[Solved] Would buying a new standard router from a shop help my ping/speed?

[Lethn]

So I'm with this absolutely horrible ISP and even though they've improved things very slightly one very constant problem that I have identified and I'm pretty sure affects us regularly is their use of cheap or second hand routers that always keep breaking resulting in us having to contact tech support to find the problem and almost all the time it involves simply replacing the router as they constantly have faulty ones.

I figured people here would know, do any of you buy routers yourselves? Would you say they've improved things? I'm having ping spike problems and I'm absolutely sick of going through it all constantly and I just know they're going to say they'll send an engineer over who will replace them with another one that's going to fail within a few months again. Before you ask, I've already exhausted anything I can do on my end, even a VPN doesn't stop these spikes or speed problems because normally it's traffic shaping.

Seems to me like the best option would be to just buy a new router and test it out since they're not that expensive and I know they won't be shit.

[Spoetnik]

You may have better luck changing channel numbers.. Google which one though (over lapping bands issue)

Buying a new one would depend on what you have now vs what you get ? Hardware spec wise etc.

I did some trouble shooting recently on mine eh.. i had to do a lot of Googling. (i learn then forget later LOL)
I use a Ralink program on Windows that does vary Network crap..
one of the things it does is tell me packets with crc errors which are usually interference.
Point being is you may be getting a lot and it may be bogging your speed down.

There is a lot too and a lot you can do to tune it up..
I deliberately bought a PCI card for WIFI so i have dual antennas to point around for a better signal.

So what are your hardware WIFI specs ? Wireless B G N etc ?

EDIT:
I have a 2.4 ghz land line home phone in my house that bogs my connection down (when it's in use)
i know this because it slows my mouse..
and my wifi slows my mouse down too..

EDIT2:
Point being is i for sure have too much traffic on the 2.4 ghz range and too many guys on channels close too.

5ghz is more powerful at shorter distances and 2.4ghz is better for longer distances basically.
Can you connect with 5ghz ? Does your hardware support it ?

[Lethn]

I'm using wired so there really shouldn't be any problems with ping etc., but the thing is my ISP is that shit It's probably just that they keep giving us faulty routers to use that may be the issue from what I've seen the router is netgear and they've gone and named it a 'superhub' when you put it into google there are all sorts of complaints about it including that they use a network card from a laptop lol. I definitely can't underestimate that Virgin Media has screwed us over with these things so I want to rule it out, in theory we should be getting 50mb but it always acts like a lot less, usually the culprit is bandwidth throttling which is why I've subscribed to a VPN but lately it's been acting up regardless.

[Spoetnik]

Sorry i didn't realize you meant wired.
You have a HUUUUGE amount of stuff to consider.

- Your expectations with your ISP.
My cable ISP provider does not give me advertised speeds but close to it though.

If i were you i would break it down.. are you running 10/100 or Gigabit ?
I asked you what your hardware supports wired or not you need to know this info.

I would try different cables to be sure too.. i have had hundreds of pounds of cables and done my homework.
Cat cables and Cat-E or not the same.. make sure you are using CAT-e
Cable length being too long can degrade things too if excessively long.. although this is rarely a problem.

Have you verified for sure what you are supposed to be getting then tested it ?
For 15 years i have used SpeakEasy.net (Seattle) to test my speeds.
Sometimes they change the packages etc so make sure you know what the ISP claims

You mentioned VPN ?
I coded my own file sharing program mod a dozen years ago.. so i know file sharing
i don't use VPN's but i know they are a proxy so running your Torrent etc through a VPN can slow you down.
It's an extra hoop to jump through..
Throttling is an issue too but do you know for sure your ISP is doing it ?
There is online web based services you can use to test for throttling eh.

Break it down bit by bit by verifying everything.. 1 step at a time.

[Lethn]

I just thought I'd say guys, if anyone in the UK who happens to be a virgin media customer I seem to have fixed it, everybody on the forums was swearing that resetting the router settings to factory default for some reason fixed it. So if you're having ping spikes and lag for no reason log into your router at 192.168.0.1 and click on the "Restore to factory default settings" button or whatever variation you have. Was very skeptical but it's now fixed and I'm finally able to enjoy games and use my internet properly again.

At least I know what to do if the usual fixes don't work.