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School me on wireless routers

Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
I can read buyers guides and tech reviews all day long, but I’d like input from my peers.

My house has a dozen devises connected to WiFi at any given time. I’d like to be sure the router isn’t the pinch point in our streaming. Since I believe in the “buy once, cry once” mantra tell me what I should get.
 
Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
Gravy said:
Google WiFi. I love my Asus OnHub.
Click to expand...
I have done plenty of google-fu, but was looking for more of a real world education on it all.

I currently have Comcast internet they claim is 250mbps. With all the streaming and internet use we do, we have experienced a few times with poor performance.

Explain if I should get MU-MIMO? Explain why I wouldn’t want/need it.

Dual, Tri, Quad band?? I know more is better but does my speed benefit?

I want performance but don’t want to be that guy pouring race gas into his Geo Metro...
 
nnnnnate

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
Google WiFi is a device. Dual band is fine. Most devices connect to 2.4 mhz, the second band is 5 something that takes some of the device traffic and congestion from the other band.

You can get pretty fancy with routers but you really don't need to unless that's your thing and you want to tinker.

Find one with a brand you recognize in the $80-100 range that looks neat and plug it in. (Get a gigabit one too.) That's my suggestion anyway.

This is the one I bought in november 2015.
 
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Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
nnnnnate said:
Google WiFi is a device. Dual band is fine. Most devices connect to 2.4 mhz, the second band is 5 something that takes some of the device traffic and congestion from the other band.

You can get pretty fancy with routers but you really don't need to unless that's your thing and you want to tinker.

Find one with a brand you recognize in the $80-100 range that looks neat and plug it in. (Get a gigabit one too.) That's my suggestion anyway.

This is the one I bought in november 2015.
Click to expand...

Ha ha I didn’t catch on about google WiFi bring a device.

I have looked at that same router a few times but didn’t know if it was on the threshold of being outdated. It’s several models down in their list line-up these days.
 
frieed

frieed

Jeepless in Draper
Supporting Member
Location
Draper, UT
Comcast claims 250mbs? Have you checked your download speed, wired connection on speedtest.net? If your cable modem is an older DOCSIS 2.X modem then you will never see more than about 34mbs. To get to 250mbs you will need a DOCSIS 3 modem with 8 channels bonded (some only do 2 or 4).
 
nnnnnate

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend even one of the lower tiers on that Amazon page. Mine was already a year or two old when I bought it and it's been great.

I pay for 250 down and just did a speed test on my phone and got a 2ms ping, 253 down, and 270 up. The ping is how long it take for your request to get out of the router and onto the general internet. Faster is better, under 10 ms is good, 11-15 is fine, above that is meh.

Not bad for a 4 year old router.
 
nnnnnate

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
I agree with @frieed that you need a docsis 3.0 modem. I could share which one I had but Comcast is always updating their list on which modems they support and I believe the one I had is no longer on their list. If you are renting one from them return it and buy a new one. Try to find one that is recently released and is on that Comcast list.
 
nnnnnate

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
When are you running into issues? Are all three of you streaming something different at the same time?

All of your devices that are stationary should be hard wired. If you run out of ports in your router buy a gigabit network switch for $30-40 and plug more things into it. Seriously, any device that is serving streaming data needs to be hard wired. Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, smart TV, all of them should never touch your WiFi. WiFi is for phones, tablets, and laptop computers and you shouldn't be regularly streaming shows on them. That's why you have a big flat screen on the wall.
 
Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
I’m using an Arris SB6141 modem that’s about 2 years old. I’m pretty sure it is DOCSIS 3.0

I’ll do a speed test and report back what I’m actually seeing. Isn’t speedtest.net owned by Comcast? Weren’t there accusations that the results were bias to Comcast customers? Is there another site that may not be bias?
 
Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
nnnnnate said:
When are you running into issues? Are all three of you streaming something different at the same time?

All of your devices that are stationary should be hard wired. If you run out of ports in your router buy a gigabit network switch for $30-40 and plug more things into it. Seriously, any device that is serving streaming data needs to be hard wired. Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, smart TV, all of them should never touch your WiFi. WiFi is for phones, tablets, and laptop computers and you shouldn't be regularly streaming shows on them. That's why you have a big flat screen on the wall.
Click to expand...
I haven’t had too many issues, but I know we push it to the limit. My girls are notorious for streaming things on their phone/ iPad while simultaneously streaming Netflix on the television. All this is happening while I’m streaming Netflix in another room and surfing on my phone.

Hardwiring all the devices is something I’ll work on improving. Currently I’m out of space on the router so I’ll have to look into a network switch. My house has CAT5 Wires (I think??) run all over in the walls, so maybe I can route them to usable locations.
 
nnnnnate

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
You're very unlikely to actually get your advertised internet speed. Doing a speed test, or one of the variants, can be useful to try and pinpoint what the issue is but it's still never going to be 100%.

A switch like this would be fine.

If you need more network cables buy some online since they are way cheaper. Monoprice is awesome if you need to stock up on a bunch of cables or wall mounts or whatever.

That sb6141 modem is the same one I bought with my router and it did work well. I'm on fiber now though so I don't need it anymore.

What router are you using now? You might be able to log into an interface and see what your actual network use is while everyone is doing their thing to see how much you're pushing.

I think if you adjust some habits a little and hardwire some devices you'd likely be able to improve things enough that you don't need to buy a new router.

I also think most people shouldn't spend the extra money for higher bandwidth. I really think for a normal family of 3 like yours 250 megs is overkill. I'm only paying for 250 because it's the lowest tier offered.
 
Badger

Badger

I am the Brute squad
Location
South Salt Lake
nnnnnate said:
You're very unlikely to actually get your advertised internet speed. Doing a speed test, or one of the variants, can be useful to try and pinpoint what the issue is but it's still never going to be 100%.
Click to expand...

Actually you would be a bit wrong in this regard. As long as he has an up to date modem that is 3.0 or 3.1 he will have no problem getting the speeds he is paying for. Comcast actually supplies you with about a 25% increase over what you are paying for so during high use periods you are dropping down to what you are paying for maybe a bit below.
 
nnnnnate

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
That totally depends on the pipe you are on though and what use it's getting when you measure. (From your house to the street to the comcast gear down the road.) If you're paying for 250 and getting 100 and your equipment is new and "approved" by Comcast they'll run some tests and maybe send a tech but they also won't refund your money for the difference in speed you actually see. The 250 down is actually "up to" and not a guarantee that you'll get 250 down.

Century Link is the same. I was sold a speed and told it was a guarantee then found in the fine print that they only guarantee speeds 20 or 25% of the advertised speed.

I think it would be great if the providers were held accountable for their marketing, but don't see it happening any time soon. (I saw that Australia, I think, was debating a law that did this last week.)
 
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Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
nnnnnate said:
You're very unlikely to actually get your advertised internet speed. Doing a speed test, or one of the variants, can be useful to try and pinpoint what the issue is but it's still never going to be 100%.

A switch like this would be fine.

If you need more network cables buy some online since they are way cheaper. Monoprice is awesome if you need to stock up on a bunch of cables or wall mounts or whatever.

That sb6141 modem is the same one I bought with my router and it did work well. I'm on fiber now though so I don't need it anymore.

What router are you using now? You might be able to log into an interface and see what your actual network use is while everyone is doing their thing to see how much you're pushing.

I think if you adjust some habits a little and hardwire some devices you'd likely be able to improve things enough that you don't need to buy a new router.

I also think most people shouldn't spend the extra money for higher bandwidth. I really think for a normal family of 3 like yours 250 megs is overkill. I'm only paying for 250 because it's the lowest tier offered.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the link to the switch.

My current router is a Linksys E3000. I hadn’t planned to replace it, but it finally died. I know it’s pretty outdated at this point, so any change will be an upgrade.
 
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