Question 2x Connections On 1 Modem

[Azndude263]

Please help me out, I am not sure if it is even possible but is there a way to have 2x connections from 2 different internet providers to a single modem?

I currently have the Gigablast service through Cox. No speed complaint here but for some reason, they have been having a lot of outages lately. The only other internet provider in my area is Century Link but their fastest speed is only 80mbps so I don't think I want to switch over. From my basic knowledge, Cox provides their network through the coaxial cable while Century Link does it through the phone line.

Is there a modem that is able to pick up both their service at the same time? I want to use Cox as my main network and Century Link as my secondary. I know I can just buy 2 modems and 2 routers because Cox and Century Link are on different network and connections. But the thing is if I do, once Cox network is down, I would need to manually connect over to Century Link. Ultimately, I just don't want my internet disconnected. Is there a modem that is able to pick up service from both providers? If Cox is down, the modem automatically switch over to Century Link and my network won't be down

 

[USAFRet]

Cable internet + DSL internet in a single modem device?
Not a chance.

 

[Azndude263]

Only possible if 2x cable internet?

 

[USAFRet]

Only possible if 2x cable internet?

Not even then.

Not in any automatic switching type of thing.

So what you do is get (and pay for!!) 2 whole connections. With their individual modems.
Then behind that, you have your own router.
When Cox goes down, you unplug the Cat5e from the Cox cable modem and plug it into the CenturyLink DSL modem.


Or.....you call Cox every single day, and demand they actually fix the problem.

 

[Azndude263]

I am have an outage on average once a week and each outage last for like 6-8 hours for the past 2 months. I called them several times and all the reps said pretty much the same thing and that there is nothing they can do in terms of outages. All they can do is give me some credits for the billing cycle but it's not really what I want.

There are only 2 internet providers in Las Vegas (Century Link & Cox). Unfortunately, Century Link doesn't provide the gigabit service in my area and 80mbps is the fastest they can do. So I don't really have much of an option and I think Cox knows that too :/

 

[USAFRet]

Right.
I had the same sort of issue with Cox many years ago. Mine was worse...it would go out 2-3-4 times a week.

Call, and "OK, we'll send a tech out tomorrow"
Of course, it would work when he was there.

Multiple, multiple calls...eventually I had everything from the cable box innards on the corner, all the way to and including my PC...all new parts.

Still happening.
Continued the calls.

I kept a log of exactly when it happened, and whatever monitoring numbers I could glean from the Cox cable modem.
It got so where I could predict the signal failing to with 15 minutes.

One day I had 3 service trucks and a supervisor out in front of my house.
I kept telling them that it was an upstream box somewhere.

It turned out to be an upstream box dying, due to temp and/or humidity.
During the day it was fine. In the evening...several hours of outage.

Keep a detailed log, and make them fix the actual issue.

 

[Azndude263]

Well, in my case they actually acknowledge that there are outages in my area and they actually have a history log of the outages. When the internet goes down, it actually tells you there is an outage if you login to your account on the Cox web. The problem is they keeps saying "technicians are working on the outage and service should be restored in 6-8 hours". Then next week, same thing again. I'm about to lose my mind. The 80mbps connection with Century Link isn't impressive at all. I mean, my Tmobile LTE at home is lke around 60mbps

 

[USAFRet]

Unless you want to pay full price for the seldom used second connection from CenturyLink, your options are limited.

 

[jsmithepa]

Maybe Cox has business-type service?

I would Google "multi WAN failsafe home" see what happens. That's all I got.

A local Audio Visual Home Automation specialist may have an in-house IT guy.

 

[Azndude263]

I called and ask and it seems Cox does have a business type service. I am paying for $180 a month for my Gigablast and Cable right now. If I were to switch over to the business account with just the 300mbps connection is $250. And that is without the cable hahaha

I guess my only option right now is to get Century Link 80mbps on a different modem/router as a backup. Sigh!

 

[bill001g]

Many routers run dual wan. The will work ok as primary/backup. You would still need 2 modem devices.

I know asus ones run cell modem as backup but they might do 2 actual connections. Maybe a bit cheaper than some of the dual wan models. Been a while so I forget what is available. Normally dd-wrt is a option but it has trouble keeping up with really fast internet connections.

In any case the new problem will be what does "down" mean. Obviously you the ethernet port is not going to actually go down with a modem behind it. Some router have the ability to ping ip addresses. They tend to mostly work but if the connect is just really bad but not down sometimes it won't switch.

You will still have strange issues when it switches over. Your IP address has all the sudden changed (the wan ip). You many times end up closing the browser because of cookies etc that are linked to the IP address you were using.