This is a slightly strange review – I’m reviewing an N-band router without actually owning (that I’m aware of) any equipment that receives N-band. However, what I want to know is whether (and the theory goes that it should) it will still improve signal strength.

The Zyxel comes in relatively modest packaging which, to be honest, is refreshing – a recycled box inside a thin exterior box and a few bags to hold individual pieces of equipment. Inside, there’s the router itself, two screw-on antenna (always good to see, so they can be replaced with more powerful versions, if you wish), a power supply, ethernet cable, ADSL cable, some brief instructions and a CD containing a router setup program and a more detailed manual.

The router itself is a smallish white unit with lights along the front of the top. This includes a handy wi-fi switch for quickly turning wireless off and on. Along the back is the usual 4 ethernet ports, ADSL port, power socket and, again handily, a power button.

As with most routers, set-up and administration is performed via a webpage (or via the supplied software) that you access via a supplied IP address, username and password (make sure you change the default password, though!). For initial ISP configuration, a “Wizard” will automatically configure this for you (although it can be performed manually, if you wish).

The administration menu was familiar to me, as it’s design is the same as the one on my ZyXEL NSA210 NAS drive.

The range of features available are quite considerable and suggests this is a router more for small businesses rather than your average consumer, especially considering the security features on offer. However, if like me, you like the “power options” then this will provide you with everything you might need – WMM, keyword-based website blocking, DDNS, a command-line Telnet interface, a packet-filtering firewall, management via SNMP and support for static routing and VLANs.

A firmware update is available, so I’d recommend upgrading that as soon as you can.

Testing

I set the ZyXEL up next to my current router, a Netgear DG834Gv4, and only had one powered on at a time. In all cases, encryption was turned on, but only WEP.

Signal tests were then performed one storey up and the other side of the house – in this case, my bedroom!

Running an Android wi-fi analyser I could see a definite 5-10db signal improvement from the ZyXEL, compared to the Netgear. Running Network Stumbler on my Netbook, I observed similar improvements (see graphs). For the layman, this is an extra bar on the wi-fi signal meter.

For file performance tests, I transferred 407MB of data (consisting of 118 files and 15 folders) between my Acer Netbook and my daughter’s aged IBM Thinkpad, both running Windows XP SP3. My Netbook was downstairs in the living room, whilst my daughter’s laptop was in her room – opposite ends and storeys of the house, ensuring they were a good distance apart. The router was situated downstairs, about half way between the two machines.

The Netgear performed the transfer in 5 minutes 40 seconds, equating to 1.2 MB/s. The ZyXEL performed the transfer in 5 minutes, 19 seconds, equating to 1.3 MB/s.

So, a definite improvement in signal strength, but little in the way of performance. As N to G band shouldn’t improve the speed itself, this is the result I expected.

Summary of Zyxel P-660HN-F1Z Wireless N 4-Port Router

An excellent router at a good price. Packed full of features, it may be overkill (and a little confusing) for the average consumer, but for a small business or “tech head” such as me it’s ideal.

Even if you haven’t yet upgraded your laptop to N-band, this will still provide a stronger signal strength.

At the time of the review, the best price I found was a little over £64 at eBuyer.

Reviewed by David Artiss on 3rd September 2010.

Gallery

Ok, here’s the latest on my problems with Real Player.

After writing the original post, I tried my Netbook and found I was having the same problems. However, the same Netbook, connected to my work’s wireless network, would work fine. Conclusion – the problem was with my router or ISP.

Time to dig out the router that O2 sent me and I’d never used…. connected that up and…. Real Player worked!  So, it was my Netgear router.

Over the weekend I’ve been exchanging various emails with Netgear and, after escalation to some more senior engineers, the problem has been resolved. And it was fixed by…. downgrading the routers firmware. I was obviously being a bit too keen and I was on the latest firmware.

Anyway, it’s all now working and I’m happy once more.

My earlier issues with my router have been fixed! But I’m not quite sure what it was.

Last night, after having done some research on the ‘net, I decided to try and sort the problem out. First of all I removed the WEP security (yes, WEP) and tried the Wii… still not connecting. So I turned WEP back on, but at the same time turned the wireless off and on again. I then changed the channel to 11¹.

I then tried the Wii again… success. And the SoundBridge came on too.

Ok, so it sounds like there was interference on the channel I was on. Except, according to NetStumbler, nobody was and I was getting a clear frequency before. I think when I got my new router I set it to channel 3, but having looked at my past post on changing channels I think I was on 4. Now that might explain why the problems have only started since I got the new router, but I don’t understand what the channel issue was.

Oh well, NetStumbler shows channel 11 to be coming in loud and incredibly clear and all now appears well. But still, all a bit strange.

1. There are other people nearby on this channel but I know the Wii is supposed to connect quicker on this particular channel [↩]