First off, when choosing your device try going for a more recognized brand name. If you are going for an off-the shelf consumer brand, stick with something like one of these: D-Link, Asus, Linksys, or Netgear. Cisco brand is usually reserved more for the high-end workplaces like businesses or corporate environments. There's alot of other brands that can do the job and the decision may come down to your own preference.
Secondly, make sure that the router/ap has the newest wireless standard 802.11ac. It is the most current and fastest Wi-Fi available to consumers and is backwards compatible with devices that use the older standards as well.
All routers/ap's will come with instructions on how to install it on your network and how to log into the device to configure it. Follow the directions and log into it. Every device is handled differently and the user interface is a little different with each brand. I'm not going to tell you how to do it as there's too many different brands and ways to describe each one. There are a few things that are essentially the same though. You will log into the device by typing in it's IP address into the address bar of your internet browser. Once there, it will ask you for the username and password which are usually at the default settings indicated in your instruction manual, and can be changed to whatever you want once you log in.
When configuring the security settings, choose a Network Name for your SSID. That is how your Wi-Fi is uniquely recognized and what all your Wi-Fi devices will connect to. DO NOT choose to hide the SSID broadcast if that option is given. This will just create unneeded problems for Wi-Fi devices trying to connect. Leave it set to broadcast and there will be less issues.
Secondly, you should try to choose WPA2 encryption for your security setting and choose a password. Any security settings lower than that such as WPA or WEP are more of a security risk and can be exploited by people knowing what their doing (hackers).
Often these newer routers/ap's have a feature called Wi-Fi Protected Setup or WPS that was designed for beginner users on setting up their Wi-Fi with one touch of a button. While it sounds attractive and can make things easier for some, I would recommend to never use this option as it can be used by others to get into your Wi-Fi network. I would skip this option entirely or if there is a setting in the configuration to disable it, you should do it.
Wi-Fi isn't perfect. It is still very susceptible to interference from neighboring Wi-Fi routers and access points. Often those devices are broadcasting on the same wireless channel which causes your router/ap to perform poorly, which in turn makes it so that your devices have a slower connection. Nowadays, the newer generation routers/ap's should have an option to automatically choose channels, also known as DFS. In the past, older routers/ap's had to have their channels manually set.
When wireless issues appear and a company or individual needs advice on setting up a wireless network, people often call me to help investigate. I have done hundreds of professional wireless surveys, to help troubleshoot, or help design Wi-Fi deployments. I have helped businesses and individuals set-up over 1700 Wi-Fi hotspots. One of the only ways to actually see how much wireless interference there is in an environment is to have a professional Wi-Fi wireless site survey performed.
