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The world is headed online fast. We now have most of our devices connected to the internet, from 4K video streaming to Zoom meetings, online gaming, and digital communication.
Unfortunately, the internet isn't always connected to our devices. Connection drops, slow speeds, and other interferences might be a regular occurrence in your life unless you are working with the best Tri Band router.
Let's take a quick look at some of the most reliable Tri Band wireless routers to ensure that you never have to worry about your internet speeds and stability again.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks for Best Tri Band Routers
- OUR TOP PICK: Netgear Nighthawk R8000
- RUNNER-UP: TP-Link Archer C5400X
- BEST BUDGET OPTION: Netgear Nighthawk X6S AC3600
Comparison of the Best Tri Band Routers
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How to Choose a Tri Band Router
When choosing a Tri Band router, certain considerations must come into play. Here are some simple tips on how to choose the best Tri Band router for your needs:
How You Use Your Internet
People who buy Tri Band routers are heavy-data users who need stability and speed. If all you do online is check your emails, go on social media platforms, and light browsing, a Tri Band router might be a bit of an overkill.
However, if you are all about online gaming, 4K video streaming, and numerous people in your household connect to the same network with several devices that demand such heavy-duty internet use, then a Tri Band is exactly what you need.
Your Preferred Type of Connection
If you are the kind of person who prefers to have a reliable, fast internet speed (say Gigabit level), then you might want to consider a wired connection. The best Tri Band routers offer you numerous LAN ports that simultaneously allow for wired connections to several devices
The Number of Devices in Your Home
Thanks to the fact that they have three different bands, Tri Band devices are designed to support several devices simultaneously. How many devices exactly will depend on the kind of router you buy. You will find that they can connect to about 15 devices to 50 devices simultaneously.
It's always advisable to choose a router that can support more devices that you need to be connected to the internet at any given time.
There are also other things to consider, such as security, the type of technology the router uses, such as MU-MIMO technology and Beamforming to help stabilize your connectivity as well as range.
Linksys MR8300
Review of the Best Tri Band Routers
Best Overall:
Netgear Nighthawk R8000
PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
People with big families need routers that can handle the number of devices within the household. This Netgear Nighthawk R8000 is designed to connect up to 50 devices, making it quite ideal for such a setup. Furthermore, it offers excellent speeds, which provide reliable streaming of videos, online gaming, and surfing the internet by all devices simultaneously without any issues.
Why it Stands Out to Us
This is the kind of router you get when you want to upgrade both your surfing experience as well as your coverage. With the capability to cover up to 3,500 sq., this router is powerful and highly reliable.
Equipped with range-boosting Beamforming+ antennas, it delivers nothing but fast and reliable Wi-Fi throughout the home. Furthermore, it offers wireless speeds of up to 3200Mbps, which allow for heavy-duty streaming, gaming, and Netflixing even on 4K quality.
Because it's a Tri-Band router, you can rest assured that it will seamlessly select between those bands to ensure that every one of the "up to 50 devices" connected to it gets the best possible speeds and connection at every turn.
Because it simply calls for heavy-duty streaming and gaming, the Netgear Armor that comes with it is a welcome benefit. As one of the world's leading cybersecurity software, you can be sure that your devices and the entire network will be fully protected from malicious attacks.
Bottom Line
You get four high-speed 1G wired connections, an easy setup process that takes less than 5 minutes, and smart parental controls that allow you to monitor what every connected device is doing online. What more could you want in a Tri-Band wireless router?
Runner-up:
TP-Link Archer C5400X
PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
Are you tired of experiencing drops in connection when streaming videos, gaming, or just surfing the web? That isn't something that you will experience with this router, thanks to its Tri Band feature, which brings you 1000Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 2167Mbps on each of the other two 5GHz bands.
Why it Stands Out to Us
Although the speeds are impressive, there are several other more impressive reasons why this router stands out to us. For one thing, it features a quad-core, which means nothing else but sheer power.
With a 1.8 GHz 64-bit quad-core CPU, 1GB RAM, and three co-processors, this router is designed to handle anything you can throw at it. Furthermore, it has MU-MIMO technology, which means that you will seamlessly get Wi-Fi to every one of your connected devices.
Because it's designed for serious online gaming, you know that the security has to be just as top-notch. Thanks to its advanced security, you have full protection to your entire network and connected devices.
Bottom Line
You are getting a trusted brand, safe browsing with VPN access, and comprehensive threat protection. Couple all that with excellent coverage and dizzying speeds, and you have yourself a Tri-Band router worth buying.
Best for the Money:
Netgear Nighthawk X6S AC3600
PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
Although this router is slightly bigger and mostly more expensive than most, it makes up for that by its level of performance. Designed with a dual-core 1.8 GHz processor and a 128MB RAM, it's fast and quite reliable.
Why it Stands Out to Us
The thing about this router is that it does something that very few wireless routers on the market today can do: it allows you to aggregate two wired connections to any one of your computers that has RJ45 LAN ports, which means that you can potentially double the throughput (it can go up to 2Gbps). If you are a serious online gamer, you know that these speeds will improve your gaming experience and success.
Furthermore, it uses Netgear's Beamforming protocol, which allows it to customize and prioritize the signals sent to each of your connected devices. Since this works at the router's driver level, you will get a bit more speed and range.
Bottom Line
With the ability to get 750Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 1625Mbps on each of the other two 5 GHz bands, this router delivers incredible speeds. It's easy enough to set up, with the only noticeable drawback being that Netgear only offers you three months’ free support. After that, you have to deal with a third party.
Best Tri Band Wireless Router:
TP-Link Archer A20
PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
This is the kind of router that can give you gigabit wired speeds, making it excellent for online gamers and people who demand a lot from their Wi-Fi connection. As a winner of the JD Power Award- Highest in customer satisfaction for wireless routers in both 2017 and 2019, this router is definitely worth your consideration.
Why it Stands Out to Us
Let's start with the obvious: the gigabit wired speeds. The router offers you 4 LAN gigabit ports and 1 WAN port, all of which allow you to potentially enjoy impossibly fast gigabit speeds of 1Gbps. It also can link aggregation, which could double that speed to about 2Gbps for whichever computer you link.
Other than that, it features MI-MIMO technology, which allows all the connected devices to experience the same kind of seamless surfing simultaneously. It also has range boost technology, which means that more of your house will be covered, and your Wi-Fi connection will be more reliable throughout.
Thanks to its Tri-Band capability, you could get 750Mbps on the 2.4 GHz channel and 1625 Mbps on the two 5 GHz channels. This allows you to enjoy 4K video streaming, online gaming, and buffer-less surfing.
Bottom Line
With a powerful 1. 8 GHz 64-bit CPU, 512 MB RAM, and three co-processors, this is a powerful router by any standard. Now couple that with its advanced security and range boost technology, and you have yourself one of the best Tri-Band routers in the market.
Best Tri Band Mesh Router:
Linksys MR8300
PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
If you have no more than 20 devices connecting to the internet in your home, then you should consider buying this Tri-Band wireless router. Designed to effectively run a small home, it offers you excellent speeds and reliable coverage of up to 2,000 square feet.
Why it Stands Out to Us
Even though there have been some reports of patchy reception and somewhat unreliable performance from time to time, the router is designed to give you wonderful speeds of up to 2.2 Gbps, which means it can deliver pretty much the fastest combined Wi-Fi speeds on the market. With it, you can enjoy 4K streaming, online gaming, and high-quality surfing without buffering.
If you think that maybe 2,000 square feet isn't that much and won't serve your purposes, this router can seamlessly integrate with the Velop Mesh Wi-Fi system to offer you extended coverage, so you don't experience corners without Wi-Fi in your home.
Bottom Line
With this router, you get multiple Ethernet ports for faster speeds, automatic firmware updates, blazing-fast speeds, and you get all of that at a very affordable price.
What is a Tri Band Router?
A Tri Band router is one that broadcasts three separate bands simultaneously. For the most part, you will find that the best Tri Band routers can broadcast on a single 2.4 GHz band and two separate 5 GHz bands. This quite literally means that you essentially have three separate networks in that single device.
This is the kind of router you would need if you have multiple devices accessing the internet simultaneously. This is especially true if these devices all required heavy data use. Installing a Tri Band router would ensure that the devices don't interfere with one another, and this tends to speed things up and streamline your internet use.
What Is Tri Band WiFi?
Tri Band Wi-Fi provides three wireless bands that can accommodate even more devices on your network.
Linksys MR8300
How Does a Tri Band Router Work?
A Tri Band router works by essentially tripling your internet speeds. The main difference here is that, while single-band routers only have one band that connects you to the internet and dual-band routers have two, Tri Band routers have three (a single 2.4 GHz band and two 5 GHz bands).
Depending on the router you buy, you will find that it can get about 1000Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and maybe even 1625Mbps on both the 5 GHz bands. This makes it much faster than any single or dual-band routers.
Furthermore, these routers often have more LAN ports, which allow you to connect several devices to the router through a wired connection, which then maximizes the speeds you can achieve. This means that, if you are a heavy internet user such as a gamer, you can connect several devices simultaneously, ensuring that they all have excellent speeds throughout.
Tri Band Router Advantages
Here are some of the benefits of using a Tri Band router in your home:
Faster Speeds
Because a Tri Band router essentially has three connections, you get faster internet data transfer speeds.
Netgear Nighthawk R8000
More Capacity For Connected Devices
Tri Band routers tend to give you a higher capacity for connected devices either through Wi-Fi and, most importantly, through wired connections. This gives you a lot of leeway as to how many things you can do online simultaneously.
Excellent Performance
Typically, the best Tri Band routers are designed with the capacity to handle a lot of traffic and heavy-duty usage. This means that they have powerful processors that ensure seamless connectivity. It also means that they are designed to intelligently put your devices on the best available band at any given time so that you never have to experience any dropped connections.
TP-Link Archer A20
How Do Tri Band Routers Compare?
You might be wondering why you need to buy a Tri Band router while your dual-band works just fine. After all, it seems to have all the qualities that good routers have. Here are some ways in which Tri Band routers compare to other similar products:
Dual-Band vs Tri Band Router
The first and obvious difference here is that a Tri Band router has that extra 5 GHz band, which essentially doubles its bandwidth and speeds. Dual-Band routers come with one 2.4 GHz band and a 5 GHz band, while Tri Band routers have one 2.4 GHz and two 5 GHz, bands.
The speeds are much better with a Tri Band, and depending on which router you buy, so is the security and processing power. The one thing that dual-band routers have over Tri Band routers is that they tend to be cheaper and work just as well if you aren't a heavy-duty internet user.
MU MIMO vs Tri Band
MU-MIMO stands for "multi-user, multiple inputs, multiple outputs." It's a technology created to support an environment where several users are accessing a wireless connection simultaneously. MU-MIMO makes sure that all the devices connected to your Wi-Fi connection are well-coordinated and streamlined for better communication with the router, which ensures seamless usage of the network. MU-MIMO, therefore, is the kind of technology that most high-quality routers such as Tri Band routers need to keep things functioning well.
How to Use a Tri Band Router
Using a Tri Band router is as simple as setting it up and connecting the necessary devices to its Wi-Fi. The thing about Tri Band routers is that they have several available LAN ports that allow for wired connections. If you have devices such as gaming PCs that need fast, reliable, and stable connections, you might want to plug them directly into the router using an Ethernet cable.
You need to bear in mind that a Tri Band router will only maximize the potential bandwidth you can receive from your ISP; it won't increase it. If you have a 2Gbps package, that's the maximum you will get with a Tri Band router.
If you have a 100Mbps package, you are never going to get past that, even with a Tri Band router. Therefore, it's important to have a better data package from your ISP if you are going to enjoy the benefits of having a Tri Band router.
Netgear Nighthawk R8000
Conclusion
Tri Band routers offer better speeds, more reliability, and the potential for more connected devices. These routers are best for hardcore gamers and heavy-duty internet users. The list above represents some of the best Tri Band routers in the market today. All you have to do is choose one, buy it and enjoy your reliably fast Wi-Fi.
People Also Ask
Here are some questions that most people considering to upgrade to a Tri Band router often ask:
Do I Need a Tri Band Router?
This depends on your internet usage. If you intend to be a heavy-duty user and want to future-proof your Wi-Fi, then yes, you need a Tri Band router.
Linksys MR8300
Is a Tri Band Router Worth it?
Yes. You get faster speeds, better connectivity, more connected devices, and better security. You also get better performance.
How Much Does a Tri Band Router Cost?
This depends on the brand you buy. Typically, you can find some just under $100 to just a little over $300.
