Hello all,

I currently have a:

TP-LINK
N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router
Model No. TL-WDR3600

(as reported from its admin page)

and have had it for a few years. It has always had a problem with locking up every two weeks or so, where the wi-fi would stop working, then the wired connections would pack up. A quick 30 second on & off sorted it. Not ideal, but live-withable. Apparently it is a known bug, but there have been no firmware updates for 5 years or so.

Recently the issues have become more frequent. Sometimes the wi-fi will pack up but the wired connections are fine for days, something I only noticed after I was out of range of the mains connected wi-fi extender I have to service the garage with signal.

It does one thing which has proven to be very useful: the USB ports can be used to host a network folder, and to serve films for the media players, etc. I would like this feature in a new router. Other than that, no special requirements.

Can anyone recommend a make / model, or recommend a make / to to absolutely avoid?

Are current routers a mature sort of technology where an older model will do fine?

TP-LINK is the current make, are these any better now than they were when I bought my existing router?

Should I be looking at a different selection of equipment to do what I want, i.e. a "bog standard" wi-fi router with a Raspberry Pi to act as the network folder / media server?

Thank you all in advance for any help, it is very much appreciated. I know next to nothing about networking.

David Paste.