First let me say I love my Tablo and just cutoff DirecTV saving $106 to $160 a month
That’s the good news but our internet and wireless usage has grown with all our family members streaming and such. I’m trying to determine what changes I need to make or may help as we are experiencing challenges on the streaming and internet access side. I tried several router settings to no avail.
My setup is this:
Cable Modem Motorola sb6121 (Comcast performance internet 50mps down/5 mps up
WDR3700 Netgear N600 router
Wired devices: 1 Tablo, 1 Roku 2 Box, 1.Desktop PC, 1. Yamaha A740 home theater receiver
Wireless: 4 smartphones, 2 printers, Play station, Blue Ray player, 2 laptop computers
The router seems to be struggling and trying to determine if it should be upgraded and if the Comcast service should be increased. Considering all the wired devices generally running all the time, wifi having 6 to 8 devices connected all the time and planning on implementing a firestick on another tv. Is it time to upgrade the router? Comcast Internet Service?
I’m open to any suggestions you all have on good router for this traffic and/or internet service levels
First, use testmy.net to see if you’re getting the speeds you’re supposed to be getting. If not, try upgrading the modem first. That’s an old modem with only 4 download channels. Get one with at least 16 and you’re much more likely to get the performance you’re already paying for.
for 50/5 the modem you have should be fine. If you are hammering the wireless hard, you could see improvement from upgrading the router, but what you have seems reasonable for what you are running. (You don’t see significant improvement for N devices on AC networks. AC devices on AC networks are a different story…)
as far as upgrading service plan, it really depends on how heavy you are streaming. if EVERYBODY is constantly streaming 4k content you need a lot more than just a few 720p youtube clips. And if upgrading your service you will have to upgrade to a modem with more channels.
Not necessarily. The older modems have a limited number of download channels, in a smaller frequency range. If all those channels are in major contention by other users on that local segment, the OP might not be getting the 50/5 he’s paying for. Getting a newer modem that can use more (different) channels means he’s more likely to get the bandwidth he’s supposed to be getting.
I have 50 down and 5 up. My cable modem is a Zoom 5341J. My router is TP Link Archer C7 picked by http://m.thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-wi-fi-router/. I have the Tablo, NP, Roku, laptop on 5 Ghz WiFi and no problem.
From those results your modem is fine, as is your hardwired ethernet performance. You do have bottlenecks with Wifi. How close to the router are those various wireless devices? A better WAP would probably help a lot.
That is awesome! Is there somewhere where I can find out how many download channels my modem has without asking you the question? Love this forum…learn something new every day…
New ranch house with all network and coax in basement central box
Modem and router in same area for ease of connections
Devices throughout the house
Can you explain what you mean by better WAP?
Since the wireless network connection shows 150 to 200 MBPS on the devices is it really a wifi issue?
Speed tests through the network seem widely different - is that a router issue or modem channel issue
Good news is the Comcast speed direct connected speed test is what I should be getting. with multiple devices on the network I get strange results
I have consider changes to both the router and modem
Modem to sb6141 8 channels or sb6183 16 channels
Router Archer C7 or Netgear R7000
Anyone have experiences with these?
What about a wifi extender - do those work?
Think I have exhausted my networking expertise so thanks all for input
WAP = wireless access point
Usually refers to a wireless router.
Yes, because your hardwired PC is going to get the fastest possible download and upload speeds.
Your wireless connections will always be slower.
Wireless performance is affected by the following:
Wireless networking uses half-duplex mode, which means the device is either sending or receiving data at any given time.
This effectively halves the theoretical maximum thruput.
For example, wireless-g maximum theoretical thruput is 56Mbps.
Actual maximum thruput is 24Mbps.
Wired networking, by the way, is full duplex, and can send and receive data at the same time.
Wireless channel signal interference.
Your microwave oven, cordless phones, neighbors’ wireless routers, … can all interfere with your wireless networking performance, if those devices operate within the same channel frequency.
Distance matters.
The further your devices are from the wireless router, the weaker the signal is, the lower the thruput will be.
Physical objects matter.
The more physical objects between the wireless router, and the devices, the weaker the signal is, the lower the thruput will be.
Physical objects include: walls, furniture, people, kitchen applicances, …
The type of physical object matter most.
Wireless signals do not travel thru metal, instead they bounce off.
So, you can block a wireless signal with a thin sheet of aluminum foil, eventhough the same signal will penetrate thru a thick wall.
The type of wireless technology matters.
wireless-g has a lower maximum thruput that wireless-n or wireless-ac.
However, wireless-g, which uses 2.4GHz signal frequency, will travel thru more physical objects.
Wireless-n and wireless-ac at 5GHz signal frequency, will not travel nearly as far thru physical objects.
Location, location, location…
Where you place your wireless router matters.
The most central location to all your devices, and higher up off the ground is better.
However, I have my wireless router sitting on top of a 6 foot tall bookcase, at one end of my one story house.
It has to be located there, because that’s where my internet modem is.
That being said, we use wireless-n for devices within 25 feet of the router, and wireless-g for devices beyond 25 feet up to 70 feet, including 3 internal walls, furniture, kids’ heads, … with great results.
WiFi extenders work, but suffer from all the items mentioned above.
Do you have any wired ethernet connections from that basement location to the upper floors? If so, consider putting a WAP on an upper floor. You can get a dedicated WAP device like a UnFi AC Lite (http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-Enterprise-System-UAP-AC-LITE-US/dp/B015PR20GY) or a Wifi router in WAP-only mode. IMO, a purpose-built dedicated WAP will almost always give you better Wifi performance than a combo unit.
Thanks all for your input and advices
Looks like lot’s of options
After setting the router back to manufacturing defaults and reconnecting devices some issue went away but even connected near the router there is lag from time to time to the internet.
Since the Tablo is wired to the router. Can I connect the devices to the 5GHZ name and they will still find the Tablo? The 5GHZ should have it’s own SSID Name - correct?
I have decide to minimally upgrade my modem and router as both are aged
In your opinions
Is it necessary to go to a 16 channel modem (sb6183) or will the 8 channel modem do (sb6121)?
As noted earlier my current router is an N600
Thinking of upgrading to the Archer C7 or NETGEAR Nighthawk AC1900 (R7000)
Any feedback on those?
Last step would go to WAP only extra connected upstairs but thinking that would wait until I see how the above upgrades work.
Yes, your player devices connecting wirelessly to your network will see the Tablo on your network.
I’d recommend it, yes, because it’s easier to tell which device is connecting via 2.4GHz, and which are connecting via 5GHz.
The SB6183 with 16 downstream channels increases your potential maximum download speed from the internet.
However, you’ll need at least a 50Mbps download speed internet service to even notice the increase in speed.
That being said, I would get the SB6183 for the extra $20 or so just to have the future ability to increase speed if you do ever get a faster internet service.
Ha, I just saw the SB6190 is out with 32 downstream channels for even more potential maximum download speed.
It does cost around $50 more than the SB6183, though.
Totally agree on waiting to add additional WAPs until you see how well the coverage and performance is on your new wireless router.
Don’t waste money, nor add additional network complexity if you don’t need to.
If you connect the Tablo directly to the router and put your other devices on the 5GHz network, you’ll be able to find the Tablo. No issues there and would be the first thing I did prior to spending any money.
I don’t see the need to upgrade your router.
I can’t offer any insight to your router choices as I don’t have any experience with either.