Is a router worth it?

Netgear Orbi system would be perfect for that.

Not to hijack, but somewhat have the same issue. I have 25 Mbps AT&T uverse internet. The router/modem combo is on one end of our ~2500 sq ft house. I get a decent signal on the opposite end of the house, but only around 2 to 3 Mbps DL.

I am perfectly happy with the speed in the majority of my house, just looking for the cheapest solution to increase speed on the other end.

I guess options are, move current router to more central location, but not sure how difficult this would be, buy expensive mesh system, or add a WiFi extender? We have no cat 5 or 6 cable run, and no cheap way to do it.

I was in almost your exact shoes several months ago. ~3,000 square foot house, ISP with U-Verse and just using their modem/router. Signal was fine through most of the house, just slower speeds the further you got from the router.

I bought a nice Netgear router and instantly saw better performance throughout the house.

From what I've read, the mesh systems are better if you have a lot of devices connected as they do a better job routing each device to different channels. I'm not tech savvy, but that's the best way to explain what I thought they were saying. If you only have a few devices, a good router is all you need.

I've only got a few devices. A couple fire TV's, 2 cell phones, and a tablet. I was hoping to get off cheaper than a router for a couple hundred bucks. I don't really do anything that requires super fast speed.

Which Netgear router did you get?

I'll have to look when I get home. It was on sale for around $100 when I bought it. I havent' really looked at it since I hooked it up. I THINK it's this one...

Amazon

hmm...if this were the OT....

nice subtle brag about large homes.