Best Routers For Verizon Fios Of 2022

Maximize your home internet to get the most out of Verizon's fiber-optic network.

The Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 is an incredibly feature-rich Wi-Fi 6E gaming router.

The Asus RT-AX86U brings top-of-the-line speed and multi-device support in a dual-band device.

Netgear’s Nighthawk Wi-Fi 6E router supports the recently opened 6GHz frequency band.

As millions of people adjust to remote work, a reliable home network is more important than ever—and, therefore, so is a reliable router. A consistent connection that can handle Zoom meetings, video uploads, and streaming presentations without buckling under the high bandwidth. Often, when your home network fails to deliver the speeds your ISP promised, a new and improved router can help quite a bit. The rental router you get from Verizon Fios pales in comparison to the best routers on the market. If you need a way to make the service work for you, the best routers for Verizon Fios can deliver higher speeds across many more devices and may help as much as upgrading your plan.

Before becoming part of Popular Science’s commerce team, I covered gadgets and gear, including routers, for sites like TechnoBuffalo, XDA Developers, and CNN Underscored. I’ve set up several routers and mesh networks for work over the years, including many on Fios, which has been my home internet service provider since 2016.

To make our selections, I drew on that experience, as well as PopSci’s many guides to buying the best routers right now. Of course, I also cross-checked each recommendation for compatibility with Fios, considered industry guides, and read under impressions to better understand what’s available.

Fios is the home internet division of Verizon and runs exclusively on fiber-optic cable. Fiber optics use pulses of light to send data through tiny strands of transparent material like glass or plastic, carrying data directly to your device. Fiber’s often considered superior to cable because it’s more resilient to lag and buffering.

Depending on your location, Fios offers up to 940 Mbps download speeds and 880 Mbps upload speeds, which should allow for a very connected home to do lots of streaming for work or play, gaming, and manage a network of smart home devices. Often the downside to Fios is availability. Though it is available nationally, Fios isn’t available everywhere. You can always go to the Fios website to see if you can get service in your home or to request it.

Like most internet service providers, Verizon will happily rent out a router and tack a fee onto your bill every month. There’s nothing that says you have to use that router though. In fact, if you’re willing to pay some money upfront, the best routers offer a much better range and support for more devices.

Technically, any router should be compatible with Verizon’s internet hookup. In order to make sure you can get the most out of Fios’ best plan, we looked for routers that can support up to 1 Gbps of bandwidth. We also considered dual-band and tri-band routers that support more recent Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 standards.

Picking a router can get complicated quickly. Router specs lean heavily on industry jargon. It can be confusing and frustrating for even the most seasoned technophiles. We’ll walk you through the basics, so you can pick the right router for your home setup.

If you’re going to pay for gigabit internet, you’ll want a router that can take advantage of those speeds. Otherwise, you’re wasting money paying for a service plan you can’t use. If possible, we recommend buying a router with a maximum bandwidth well over the top speed you should receive from your plan. This gives you some flexibility if you decide to upgrade to a faster plan down the road.

You should also pay close attention to what wireless-fidelity protocol your router supports. There are many versions of Wi-Fi, which are noted by various wireless protocols or, more recently, by the numbered Wi-Fi standard. The protocol determines your router’s range and throughput, which measures data speeds on your local network, along with other updates and optimizations. The wireless protocol is written out as the number 802.11, followed by a string of numbers and letters. (You really only need to worry about the letters.) The Wi-Fi standard, which comes in simpler variations like “Wi-Fi 5” and “Wi-Fi 6,” indicates the same set of specs and optimizations.

Newer, more expensive routers are usually capable of supporting the newest versions, Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, but you will also likely find older models out there limited to older, slower versions. Networking standards are backward compatible, so a Wi-Fi 6 router will connect to devices designed with older Wi-Fi standards in mind. Here’s a little breakdown of what the more recent standards offer:

11ax (Wi-Fi 6E): Wi-Fi 6E opens support for the 6 GHz band, which promises even faster speeds and less network congestion over short distances. Once Wi-Fi 6E becomes more widespread across home networks and personal devices, you should never run into buffering during a Zoom call again.

11ax (Wi-Fi 6): Wi-Fi 6 is the newest standard and delivers speeds up to 10 Gbps, which not many devices and internet connections support. Wi-Fi 6 also features improvements that help it maintain higher speeds across many devices at once. Previous Wi-Fi generations often struggle to stay speedy when several devices are streaming simultaneously. For more on the basics of Wi-Fi protocols, check out our Wi-Fi 6 explainer.

11ac (Wi-Fi 5): This is the standard found in most modern routers and supports speeds up to 3.5 Gbps.

11n (Wi-Fi 4): This is the slowest standard and supports speeds up to 600 Mbps. It was the first to allow both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies (more on that below).

If possible, we recommend buying a router that supports one of the newest Wi-Fi standards. Not only will you get the best possible connection, but Wi-Fi 6 routers are better equipped to handle congested networks, which often slows down home networks.

Frequency bands are a range of radio wavelengths that transmit data over a wireless spectrum. With regard to wireless routers, frequency bands are effectively communication channels for your router to transmit data between your modem and devices.

Most routers feature 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands; the higher the frequency, the faster the data transmission rate. Unfortunately, higher frequency bands feature shorter signal ranges, so you need to be closer to your router for the fastest, most reliable connection.

Using 2.4 GHz frequencies sends data a little slower, but offers a better range (150 indoors and 300 feet outdoors). At 5 GHz, data moves faster, over a shorter range. The connection is also more susceptible to interference from walls and other solid objects. New high-end Wi-Fi 6E routers also offer a third frequency band, 6 GHz, which offers even faster speeds, at the expense of stability and range.

Most routers feature either dual-band or tri-band radio functionality, giving your devices either two or three channels to make a connection. Dual-band routers usually feature a 2.4 GHz band and 5 GHz band, ensuring they can connect to any Wi-Fi device. Tri-band routers usually add a second 5 GHz channel, minimizing congestion over the faster frequency.

We recommend a tri-band router for large home networks with many devices that stay connected to the internet around the clock. The extra band will allow more devices to connect to your network without any noticeable dips in speed. Be warned: Tri-band functionality is a luxury feature normally reserved for more expensive routers.

More powerful routers can not only handle more devices and meet newer standards, but they also push their wireless signals further. Wi-Fi signals are at their strongest when you are close to a router, with no physical objects getting between it and your device. Start moving away, or putting walls and doors between you and the router, and your connection will start to degrade. High-end routers often offer a higher maximum range, which, in turn, leads to more stability at longer distances.

Buying a router with a higher maximum distance can improve signal strength in your home, but it isn’t always the best solution. If you’re having trouble getting a connection in a specific room or area of your home, a Wi-Fi extender can boost your signal just enough to improve that specific issue. If you need to cover a very large area, or experience connection issues even when you’re relatively close to your router, you may benefit from using a mesh Wi-Fi system, which generates Wi-Fi from multiple devices.

Before buying any new gear, you should try repositioning your router to a centralized location in your home, on an open shelf away from any walls. (Don’t hide your router in a cabinet or TV stand!) Depending on the situation, you may find that optimizing your setup improves things enough to make an upgrade superfluous. Also, replacing your router won’t help that much if you’re hiding it in a closet.

In the age of Wi-Fi, relying on an Ethernet port might seem old school, but a wired connection provides a consistent, uninterrupted connection at the highest possible speed. As such, we think it’s important to get a router with plenty of additional Ethernet ports so you can connect your most important, bandwidth-hungry devices directly. (I use Ethernet for my PlayStation 5 and Apple TV, for example.) Modern routers typically offer four Ethernet ports, so you may not have to look too hard. Still, we thought it was important enough to highlight, particularly if you plug in your computer for work.

The best routers for Verizon Fios should be able to handle whatever you throw at them, whether you’re taking all-day video calls, watching 4K movies, or playing video games online. All of these routers offer a substantial upgrade over the standard Fios rental router, but that performance comes at a premium.

Buy it used or refurbished: Amazon

Why it made the cut: Asus loads up on features, including Wi-Fi 6E, RGB lighting, and more with the excellent ROG Rapture GT-AX11000.

The Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 has every modern feature that you might want from a top-of-the-line router. Featuring support for Wi-Fi 6E and a plethora of ports, this tri-band router will ensure your network provides fast Wi-Fi to all of your devices without interruption.

The Rapture GT-AX11000 also supports a quad-core CPU to help keep things running smoothly and features that prioritize online gaming for reduced latency and better ping rates. It also features a design that minimizes the distance between the motherboard connectors and the antennas, which helps optimize the signal strength in every direction. In true gaming router fashion, it is covered in RGB lighting, though it isn’t just for show—you can configure the router to glow different colors to indicate network status, performance dips, and more.

If you’re looking to cover a large space, the GT-AX11000 can also serve as a mesh network access point when paired with other Asus routers. It may be overkill for some, but the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 gives you tremendous coverage over a wide array of high-demand networking scenarios.