laptop internet compatability

D

dajjorg

New Member
Hello all,

Computer newbie here. I'm considering purchasing a cheap laptop that is listed as "802.11 b/g/n" for it's wireless capabilities. I've done a little research on the different classes of routers and speeds, but can't seem to figure this out. Does this mean that said laptop would not be able to connect AT ALL with an A or an AC router, or that it could connect with these two router types but it just wouldn't be able to receive data at the same speeds as these routers are capable of transmitting?

Thanks for your help, and sorry if I'm using any incorrect terminology...
 
What router do you have?

5 GHz: 802.11a/n/ac
2.4 GHz: 802.11b/g/n

Most AC routers come with a 2.4 GHz 'N' radio for backwards compatibility, so you'd have connectivity at least. Look out for words like 'dual band' meaning there are radios on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands for the NIC or router.
 
Current router is an "n" type I believe. Internet situation is fine at home on my desktop; however, I travel around a lot to other countries, so I'm asking a hypothetical here. I'd like to buy a very cheap laptop ($250 range) for travel, but it would suck (be a waste of money) if I bought a laptop that couldn't connect at all to a certain type of wi-fi routers which I might encounter abroad.

beers, you say "most AC routers," so for the minority that don't have backwards compatability, there would be no way I could connect at all to said routers with a 802.11b/g/n computer?
 
Any sort of public access will support 2.4 GHz, that's been the standard for over a good decade now :)

Usually a dual-band card will net you 'better performance' on networks that reside in the 5 GHz spectrum, however, due to wider channels and lesser congestion on average.
 
Okay, I sometimes do homestays with families and/or couchsurfing while traveling, so we're not always talking about hotels or public access networks. So in the very unlikely hypothetical that a router was 802.11ac only (no dual band, no 2.4ghz no backwards compatability) and my cheap laptop was only 802.11b/g/n, I could get around this obstacle by having a "dual band card"?
 
Okay, so my hypothetical situation is 100% impossible it seems. Correct me if I'm wrong, good to know otherwise....
 
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