WiFi Router Question

[OtinG]

Okay, not really an Apple question per se, but I know you folks around here and a lot of you have a good technical background. And I do use WiFi with my Apple devices.

I’m currently using the router supplied by Spectrum (Charter), or whatever name they go by this week, and it is an old Netgear R6300 802.11ac router. I looked it up and it was first released in 2012, so nearly a decade old design. I’m guessing it has been updated a few times over the years though. It seems to have these specs:

• IEEE 802.11ac 2.0
• IEEE 802.11n version 2.0
• IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11b 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11a 5.0 GHz

It still seems to be fairly stable and reliable and delivers around 220 Mbits speed which is what my plan calls for. But it isn’t WiFi 6 capable, and it is having some issues keeping connected with my security cams which are outside the house and only use 2.4 Ghz. No issue with the one cam that uses 5 Ghz though. It seems okay with my iPads and iPhone and Macs within the house, but they all have 5 Ghz capability which helps as far as speed goes. Most of my TV stuff is using ethernet, including the ATV 4K, Fire TV Cube, and TV.

So I’m trying to decide if it is worth upgrading to a newer router, one I own rather than Spectrum. I only get charged $5/mo for it, but still that adds up over time. I live alone and typically have only a few devices running at any given time, but if I add them up it is a bigger number than what one might think. I have 5 Amazon Echo devices, 1 Fire TV dongle, 1 TV, 2 iPads, 1 iPhone, 1 MacBook Pro, and 1 security cam running WiFi (5 Ghz), plus 3 security cams running WiFi (2.4 Ghz). Additionally I have 1 Mac mini, 1 Fire TV Cube, 1 TV, and 1 ATV 4K running ethernet through the router. The Echos are always on, the iPhone is always on, the Mac mini is always on keeping up with the security cams, the other devices are sometimes on, sometimes asleep.

That is a lot of devices for one person, but that is how it is in the modern world! At any rate, weigh in on whether you think it is time for me to return the old router and get a newer one. I know some of my devices are WiFi 6 capable, but most probably aren’t.

ETA: Oops, I forgot about 5 LED Kasa smartbulbs, 1 Govee LED light strip, and 4 smartplugs.

[Deskisamess]

Can't answer the tech questions, but we bought our own modem and router years ago. $5 per month for a 9 year old router? That's $540.

Our experience with Spectrum is that non of their speed claims are supported by any of the hardware they supply.

You could buy 2-3 routers for that price.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

Can't answer the tech questions, but we bought our own modem and router years ago. $5 per month for a 9 year old router? That's $540.

Our experience with Spectrum is that non of their speed claims are supported by any of the hardware they supply.

You could buy 2-3 routers for that price.

Thankfully I’ve only had it for about a year, but still that is $60 already. I thought it was a no charge item, but when I read the fine print they only let me use the modem for free, I have to pay $5/mo to use the router. They gave me separate modem and router devices. The modem is probably really old too, and I’ve already had to have it replaced once because the first modem died.

[tomsem]

Will Spectrum upgrade the equipment you have? Is it one box (modem+router+WAP), or 2 (separate modem and router+WAP)?

When I signed up for internet service with cable company, WiFi wasn’t a thing, and we just had a modem with an Ethernet port to plugin to our (wire only) router (and the cables I strung in the crawl space to go from there to where the computers were). Subsequently, I got the first of several router+WAP boxes to replace the router. Years later, when the modem broke, they no longer offered standalone modem, so I purchased the combination modem+router+WAP they installed to replace it (rather than shop around for something else).

In an apartment I rented, I only got the modem as I already had a router+WAP to plug in. Don’t remember if I paid anything for it (they didn’t want the modem back when I moved out).

If I needed to upgrade our WiFi, I could probably just use the box I used at the apartment (just plug it into the one of the existing box’s Ethernet ports). It supports MIMO and beam forming. But it’s 5 years old now.

If I needed the ‘latest’, I’d probably see what it takes to get one box to replace the box I have (with modem built in), but would need to see what the cable company supports.

And actually I should check in to this sooner than later, not sure our existing box is still getting security updates.

[ilovejedd]

I've tried various single routers but I just couldn't get good signal to my bedroom (ironically, down the street was fine).

My bedroom is a Faraday cage so I actually use a wireless mesh with wired ethernet backhaul (TP-Link Deco M9, 3-pack for $200 from Costco like 2-3 years ago). I only use 2 of pucks, one in the living room and one for my bedroom. It's been working well. I get 50MB/s (400Mbps) transferring files locally from wired desktop to iPad.

I also set up an Eero Pro Mesh Wi-Fi 5 system for my aunt's house last year. It uses wireless backhaul since she doesn't want to run wires. Main unit near the kitchen+family room, one near the front door (to connect to 2x Ring outdoor cameras plus 1x Ring doorbell) and another one to cover the second floor. That's been working fine, too. Speedtest via iPhone shows I get 200Mbps (max internet speed) in all locations.

[OtinG]

I currently have a two device system as follows. Modem is a Cisco Model DPC3216 and DPC3216C DOCSIS 3.0 16x4 Cable Modem and the router is a Netgear R6300v2 Smart WiFi Router (WNDR6300C). The modem looks like a 2014 model and the router a 2012 model, as far as when they were originally introduced. So both are old.

Early on I had Spectrum’s cable TV as well as internet, hence the cable modem, but now I only have their 200 Mbps internet service. I’ll definitely need to check with Spectrum to see if I’m limited in which models I can buy to replace their equipment, and also see if I can, or should, buy a modem/router combo. They do say on their website that I can use my own router.

My house is small at approximately 1000 sq.ft., but all the WiFi and ethernet devices are in only half of the house, about 500 sq.ft. I don’t have any WiFi devices in my bedrooms. My router and modem are located in my Study/home office which is adjacent to my Living Room and Kitchen Dining Room, but separated by an interior wall with shetrock on both sides but no insulation. My best guess is that all of the WiFi connected devices are within about 30 to 40 feet from the router, even the outdoor security cams. Currently I’m using WiFi for the cams, but they are capable of using POE (power over ethernet cables), however I’m already maxed out on the number of ethernet ports on my current router. I would like to use POE though.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by OtinG

I currently have a two device system as follows. Modem is a Cisco Model DPC3216 and DPC3216C DOCSIS 3.0 16x4 Cable Modem and the router is a Netgear R6300v2 Smart WiFi Router (WNDR6300C). The modem looks like a 2014 model and the router a 2012 model, as far as when they were originally introduced. So both are old.

I think it's simpler if you keep modem and router functions separate. I use the Spectrum provided cable modem with my wireless mesh routers.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

I think it's simpler if you keep modem and router functions separate. I use the Spectrum provided cable modem with my wireless mesh routers.

I agree with that. I really don’t want to set up a new modem, which might involve having them come out for a service call. The router I should be able to handle the setup on.

My security cams were a PITA as they originally just used whatever address the router assigned them, but it would change addresses once in a while. Since they are controlled via an internet address, it made it a chore to find their addresses. So I entered permanent addresses within the router settings and that solved that issue. It was impossible to have a bookmark for each of them in Safari when the addresses kept changing.

Do you think it better to force permanent addresses for the ATV 4K and Fire TVs too, or just let the router use the addresses it wants too. Currently I only force permanent addresses on the security cams so I can open their web addresses to set their settings and run FW updates on them.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Do you think it better to force permanent addresses for the ATV 4K and Fire TVs too, or just let the router use the addresses it wants too. Currently I only force permanent addresses on the security cams so I can open their web addresses to set their settings and run FW updates on them.

I don't see much point setting static IP addresses for the AppleTV or FireTV.

The only devices I set static IP for is the NAS and desktops running servers (e.g. Plex and Calibre server).

As for the security cams, I believe you can get 5-port PoE switches fairly cheap/affordable nowadays.

[OtinG]

Still doing research, but so far I’m leaning toward getting one of the following routers:

• TP-Link AX3000 Smart Dual Band WiFi 6 Router (Archer AX50), $130
• TP-Link AX6000 Dual Band WiFi 6 Router (Archer AX6000), $270

I’m going to go with just a router, not a mesh system since my house is so small. I think mesh would be overkill and more complicated to setup.

I looked up the specs on my current 9 year old Netgear router and as one might expect it is extremely outdated all around with terrible latency, an antique processor with very little RAM, and it really can’t support as many devices as I’ve got. So pretty much any decent Wi-Fi 6 router would be an improvement. The two I’m leaning towards though are really good for their price ranges.

[John F]

I have an AX3000 and I am happy with it. I have a 2 story (+ basement) 2000sf house and it works well throughout the house. I don't think I've had any problems with connections/signal strength. It is located on the second floor, center middle, and the 2 dots in the basement seem to have no connection problems. I also used 2 Echos outside and had no problems. I primarily use 2.4.

FWIW, your mileage may vary.

[OtinG]

Thanks for the hands-on report. The AX3000 definitely gets good reviews.

[JSWolf]

@OtinG, I suggest you call Charter and see what they have now and if they can upgrade you if it's what you want. It's what I would do before shelling out for a new router.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

@OtinG, I suggest you call Charter and see what they have now and if they can upgrade you if it's what you want. It's what I would do before shelling out for a new router.

I could do that, but they charge a monthly rental fee of $5, which amounts to $60/year. I plan to use the router for several years, and it doesn't make a lot of financial sense to rent a newer model. For example, over a two year period of renting one I will have paid $120, which is about what a good router will cost. But I won't own it. I'll still have to keep renting it at $60/year. I could easily end up paying several times more in rental fees to Spectrum than I would pay to buy a good router. It isn't like a cellular company that allows you to pay off a new phone in 2 or 3 years. Spectrum will always own the router and I will always be stuck renting it.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

I don't see much point setting static IP addresses for the AppleTV or FireTV.

The only devices I set static IP for is the NAS and desktops running servers (e.g. Plex and Calibre server).

As for the security cams, I believe you can get 5-port PoE switches fairly cheap/affordable nowadays.

And 3 months later I finally got around to making some changes!

I already had all my security cams set to static IP addresses because they are controlled via a web browser and keeping their addresses static is the best way to easily and quickly open up the proper web page for each.

I was having some issues with my Fire TV Cube and my Fire Recast OTA DVR losing touch with one another, so I added them to the short list of devices assigned a static IP address. This solved that issue and they now keep in touch.

I bought a Netgear switch and connected two of my security cams to it via ethernet. Both were using 2G Wi-Fi and since they were outdoors the signals were spotty and they were hogging Wi-Fi since they send video feeds 24x7. This made a big improvement. Their video feeds are no longer stuttering messes, and they no longer gobble up Wi-Fi bandwidth.

I seem to have solved all my issues for now, so I will hold off a bit before upgrading to a new Wi-Fi 6 router. All my streaming devices have been wired for a long time so no bandwidth issues there. The smart-plugs and smart-bulbs mostly use 2G Wi-Fi only and I don’t think any of them are Wi-Fi 6 capable anyway. The Echo devices are all working fine too as far as bandwidth is concerned.