[SOLVED] What gateway to buy?

[NightHawkRMX]

Hello. I am looking to eliminate the monthly "modem rental" fee from my homes Comcast bill. I have minimal knowledge with networking (to put it plainly) so I need some assistance.

I need help deciding what wireless gateway or modem+router combo to buy.

What I need (priorities from greatest to least):
One that will work with Comcast
Fast dual-band wifi. Performance around what I have currently would be good, but better is definitely a pro.
Relatively inexpensive

I just accessed the web interface of my router and saw 5 devices connected over wifi and my NAS over ethernet. There are a max of 2 gaming PCs connected to wifi and a few phones at a time.

Current Comcast provided gateway https://www.buyyourownmodem.com/arr...less-gateway-telephony-modem-comcast-xfinity/
Its just a Comcast branded ARRIS TG1682G.

Note, I have a Cable TV and a home phone in this house. I'm not sure if that matters.

 

[jimmysmitty]

You could just purchase an Arris Surfboard modem/router combo. Arris is one of the best modems out there.

However AiO cable modem/routers typically are not the best for coverage. My suggestion would be to buy a Arris Surfboard modem, probably DOCSIS 3.0 or better, and a separate router such as an Asus or Netgear Nighthawk. With that setup you would have the best modem and a good router for good coverage along with better security and abilities. For example I use Asus routers and they include DDoS protection along with firewall AV built into the router itself.

 

[Barty1884]

Not sure how Comcast works in terms of cable TV. Wireless boxes should be fine, but if they utilize Coax, they may insist on using their provided devices.

I would double-check the "supported" device list:
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/list-of-approved-cable-modems

Doesn't mean others won't work, but you're on your own in terms of support in the event of an issue (and realistically, even if compatible, you'd be on your own anyway).

Ideally you'd want independent modem + router, opposed to an all in one, as you'll typically get better coverage/speeds.

If you go the modem/router combo route, it doesn't have to be particularly fancy - provided you can get your wired speeds (and it's secure) as adding a hardwired access point (if your home is wired for it) is an option.

 

[bill001g]

Your first step is going to be to cancel the phone service you buy from them and get some form of VoIP package. Things like magic jack are well known but there are much better providers. I just canceled and ran cell only.

The problem you have is if you have a package that has a phone they generally will not let you have your own modem. There is a extremely limited selection that they even support. I even bet the only model they support is the one you have. You have to see if the device is even for sale. Be very careful about buy used equipment a lot of this is stolen and they will not activate it.

The reason for all the restrictions is they are running basically a second communication path over the cable and it need high priority over all yours and your neighbors traffic. If you could get control of that you could do all kinds of bad stuff.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Your first step is going to be to cancel the phone service you buy from them and get some form of VoIP package. Things like magic jack are well known but there are much better providers. I just canceled and ran cell only.

The problem you have is if you have a package that has a phone they generally will not let you have your own modem. There is a extremely limited selection that they even support. I even bet the only model they support is the one you have. You have to see if the device is even for sale. Be very careful about buy used equipment a lot of this is stolen and they will not activate it.

The reason for all the restrictions is they are running basically a second communication path over the cable and it need high priority over all yours and your neighbors traffic. If you could get control of that you could do all kinds of bad stuff.

Well, I mainly use cell, but I can't convince the rest of my family to give up the home phone, as its part of our Comcast plan.

Wireless boxes should be fine, but if they utilize Coax, they may insist on using their provided devices.

The current one uses coax, unfortunately. My phone and TV don't work if the modem is unplugged.

Because of what has been said, I plan to look for one of the approved modems with voice support.
Here are the ones that Comcast says

https://imgur.com/BtYGewE

View: https://imgur.com/BtYGewE

https://imgur.com/Ymajykc

View: https://imgur.com/Ymajykc

Are any particularly good? I think I will go for a wifi router, so built in wifi matters less.

I just looked at my internet speed (on the bill) and its only 200mbs, so I guess DOCSIS 3.0vs3.1 doesn't matter much?
If my speed is capped so low I guess I should spend more on a good wifi router and less on a modem?

 

[bill001g]

You likely only need docsis 3.0. You have to be somewhat careful to get the lists from comcast directly. They sometimes have difference requirement based on how new the network is in your neighborhood. This is why they tend to ask for addresses rather than just give you general lists.

The differences will be how many channels the devices support. The more channels the more data you can pass so the ISP may need certain numbers to support the speed. Getting too many generally doesn't matter because they just don't use them.

Picking just a modem is pretty easy they have few if any features. The ISP does all the software settings and software patches. In most cases there is nothing you can even change. So any on the list will likely work about the same.

I would still in the long term look into some form of VoIP solution for your landline telephone. The cable companies charge way too much for the service.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Ill look to buy one of the modems above that looks good, then one of the wifi routers you suggested.

 

[bill001g]

A router is hard to say. Pretty much any of the larger name brand router in the mid price range will work well.

Almost all routers put out maximum legal power so coverage will be more or less the same. The main difference will be in software features. Things like NAS support or VPN or content filters.

Be very careful of the big number trap. Just because a router can do 4x4 mimo using some non standard encoding does not mean you end device can use that feature. Most end devices only have 2 antenna so can not use more than 2x2 mimo. Also most do not support things like using 200mhz rather than 150mhz on the 2.4g channels. There are many more of these features added just to get bigger numbers that almost nobody can use.

Also you don't need any form of mesh garbage on the router. You don't want to run repeaters in the first place and mesh is mostly just a new marketing term for repeater/extender.

Pretty much a boring router that has numbers 1200-1450 will meet most people needs.