Question New Modem/Router ?

[Brokenwing8]

Xfinity sent me a email advising me I need to update my modem. My options are a s33 or a sb8200 modem, I am not sure which one to choose! Last but not least I Have a ASUS router Rt-n16, should I upgrade to a dual bad router? I prefer to stick to ASUS as I have had zero problems. On the Network is 1 xbox1s, 2 iPads, and 3 cell phones and a smart tv! Thank you for your help!

 

[kanewolf]

Xfinity sent me a email advising me I need to update my modem. My options are a s33 or a sb8200 modem, I am not sure which one to choose! Last but not least I Have a ASUS router Rt-n16, should I upgrade to a dual bad router? I prefer to stick to ASUS as I have had zero problems. On the Network is 1 xbox1s, 2 iPads, and 3 cell phones and a smart tv! Thank you for your help!

Is Xfinity saying you will get a "free" speed upgrade if you replace your modem? If so, then a new router is probably a good thing.
I am a fan of Asus routers, especially ones that can run the Merlin alternate firmware -- https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/
The AX58, AX68 would be good choices. I just depends on what you are willing to spend. The AX68U is available on Amazon for around $130.

 

[Brokenwing8]

Is Xfinity saying you will get a "free" speed upgrade if you replace your modem? If so, then a new router is probably a good thing.
I am a fan of Asus routers, especially ones that can run the Merlin alternate firmware -- https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/
The AX58, AX68 would be good choices. I just depends on what you are willing to spend. The AX68U is available on Amazon for around $130.

Thank you for your response, yes Xfinity stated that I may not be getting the speeds I am paying for with the older surfboard modem I own. I of course could rent from them but it is cheaper in the long run to own my own equipment. When it comes to routers and such I am lost? What is your opinion on the modems? I will look at the router you posted! I was looking at this one https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-r...d-wifi-6-router-black/6532136.p?skuId=6532136 or this one https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-a...ternet-security-black/6377908.p?skuId=6377908

 

[bill001g]

I would in general be careful about wifi6. The largest issue is most portable devices, like cell phones, do not fully support wifi6. The key feature is they don't support the use of 160mhz radio bands which is the key feature that makes wifi6 faster.

In addition it has always been rare for most wifi devices to support more than 2 antenna (ie mimo). It is easy on a router to put lots of antenna and other features but if you don't have a end device that can use it then you are just wasting money.

Just be careful about chasing big numbers on routers. Most so called wifi6 devices support only the very basic version which has a 1200 number on it. In reality it is not going to be any faster than wifi5 (802.11ac).

Your router current router though is very old and is not even wifi5.

How fast a internet connection do you plan to buy. Your current router on wifi will not even get close to 100mbps. It can, if it has gigabit ports, get gigabit on ethernet. Are you on the ISP lowest/cheapest plan. If you drop to the lowest plan will they let you use your current equipment.

You really only need fancy modems like that to get gigabit or faster speeds. The ISP may though require them even on slower plans just to make things simpler on their support people.

.............a extra though. Asus has gotten way out of line price wise it seems. Used to be they had better software but other brands like tplink have caught up for a fraction of the price.

 

[Brokenwing8]

I would in general be careful about wifi6. The largest issue is most portable devices, like cell phones, do not fully support wifi6. The key feature is they don't support the use of 160mhz radio bands which is the key feature that makes wifi6 faster.

In addition it has always been rare for most wifi devices to support more than 2 antenna (ie mimo). It is easy on a router to put lots of antenna and other features but if you don't have a end device that can use it then you are just wasting money.

Just be careful about chasing big numbers on routers. Most so called wifi6 devices support only the very basic version which has a 1200 number on it. In reality it is not going to be any faster than wifi5 (802.11ac).

Your router current router though is very old and is not even wifi5.

How fast a internet connection do you plan to buy. Your current router on wifi will not even get close to 100mbps. It can, if it has gigabit ports, get gigabit on ethernet. Are you on the ISP lowest/cheapest plan. If you drop to the lowest plan will they let you use your current equipment.

You really only need fancy modems like that to get gigabit or faster speeds. The ISP may though require them even on slower plans just to make things simpler on their support people.

.............a extra though. Asus has gotten way out of line price wise it seems. Used to be they had better software but other brands like tplink have caught up for a fraction of the price.

I am not on the cheapest plan, my plan is advertised at up to 500 mbps download speed. I think I am saying that correctly. Xfinity has always given the option to rent a modem/router combo or to buy your own equipment. They only require certain modems, they say nothing about routers! As far as what to buy now I am really confused lol. If I speed test the WiFi on my phone I am getting 87 down!

 

[bill001g]

Right now you router is likely the limit it is extremely old.

I am very surprised you get 87. The router you have is a single band running the so called "300" speed on only 2.4g. Most people are lucky to get 40-50.

Wifi you are never going to get 500mbps unless you have a phone/device that can run wifi6e. Then again a phone doesn't have enough storage to download huge stuff where higher speeds matter.

For your normal usage your 87 mbps is more than good enough for web surfing, watching even 4k netflix.

You could technically stay with your current router. You likely should test with a ethernet connected device to see if it really can get your full 500mbps. Really old routers did not have the hardware assisted NAT feature, not sure when that was added everything fairly new does.

If you do not use ethernet connected devices you might be better off dropping to a 100mbps plan if they offer it. Even if your phone can get 300mbps speedtest numbers it does not mean a phone can really use 300mbps for anything useful. If you had a game console that there was no way to connect via ethernet faster wifi would help with downloads. You still should not really play online games on any kind of wifi because of random interference.

In general unless your have a wireless device that can use better wifi a router with a 1200 number is likely the same as the end devices. Most people see about 300mbps using a router and end device on the 5g band with this 1200 number.

There are many routers like this in the $50 range. All these can run full gigabit on ethernet.

If you do have wifi devices that support more advanced types of wifi then you can look at better routers. Lots of motherboards are now coming with wifi7 but I am not so sure wifi7 routers are really worth the huge extra costs. Again it just lets you download your games or huge files faster.

 

[Brokenwing8]

Right now you router is likely the limit it is extremely old.

I am very surprised you get 87. The router you have is a single band running the so called "300" speed on only 2.4g. Most people are lucky to get 40-50.

Wifi you are never going to get 500mbps unless you have a phone/device that can run wifi6e. Then again a phone doesn't have enough storage to download huge stuff where higher speeds matter.

For your normal usage your 87 mbps is more than good enough for web surfing, watching even 4k netflix.

You could technically stay with your current router. You likely should test with a ethernet connected device to see if it really can get your full 500mbps. Really old routers did not have the hardware assisted NAT feature, not sure when that was added everything fairly new does.

If you do not use ethernet connected devices you might be better off dropping to a 100mbps plan if they offer it. Even if your phone can get 300mbps speedtest numbers it does not mean a phone can really use 300mbps for anything useful. If you had a game console that there was no way to connect via ethernet faster wifi would help with downloads. You still should not really play online games on any kind of wifi because of random interference.

In general unless your have a wireless device that can use better wifi a router with a 1200 number is likely the same as the end devices. Most people see about 300mbps using a router and end device on the 5g band with this 1200 number.

There are many routers like this in the $50 range. All these can run full gigabit on ethernet.

If you do have wifi devices that support more advanced types of wifi then you can look at better routers. Lots of motherboards are now coming with wifi7 but I am not so sure wifi7 routers are really worth the huge extra costs. Again it just lets you download your games or huge files faster.

I thank you for your advise is there a couple of routers that you could specifically recommend?

 

[JohnMGotts]

Look on the bottom of your modem to see what model it is. Do the upgrade and recheck your speed. If the equipment you currently have meets your needs, why spend on upgrades?

 

[bill001g]

If you were looking at wifi7 then it is important to get good software support.

Asus was the goto brand but they got bit by a big security issue. Sometime having too many feature leave too much room for holes. Do you REALLY need remote administration, which is how the issue was exploited.

In general if you want a name brand with good support but still inexpensive tplink is the way to go. Which exact model you will have to pick they have way to many with similar model numbers and change constantly.

When you look at older tech like wifi5 (802.11ac) and even wifi6 to some extent I bet the $10 router you can buy on aliexpress would work fine. Not that I recommend you try that unless you are brave. The vast majority of the firmware in the router comes from the manufacture of the wifi chipsets. The rest is menus and bells and whistles. Most people do not use any of the features..say parental controls.. anyway. Other than for setting the passwords and some basic IP setup most people do not touch the router. This is also why most ISP routers have very few features.

Only you know the value of any extra features. Some for example can give you warnings if you are approaching some data cap.

 

[Ralston18]

I went through that process with Xfinity a few months ago.

We get our internet, landline ( being old people), and TV via Xfinity.

I rent their modem because they cannot blame problems on their own device. I have my own Linksys WRT1900 AC. Many years old and has worked with 4 or 5 different "incoming" modems over the years.

The first modem (delivered by mail) did not work at first. Finally worked but only after Xfinity discovered that it had not been entered into the database. That was done but then the modem was never activated. Got that done. Got into a loop where the modem either did not show up in the database and then disappeared again when supposedly activated. May have been related to a mac mix up.

Modem appeared to be used and once working there were still problems. Fortunately we have a store nearby and I was able to get a replacement modem.

The replacement worked (but I had to remind them about the activation) but there were other issues.

One of which was the mac loop - again.

The original modem and configuration supported displaying incoming telephone numbers on the TV screens. That feature disappeared and attempts to restore have thus far failed. TV display may need to be " turned on " again in some database. TBD.

Also our answering machine stopped working. Xfinity inserted their own server based answering machine which effectively made our machine moot. And their answering machine service was much more cumbersome. I had to call to get that turned off. Would not go off via online configuration settings or phone handset buttons. (During that fiasco one person almost changed our telephone number.)

Overall we have very good internet speeds but we had good internet speeds beforehand. Maybe a bit of a bump.

Point being that be very sure that the features you have and want added are fully working before the tech leaves. Make a list and check everything. Watch out for unexpected side effects.....

 

[gggplaya]

At least on Comcast, the SB33 is a better modem in my experience. The firmware on the motorola's tend to have more issues in certain areas with certain signal levels. Comcast controls the firmware on the modem, when you connect to their network, they update the firmware and the speed profiles on the modems.

This is very similar to android cell phones in terms of firmware updates. If you buy one through a cell provider, the firmware is updated by the manufacturer and given to the cell provider, but it's up to that cell provider to modify and push the update to your device.

Comcast is extremely Lazy with firmware certifications and updates. They don't spend enough time certifying firmware versions for third party modems once they've made the approved list, unless there's a major issue or something. Firmware updates could take years.

I'm currently using the SB33 after experiencing problems with my MB8611 motorola modem. The SB33 has been rock solid with many months of uptime, I bought a refurb one on amazon for $99.

 

[Brokenwing8]

At least on Comcast, the SB33 is a better modem in my experience. The firmware on the motorola's tend to have more issues in certain areas with certain signal levels. Comcast controls the firmware on the modem, when you connect to their network, they update the firmware and the speed profiles on the modems.

This is very similar to android cell phones in terms of firmware updates. If you buy one through a cell provider, the firmware is updated by the manufacturer and given to the cell provider, but it's up to that cell provider to modify and push the update to your device.

Comcast is extremely Lazy with firmware certifications and updates. They don't spend enough time certifying firmware versions for third party modems once they've made the approved list, unless there's a major issue or something. Firmware updates could take years.

I'm currently using the SB33 after experiencing problems with my MB8611 motorola modem. The SB33 has been rock solid with many months of uptime, I bought a refurb one on amazon for $99.

Oh ok can I ask what router you are currently using?

 

[gggplaya]

Oh ok can I ask what router you are currently using?

I have an x86 router that I built using old computer parts. Standard ARM routers aren't able to do the things I need them to do. Even the most expensive "gaming" routers aren't capable enough.

 

[bill001g]

This is where you need to understand what YOU need.

There are 2 big parts to a so called "router"

Most people only use NAT. This is allows the device to share the single IP you have with multiple machine in your house. Almost every modern consumer router can easily do nat at full 1gbit wan/lan so it mostly makes no difference which router you choose. If you need more than that you generally know exactly which feature you want and like @gggplaya many times these boxes sold in electronics stores called "routers" are not even close to powerful enough.

The second thing is the wifi. Again people that use advanced functions tend to use AP rather than consumer routers to provide wifi. For your general consumer you need to look at your end devices that use wifi. The router is only 1/2 the connection so if you buy wifi7 router and only have wifi5 devices the router will drop back to wifi5 and you pretty much wasted your money on the fancy router. A very general guess is most peoples end device are similar to a router that has a 1200 number on it. If you don't know what your end device uses that is a safe bet that it is 1200. A router with a 1200 number is now days a very inexpensive and basic router.