Thanks for your insights and the links @grahroll
Hi Ian/ihutc,
I have taken a while to get to this thread, but now that I’m here I have my own one or two cents to throw in.
- Why would this be implemented in hardware? I have GlassWire (free) running on my desktop PC, and it will tell me what devices are hanging around as well as their status. Similar applications are available on mobile platforms.
- As Grahroll mentioned, there are some privacy concerns with gathering information about all these devices. Again, I suggest that software can come to your rescue. There should probably not be a central register of users - it should only capture street/suburb level data. When I (the user) want to know if my performance is slower than that guy next door who seems to be constantly streaming movies while his wife is playing online 3D games and the kids are uploading mum’s porn collection to their favourite torrent site in exchange for that new compilation of Caruso’s greatest arias, the only information you need is my street or suburb. You provide me with the speed report for this area, and the local software compares my personal data (which has been shared in an anonymised manner) with the Joneses.
The more I think of it, the more this screams ‘software’. I think software can do everything you are proposing plus a lot more. It is easier to get into people’s homes, and normally easier on the end user. You don’t need to get it certified by the relevant authority, as you would if plugging something in to a wire. Updates and new features can be developed and added constantly, without leaving some poor schmucks with ‘version 1.0’, which will no longer be supported after February 2026.
One part of this that I suggest will be vital to its success? Easy identification of devices. This is probably the hard bit, as it is no use telling me that MAC F0-1D-BC-BC-9A-B7 has disconnected. I need to know roughly what the device is. This is probably best done by asking users to install the software/app on as many of their devices as will take it, and identify the devices from those installs (letting users assign sensible names to them). There may be a back-end device lookup table that can identify the manufacturer (in the case above, F0-1D-BC = Microsoft) and - if the manufacturer has made such information available - the class of device represented in the final three pairs of the MAC. The software may identify some devices by how they behave - e.g. a router, switch or other backbone hardware. Ultimately, though, I suggest that many users will find themselves with a ‘wizard’ that says “There are three unidentified items on your network. Can you please turn off one of these, so that I can tell you which of this list it is”… or something similar.
To sum up: go software, not hardware. It’ll be cheaper, easier, easier to adapt, and easier to attract end users. There are almost certainly features you have not yet identified, that will suddenly become ‘vital’ - so again, software. And I suggest your key challenge is likely to be identifying individual items on the home user’s network.
Please let me know if you have any specific reasons why this cannot or should not be hardware. I am not an expert in these things, so am happy to be educated.
Finally, can I throw in my own feature suggestion? An always on VPN as an option (and probably requiring a subscription). I have always liked the idea of being assumed innocent until proven guilty, and laws such as metadata retention turn that on its head. If something like this rolled out across the Choice community, I suspect that some policy-makers might sit up and take notice.
Oh - and I also have Netgear Genie on my computer (I installed it about five years after I set up the modem/router). Nice user interface, reports almost everything by IP or MAC, with no indication of what it might be. This will be the tough part.
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Ian, can you change the title to A new kind of network router ? 
Not one of these http://www.woodworking-news.com/images/trim-router-main.jpg
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Good point Scott 
Well now I need a new router - or so I am led to believe. We have nbn to the curb and our speeds vary quite a lot
We are not concerned about “speed” but when we watch Stan on our smart tv it buffers quit a lot and now on YouTube as well and we subscribe to both
We like to read our iPads in the bedroom - some 60 feet from the modem and router but the wifi signal is sometimes 2 bars but mainly 1 bar or none at all
Have sent speed readings to isp numerous times and now they are recommending TPLink Archer VR 1600v which is what they sell but go on to recommend a further 23 models they don’t sell
I have tried to narrow the field a little and it seems that the Google nest wifi might fill the bill but I am really guessing as most things I read seem to have bias to or for a product
In our home we have Google home and a number of speakers - two iPhones and iPads plus two MacBooks between the wife and I
May I have your opinions on routers your using with the nbn modem and do I need a University course to set it up
Kind regards
Peter
Choice has reviewed these in the past (member content):
Is the router the problem, or is there something else (conjested wifi channel sucking potential bandwidth, fault at the pit, fault of connection/line with the house etc).
If the signal is going through wall, the signal will potehtially be at its limits and therefore unreliable. Have you considered a mesh or extender?
Choice has covered these too…
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It seems like you are describing two different issues.
One is to do with your NBN connection speeds. The second is the speed 60feet away from your router. IE 18m approx metric.
The second is simple. On one story our router at 15m is too far for reliable connection. It depends. We installed a WiFi range extender which does the trick, although a mesh network device is effectively the same. The second option might be less techie to configure.
On your internet slides, before considering you have a router issue - exactly what type of NBN service do you have? The speed will be detailed on your plan with your provider. The technology hopefully will also be advised. If you are using the modem/router supplied by your ISP changing it may not make any difference.
Are you able to clarify which technology your NBN service uses.
EG
FTTN - fibre to the node,
FTTC - fibre to the curb,
HFC - hybrid fibre cable,
FTTC - fibre to the curb,
FTTB - fibre to the basement (appartments, high rise etc)
The brand and model of modem-router might also help.
It sounds like you have FTTC which would normally provide very fast service. Replacing a modem/router may not be so simple if you also use the NBN to provide your phone service. There are often issues with configuring any personal purchases of equipment.
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Thanks very much for your time in explaining to me - I really appreciate it
Yes we have FTTC and it is beaut except I need to disconnect and reconnect regularly or we have constant buffering on Stan etc and sometimes the smart tv says that we are not connected to wifi and recheck our connections
Have referred to sip many times and for a time the problem goes away but then its back again
we have an NBN modem to which is connected the router from Mate - our sip people - they are excellent and try to help but most instructions they give are to complex for me to risk trying
I need plug and play - would Google nest wifi fit that bill and answer my range problem all at once
I believed that the “shells” related to the strength of the signal but it seems to simply indicate if your receiving or not
I used SPEEDTEST to show what my problem is -
22/2/21 7.51 am. mpbs down 23.8. mbps up 18.1
22/2/21. 8.12 am 6.22 7.32
and those readings are from exactly the same place in our lounge room but in the bedroom
22/2/21. 7.54 am. .77. 10.6
Sorry I could not work out how to sen a copy of the results to you but I have on many occasions to the isp and understood that they could monitor their router from their end and they said I just needed to reset and that the router was fine now they say the router should be changed either for the one they supply set up or one of another 25 brands but suggesting that a mesh might solve my problem
Quite happy to buy a new router but could not contemplate buying them all just to see what fits my bill
Its so difficult to get reliable information and my past experience is that I investigate - purchase and then everyone tells my I made the wrong decision and should have bought the other one
your guidance would be valued and appreciated
regards
Peter
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Moving the wireless router around or if it has external antenna then moving these may help get better reception in your bedroom. Otherwise getting a Wifi range extender or mesh system is probably the best answer to the issue. The extender option is probably the cheapest option rather than a mesh system. As noted in previous poster comments CHOICE has reviewed these items. If your iPads are newer they probably have what is termed 802.11ac or 802.11ax wireless protocols, if a little older possibly 802.11n. Buying a Wifi extender or mesh system that supports one of these protocols is going to help get better reception and speed.
This is not a recommendation but used as an example of what can be purchased is something like the https://www.tp-link.com/au/home-networking/range-extender/re200/ and it is about $70. Even though it is based on the wireless protocol 802.11ac like all similar units it is backward compatible with 802.11g/b/n types and if your iPad uses 802.11ax it will happily use the ac protocol.
When installing the extender you place it somewhere between the router and the areas you want to cover. Ensuring it gets a good signal from the router is important as it can’t help if it already gets a poor signal itself. I would suggest somewhere where there is less or no walls between the extender and the router and say about 8 to 12 metres away should improve the reception in your bedroom quite well.
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One issue using speedtest from a wifi connected device is that wireless connections can produce a variability of their own. Even using the same device in the same chair can give wildly different speeds based on battery level, how many devices are turned on (essentially frequency interference to keep it simple), whether other devices are active during the speedtest, and other things.
If you have a device that can be connected to your router by ethernet that will be your best and most accurate record of NBN delivered performance.
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