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Willie5566

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 10, 2010
187
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I need advice on improving my home network. I currently have Time Warner internet 30 megs which should be quite fast.

I currently have this modem/router:

http://www.arrisi.com/products/product.asp?id=79

This is from Time Warner. We are currently leasing it. We have had it for about 18 months. Spec wise it seems descent. The biggest issue we are having is connectivity is intermittent at times. It also drags at times. My speed test does verify we are clocking at 30 meg.

I would like to have a network that is more dependable. We do not stream a lot. My kids do youtube quite a bit but no Netflix/Gaming. We currently have roughly 6-8 devices connected-iphones, iPads mostly. When the kids have freinds over they usually are on our wi-fi too. HOWEVER, our issues occur even when it is just the 4 of us at home.

I am limited on the modem/routers I can buy since only certain ones work with Time Warner. This is one I have been looking at:

http://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/cable-modems-routers/C3700.aspx

From the spec side it does not seem like an upgrade. In fact I would lose an ethernet port which sucks as I do use three of them.

Any suggestions on what would help. Do you think my current modem/router is insufficient?
 
If it were me before I bought anything I'd make sure that the router was causing the problem and not you actually maxing you connection out. Two kids running youtube with two other computers in action as well at 2 to 4 phones plus possible tablets and you very well could be saturating your connection.
 
I actually do think we could be maxing it out. I do not feel we are heavy users (no streaming, no gaming). I do believe we have a lot on the network. Is going with an AC1200 the way to go? I believe the 600 should be able to handle up to 10 devices. The 1200 would be closer to 15.
 
Where is this list of "compatible" routers? Time Warner uses DHCP to assign addresses, there is no login needed to get a connection, pretty much ANY home router should work. Now, they may have units designated as "we know this works well" but I don't believe you're tied to a specific compatibility list. See here

If I was you, I'd get my own modem and router (and NOT a combo, that's the silliest idea!) if the rental/lease is not included in the cost of the plan. I have a Netgear router that is dual-band and does up to N speeds. My brother has an Asus (I think) that supports AC speeds. I have a Motorola SB6141 modem on the same tier as you, there's a newer Moto modem out that would be needed once Max hits your area as your current tier will bump to 100 MB.

Number of devices shouldn't make a HUGE difference in which one you get. At my parents house we have almost maxed the MAC address filter of 36 allowed devices. When everyone is visiting, we don't have ALL of those connected but many of them are and there are NO issues, with a Linksys WRT54G2 (~6 years old) on TW's 15 Mb standard internet.
 
Willie5566 said:
I actually do think we could be maxing it out. I do not feel we are heavy users (no streaming, no gaming). I do believe we have a lot on the network. Is going with an AC1200 the way to go? I believe the 600 should be able to handle up to 10 devices. The 1200 would be closer to 15.
Click to expand...

youtube is streaming
 
Here is the document TW gave me.
 

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hallux said:
If I was you, I'd get my own modem and router (and NOT a combo, that's the silliest idea!)
Click to expand...

That's good advice. A combo is the easiest way to go, but certainly not the best way to go. I have the same Time Warner internet 30 megs as the OP and went with a Zoom 5341J Modem (make sure you get the "J" model and not just the 5341 version) plugged into a Asus RT-AC68U. It took around 2 - 3 minutes to set up and has been running flawlessly ever since day one.
 
Are you doing any streaming from devices inside your network to other devices residing on your network? i.e. NAS box streaming to iPhones and iPads? Or an external harddrive data to multiple computers? If so are you seeing any hick-ups while doing this?

Or is it when you are streaming from the internet to your devices internally?

Are you using any bridge or extender hardware? Any internal routers? that are connected to your modem? If so what is the speed rating for them?
 
Mac... nificent said:
That's good advice. A combo is the easiest way to go, but certainly not the best way to go. I have the same Time Warner internet 30 megs as the OP and went with a Zoom 5341J Modem (make sure you get the "J" model and not just the 5341 version) plugged into a Asus RT-AC68U. It took around 2 - 3 minutes to set up and has been running flawlessly ever since day one.
Click to expand...

Sounds like separate seems to be the way to go. Your router is a bit pricier than I would like to go but the modem seems pretty solid.

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rhett7660 said:
Are you doing any streaming from devices inside your network to other devices residing on your network? i.e. NAS box streaming to iPhones and iPads? Or an external harddrive data to multiple computers? If so are you seeing any hick-ups while doing this?

Or is it when you are streaming from the internet to your devices internally?

Are you using any bridge or extender hardware? Any internal routers? that are connected to your modem? If so what is the speed rating for them?
Click to expand...

To your first question-no. Not sure what some of that is, so i will go with no.

My issues occur even when I do simple internet searches. It will lag or even timeout.

No additional hardware or routers.

Interesting-I just did a speed test on my wi-fi at work. I am getting a whopping 2.86 meg download. Yet my 10 year old MBP moves right a long without any lagging. At 30 megs my internet at home should read my mind and jump on pages before i finish typing.
 
What are you using to test the speeds? Speedtest.net or is it what ISP is providing?

What happens when you remove all the devices from the network and just leave one device on? Any hick-ups? What happens when you put two devices on and start using them both at the same time? Say streaming and doing a search? Going on and on until you start seeing hick-ups/time outs etc?

What are the numbers when you do a trace on a url during times you are seeing the hick-ups?

terminal>> type traceroute http://www.google.com

Look for the numbers below, are they consistent, do they jump up and down? Do they drop packets? Do this and someone start streaming or doing another internet heavy command.
 
The speed test today was on Speedtest.net. I have an app on my iPad I used to measure the 30 megs at home.

I will play around with eliminating devices and what not and see what I can find. I will say that even in the morning without people using their devices i am not blown away with the performance. It's better but not what I would expect.
 
Willie5566 said:
The speed test today was on Speedtest.net. I have an app on my iPad I used to measure the 30 megs at home.

I will play around with eliminating devices and what not and see what I can find. I will say that even in the morning without people using their devices i am not blown away with the performance. It's better but not what I would expect.
Click to expand...

Not so much not using, but have them off the network completely. Make sure they are not connected at all. Just the one device. With out specific tools in place it is hard to actually nail down the reason for the slow service. For all we know it might be your ISP throttling you during "peak" hours because of the increase traffic on their network as a whole. Network collisions which are causing the dropped packets etc.... But this way you can see what is the threshold based on a simple one device.

If you can I would also pick up a little handy and pretty cheap app called wifi explorer (in the app store $4.99) tells you the signal strength channel etc. You might need to switch channels on your wireless router to bypass other items that are working on the same channel in your area. It will also tell you the max rate at what the connection can handle. (I do not work or have anything to do with wifi explorer it is just something I picked up and like it). Heck there maybe an issue with your router!

Forgot to ask, is this occurring on hardwired computers as well? Or is it just those that are using the wifi?

By the way I am no expert on this, I have just troubleshooted a lot of these type of things and this is usually the route I go to nail down the problem.
 
The hard wired computers perform ok. I do not notice the same issues. I ran a ethernet cable all the way across the house so I could use my apple tv. It is the only way it would work.

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Is wifi explorer available for iPad? It appears there is not an iPhone version. I see there is one in the Mac store but would prefer a mobile version.
 
I find it far better to have a separate modem and router. Modem should only deal with TWC while your router should deal with your devices. When it comes time to trouble shooting, separates will be far better overall in pinpointing issues as well as fixing them.
 
My experience with using cable/fiber "gateways" from the utility as my home router is universally bad. In each case, I was told the same thing - that the gateway (modem, in your case) generally doesn't do well once you start getting about 10 or so devices connecting to it - both wired and wireless.

The solution is to set the cable modem into "modem" mode - meaning it functions strictly as a modem and gateway, but offers no router functionality at all - and buy your own router. Connect your router to the modem, using the modem as its gateway, and connect your devices to your router.
 
Willie5566 said:
The hard wired computers perform ok. I do not notice the same issues. I ran a ethernet cable all the way across the house so I could use my apple tv. It is the only way it would work.

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Is wifi explorer available for iPad? It appears there is not an iPhone version. I see there is one in the Mac store but would prefer a mobile version.
Click to expand...

Not that I know of, I have it on my MBP...

Tomorrow said:
My experience with using cable/fiber "gateways" from the utility as my home router is universally bad. In each case, I was told the same thing - that the gateway (modem, in your case) generally doesn't do well once you start getting about 10 or so devices connecting to it - both wired and wireless.

The solution is to set the cable modem into "modem" mode - meaning it functions strictly as a modem and gateway, but offers no router functionality at all - and buy your own router. Connect your router to the modem, using the modem as its gateway, and connect your devices to your router.
Click to expand...

This is how I have mine setup also.
 
Willie5566 said:
Here is the document TW gave me.
Click to expand...

That list is not the definitive list. All they're saying is - if you want to buy your own modem, here are devices we suggest. There is nothing on that list that is JUST a router, TW is not restricting that part of the setup.

If you're going to buy a modem, I'd spring for the SB6183 at this point as it will have the best support for future network upgrades. Motorola makes solid devices, though they are a little more expensive. If you don't want to spend that much, the 6141 I have is also solid.

You could do as another poster suggested and just use your current unit as a gateway with your own router but you're still paying almost $10/month to rent it. When you consider the savings on your cable bill by not paying rental fees you could pay off a good modem and router in ~18 months.
 
Well I downloaded a mobile version of wi fi explorer. It turns out it is not much help if you don't know what the hell you are looking at. I did find it interesting that is clocked my home network at much less than 30 megs. That said it is signifigantly faster than my work wi-fi which has zero lag.
 

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Not sure if this helps much. I think it just shows what is on my network. I ran another test but it did not save. I will re-run it tonight and post it here.
 

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Willie5566 said:
Well I downloaded a mobile version of wi fi explorer. It turns out it is not much help if you don't know what the hell you are looking at. I did find it interesting that is clocked my home network at much less than 30 megs. That said it is signifigantly faster than my work wi-fi which has zero lag.
Click to expand...

I am going to assume that those three items are devices not names of a network correct.
 
My connection is 25mbps I believe, but we seem to get 30 with Comcast/Xfinity. For a short bit after we got a new modem, we had issues with lag and stuttering. But it seems to have worked itself out.

Our wifi is from a Time Capsule router, instead of the provided cable-modem router. We never notice any lag, and my wife and i are both on the computer a lot. She streams a lot of Netflix, and I do quite a bit of network-heavy work. We have a webcam that is running constantly, I have multiple computers that do backups over the network every half hour.

Do you do stuff within the house that you notice issues on as well, or just internet stuff?
 
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