Get Help With Your Router Troubles

"My router sucks. My connection goes wonky once every few days, and I have to unplug the router and reboot it (I believe this is called a hard reset) to fix the problem. Obviously, this is incredibly annoying. What can I do to just make the darn thing work properly?"

I imagine many people do not give their routers a second thought.  Either bought by themselves, or provided to them by their ISP, the router is the most critical aspect of your home network.  I have not seen the demands on routers significantly change over the years, with many people I know having routers that are easily 8-10 years of age.  I personally suggest friends use custom firmware such as Tomato or DD-WRT, the stock firmware available with many routers usually tend to perform quite well.  Our demands on routers are fairly modest, yet, like any electronic device, it can eventually die out.  That is why if the Internet is absolutely critical to your existence as a human being, aside from any troubleshooting of your router, I also think it a good idea to have a backup router.  Its a proven fact that most electronics die when stores are closed and no one is available to help.