple devices like a large number of them connected to your network simultaneously. I typically have anywhere from 40 to 50 devices on the network at any given time. With that amount of devices, I have noted. An increase in stability of overall network performance with my Wi-Fi 6 setup. Also this system has great range. One reason I always go for a mesh Wi-Fi system is I need enough signal to be able to get out of my Model 3 across the street in its garage for software updates and this system is able to push out enough signal for my 3 to pick up which is great. The biggest issue I've had with this system is overall network performance. Initially my Google Nest speakers would drop Wi-Fi connection at random and the upload speed on my iMac inexplicably dropped to three megabits per second whereas on my Nest Wi-Fi I was getting close to 10. I tried changing some of the settings on my router and I looked at the TP-Link Forums to try to see if anyone else was running into the same issue I was and some people were but they didn't seem to have any resolutions at the time. Now over the past few months, I've switched back and forth between the Deco and my Eero system and I'm happy to say that subsequent firmware updates seem to affixed my initial issues and why I now recommend this system. The Deco system is definitely competitive with other systems out there but with the added advantage of Wi-Fi 6 and the advanced controls this system brings a lot of value. The only thing I think is still a slight disadvantage with the Deco is its app. There are just some UI and UX decisions that make it a bit more difficult to use than it should be."

NETGEAR Nighthawk X4S Smart WiFi Router (R7800)

The 802.11ac, dual-band, AC2600 Nighthawk R7800 smart wifi router is a DOCSIS 3.1 modem that supports gigabit speeds up to 2600 Mbps and provides AST wifi performance for fast and reliable 4K Ultra-HD streaming and multiple player gaming up to 800 + 1733 Mbps. It has a powerful 1.7 GHz dual-core processor and advanced range-boosting Beamforming+ antennas, MU-MIMO, Dynamic frequency and QoS technology It has a wireless coverage range up to 2,500 SF and supports up to 45 devices.

The Nighthawk R7800 router also features four (4) 1G Ethernet ports for fast (wired) connections and (2) 3.0 USB and (1) eSATA ports for sharing and cloud storage. Smart Circle App parental controls allow you to filter websites and manage Internet access. This wifi router also supports high-level WPA2 wireless security protocols including double (SPI and NAT) firewall, DoS, double (SPI and NAT) firewall, VPN, Guest wifi access and Alexa voice controls.

NETGEAR R7800: Check the current price

Most modern households today utilize their wireless router for more devices than one, and often at the same time. Households with at least two members should be equipped to handle phones, tablets, laptops, computers, and televisions all at once - sometimes all from multiple members at once.

There is nothing more frustrating than having an otherwise great connection and having to sacrifice using one device in favor of having the wireless connection run smoothly on another.

How Do Routers for Multiple Devices Work?

Using multiple antennas, these routers begin optimizing the wireless internet connection of many devices at once by being able to communicate and transfer more data at a time. Every time a computer or other device attempts to connect to the internet, the router must transfer its information between the router and modem.

The more devices attempting to communicate via one device at a time, the slower the router is at being able to transfer said information. Starting with a device that can transfer more information from the beginning is essential to handling multiple devices on the same internet connection.

Look for available bandwidth, and take a close look at how your router handles said bandwidth between multiple devices.

The router’s overall wireless speed also comes into play here. The faster your router’s base speed is, the more quickly it is likely going to be able to transfer your devices’ information and keep them all running quickly.

What Are Trusted Brands of Routers for Multiple Devices?

Most people looking for trusted routers to handle multiple devices tend to go with Linksys, Netgear, and TP-Link. These are some of the most popular producers of routers overall, and their ability to transfer information from multiple devices at a time simply cannot be beaten.

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