I'm going to stab Comcast in the face...

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I wouldn't ever use an ISP router. They're almost always inferior to what you can buy yourself in terms of both performance and security and they're often quite a bit more expensive.

That being said, consumer routers fail a lot more often than you'd think. Power supplies especially tend to start failing after 2-3 years, whether you're talking about Netgear, Linksys, or any of those. The resulting voltage fluctuations cause all kinds of weird symptoms on the router - wireless drops, random reboots, interfaces going down and coming back up.

The other issue with most consumer routers is that the companies only update firmware for a couple of years at most. Some of the bigger name companies have been known to stop updating after just ONE YEAR. Not only is that not good for advanced performance and stability but it's a huge security issue.

Right now, the strongest recommendation I can give for somebody that doesn't want to dive into a higher-cost prosumer solution is to get something like Asus and look for 3rd party firmware - I use RMerlin which is built on the original Asus codebase but with newer binaries, which makes it more secure and stable. Plus Merlin has been supporting his codebase for a long time, it's not inconceivable for him to support some router lines for 6 or more years.

Interesting. Thanks for the info. Really there is no excuse for me not to have a top of the line router. My shitty router cost me a $1500 pot the other day when it inadvertently went down on me at 3am although that could just be shitty internet service but no reports of outages. It's been happening more and more frequently, although still rather infrequent.

I also sometimes have issues with one of my devices not being able to connect to the internet but every other one will be able to. Then 1 hr later it connects just fine and it happens to another device. Still infrequent but it happens enough for it to be a headache. Maybe that is a troubleshooting thing but I just want the router once it's set up to not have to worry about it.


I think one of the selling points of the router is it allows me to get this "bundle" from my ISP & TV provider. Part of the deal is I have to rent the router. I guess I could rent it and just not use it

[cooper barrett]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I wouldn't ever use an ISP router. They're almost always inferior to what you can buy yourself in terms of both performance and security and they're often quite a bit more expensive.

Meet The XB7
Billed as a third-generation gateway, which carries the model designation of CGM4331COM, the XB7 supports dual-band 802.11ax (WiFi 6) and is equipped with four Gigabit Ethernet ports, two telephone ports and MoCA 2.0, a coax-based home networking platform that handles data speeds up to 1 Gbit/s

That being said, consumer routers fail a lot more often than you'd think. Power supplies especially tend to start failing after 2-3 years, whether you're talking about Netgear, Linksys, or any of those. The resulting voltage fluctuations cause all kinds of weird symptoms on the router - wireless drops, random reboots, interfaces going down and coming back up.

The other issue with most consumer routers is that the companies only update firmware for a couple of years at most. Some of the bigger name companies have been known to stop updating after just ONE YEAR. Not only is that not good for advanced performance and stability but it's a huge security issue.

Right now, the strongest recommendation I can give for somebody that doesn't want to dive into a higher-cost prosumer solution is to get something like Asus and look for 3rd party firmware - I use RMerlin which is built on the original Asus codebase but with newer binaries, which makes it more secure and stable. Plus Merlin has been supporting his codebase for a long time, it's not inconceivable for him to support some router lines for 6 or more years.

I use a old Netgear C-7000 is a few years old (intro'ed 2015) and has been updated 33 times. Never had an issue.

Any AC to DC power adapter should be swapped out when tests bad or has fluctuating voltage when tested. I have a device to test which I use for phone chargers that cost about $20

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by cooper barrett

I use a old Netgear C-7000 is a few years old (intro'ed 2015) and has been updated 33 times. Never had an issue.

Any AC to DC power adapter should be swapped out when tests bad or has fluctuating voltage when tested. I have a device to test which I use for phone chargers that cost about $20

The older Netgears are much better than some of the new ones. Their combo routers (like the C7000) are also more stable than the R-series units. My old WNDR lasted 5 years before I needed to upgrade to get more speed. It still works to this day some 10 years later. My R7800 got sent back after 2 months of firmware issues and crashing.

I have a tester too. It's one of the most common failures anymore. Wall warts just aren't built to last.