Need New Wireless System

[jrank001]

Hello All:

I haven’t posted in quite a while but I always come here for expert help.

My son is starting college this year online. We have four adults in the house all with phones, laptops, desktops, streaming TV all wirelessly.

I want to upgrade my wireless system to handle this and wanted to know what to go with for speed and reliability. Can I get some help to be pointed in the right direction?

I have a Technicolor DPC3216 modem and a Netgear Nighthawk R7000 Router. Price is open.

Thanks for all the help

 

[EarthDog]

Does what you have already not work?

 

[jrank001]

Does what you have already not work?

Yes it works but it's old. I'm not up on the latest tech regarding WiFi. I want to do what makes sense

 

[EarthDog]

In looking at the specifcations for it, I'd imagine it would serve your needs just fine. What are your internet speeds?

That said, I don't know much about what you want to do (like the ubiquity mesh type), but before you go on upgrading, I'd make sure there is a deficiency. If you want to buy for giggles, that is ok too of course, but is a bit out of my lane.

 

[jrank001]

In looking at the specifcations for it, I'd imagine it would serve your needs just fine. What are your internet speeds?

That said, I don't know much about what you want to do (like the ubiquity mesh type), but before you go on upgrading, I'd make sure there is a deficiency. If you want to buy for giggles, that is ok too of course, but is a bit out of my lane.

I am with Spectrum. I'm at 99.94 Mbps download and 8.85 Mbps upload according to speedtest with just me on the internet

 

[EarthDog]

I am with Spectrum. I'm at 99.94 Mbps download and 8.85 Mbps upload according to speedtest with just me on the internet

I assume you are paying for 100/10 (that was my question, what are you paying for, internet speed wise). Perhaps you will need to bump your plan up as the router can handle more (see specifications).

(Why put a firehose on sink faucet is my thought)

 

[jrank001]

I assume you are paying for 100/10 (that was my question, what are you paying for, internet speed wise). Perhaps you will need to bump your plan up as the router can handle more (see specifications).

(Why put a firehose on sink faucet is my thought)

Yes 100/10. Good point. One thing is to get coverage outside. I was hoping to do that also. I'll look into the next plan.

 

[EarthDog]

Range isn't typically something you'll be able to improve so perhaps if that is the need, look into one of those ubiquity things (again, outside my knowledge base).

 

[mimart7]

Ubiquiti products can be expensive. I have a router 2 switches, and 2 access points.

A good solution, would be one of their mesh systems.

https://store.amplifi.com/products/amplifi-mesh-wi-fi-system

Other manufacturers also have mesh systems, which should meet your needs.

https://www.linksys.com/us/mesh-routers-for-streaming/

For outdoor, you might need to purchase an outdoor access point.

 

[Jon]

I second (or third?) the Ubiquiti UniFi series. I have the UniFi AC Lite and AC LR APs and they're great (I've upgraded over the years, so I've also had the standard and LR APs). They do require a controller install (free management software) and are a bit more complicated than typical consumer-grade APs for setup, but they're enterprise-level and fairly cheap when compared to anything else on the market.

 

[Automata]

I second (or third?) the Ubiquiti UniFi series.

Same. As Jon said, the setup is a little more involved because you need to install their software (a web service which manages them). The service is only used to configure and update the devices, and doesn't need to be constantly running. If you've setup wireless networks before, it isn't much different: create the wireless network, assign the devices to it, and it does auto-meshing for you. It can even find the best channel to use by scanning what other devices are using.

For Ubiquiti hardware, I'm running an UAP-AC-PRO, a 16 port POE switch, and 8 cameras. I switched because the wireless devices I was buying kept crashing, never got updated, and randomly stopped working. I've had no problems with my current hardware, and the only downtime I have are when they update or the power is out long enough the UPS units in the server rack can't keep everything running. Current uptime is 121 days, and that was due to a power outage.

 

[habbajabba]

Buy the Asus CM-16 modem and you can ditch the one spectrum gave you (if they did). You really only need the spectrum modem for their 'home phone' service.
Just split the incoming cable line with one to the spectrum modem and phone ONLY, and the other for your actual network and tv stuff. They must configure the new mac and don't let them tell you to plug the old modem into your wifi router.
I have 2 Asus AC-86U's(AsusMerlin boot imaged), the second being on a subnet of the first but wired back to it (100' run plus a 6' ext.). Both my routers are set to legacy 2.4G only. 5G imo is unhealthy and unnecessary. 2.4G actually travels father anyway through walls and such.
The routers were like $175 ea and the modem about $60ish. Add some roku's and you can even ditch all the cable boxes too, if you have tv.
Ubiquiti seems nice too but I'm not sure how friendly they really are with all the spying going on. I refuse to use anything that is directly affiliiated with apple, google, or amazon. Even cisco I would shun.
If you get spectrum's cell service it's like giving them your personal Internet ID with your payment. Huge mistake.

 

[wagex]

5G imo is unhealthy and unnecessary. 2.4G actually travels father anyway through walls and such.
The routers were like $175 ea and the modem about $60ish.

you got the wrong 5g fam, the "dangerous" stuff is the 5g (5th generation) that cell phones use which is actually in the 20+GHZ range, where as 5g wifi is literally just 5ghz.

If you need much bandwidth on your home wifi 5ghz is almost a necessity these days, with the new mesh networks make up for the 5ghz lack of transmission distances, i cover half an acre with 3 different buildings with two 5ghz ap's. You cant even stream decent quality movies over 2.4ghz from a local server.

 

[don256us]

I also added Ubiquity to my network to get my range extended and it works great.

That said, you could also log into your router and set QOS to favor certain machines/traffic over others. For example, the kids could have priority over all other machines to keep their school traffic running smooth.

 

[habbajabba]

you got the wrong 5g fam, the "dangerous" stuff is the 5g (5th generation) that cell phones use which is actually in the 20+GHZ range, where as 5g wifi is literally just 5ghz.

If you need much bandwidth on your home wifi 5ghz is almost a necessity these days, with the new mesh networks make up for the 5ghz lack of transmission distances, i cover half an acre with 3 different buildings with two 5ghz ap's. You cant even stream decent quality movies over 2.4ghz from a local server.

That's good to know. My roku works perfect in legacy mode, granted it's right next to the router. My living room tv uses wireless too and it works fine, with a router in the room next.Yeah, if I was constantly streaming hi def videos to multiple spots you'd probably get a bottleneck but I have 2 routers and split the actual use between them to begin with (I collect movies but almost never watch twice). I only stream live tv right now from one device (the living room is always vacant) so 5g is unnecessary, for me. My nas however has an awesome AP but I rarely stream shows from it. I'm probably going to get a poe camera or two and use it for that 24/7... Really you're way better off with fewer wireless needs than more. With all the smartmeter bs that actually just needs a 1or2g (3 was video) cell modem device to text but has way more power, the less radiation the better.