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Living with spotty Wi-Fi is no fun. But there are several reasons why your old router could be bottlenecked. With more smart devices making their way into homes, more wireless signals causing interference, and the growing popularity of streaming services and video calling, your current router may not be up to the task.

But Wi-Fi technology has evolved significantly in recent years, with new innovations that offer better range, faster speeds and more simultaneous connections.

Although new routers can have a long list of bewildering features, simply knowing what they can do for you is most important. A modern router like the D-Link Eagle Pro AI AX1500 Dual Band Router supports features like Wi-Fi 6, MU-MIMO, beamforming and self-optimizing AI technology. But to find out how these features help you in the real world, let’s take a look at how they benefit a number of common household connectivity scenarios.

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If You Have Lots of Smart Devices

Device oversaturation is a big issue in modern connected homes. Along with the numerous phones and tablets we all use daily, other smart devices like security cameras, speakers, TVs, and smart light bulbs have also become popular.

This can put a strain on older Wi-Fi routers as they struggle to communicate with all your devices at the same time. Imagine trying to have a conversation with multiple people simultaneously.

Modern routers make the jump to the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard, which among numerous benefits, suffers less from interference and crosstalk and can boost the number of connected devices. This, along with a feature called MU-MIMO, helps optimize the flow of data in and out, and enables new routers to connect with many more devices than older routers were capable of.

The D-Link Eagle Pro AI can handle up to 128 connections, which is more than enough for a fully-equipped smart home to function without devices interfering with each other.

Equipped with AI Wi-Fi Optimizer technology that continuously monitors your connection for outside interference, and seamlessly switches your devices to the best Wi-Fi channel available at any given time. This is especially important if you live in a densely populated area where lots of outside signals can otherwise cause problems.

If You Download Large Files

It doesn’t matter how fast your internet connection is, your devices can only download as fast as your router will allow. Old routers can slow down when faced with bandwidth-heavy tasks, like large downloads, while also trying to simultaneously maintain a connection with other devices.

Newer routers maximize your bandwidth using dual band radios, which can connect to devices using both 2.4GHz and 5GHz signals at the same time. D-Link says the Eagle Pro AI AX1500 can achieve download speeds of up to 1500Mbps (1201Mbps over 5GHz, and 300Mbps over 2.4GHz simultaneously).

Since the vast majority of home broadband connections don’t go that fast, this is enough bandwidth to allow most users to maximize the capability of their connections.

The new Wi-Fi 6 standard further boosts speeds, because it’s less susceptible to interference. It’s like having more lanes on a freeway on which to pass up all the traffic — a wider selection of Wi-Fi channels allows for a stronger connection overall.

If You Like Online Gaming or Streaming Gameplay

Having a fast connection is a good first step for great online gaming performance. But you need your games to remain stable even if others in the house are using the internet to watch TV or download files.

Modern routers make use of something called QoS (Quality of Service) to deploy more bandwidth to the tasks that need them most. Sometimes this requires some user setup.

D-Link has taken QoS a step further with its AI Traffic Optimizer which automatically prioritizes the most sensitive online traffic for improved stability. Live operations like first-person multiplayer gaming or 4K video streaming receive optimal bandwidth, while it assigns a lower priority to less sensitive things like email or file downloads.

This can help eliminate perceivable lag in your video games, or prevent buffering while trying to watch 4K shows on Netflix.

If You Have a Large Home

Having patchy Wi-Fi in certain rooms is a sign that your router is not broadcasting a strong enough signal. There are two ways to combat this; broadcast a stronger signal or set up something called a mesh network (don’t worry, that’s much easier than it sounds).

Firstly, it’s common for newer routers to have multiple antennas. When placed centrally in your home, the D-Link Eagle Pro AI uses its four large antennas to combat patchy signal coverage, and broadcast over a large space. And if you pair it with D-Link’s E15 Mesh Range Extender, you can extend your network coverage even farther while utilizing the full benefits of Eagle PRO Mesh technology.

Mesh devices are like Wi-Fi signal repeaters. You place them in areas where your signal needs a boost, but unlike very early Wi-Fi extenders, mesh devices don’t require you to switch between them manually. As you move around your home, your phone or laptop will automatically connect to the best possible mesh device.

The D-Link Eagle Pro AI employs an AI Mesh Optimizer, which promises to deliver a stronger connection between your mesh devices. In addition, beamforming technology lets the D-Link Eagle Pro AI R15 AX1500 router focus its signal directly to your devices, for better range, wall penetration, and network reliability.

Whether you’re attending important video meetings as you work from home, or getting your daily dose of TikTok clips, a modern router can hugely improve your Wi-Fi performance and help you get the best out of your broadband connection.

Shop the D-Link Eagle Pro AI AX1500 on Amazon

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