Geek/nerd assistance sought!

So, I am having terrible trouble with my wifi router (I think) and need help figuring out what to do. The signal seems to be intermittent, with periods of signal dropout from a few seconds to 'it's time to reboot the router. Again.' I know this because the signal often just comes and goes as I'm using my iPad. I've mostly managed to learn to ignore this with the iPad, but it has become more of a problem with my laptop. I found this program that lets you record for later viewing streams from Netflix and the like, but it records in real time, so an hour show takes an hour to record, but you can queue shows. I figured I could pay the twenty bucks for a one-year subscription, fill up my nearly empty 1.5 tb external drive with stuff, and stop paying Netflix 8 bucks a month. Problem is, it doesn't seem to buffer. When there are even micro-interruptions, it drops the show it was recording and moves on to the next one in the queue.

I've been having trouble with the signal for some time, and am still not entirely sure if the problem is my cable modem or the router. I thought for a while it was my iPad, but four visits to the Genius Bar disabused me of that notion. (That was before I got the streaming recorder.) On advice from an Apple person, I called my cable provider and had them test the signal from their end. They have no particular reason to mislead me if it's a problem with the modem, and they don't sell routers, so I have no reason to disbelieve them when they say their signal is good. This leaves the router. I did some initial searching, and found out about the wifi channels. My router has an auto feature that allows it to change channels based on nearby traffic. I turned off that feature and assigned it to a single channel, and the problem got slightly better, but I still get some dropout.

Thinking about it, I've had problems with signal pretty much since I moved into this apartment four years ago, through several laptops, modem/router configurations, and two different network providers (first, AT&T and now Time Warner Cable). It only became critical lately with how much time I spend with the iPad, and trying to record the damn streaming tv series. The apartment is under 800sqft, and the modem and router are centrally located.

To keep what should have been a short story from getting any longer...can anyone suggest a GOOD router, that has at least three ports, plus usb for an external drive? (Not Apple, because then I'd have to reformat my external drive, and would thereby lose the 40-ish shows I HAVE managed to capture...)

TIA for your help, friends!

 

Thanks, but I want a solution that doesn't involve reformatting the external drive. That loses me data which renders it neither easy nor good for my needs. C'mon peeps—surely there is a non-Apple solution out there, that will play nice with my pc laptop, my iPad, and my Android phone and mini tablet...?

 

Oops. Missed the 'not' in your reply. As to why I'd have to reformat...I could have sworn I saw a review of at least one Apple router that specifically said an external drive has to be formatted differently from pc standard. I know that to hook up my external drive directly to a Mac requires different formatting, so I assumed it would be the same for any Apple device. But also—expense. I was hoping to find a quality solution that doesn't involve Apple's styling charges...

 

Ok, but there's still my problem with Apple's premium price for style vs substance.

Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station Review - Watch CNET's Video Review

I don't mind a bit of fiddling to set it up, so straight plug and play isn't worth paying a premium for. Surely there are other, more affordable and yet equally (or, ultimately, more) functional devices out there?

 

I take Amazon reviews with a grain—or more—of salt.



Is it wrong of me to seek more than one possible solution?

Plus, as I sit here typing this on my iPad, I need to point out that I am not entirely anti-Apple. I also need to confess that, much as I love my iPad, when it is time to replace it, I will not get another iPad, because there are too many little things about the OS I just do not like, and, as time goes by, are becoming bigger and bigger annoyances. And this has been my experience with every single Apple product I have used and/or owned over the years, so, no, I'm not likely to spend $200 on a device that a professional source I trust says doesn't function as well as other similar devices from other manufacturers (yeah, I DO want to be able to stream from my connected external drive, thanks, for example).

I wasn't trying to make this about Apple vs The World. I prefer to seek advice from among a group of people that has, historically, been helpful to me over the years, rather than a random selection of Amazon reviewers. I do know how to use Google, but I was looking for a more personal approach.

I do sincerely thank you for your time and advice. I also hope for some more real-world recommendations that I can also research and consider.