Internet - Router/Modem Assistance (2 Viewers)

[Al Czervik]

Joined the TP-Link Deco M9 club.  Currently on sale at Costco.com for $169.99 ($30 off).

 

[pollardsvision]

I couldn't find the old modem/router thread, so I guess this is it.  Needed a small upgrade (5 YO basic TP-Link N-series keeps needing to be reset), and router shopping is particularly miserable for me. I looked into the Deco you guys mentioned, but it doesn't seem like my house just isn't big enough for it to be necessary (2 story, 1800 sq ft). 3 people, and about 15 devices. 

So, not a power using household, but a lot of YouTube TV/Hulu streaming and my niece did just get a Nintendo Switch. But it's not like we've got 3 teenagers playing Call of Duty 24 hours a day or something.

Went with an entry level Wifi 6 TP-Link (AX20) for $100. Hoping for a just a little more speed/reliability with a newer model and a little future proofing if I ever get any Wifi 6 devices (will be a while because I'm cheap). 

But I figure Roku/FireStick/FireTV's will be joining the Wifi 6 party fairly soon? Is that a reasonable assumption?

 

[WDIK2]

Nice to see this thread bumped.  My cable internet speed appears to have degraded over the last few months.  I don't have problems with Netflix/Hulu etc., but have buffering issues with things like live games on ESPN and Fox Sports.  I had an "up to" 200 Mbps plan, but am currently only getting ~33 on a speed test to my ISP.  I'm sure it used to be closer to 90 Mbps.

Logged onto my ISP account and saw I could upgrade to an "up to" 600 Mbps plan and save $5 per month.  My question is that I have a 5 year old Arris SURFboard 8x4 modem that has a top speed of 343 Mbps.  Looks like it would be a no brainer to upgrade the modem to something like a 24x8 to take advantage of the increased plan speeds, correct?

My ISP never seems to notify customers of available upgrades in my area.  Last time I had to call because I was hitting my data limit and found out I could increase speed and data for less $.  Today I found out I could increase speed and go to unlimited data for even less $.  Maybe they all do that.   

 

[stbugs]

Nice to see this thread bumped.  My cable internet speed appears to have degraded over the last few months.  I don't have problems with Netflix/Hulu etc., but have buffering issues with things like live games on ESPN and Fox Sports.  I had an "up to" 200 Mbps plan, but am currently only getting ~33 on a speed test to my ISP.  I'm sure it used to be closer to 90 Mbps.

Logged onto my ISP account and saw I could upgrade to an "up to" 600 Mbps plan and save $5 per month.  My question is that I have a 5 year old Arris SURFboard 8x4 modem that has a top speed of 343 Mbps.  Looks like it would be a no brainer to upgrade the modem to something like a 24x8 to take advantage of the increased plan speeds, correct?

My ISP never seems to notify customers of available upgrades in my area.  Last time I had to call because I was hitting my data limit and found out I could increase speed and data for less $.  Today I found out I could increase speed and go to unlimited data for even less $.  Maybe they all do that.   

Are you testing it through the modem or through the WiFi connected to the modem? I ask because I’ve always got speeds above my speed, like 60 when I had 50 and my last test through my Deco WiFi was 227 and my limit is 200. Getting below the speed would be a red flag that something isn’t right or not working well. I have had WiFi routers seemingly go bad and start dropping all the time.

Also, there is a data limit? I don’t think we have one at all. Maybe you are throttled? I’d love to bump up my speed more but I think it was a lot more and I’d need someone to replace the modem. We don’t have any speed issues at all so waiting until the base speed bumps up.

 

[WDIK2]

Are you testing it through the modem or through the WiFi connected to the modem? I ask because I’ve always got speeds above my speed, like 60 when I had 50 and my last test through my Deco WiFi was 227 and my limit is 200. Getting below the speed would be a red flag that something isn’t right or not working well. I have had WiFi routers seemingly go bad and start dropping all the time.

Also, there is a data limit? I don’t think we have one at all. Maybe you are throttled? I’d love to bump up my speed more but I think it was a lot more and I’d need someone to replace the modem. We don’t have any speed issues at all so waiting until the base speed bumps up.

My speed tests using speedtest.net (all to my ISP) are currently all over the place.  254 on the wired computer, and now 90 on an old Chromebook connected to wifi.  I have a newer Windows PC to try on wireless, but it's currently installing updates.  Looks like a pretty good bottleneck on the wifi side through, but faster than when I checked this AM. 

I replaced my wifi router a couple months ago thinking that was the issue because the old one was also 5 years old.  No change.

Shouldn't be throttling because I haven't gotten close to my max data since I upgraded plans last time.  A lot of ISPs don't have a data cap.  Even the "unlimited data" plan I just signed up for with my ISP has a cap of 15000 GB per month,     but I shouldn't get anywhere close to that.

 

[Charlie Harper]

My speed tests using speedtest.net (all to my ISP) are currently all over the place.  254 on the wired computer, and now 90 on an old Chromebook connected to wifi.  I have a newer Windows PC to try on wireless, but it's currently installing updates.  Looks like a pretty good bottleneck on the wifi side through, but faster than when I checked this AM. 

I replaced my wifi router a couple months ago thinking that was the issue because the old one was also 5 years old.  No change.

Shouldn't be throttling because I haven't gotten close to my max data since I upgraded plans last time.  A lot of ISPs don't have a data cap.  Even the "unlimited data" plan I just signed up for with my ISP has a cap of 15000 GB per month,     but I shouldn't get anywhere close to that.

If you're getting 254 wired than you'd bottle neck is likely the router and not the modem since your max is 200 anyways. 90 via wifi actually isn't too bad. 

If it your wifi ranges from 30-90 depending on distance than a mesh router system will help to provide more stable coverage. Just for reference Netflix recommends 25 Mbps to stream 4k content. So even 30 should still be usable depending on what you're doing.

 

[WDIK2]

If you're getting 254 wired than you'd bottle neck is likely the router and not the modem since your max is 200 anyways. 90 via wifi actually isn't too bad. 

If it your wifi ranges from 30-90 depending on distance than a mesh router system will help to provide more stable coverage. Just for reference Netflix recommends 25 Mbps to stream 4k content. So even 30 should still be usable depending on what you're doing.

Switched over to the 5 GHz channel on my wifi router and the speed test is now showing I'm getting 230 Mbps. 

Was never having issues with Neflix/Hulu/Prime etc.  The issue was always with things like the ESPN or Fox Sports apps running on my FireTV.    

 

[jm192]

Nice to see this thread bumped.  My cable internet speed appears to have degraded over the last few months.  I don't have problems with Netflix/Hulu etc., but have buffering issues with things like live games on ESPN and Fox Sports.  I had an "up to" 200 Mbps plan, but am currently only getting ~33 on a speed test to my ISP.  I'm sure it used to be closer to 90 Mbps.

Logged onto my ISP account and saw I could upgrade to an "up to" 600 Mbps plan and save $5 per month.  My question is that I have a 5 year old Arris SURFboard 8x4 modem that has a top speed of 343 Mbps.  Looks like it would be a no brainer to upgrade the modem to something like a 24x8 to take advantage of the increased plan speeds, correct?

My ISP never seems to notify customers of available upgrades in my area.  Last time I had to call because I was hitting my data limit and found out I could increase speed and data for less $.  Today I found out I could increase speed and go to unlimited data for even less $.  Maybe they all do that. 

They do.

When I married my wife, I moved in with her an we ultimately got a new house.  But we kept all of her cable/internet.  I never really got into it until recently and come to find out we're paying 170$  month for cable/wifi and no HD channels.  I was paying 150$ for every channel (save HBO, Sho Time, etc).  

Moreso:  we bought a Roomba and couldn't get it on the wifi.  We read that commonly the 5 ghz band causes issues, so we needed to turn it off.  THERE WAS NO 5 GHZ BAND.  

So we go down there, and the Modem/Router box we have is no longer supported.  The Cable box...no longer supported.  

New package for faster cable/internet and HD channels is ~115$.  We also bought our own internet equipment and will have saved the cost of that in 10 months.  

 

[Big Blue Wrecking Crew]

Know this is an older thread, but bumping up to hopefully engage those that have been in before for some knowledge.

Has anyone set up eero 6 with FIOS Gigabit router? Have not found much information online, so thinking the tech-savvy FBGs would have this sussed.