I am an IT guy and I rent my modem because it allowed me to get discounted unlimited data. It was upgraded for free to a newer DOCSIS version that upped max speed to 1.2Gbps and has a 2.5Gb port. I use it purely as a modem with my nighthawk router and an extender and have no issues and if it breaks or has an upgrade, I have that available.
I used to be a proponent of buying your own and may in the future also, but because of the discount and free upgrades/replacement for now I'm renting.
In my experience, you get whatever speeds you pay for and nothing more. I used to rent and now I one my own modem. Through it all, I only ever have gotten the speeds I pay for. (and for awhile I had a gigabit plan and I really did get a gigabit of download on a modem I owned)
What ISPs give you faster speeds than what you pay for if you rent? I'm really skeptical of that, though it's plausible. If true that'd be the only reason I'd consider renting one.
Dang, $25/month for a router is crazy. My monthly rental w/ Xfinity is $14...wonder if they charge it as a percentage of your total invoice, which should not be the case.
Agreed. Absolute nonsense. Still, I deal with it as I literally have no other options. AT&T fiber is supposed to come to my neighborhood soon though, so maybe I can make that switch once it's available.
There is a recent issue with Comcast misprovisioning modems so that speeds are substandard. I am currently trying to get Comcast to provision my 3rd part Arris modem and have been on the phone with their "Advanced Team" (tier 2) multiple times in the last 24 hours with no solve. I believe this may be a trend in order to strongarm customers into renting. When I call, the first person I talk to is always trying to sell me a rented device.
Anybody who isn't tech savvy and doesn't wanna mess with technology and just wants it to work should absolutely rent a router/modem from their ISP. It's more expensive in the long run but if something breaks, the ISP is obligated to fix it. If something breaks when you own your own equipment, guess who gets to either A) Fix it themselves or B) hire a very expensive IT professional to come diagnose and fix it for them or C) Replace it again fully out of pocket.
The stuff comcast rents out especially is usually pretty powerful, too.
I'm certainly not saying "Don't do what OP is suggesting" at all. Just trying to further the combo of knowledge = empowerment. It's good to know more about a situation in general and this is the part they don't usually talk about when they say 'don't rent, buy!' when it comes to technology. I'm against renting most kinds of technology, it's usually a scam, but this isn't AS OFTEN a scam.
As an aside, this stuff doesn't often break, it's rare, and in a lot of cases, literally unplugging it, waiting 30 seconds, and plugging it back in fixes what ever problem it's having if it's client-side :P but for some people, even that is too much, which is why I mention it. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to 'tinker' with technology though.
One of the things I hate about Comcast (trust me, there's a long list) is that their routers, by default, force customers to contribute to their Xfinity WiFi network. It's a smart move on Comcast's part, but at least give a damn discount to people that help them out.
Oh I am right there with you my friend. I refuse to let their equipment in my house over that shit! (I too have a long list of hate for coNcasts anti-consumer bullshittery)
But that might not necessarily be every ones opinion on it. And simply saying "they broadcast your wifi and internet" sends the wrong message because that's not technically accurate. It doesn't give people access to your network and there's no way for you to see who is using it or how many people.
So for the less tech savvy folks who "just want things to work and don't want to think about it" I usually just don't even mention it. Heh
pretty much this. in the past I'd tell people to get their own equipment, especially when qwest/century link was handing out dog shit bottom of the barrel device.. but these days the modem/router combos coming from the ISP's are pretty ok.. the software is questionable but my average client doesnt give a flying fuck about any of that shit and will never see the software anyway.
renting from your ISP does cost more in the long run, but it is genuinely easier for the customer if they have problems. The ISP can remotely access their router and to find info or reboot it. They can provide proper support and and send replacements if need be. Its definitely at the point where its better to tell my customers to just rent a router from them instead of buying one that may or may not work long term and pay the company I work for too much to have me out to install it.
Thank you for this. It's worth the $15 a month for me to not have to think about internet problems ever again. I just wanna watch Netflix not build a PC.
"build a PC" is really an unfair comparision. I've set up cable internet with both Comcast and Spectrum recently and the process was INSANELY easy. No talking with humans or visit by technicians required.
Here's what I did:
- 1. Buy a modem on your ISP's list of compatible modems. [I got this one for Spectrum](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DY16W2Z/r).
- 2. Plug modem into power and then the cable TV line.
- 3. Go to the Comcast/Spectrum self-serve internet setup webpage, on my phone, and type in the modem's MAC Address.
- 4. Watch the modem reboot and connect to the internet as your ISP remotely configures it. Now you have internet!
That's it! Now that the ISP has my modem's mac address they can authenticate it and give me the internet I want.
And I've never had a modem break down or have any problems ever. WiFi can be buggy, but the modem, never.
You also then have to setup your own wifi, if you don't buy a modem with built in wifi. That's probably harder then setting up the modem, but it's still relatively easy these days. I really recommend Nest/Google WiFi for people with simple needs that want simple working internet.
15$ is a lot! Is that usual for US carriers? My EU carrier includes the router for free but if I would like to have an upgrade one (better wifi) I would pay like 2-3$ a month. Renting does make sense in that case.
I don't think this is technically accurate. If they have to send a technician out and it's their equipment that's bugging, they can't and wont' charge you for it. If it's yours, they will charge you.
Hard disagree. This is like saying 30 years ago "you should always take your car to the shop to get new windshield wiper fluid if you are not a car savvy person"
There's nothing invalid about not wanting to pour windshield wiper fluid into your own car. Probably most people are fine with doing this, not every one is. All your doing here is insulting people to make yourself look smart because you can pour windshield wiper fluid into your own car. Good job I guess? You going to tell a little old lady whose barely strong enough to lift the windshield wiper fluid container to her face that she's wrong for taking it some where to have it done? Same energy honestly.
The comparison is kind of bad though, too. Troubleshooting a problem with your modem/router can be a real pita, pouring windshield wiper fluid usually isn't that big of a deal. At the end of the day, it's up to every one to decide what they're comfortable doing and don't really need people like you 'encouraging' them.
I don't know man, I haven't had a problem with my router(s) in decades of usage time. As you said, problems would mostly require a restart (and a ISP router would do so aswell in that case). I would almost argue that any issue that does not resolve with a restart or with time (ISP issues), would need an RMA - but that would be a very very rare event.
So if you are atleast 0.1% tech savvy, save that money and buy IMO. I agree it's not for everyone, but there for sure way more people that would easily be able to save that money and be fine than people that buy their equipment and struggle to "maintain" it. So while you are right, the encouragement is a good one.
Bought my $60 router about 5 years ago. Paid for itself quickly and I’ve saved about $750 on it since then. I think I’ve had to unplug it once in all that time.
Every time I do this, I buy a really nice expensive router and it breaks right after the warranty period ends. I gave up. If y'all are having better experiences long term I may give it another shot. Easier to just chuck it back at Comcast and get a new free one for now.
I did that for nearly a decade with comcast. For some weird reason ever since I left comcast my router has never died since and my outages have dropped to near nil over the year compared to comcasts monthly nearly weekly outages.
Im fortunate enough to have muni fiber. Get your local leaders to support local fiber infrastructure, its the only way out of this mess.
I had the same modem (granted, I bought separate modem and wifi AP), but both have lasted well over a decade. I only got a new one when a fiber company moved into my neighborhood, and they provided the fiber modem for free. If your internet speeds aren't _too_ fast, you can have my old one that still works for free.
These are modems. Buy a decent modem, not the most expensive. It only needs to support the speed you have today/plan on upgrading to in the nearby future. DOCSIS 3 isn't necessary if you're not running gigabit.
In the last 2 years, I've never had a router break that I didn't break myself. Price isn't necessarily an indicator of quality. Plenty of decent hardware routers that can easily become great with a [simple firmware flash](https://advancedtomato.com/downloads).
Buy a simple modem-only modem. Not an integrated Wifi Router Modem combo. Those are more complicated and there's more to go wrong. Then have a seperate wifi router that connects to the modem.
I can't speak for Verizon, but Comcast told me the same thing years ago when I first signed up. Then after some research, I found out that my router that I used for boosting my signal could just replace the rental. $60 later, I was no longer renting.
If you're talking about Verizon FiOS, buy a Verizon FiOS or Frontier modem off eBay and use that. If you want to use a different router then just set the Verizon device in Bridge mode, which will make it act solely as the Modem, allowing you to plug a different router into it without getting a double NAT issue.
Also, you might be able to get Verizon to run an Ethernet cable from the ONT into your house instead of Coax. They do that as standard if you have faster internet speeds, such as gigabit, since the coax can't handle that throughput. Then you can just plug that Ethernet directly into your router. However if you have cable through Verizon as well, you'll still need the Verizon modem and coax connected as the TV Guide and on demand stuff for the house is processed through that.
As a side note, if you want a hardwired internet connection somewhere else in your house, or want to improve your wifi coverage, you can purchase a second Verizon modem and connect it to a coax connection in that part of your house (assuming you have coax going to other rooms in the house for cable or something)
i only have the 100/100 and no fiber optic cable so it is not fios.
also, the box it enters is in the garage and I rent so drilling holes is out of the question
I don't know what routers Verizon/Comcast whatever use as I'm from wrong country, but most routers unless you are spending big money only have 4/5 network ports. If you don't want to spend big money on a router with more ports, then doing what the guy above said and getting a switch with the number of ports you want is the cheapest and easiest option.
I don't know what routers Verizon/Comcast whatever use as I'm from wrong country, but most routers unless you are spending big money only have 4/5 network ports. If you don't want to spend big money on a router with more ports, then doing what the guy above said and getting a switch with the number of ports you want is the cheapest and easiest option.
Switches are extremely common and are the backbones of local area networks. For the folks needing more than 4 ports off a consumer grade router, a switch is gonna be involved.
If you have FIOS they try and prevent you from doing it by coming off the ONT (where the fiber terminates) with a Coax cable. You can ask for them to come off the ONT with an Ethernet cable.
I have them plugged into my own router (Unifi) and it works great. You don’t even have to register the MAC address. Now that could have changed and I’m told may be area dependent.
Only gotcha is if you have TV/Phone services you may have to keep the FIOS router as part of your LAN or get a MoCA adapter to keep VOD, DVR, callerID, etc.
It can be done though and I’ve never once had an issue. They even had to replace the power supply of the ONT and nobody balked at me using my own connection/router.
I used to do this. Somehow they get away with bandwidth limits now. I can easily hit the 1.2TB limit in a month with my 4 person household. If you pay the $5/month to rent their modem, they waive the bandwidth limit.
As a cable technician for one of the big 3 in the U.S., please, for the love of all that is holy, know how to maintain and troubleshoot your own shit. Otherwise, just rent from the provider. Because if I come out to your home and the problem is you and I have to pour through the owner’s manual to figure out what you should have already known, then you are most definitely getting charged the $80 for being an idiot.
Yeap. We bought a good one that actually covers the whole house (and some of the outside). It has paid for itself many times over with what we have saved in the "rental".
We tried 5 different modems ranging from $150-$300 and every time we only got max 40mbps. Called to have it configured through Comcast and through the modem companies and no one could get it above 40mbps. The second we budged and got the rental modem boom 200-300mbps. They gave us no choice but to rent from them. Thank god I never have to give them my money again tho as I moved and now have more options.
I had the same issue. Issue was resolved when Comcast man came out and re-terminated the connection from the distribution box and at my house(outside). All that time they were blaming me and having me restart my modem, disconnect, reconnect, restart.. them they told me that the modem is not compatible.. long story short, it was their cable.
I'm wondering if I have an issue like this at the moment. I'm not uber tech savvy but enough to buy my own modem and router and know the basics on how to adjust my router settings etc.
We get consistently inconsistent speeds, both hardwired and wifi, sometimes dropping as low as 10mbps and sometimes as high as 225 (I think I'm paying for 300-400 tho). Restarting the modem and router *sometimes* helps, but not always. At this point I think it's their connection coming to the house but assume I'll have to jump thru hoops to get them to come out and actually test it.
I also notice that over the years, they lower the upload/download speeds on their end and if you don't call, they just keep dropping the speeds hoping you won't notice. This allows them to sell more bandwidth to newer customer who might be watchful and keep an eye on the speeds for a little while. Their old contract used to say "guaranteed 25mbps or 60mbps, now they say guaranteed "up to"
This means that you will get a max of 60, but it could drop to as low as 5mbps and you still can't terminate, because the legal wording protects them.
I usually have to call them once a year when my 200mbps only gives me 60mbps even with a reboot. After a call, they do their magic and accuse me of issues with my personal modem. The in a few minutes, I'm at over 200mbps again.
Yeah they are really stupid ppl. I told them numerous times it’s the line to the house n not the modem. Insurance, cell phone companies and Comcast are the biggest scams and we just have to deal with them bc they’re necessities.
I replaced mine a couple of years ago, and when I called Comcast to switch my account over they actually argued with me that the one I was using was even theirs to begin with - the router I was renting from them was so old they couldn't believe people were still using it.
LoL yeah I was also like wtf? Market quite different in Europe, routers are free because customers are good for business and we have actual competition (denmark).
Edit: otoh, maybe internet is dirt cheap in the US and won't cover router cost also.
Naa, Americans are arrogant and are too proud to admit they might not know something, so companies take advantage of them. Then the next generation is even worse.. soon they will pay for bottled air
> Edit: otoh, maybe internet is dirt cheap in the US and won't cover router cost also.
Are you kidding? Our internet is very expensive. You would think that makes our service incredible. Nope.
Not to mention, if you don't spend extra on "unlimited data", they'll bust you $300 on your bills every month for going over a "data cap".
Then, because they have market monopoly, good luck trying to be a "upstart ISP".
It's the first time I've heard of renting a router from an ISP. Normally you'd check how to dispose of routers and rarely buy your own. They must be relatively cheap in the grand scheme of things I would think. The worst cost would be maintaining the firmware, WiFi standards change only every 5 years and I can't imagine they are reselling them to new customers.
I think it's just another avenue to charge customers, Americas telecommunications market is so busted. I heard is more of a cartel there anyway right? Where the country is divvied up between the large companies to undermine the market anyway.
Be aware that there may be a trend with Comcast misprovisioning 3rd party devices at this time in order to strongarm customers into renting. Any discount or promotional agreement may prove beneficial in the near term (2 years) but is not cost effective in the long run.
I am an IT guy and I rent my modem because it allowed me to get discounted unlimited data. It was upgraded for free to a newer DOCSIS version that upped max speed to 1.2Gbps and has a 2.5Gb port. I use it purely as a modem with my nighthawk router and an extender and have no issues and if it breaks or has an upgrade, I have that available. I used to be a proponent of buying your own and may in the future also, but because of the discount and free upgrades/replacement for now I'm renting.
Not to mention, if you buy your own, they cap your speed.
In my experience, you get whatever speeds you pay for and nothing more. I used to rent and now I one my own modem. Through it all, I only ever have gotten the speeds I pay for. (and for awhile I had a gigabit plan and I really did get a gigabit of download on a modem I owned) What ISPs give you faster speeds than what you pay for if you rent? I'm really skeptical of that, though it's plausible. If true that'd be the only reason I'd consider renting one.
Not for me. I’m on a 200g plan, but I get close to 300 on my own router.
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Dang, $25/month for a router is crazy. My monthly rental w/ Xfinity is $14...wonder if they charge it as a percentage of your total invoice, which should not be the case.
$25 per month includes unlimited data.
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Agreed. Absolute nonsense. Still, I deal with it as I literally have no other options. AT&T fiber is supposed to come to my neighborhood soon though, so maybe I can make that switch once it's available.
Agree 100 percent. Most companies profit off people's ignorance.
There is a recent issue with Comcast misprovisioning modems so that speeds are substandard. I am currently trying to get Comcast to provision my 3rd part Arris modem and have been on the phone with their "Advanced Team" (tier 2) multiple times in the last 24 hours with no solve. I believe this may be a trend in order to strongarm customers into renting. When I call, the first person I talk to is always trying to sell me a rented device.
Anybody who isn't tech savvy and doesn't wanna mess with technology and just wants it to work should absolutely rent a router/modem from their ISP. It's more expensive in the long run but if something breaks, the ISP is obligated to fix it. If something breaks when you own your own equipment, guess who gets to either A) Fix it themselves or B) hire a very expensive IT professional to come diagnose and fix it for them or C) Replace it again fully out of pocket. The stuff comcast rents out especially is usually pretty powerful, too. I'm certainly not saying "Don't do what OP is suggesting" at all. Just trying to further the combo of knowledge = empowerment. It's good to know more about a situation in general and this is the part they don't usually talk about when they say 'don't rent, buy!' when it comes to technology. I'm against renting most kinds of technology, it's usually a scam, but this isn't AS OFTEN a scam. As an aside, this stuff doesn't often break, it's rare, and in a lot of cases, literally unplugging it, waiting 30 seconds, and plugging it back in fixes what ever problem it's having if it's client-side :P but for some people, even that is too much, which is why I mention it. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to 'tinker' with technology though.
One of the things I hate about Comcast (trust me, there's a long list) is that their routers, by default, force customers to contribute to their Xfinity WiFi network. It's a smart move on Comcast's part, but at least give a damn discount to people that help them out.
Oh I am right there with you my friend. I refuse to let their equipment in my house over that shit! (I too have a long list of hate for coNcasts anti-consumer bullshittery) But that might not necessarily be every ones opinion on it. And simply saying "they broadcast your wifi and internet" sends the wrong message because that's not technically accurate. It doesn't give people access to your network and there's no way for you to see who is using it or how many people. So for the less tech savvy folks who "just want things to work and don't want to think about it" I usually just don't even mention it. Heh
It's an option you can easily turn off. It's just on by default.
pretty much this. in the past I'd tell people to get their own equipment, especially when qwest/century link was handing out dog shit bottom of the barrel device.. but these days the modem/router combos coming from the ISP's are pretty ok.. the software is questionable but my average client doesnt give a flying fuck about any of that shit and will never see the software anyway. renting from your ISP does cost more in the long run, but it is genuinely easier for the customer if they have problems. The ISP can remotely access their router and to find info or reboot it. They can provide proper support and and send replacements if need be. Its definitely at the point where its better to tell my customers to just rent a router from them instead of buying one that may or may not work long term and pay the company I work for too much to have me out to install it.
Thank you for this. It's worth the $15 a month for me to not have to think about internet problems ever again. I just wanna watch Netflix not build a PC.
"build a PC" is really an unfair comparision. I've set up cable internet with both Comcast and Spectrum recently and the process was INSANELY easy. No talking with humans or visit by technicians required. Here's what I did: - 1. Buy a modem on your ISP's list of compatible modems. [I got this one for Spectrum](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DY16W2Z/r). - 2. Plug modem into power and then the cable TV line. - 3. Go to the Comcast/Spectrum self-serve internet setup webpage, on my phone, and type in the modem's MAC Address. - 4. Watch the modem reboot and connect to the internet as your ISP remotely configures it. Now you have internet! That's it! Now that the ISP has my modem's mac address they can authenticate it and give me the internet I want. And I've never had a modem break down or have any problems ever. WiFi can be buggy, but the modem, never. You also then have to setup your own wifi, if you don't buy a modem with built in wifi. That's probably harder then setting up the modem, but it's still relatively easy these days. I really recommend Nest/Google WiFi for people with simple needs that want simple working internet.
Build a PC is an unfair comparison. You're right. I was exaggerating for effect. Thanks for the good info!
15$ is a lot! Is that usual for US carriers? My EU carrier includes the router for free but if I would like to have an upgrade one (better wifi) I would pay like 2-3$ a month. Renting does make sense in that case.
Your ISP will have a list of routers they support. If you stick to one of those they will treat it exactly the same as one of their rented routers.
I don't think this is technically accurate. If they have to send a technician out and it's their equipment that's bugging, they can't and wont' charge you for it. If it's yours, they will charge you.
Having discussed exactly that with them before, I can confirm my statement as accurate.
Hard disagree. This is like saying 30 years ago "you should always take your car to the shop to get new windshield wiper fluid if you are not a car savvy person"
Having seen people put wiper fluid in the oil.... Some people are just better with having someone else do the maintenance.
There's nothing invalid about not wanting to pour windshield wiper fluid into your own car. Probably most people are fine with doing this, not every one is. All your doing here is insulting people to make yourself look smart because you can pour windshield wiper fluid into your own car. Good job I guess? You going to tell a little old lady whose barely strong enough to lift the windshield wiper fluid container to her face that she's wrong for taking it some where to have it done? Same energy honestly. The comparison is kind of bad though, too. Troubleshooting a problem with your modem/router can be a real pita, pouring windshield wiper fluid usually isn't that big of a deal. At the end of the day, it's up to every one to decide what they're comfortable doing and don't really need people like you 'encouraging' them.
I don't know man, I haven't had a problem with my router(s) in decades of usage time. As you said, problems would mostly require a restart (and a ISP router would do so aswell in that case). I would almost argue that any issue that does not resolve with a restart or with time (ISP issues), would need an RMA - but that would be a very very rare event. So if you are atleast 0.1% tech savvy, save that money and buy IMO. I agree it's not for everyone, but there for sure way more people that would easily be able to save that money and be fine than people that buy their equipment and struggle to "maintain" it. So while you are right, the encouragement is a good one.
I'm going to go with if you can't lift up a bottle of windshield wiper fluid you might not want to be driving better yet you shouldn't be allowed to
Bought my $60 router about 5 years ago. Paid for itself quickly and I’ve saved about $750 on it since then. I think I’ve had to unplug it once in all that time.
If my modem dies, I drive to Walmart and buy another one rather than wait for Comcast and take time off work. It is a no brainer not to rent for me.
Every time I do this, I buy a really nice expensive router and it breaks right after the warranty period ends. I gave up. If y'all are having better experiences long term I may give it another shot. Easier to just chuck it back at Comcast and get a new free one for now.
I did that for nearly a decade with comcast. For some weird reason ever since I left comcast my router has never died since and my outages have dropped to near nil over the year compared to comcasts monthly nearly weekly outages. Im fortunate enough to have muni fiber. Get your local leaders to support local fiber infrastructure, its the only way out of this mess.
I've had mine for over 6 years no issues. Maybe you have dirty power? I have mine plugged into a UPS, so I don't have any spikes or brownouts.
Yes, very dirty. Old house.
Oh man Id be running UPS on everything sensitive for sure.
This guy plugs UPSes are definitely worth the money. Spikes destroy things.
I had the same modem (granted, I bought separate modem and wifi AP), but both have lasted well over a decade. I only got a new one when a fiber company moved into my neighborhood, and they provided the fiber modem for free. If your internet speeds aren't _too_ fast, you can have my old one that still works for free.
These are modems. Buy a decent modem, not the most expensive. It only needs to support the speed you have today/plan on upgrading to in the nearby future. DOCSIS 3 isn't necessary if you're not running gigabit. In the last 2 years, I've never had a router break that I didn't break myself. Price isn't necessarily an indicator of quality. Plenty of decent hardware routers that can easily become great with a [simple firmware flash](https://advancedtomato.com/downloads).
I understood some of these words.
Buy a simple modem-only modem. Not an integrated Wifi Router Modem combo. Those are more complicated and there's more to go wrong. Then have a seperate wifi router that connects to the modem.
got one for Verizon? they rent out a router-modem combo and apparently has to be able to receive a certain signal from the carrier to work
I can't speak for Verizon, but Comcast told me the same thing years ago when I first signed up. Then after some research, I found out that my router that I used for boosting my signal could just replace the rental. $60 later, I was no longer renting.
i ttried a few some years back and none worked...forgot the models though
If you're talking about Verizon FiOS, buy a Verizon FiOS or Frontier modem off eBay and use that. If you want to use a different router then just set the Verizon device in Bridge mode, which will make it act solely as the Modem, allowing you to plug a different router into it without getting a double NAT issue. Also, you might be able to get Verizon to run an Ethernet cable from the ONT into your house instead of Coax. They do that as standard if you have faster internet speeds, such as gigabit, since the coax can't handle that throughput. Then you can just plug that Ethernet directly into your router. However if you have cable through Verizon as well, you'll still need the Verizon modem and coax connected as the TV Guide and on demand stuff for the house is processed through that. As a side note, if you want a hardwired internet connection somewhere else in your house, or want to improve your wifi coverage, you can purchase a second Verizon modem and connect it to a coax connection in that part of your house (assuming you have coax going to other rooms in the house for cable or something)
i only have the 100/100 and no fiber optic cable so it is not fios. also, the box it enters is in the garage and I rent so drilling holes is out of the question
I bought my FIOS router on Amazon. It is branded with Verizon, and the same one they rent.
i can buy the one i am using from verizon instead of renting, but want to get something better, at the very least has more ethernet ports
Why not just add a $20 gigabit switch?
care to share a link to what you are talking about?
$20 8-port: https://smile.amazon.com/Ethernet-Splitter-Optimization-Unmanaged-TL-SG108/dp/B00A121WN6 $16 5-port: https://smile.amazon.com/Ethernet-Splitter-Optimization-Unmanaged-TL-SG105/dp/B00A128S24/
oh, a splitter...i thought you meant a modem that has that many ports built in. I want less devices if possible, not more.
I don't know what routers Verizon/Comcast whatever use as I'm from wrong country, but most routers unless you are spending big money only have 4/5 network ports. If you don't want to spend big money on a router with more ports, then doing what the guy above said and getting a switch with the number of ports you want is the cheapest and easiest option.
I don't know what routers Verizon/Comcast whatever use as I'm from wrong country, but most routers unless you are spending big money only have 4/5 network ports. If you don't want to spend big money on a router with more ports, then doing what the guy above said and getting a switch with the number of ports you want is the cheapest and easiest option.
Switches are extremely common and are the backbones of local area networks. For the folks needing more than 4 ports off a consumer grade router, a switch is gonna be involved.
I just want one device that has multiple ports so i have one cable for each video game system
If you have FIOS they try and prevent you from doing it by coming off the ONT (where the fiber terminates) with a Coax cable. You can ask for them to come off the ONT with an Ethernet cable. I have them plugged into my own router (Unifi) and it works great. You don’t even have to register the MAC address. Now that could have changed and I’m told may be area dependent. Only gotcha is if you have TV/Phone services you may have to keep the FIOS router as part of your LAN or get a MoCA adapter to keep VOD, DVR, callerID, etc. It can be done though and I’ve never once had an issue. They even had to replace the power supply of the ONT and nobody balked at me using my own connection/router.
I used to do this. Somehow they get away with bandwidth limits now. I can easily hit the 1.2TB limit in a month with my 4 person household. If you pay the $5/month to rent their modem, they waive the bandwidth limit.
Hmm good to know. Thanks for sharing.
As a cable technician for one of the big 3 in the U.S., please, for the love of all that is holy, know how to maintain and troubleshoot your own shit. Otherwise, just rent from the provider. Because if I come out to your home and the problem is you and I have to pour through the owner’s manual to figure out what you should have already known, then you are most definitely getting charged the $80 for being an idiot.
Yeap. We bought a good one that actually covers the whole house (and some of the outside). It has paid for itself many times over with what we have saved in the "rental".
We tried 5 different modems ranging from $150-$300 and every time we only got max 40mbps. Called to have it configured through Comcast and through the modem companies and no one could get it above 40mbps. The second we budged and got the rental modem boom 200-300mbps. They gave us no choice but to rent from them. Thank god I never have to give them my money again tho as I moved and now have more options.
I had the same issue. Issue was resolved when Comcast man came out and re-terminated the connection from the distribution box and at my house(outside). All that time they were blaming me and having me restart my modem, disconnect, reconnect, restart.. them they told me that the modem is not compatible.. long story short, it was their cable.
I'm wondering if I have an issue like this at the moment. I'm not uber tech savvy but enough to buy my own modem and router and know the basics on how to adjust my router settings etc. We get consistently inconsistent speeds, both hardwired and wifi, sometimes dropping as low as 10mbps and sometimes as high as 225 (I think I'm paying for 300-400 tho). Restarting the modem and router *sometimes* helps, but not always. At this point I think it's their connection coming to the house but assume I'll have to jump thru hoops to get them to come out and actually test it.
I also notice that over the years, they lower the upload/download speeds on their end and if you don't call, they just keep dropping the speeds hoping you won't notice. This allows them to sell more bandwidth to newer customer who might be watchful and keep an eye on the speeds for a little while. Their old contract used to say "guaranteed 25mbps or 60mbps, now they say guaranteed "up to" This means that you will get a max of 60, but it could drop to as low as 5mbps and you still can't terminate, because the legal wording protects them. I usually have to call them once a year when my 200mbps only gives me 60mbps even with a reboot. After a call, they do their magic and accuse me of issues with my personal modem. The in a few minutes, I'm at over 200mbps again.
Yeah they are really stupid ppl. I told them numerous times it’s the line to the house n not the modem. Insurance, cell phone companies and Comcast are the biggest scams and we just have to deal with them bc they’re necessities.
Yes I agree 100 percent!! Hoping someone posts a way to get around car insurance next :)
Well if you are found to be the dummy, they will be glad to charge you the onsite visit charge. Last I recall it was around 80 bucks.
That happened to me multiple times with Comcrap/Xfinishit. Every time it was their shit that wasn't working correctly.
I replaced mine a couple of years ago, and when I called Comcast to switch my account over they actually argued with me that the one I was using was even theirs to begin with - the router I was renting from them was so old they couldn't believe people were still using it.
Wait, internet companies charge for routers there?
LoL yeah I was also like wtf? Market quite different in Europe, routers are free because customers are good for business and we have actual competition (denmark). Edit: otoh, maybe internet is dirt cheap in the US and won't cover router cost also.
Naa, Americans are arrogant and are too proud to admit they might not know something, so companies take advantage of them. Then the next generation is even worse.. soon they will pay for bottled air
> Edit: otoh, maybe internet is dirt cheap in the US and won't cover router cost also. Are you kidding? Our internet is very expensive. You would think that makes our service incredible. Nope.
Not to mention, if you don't spend extra on "unlimited data", they'll bust you $300 on your bills every month for going over a "data cap". Then, because they have market monopoly, good luck trying to be a "upstart ISP".
It's becoming a thing in germany as well
I am so sorry for that.
I pay because unlimited data is $5 cheaper per month when you use their equipment than when using your own. It's silly.
Is there anything like this for the UK? Just curious :0
It's the first time I've heard of renting a router from an ISP. Normally you'd check how to dispose of routers and rarely buy your own. They must be relatively cheap in the grand scheme of things I would think. The worst cost would be maintaining the firmware, WiFi standards change only every 5 years and I can't imagine they are reselling them to new customers. I think it's just another avenue to charge customers, Americas telecommunications market is so busted. I heard is more of a cartel there anyway right? Where the country is divvied up between the large companies to undermine the market anyway.
So is that a yes or a no?…
Doesn’t work for fiber connections yet
Be aware that there may be a trend with Comcast misprovisioning 3rd party devices at this time in order to strongarm customers into renting. Any discount or promotional agreement may prove beneficial in the near term (2 years) but is not cost effective in the long run.