Modem/Wireless Router
 

Wife and I are moving into a larger house in a few weeks (currently live in a wide open ranch style house, one floor) and I want to get us set up with a good cable modem and wireless router for a house with 3 levels.

Do any of you have good recommendations for equipment and how to best set that up in our house? I can handle the technical set up up the equipment, so I'm moreso looking for modem and router options.

Thanks

Generally speaking, a modem is a modem if it works with your ISP. My main recommendation is just to have a separate modem and router rather than one that tries to do both.

As for routers, I've recommended this one to a few friends, and they've been happy with it. (I personally use an Asus router I bought like 7 years ago, so I can't recommend the specific model at this point.)

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Night...dp/B07C65K9H9/

Awesome. Thanks. I currently use a modem from my ISP and use a Router for the wi-fi, etc.

The modem I own now is from my ISP 7 or 8 years ago. I'm afraid it's dated at this point and would like to upgrade (but not from my ISP).

In general, you'll want to rent your modem from your ISP. I know the monthly charge sucks but buying your own modem opens the door for your ISP to blame every little problem on you. By renting from your ISP, you'll get better support and be 100% sure it will work with their service.

As for your wifi router, I would recommend against spending big money unless you know what you are doing and/or know you need it. I have a Netgear R7800 running DD-WRT but that's more of an advanced thing. If you want simple and functional, I've been recommending Tenda routers for a while now. They're not expensive and they do the job. They seem to have reasonable coverage as well. The Tenda AC1200 model is particularly attractive because it's currently selling for around $40.

Can you give us a little more info about your setup? How many devices? Use cases, etc?

If your modem is capable of handling the fastest speeds your plan offers, you really won't see much benefit from a newer one. But obviously if you're missing out on speed because it's not compatible, it's worth the upgrade.

I'm certainly not an expert on cable modems, though.

I'm not an expert on cable modems (have always had either DSL or fiber) but I do know quite a bit about cable COMPANIES. Buy your own modem at your own peril. :D

Eh, mine's a decade old and has worked great. It would have cost me a fortune in comparison if I'd paid for it monthly. To each his own though.

Yeah, if it works, you're okay. It's when something breaks that it becomes a problem because it's always the first thing they blame. At least when they blame your wifi router, you can plug directly into the modem and prove that's not the case.

Of course, I'm blessed. I've had fiber for about 5 years now and I've had to call tech support once. Lost the protect side of the ring and for some reason my phone line was on it (even though my internet never went down).

In reality your best bet is to probably just go with your ISP's router and get some wifi range extenders if you need, hell comcast will give them to you these days.

this guy gets it, he really does.

i can't speak for your isp, but mine will rent you a modem/router combo for an extra $10 a month. yes, i know, you all hate an extra $120 a year, and i get it.
think of it as an insurance plan. if the thing quits, it's replaced with no questions asked. in some cases you can go to the solutions store and change it out yourself (quickly) or wait a day for the tech to get scheduled.

and theres absolutely nothing wrong with buying your own either. its just how you like to live your own life. what works for me might not work for you.

good luck, drop me a line if you have any questions.

Not only do they replace it if it fails, they replace it the next time they change protocols or standards too. That's usually a gamble worth taking IMO.

Okay, I draw the line at the modem. No way am I giving my ISP potential admin access into my internal network. I'm slapping a firewall on the backside of the modem and locking the rest of the world out. :D

It's cool I VPN everything so I don't get to worried.

Also if you call and haggle you can get a good deal, I don't have a rental fee on my modem because I got it taken care of.

if your isp is worth a shit, you are absolutely right. they want your business and with all the competition around, the good ones will fight for you. so to speak.

You are crazy if you rent a modem or router. You can buy a modem that handles the best speeds for under $100 and you will pay more than that in renting in the first year. I had mine for several years when I had one and I never had an issue with any support. It would be a complete waist of your money.

Depending on what type of line in you get from your provider you might be able to go without a modem. If your feed in is an actual ethernet cable. I have Centurylink and there is some configuration you can do on a router that makes it so you don't need their "modem". I don't know if I would recommend this route for basic users that don't know jack about networking. You have to do a little VLAN configuration to get this to work. Although you can find guides for most popular modems online.

Century link is pretty ****in terrible from anyone I know that has it so...

If you have DSL or cable, you have to have a modem, or a router with a modem. A modem is a modulator/demodulator. It decodes and encodes the signal for use in the backhaul network. No consumer router (save for the ones with built in modems) can do that.

If a DSL or cable provider is handing you off an ethernet cable, there is a modem in there somewhere, you just don't know it's there. The signal HAS to be converted at some point.

And the first time you have problems and can't get reasonable support because you own your own modem, you'll see why it's not such a bad idea to rent. I've worked in the ISP space for 30 years. I've seen it happen dozens of times. If you can afford downtime, by all means, buy your own stuff. Just be prepared when it takes you 30 hours longer to get restored than your neighbor, who is renting his modem.

Surely you don't encrypt all of your LAN traffic? Or do you not really have any LAN traffic?

I have a full blown production network inside my house with servers, NAS, etc. I don't encrypt all of that, that would be a nightmare.

My work devices I put in the DMZ and treat them like untrusted networks. ;)

I never said there wasn't a modem, I said you could do without their "modem". That is why it is in quotes in my edit. If the feed you have in your house is an ethernet cable they still try to tell you that you need their "modem" and it isn't a modem at all. You can configure your router to handle the shit their "modem" is. I have this setup at my house. I have zero "modems" in my house. They have fiber running to their converter outside my house. They feed an ethernet cable from there.

Don't rent a modem, ever. Support is never an issue.

Hell, I bought a used modem for my mom who got great support from her carrier all the time. And she didn't know jack or shit about anything.

Had gigabit for a while now and never had an issue.

If you have fiber, you don't have a modem. You (or your ISP) is conflating terms. A modem is not a router and a router is not a modem.

Furthermore, it's great that your personal experience with buying modems has been good. Some people won't be as lucky as you have been.

You understand what putting something in quotes means right? ****, I even say specifically it isn't a modem.

I said they run their fiber into their converter outside the house and then run an ethernet cable directly into my router. No need for anything else.

That's reeruned though.

Devices using wifi:

Two tv's - using firestick, netflix, etc.
One computer
Two ipads/tablets

Typically, we have 2 devices, sometimes 3, going at once.

I think I'm mainly just concerned with a solid router so that a signal is broadcast throughout the house (basement, main, upper). I assume I'd want to set everything up on the main level.

Settle down, Dick. I absolutely understand why you put it in quotes but also wanted to make it clear to everyone else here that when your ISP tells you need a "modem" on fiber, they're not being honest.

That's not very many devices at all. You don't need a lot of bandwidth.

How many neighbors you have? Normally, I would recommend trying to provide 5Ghz coverage to as much of your house as possible and minimize use of 2.4Ghz because of lack of spectrum. But covering a 3-story house with one wifi router isn't always easy. A cheap dual-band router on the main floor with some standalone AP's to cover the upper and basement might be your best bet if you can run ethernet to central locations. Otherwise, you'd be extending via wifi, which isn't ideal.

I recently switched to a Google WiFi router and could not be more pleased. Greatly increased my WiFi speed and you can add multiple to extend your range if needed. It really isn't very expensive either at $100.

I also have 3 google wifi routers running a mesh system. My existing router had dead spots in my new house (quite a bit bigger than my old house). It was by far the easiest router I've ever set up and the App to manage it is really simple. It won't have some of the advanced features of other routers but if you are looking for something that just works, that would be my vote.

Ok I don't really have much LAN traffic that is true.

When you say standalone APs, I assume you are saying Access Points. That's as much as I know. What would I use for a standalone AP?

It really just depends on the layout of the place, the building materials, and the amount of interference you're dealing with. I do fine in my place with a 5GHz signal, and mine's two floors plus a basement with a ~900 sq ft footprint. My router is close to center of the house on the upper floor, and I don't have trouble getting it all the way down in the basement. Mine's just an old N900 router, and it does fine.

Really, the best option might be to just find one locally that you can return without too much of a hassle and give it a try. If it doesn't work, consider something with more umph or a mesh system like Google WiFi. I've never had great luck with wireless repeaters, personally.

Most normal routers can function as an access point. The key, as he mentioned, is being able to have Ethernet running between them. If you don't have that, I wouldn't try going that route.

The savings over time is worth it. My ISP (Suddenlink) has never blamed any issues I've had on my modem over the years. **** modem rental charges.

Yeah, it all depends on environmentals. Placement of the router and antenna orientation make a big difference too simply because of the shape of the radiated signals.

Wireless repeaters automatically have your bandwidth even if they work. I don't personally like them.

Exactly.

A wireless access point is basically a wireless base station with no router function. A lot of consumers have a "router" mode and an "AP" mode, so they can really function as both. You just don't want to hang another router off of your main router as that will cause issues like double NAT and firewall stuff.

The key is connecting them via cables. If you have relatively good electrical cable through your house, you could try power line adapters too.

Suddenlink (from what I understand) is extremely customer friendly.

If you've ever had Comcast or Mediacom, you might think twice about your stance. Trust me.

Mildly off topic, but if you run multiple APs, do you prefer to name them all the same and pretend like it's all one network or name them differently and let the device pick which one it wants? I've never really come up with a definitive answer to that one.

Had Mediacom before Suddenlink, never had an issue with them either...at least blaming issues on my modem.

I prefer to name them all the same but most of the tech heads at DD-WRT forums think I'm an idiot. :D

Mediacom is terrible. I have several friends who have issues with them constantly and if you have your own modem and router instead of their Xtream branded stuff, they treat you like garbage.

Yeah, that's been my approach when I've done it (though I haven't often). I mainly just hate having to tell a guest which one they should connect to.

I switched to google WiFi around when they were first released and understand there are quicker systems now. Basically as no effort as it gets if you just want to plug it in and things work. Had a pretty solid Archer router before that and the extra mesh points gave me full blast 5 ghz throughout my house and back to my detached garage.

I couldn't imagine putting Google network probes in my house. :eek:

Yeah a fair point. While they are just an innocent mesh router I’m sure Google has done something with them to collect even more data from me.

ROFL

So there are alot of factors to consider. Do you live in a high density area? What is the speed you are getting from ISP?

If you are looking for a all in one, I Trust ARRIS Surfboard's. Great price and signal range.

It would be so nice to have a router that lasted more than 14 months

Going to try one of these. If this one isn't any good I'll move up to Google mesh.

3PK NOVA MW3 Whole Home MESH WiFi SYST https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DFQGP1K..._0zGiDbYYS9K4K

Bumping this to get some fresh takes on mesh wifi. I've got a couple dead spots and want to move to a mesh solution. Anyone have a favorite?

I have the google wifi, I think rebranded nest. Doesn't offer the advanced features of some but does a good job.

I have the ASUS - ZenWiFi AX Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi System and it works great.

I've really had great luck with my Amplifi setup.

https://www.amplifi.com/

I've been considering getting the WIFI6 setup, but my older generation one works well enough I haven't jumped to it yet.

I've had mine for just over 3 years, and aside from occasionally reseting the mesh point, no issues.

We live in a 2,600 sqft ranch built in 1954.

ETA: I have the AmplifiHD.

Thanks for the info gentlemen. I'll look into those.

I currently have an ASUS wifi router so I'm checking this one out first. What model do you have?

XT8

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-ze...?skuId=6400912

And why are routers so damn expensive now? I have a feeling there will be a class action coming like LCD. I got almost a thousand back on that one.

They come in all price ranges. I did a fair amount of research before purchasing mine. I wanted WiFi 6, mimo tech, mesh, and a friendly interface. It costs more but has been very much worth it to me.

I'd blame it on the shortage of chips, but the AmplifiHD doubled in price from what I paid for it long before that issue came up.