Finding the Best Router for Multiple Devices? [Reviews and Buying Guide 2024]

When there are multiple users in a home, then network sharing will definitely be there. In such a situation, you can experience network interruptions, lag, slow speed, or other issues while performing varying online activities. To combat these issues in your home network, the best solution available is having a router.

Routers are especially designed devices that offer enhanced speed and coverage for the wireless network in your home. These devices also come with multiple ports and allow smooth connection with various wired and hard-wired devices like gaming consoles, PCs, printers, and other. A router can efficiently handle more traffic even with more channels.

But which router you must pick is a difficult choice. So, here we list the ten best router for multiple devices along with their honest reviews and a detailed buying guide. You must go through this list as it will simplify the things!

1. ASUS RT-AX88U AX6000 – Next-Gen Wi-Fi Setup

It comes with the Target wake time feature, which allows scheduling designated intervals for devices to transfer data. It lets your router sleep when it is not required. The presence of MU-MIMO technology it offers up to 4 times greater network efficiency and capacity in traffic-dense regions.

Why is it Unique

 It is a 4 x 4 dual band router offering a bandwidth of 160 MHz along with 1024 – QAM. The high network speed of 6000 Mbps ensures you gain a flawless gaming and streaming experience. Its adaptive QoS technology prioritizes bandwidth for smoother gaming. Also, it comes with inbuilt WtFast that offers the most secured and shorted router between game server and gaming device, reducing game lag and ping.

With its AiProtection Pro technology, you can establish a commercial-grade security for your entire home network. It regularly updates security signatures to keep your devices protected from all sorts of network thefts. Unbeatable connectivity is delivered by this device with its 8 Gigabit LAN ports. You can easily connect numerous wired devices such as PCs, switches, consoles, NAS systems, and others.

Buyer’s Experience

The buyers find it a very good router that has almost all features they want. It is powerful, high-performing, and very easy to set up. The best thing they liked is its AiMesh technology that helped them have a strong Wi-Fi network in your entire home.

Ideal For

The ASUS router is a perfect pick for all modern homes with advanced devices. It features multiple latest technologies and fixes all network problems. Using it let you gain a robust Mesh Wi-Fi network in your home offering time-saving centralized control, seamless roaming capability, and excellent coverage.

2. TP-Link AC1750 – Reliable and Far-Reaching

Why is it Unique

The Archer A7 offers brilliant Wi-Fi coverage across the entire house. It is because of its three high-gain antennas and powerful amplifiers that connect every device flawlessly. It conveniently fulfills the network requirements of every device in your house with its robust CPU delivering fast processing.

Backed with durable hardware and latest technology, it delivers high bandwidth prioritization. With the 3 times faster speed of the device, you can gain a rich 4K streaming and smooth gaming experience.

Buyer’s Experiences

The buyers are impressed with its efficient and secured functionality that keep their device safe from network thefts. It is because the router incorporates advanced WPA/WPA2 wireless encryption, guest access, and parental controls. All the setup is quick and easy and supported with a Tether app, which took only a few minutes for the buyers to establish a strong network in their entire house.

Ideal For

It is an excellent router available at an affordable price. You must go for it if you want to establish a mesh network with one Wi-Fi device for seamless coverage throughout the house. The managed unified network and smart roaming capability makes it a great solution for every family.

3. ASUS Wireless – AC1700 – Powerful Wireless Router

Why is it Unique

The dual-band connectivity of this wireless router ensures you have a stable and lag-free entertainment always. It allows connecting multiple devices at one because of its 3 MU-MIMO capability. The best thing is that even if various devices are connected you will get maximum speed simultaneously.

It is an ultimate device for multitasking professionals backed with Quad Core CPU dedicated to USB and Wi-Fi applications. It easily manages heavy traffic and supports an expanding network of systems and devices, which is the perfect solution for most of the busy professionals.

Buyer’s Experience

The buyers find it a worthy purchase that is backed with powerful software. It did not drop connections and delivered stable performance even when multiple devices are connected at once. It comes in an easy setup and a lot of customization options.

Ideal For

It is a perfect router for those who want high-performance and optimized network connectivity. It efficiently manages all multiple devices and delivers high speed. With its AiRadar Beamforming technology and 4 fixed antennas, it offers strong wireless coverage to the entire house.

4. Linksys WRT3200ACM – Superb Customization Capability

The versatile numbers of ports can be connected to USB and eSATA hard drives, flash drives, network printers, and others. It is because of its open source firmware the users can customize this router with DD-WRT and OpenWrt to meet their unique needs.

Why is it Unique

The router offers dual dedicated Wi-Fi bands offering combined speeds of up to 3.2 Gbps. The 2.4 GHz band delivers speed of up to 600 Mbps and is perfect to perform light internet activities. The other band offers speed of 5GHz of up to 2.6 Gbps, which renders smooth video streaming and online gaming.

Using its Dynamic frequency selection feature, the router works in clear airspace. Also, it triples total numbers of channels at 80MHz. It also incorporates MU-MIMO technology that delivers fast speed on numerous devices at once. Hence, multiple users can play online games, download files, and listen to music, stream HD movies without experiencing buffering or lag.

Buyer’s Experience

In addition to open source firmware, the router comes with an easy-to-use app that enables easy Wi-Fi customization for the users. The router comes with bandwidth prioritization capability using which the users are able to prioritize devices, which require the quickest Wi-Fi avoiding lags.

Ideal For

This router comes with great wireless capabilities and multiple external connectivity ports like Gigabit and eSATA ports that allow high speed connection for wired gaming. If you want to pick a Linksys router, you must go for it as it will upkeep with all your Wi-Fi requirements.

5. NETGEAR Wi-Fi Router R6330 – AC1600 – Best for Streaming

Why is it Unique

This router seamlessly connects up to 20 devices and lets you wisely select between double bands to enhance speed and reduce interference. It is compatible with all smart wireless devices and lets you manage all of them with your fingertips. Security is guaranteed with this router as it is protected with hi-tech WPA/WPA2 wireless security and firewall protection.

Using this device allows you to easily create a Guest network separate from your house network. Hence, your private information stays always safe. With convenient parental controls in-built in the Nighthawk app, you can easily manage web filtering, website access, and even prioritize network usage for family members and individuals.

Buyer’s Experience

Most of the buyers find it as an affordable solution to boost network speed and coverage in their home. Not only are they able to easily manage the network, but they also enjoy smooth gaming and streaming experience. It offered them good speed and range along with efficient Netgear app support.

Ideal For

This router is ideal for fast streaming. It comes with the Nighthawk app support that lets you establish a strong network throughout your home in just five minutes. Also, the four Ethernet ports offer fast internet connections making it very simple to connect gaming consoles, computers, and other devices. You must go for this router if you want uninterrupted streaming along with multiple connectivity options.

6. ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AC11000 – Best for Gaming

Another amazing thing about this router is its game boost feature that analyzes network priority and traffic allowing you to gain a second level of enhancement for the finest performance in just a click. It is integrated with support for the Gamers Private Network, offering private and fastest internet connections to the game servers and reducing latency and ping.

Why is it Unique

It is one of the best gaming routers available in the market that comes with Tri-band capability allowing you to dedicate one 5 GHz band to gaming only. Hence, you no more have to compete for bandwidth with other wireless devices in your home. It comes with Dynamic Frequency Selection functionality that unlocks 15 channels at once offering the least congestion.

The best thing about this router is its port-forwarding feature, which is important for gamers. It prevents you from all awkward situations of not being able to pair up with friends and make sure you never experience network issues during your gameplay.

Buyer’s Experience

With the Asus router, the buyers were able to rule the entire network from a central location as it comes with ROG-themed gaming center interface offering point-and-click control. This router also holds AiMesh features, which fixes all problems and designs a mesh network throughout the house. As a result, the users are able to enjoy seamless roaming and central management for their network.

Ideal For

If virtual private networks are dragging down your performance, this router is a perfect choice for you. It is an excellent device for gamers who do not want to compromise on performance. The great connection offered by it will be a game saver to you and lets you check ping times for different servers before you start playing.

7. TP-Link AC1200 Smart Wi-Fi Router – Best for Coverage

It comes with 4 external antennas and one in-built antenna that offer a powerful chipset work together for sending Wi-Fi to every area of your house. You can enjoy a speedy network and at the same time stay connected at every corner of your home.

Hence, it eliminates all dead zones and offers you stable and consistent network coverage throughout the house. Also, you can switch the mode to access point mode for sharing a wired network with other Wi-Fi devices.

Why is it Unique

With its advanced MU-MIMO technology, the router allows it to easily serve numerous devices simultaneously. It ensures you never suffer from bandwidth congestion or any lags and lets you have a more efficient network for more devices and more users. The advanced WPA2 encryption feature of the router offers a safe browsing experience and always protects your network from malware and hackers.

You can make sure to have a secured browsing experience for your children as the router is backed with parental control functionality. This blocks unwanted items to access the network. You can even restrict the network time for your kids. It is also possible to create a separate network for the guest to avoid compromising on security.

Buyer’s Experience

The best thing buyers liked about this router is its Gigabit wired connection that allowed them to easily connect their favorite gaming console, PC, and smart TV for reliable high-speed connectivity. The router comes with Tether app support, and hence, it was very convenient for the users to establish the setup and manage network settings.

Ideal For

It is a great router for those who want to eliminate all dead zones in their homes and want complete network coverage. Though it doesn’t offer the fastest speed, it renders decent performance, supports advanced security, and is backed with the latest features.

8. TP-Link AC1900 High Speed MU-MIMO – Affordably Priced

This router is perfect for both streaming and gaming as its advanced technologies work together for a flawless performance. Using this router, you can easily connect up to 20 devices, making it a perfect solution for managing the network requirements of smart home devices.

Why is it Unique

It is a high-performing router offering stronger Wi-Fi coverage. It is because it comes with 3 external high-gain antennas and Beamforming technologies offering Wi-Fi connectivity to all devices. The Smart Connect enhances the device’s connection by switching to the quickest available Wi-Fi band.

Another great thing about this device is its Airtime Fairness capability that prevents older devices from reducing the Wi-Fi speed. As a result, you gain a smooth and lag free network time. It offers high network security with its inbuilt features like Access Control, VPN server, and Parental Controls.

Buyer’s Experience

The buyers find setting up this router very easy and quick. It comes with the Tether app support and makes it convenient for the users to manage guest network, parental controls, QoS, and other aspects. Since, the router works with Alexa, so users can enjoy complete control for smart home devices.

Ideal For

This router comes with numerous advanced features and hi-end security norms, all of them available at an affordable price. For this reason, it is a great choice for every homeowner. It will precisely meet the requirements of all your family members without burdening your pocket.

9. D-Link AC2600 4K Streaming – Consistent Network Performance

Why is it Unique

This is one of the amazing routers coupled with advanced technology like MU-MIMO. It sends high and smooth performance even when numerous devices are connected at the same time. It maintains fast Wi-Fi for everyone in the house while reducing lag and buffering when other people are streaming.

It automatically selects each device on the best band to let you have the finest experience and ensures no issues are met for any of the connections. Even when other people connect to your network, it prevents network slowdowns.

Buyer’s Experience

It offered a great network range to the users. They find it a great router at an amazing price. It performed well for all their devices and delivered smooth performance when multiple devices were connected.

Ideal for

Its dual bands fight congestion completely, which makes it a great pick for those who live in apartments. It utilizes 4 x 4 data streams that share Wi-Fi smoothly and reduces wait times to a great extent.

10. NETGEAR Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream – Best for Multiple Devices

Why is it Unique

With this amazing router, you can connect a house complete with Wi-Fi devices without compromising on performance. It is one of the routers supporting multi-gig internet plans and offering up to 2 Gbps speed for its two gigabit Ethernet ports. The only thing is that it needs compatible cable modem or fiber that supports multi-gig internet speeds.

Moreover, it comes with multi-layer safety software protecting your connected devices, smartphones, and smart devices with anti-malware and antivirus thefts. In addition to this, it comes with parental controls that allow you conveniently set schedules, pause connection, and filter sites for your kid’s devices.

Buyer’s Experience

The buyers consider it as an awesome design packed with great configuration and setup. It is easy to use and quick. It offered them great connectivity for all ports. The buyers also gained enhanced performance and all dead spots in their homes were eliminated.

Ideal For

This router is backed with the Nighthawk app support, which makes it convenient to establish a strong network in your home. It lets you gain most from your Wi-Fi like remote access, internet speed proficiency, internet pausing, and other. So, pick it if you want great connectivity for a range of your devices.

There are various ways in which a router can be classified. Routers can be divided on the basis of the number of bands they offer like tri-band, dual-band, or single-band. For multiple devices, routers with dual or tri-bands are ideal.

Further, they can be classified as AC-types like 802.11n, 802.11ad, and 802.11ac.

Other than this, routers can be classified under two main categories – Traditional/Conventional Routers and Mesh Wi-Fi routers.

Traditional Routers are one that come in different capabilities and deliver varying range, speed, and features. They have external or inbuilt antennas but they are always packed in a single-unit.

The other types of routers are Mesh Wi-Fi routers, which are also called Whole Home Wi-Fi routers that are based on the latest technology. They come in a device form and include a Mesh point and a Main unit. The main unit is quite similar to the traditional router, while the Mesh point looks like a USB stick with its own plug-in that needs to be inserted into a socket. Mesh Wi-Fi routers offer more network range, speed, and coverage in comparison to the traditional routers.

Routers for multiple devices incorporate multiple antennas, which optimize the wireless internet connectivity for many devices simultaneously. With the help of these antennas, a single router is able to offer extended coverage and allows easy communication and transfer of bulk data. When an external device like a computer or gaming console is connected to the internet connection, the router transfers information between modem and the router.

If more devices are connected beyond the capability of the router, it results in slow down of network speed. For this reason, it is essential to pick a router that is capable of supporting a number of devices that you want to connect.

We have shared with you the list of ten best routers for multiple devices that are top favorite among the buyers. These routers are proven to deliver unmatched performance and excellent network coverage. But if you still wish to search for more options or want to shortlist one, here are a few important factors you need to consider.

1. LAN Ports – Most of the devices can connect through Wi-Fi, but still, there are some devices that need a hard-wired connection. Hence, the router you pick must have enough LAN ports so that you can connect your devices easily through an Ethernet switch.

2. Quality of Service – This is an advanced feature, which is also known as traffic control or media prioritization. It assigns bandwidth to various types of usage needs. With routers supporting QoS technology, you can easily assign bandwidth to streaming so you can perform activities without witnessing lags or buffering issues.

3. USB Ports – If you want to connect your external hard drive, USB printer, or flash drive to your router, it must support a USB port. Hence, pick a router that supports USB sport.

4. Wi-Fi Range – Wireless routers offer great connectivity over long distances. To make sure you get great network range in your home, you must pick Wireless N router instead of wireless G router.

5. Tri-Band or Dual-Band Connectivity – Dual band routers support two bands of 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency and deliver a fast combined speed ideal for online gaming, movie streaming, and for performing other activities. There are routers available with Tri-band capability as well that are supported with an additional 5 GHz frequency. They are ideal for those who have multiple devices to connect and run.

6. MU-MIMO Technology – This is a novel technology that enables multiple devices to connect easily and gain high bandwidth simultaneously. It distributes data evenly so that you get fast speed for all the connected devices.

7. Mesh Network – For individuals living in a bigger house or with lots of walls, it is important to consider a router with mesh network. It comprises smaller routers, which work together for increasing the signal all across the house. They deliver a consistent signal without drastic reduction in speed even when you are far away from the place.

8. Security – It is of utmost importance that your router supports WPA2 encryption. It protects the network from all kinds of online security thefts, frauds, and other issues. Having a router with an advanced security system is of importance especially when you live in apartments, suburban or urban areas.

9. Media Prioritization – This is an incredibly useful feature that allows you to prioritize bandwidth for various physical devices in your home. With this feature, you can assign desired bandwidth as per your choice and usage.

10. Processor – It is necessary to pick a router with a highly powerful processor. Only then it can run for a long time and efficiently meet your entire requirements.

11. Beamforming – This is a radio wave technology, which works with 802.11 AC standard routers. Make sure you pick a router with Beamforming technology as only then it can optimal serve multiple devices at the same time.

There is no best router as every device has its own unique capabilities, power, and feature. An ideal pick for you will be the one that caters to all your requirements. Hence, list down your requirements along with your budget and then consider our buying guide to pick the best router for your home. You can also consider buying the abovementioned best router for multiple devices reviewed by our experts as they are proven to deliver top-notch performance, unmatched speed, and enhanced range. 

Last update on 2024-07-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API