Category: Tutorial

Finding the right WiFi router can still be a challenge for some. Let me walk you through how I would approach this as someone hypothetically moving in today, March 3, 2024.

I start by reading the guide on Netz-AK.de about Wireless internet in your room. This tells me exactly what features I need in a product:

• WiFi Router
• 5 GHz
• Gigabit WiFi connection preferred
• No Fritzbox, no D-LINK DIR-809

Next, I use a search engine to find a price comparing website for router in Germany. I find three German websites, which unfortunately tend to be exclusively in German: billiger.de, geizhals.de, and idealo.de. Knowing Geizhals, I start there.

On Geizhals.de, under the category Hardware > Netzwerk > WLAN-Router, I set the “Price range (€)” (“Preisbereich (€)”) generously up to 50€ including shipping. For availability (“Verfügbarkeit”), I select “in stock” (“lagernd”) and choose providers from Germany (“Anbieter aus Deutschland”). For the total 5GHz transmission rate (“Übertragungsrate 5GHz gesamt”), I select from 867Mbps to exclude outdated devices that only support 433Mbps. In the “additional filters” (“weiteren Filtern”), I find “WAN 1Gbit/s (exkl. Sets) ab:” and activate it. I then get results, which I sort by price including shipping, finding suitable routers from €27.99 including €5.99 for shipping.

To ensure the router I’ve chosen is compatible, I check it against the list on Netz-AK‘s site. If it’s not listed, I send the router’s name and, if possible, the product link via the contact form to receive a prompt reply about the device’s compatibility according to the manufacturer’s specifications.

I attempt the same at idealo.de but encounter difficulty as there appears to be no option to set a minimum WiFi speed or the minimum WiFi standard.

Lastly, I try billiger.de. Initially, I find no network technology category and almost give up after 5 minutes. Searching for “Router” eventually yields results. I also set the price limit to €50 here. Under product type (“Produkttyp”), I choose WiFi Router (“WLAN-Router”), for the WiFi data transfer rate (“Datenübertragungsrate WLAN”) I set the minimum to 866 Mb/s, and I use the LAN data transfer rate of 1000 Mb/s (“Datenübertragungsrate LAN”) as a proxy, though it doesn’t necessarily reflect WAN speed. This should suffice.

Now, I find suitable options here as well, unfortunately without shipping cost details. Where you decide to purchase is up to you, but personally, I don’t mind spending an extra €10 to shop locally. However, for a €30 router, an additional €10 is a significant 30% more, so don’t hesitate to return a product if local advice from a so-called specialist leads to a purchase that doesn’t meet your needs.

Sadly, we often hear the following two statements:

It can’t be the router settings because my Wi-Fi is working.

and

Here’s a photo of my working Wi-Fi connection, so my internet must be broken.

The root of the issue seems to be that people don’t understand the difference between Wi-Fi and internet access.

Here are three examples that could explain the difference to you.

Imagine your home is like a big library (which represents the internet). The librarian (your router) helps you find and borrow books (data). You and your family members can chat with the librarian using walkie-talkies (this is your Wi-Fi connection).

Now, even if the librarian’s walkie-talkie is working fine and you can talk to them (you have a Wi-Fi connection), the library might be closed or inaccessible (internet connection is down).

So, having a working walkie-talkie (Wi-Fi) doesn’t necessarily mean the library (internet) is open. The two are related, but different!

or

Imagine your Wi-Fi router is like a post office in your home. All your devices (like phones, laptops, and TVs) send and receive messages through this post office. Now, just because the post office is open (meaning your devices are connected to the router), it doesn’t necessarily mean it can send or receive mail to and from the outside world.

The Internet connection is like the trucks that come and go from the post office to other places. If there are no trucks coming in or going out (meaning no Internet connection), then your post office can’t actually send or receive any mail beyond your home. Your devices can still “talk” to each other within the home, like sending files or printing, but they can’t access anything from the wider world like websites or online games.

or

Having a Wi-Fi connection to a router is like being connected to the switchboard inside your house. You can talk to other devices in your home, like your smartphone talking to a smart TV. But that doesn’t mean the switchboard is connected to the outside world.

The router has another job: it needs to connect to the internet, which is like connecting your home switchboard to the big phone network outside. If that connection is missing or not working, you won’t be able to browse the web, watch online videos, or do anything else that needs the internet, even if you’re still connected to the router via Wi-Fi.

So, Wi-Fi connection to the router is just the first step. The router itself also needs to be connected to the internet for you to do most of the things you want to do online.

The reason why we do not recommend routers that do not create a 5 GHz Wi-Fi is very simple.
There are twelve channels in the 2.4 GHz frequency range, which means that theoretically a maximum of twelve such Wi-Fis can co-exist. In practice, a maximum of four 2.4 GHz Wi-Fis will work side by side without interfering with each other excessively.
2.4 GHz penetrates walls very well, but can transfer data less fast.
For dorm rooms a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi is therefore very likely to suffer from interference and dropouts if you have more than four neighbors within a distance of 30 meters around you (even above and below you!).
A bad Wi-Fi okay for WhatsApp and surfing, but not for videoconferences.

Some of you did build their own WiFi in a way that blocked the internet access of others in our house. Using access points or repeaters to create a WiFi is not allowed in our network, because it keeps others from getting online.

Only routers are allowed to build your own WiFi, as we stated in our manual. We stared enforcing this rule in all our dormitories because it`s necessary.

To get you back online as quick as possible, please look up your device in our manual. Is it marked “ja”, you can just configure it in router mode and you are online again. If you are not successful, you can contact us using the contact form and the subject “Creating a WiFi”.

If your WiFi device is marked “nein” and you contact us, we will try to find a solution for the time you need to replace the device.

Contact and announcements

NetzAK_Aushang_Stand_WS2020 should be displayed in the entrance of your house.

The Netz-AK is announcing all its changes to the dormitory network on its website.

For us it`s important to have latest version of the notice in our dormitory, so you can reach us directly with no delay.

If the notice is missing, you could just print it yourself and pin it in the entrance to you house or you contact your dormitory administrator and ask them to do it.

We are aware of the problem that some old versions of our notice are not getting replaced. You must report the problem to your administrator at the Studierendenwerk to hopefully improve the situation.

If you contact us using the contact form, most problems can be fixed in a few hours as long as you are in the dormitory and respond to our emails.

Because we are volunteers, we are never off duty and we respond quickly.

As volunteers we are using our private phones, that`s why we call from blocked/ private/ anonymous numbers, so please just answer these calls after reporting an issue.