we recently upgraded to the new M1 24 inch Mac and will have to replace our modem and routers as they are old. The computer is for personal use only (no business work as I am retired) We have about 2800 sq ft two story home with a detached garage. Like many we have smart tvs, Ipads, I phone an numerous other devices that currently use wifi. we do stream movies and I have a significant amount of photos and music that we stream. I am no sure of the best way to go combo, separate devices, or the relatively new mesh routers. We have mediacom for our service provider and at times we have buffering issues even though we have high speed internet service. Also can I go ethernet or should i stick with wifi. as you can tell i am a novice in deciding what to purchase. thank you all for your assistance.
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Modems and routers for M1 Mac
- Thread starter urnmor
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A good starting point might be to review the Mediacom compatible modems list:
What's surprising is how small a list it is compared to Comcast/Xfinity's, which I had reviewed recently.
What's surprising is how small a list it is compared to Comcast/Xfinity's, which I had reviewed recently.
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I've been fairly happy with Asus routers. They are highly configurable and the performance has been stellar on mine (Asus AX-68U). They also make extenders; I highly recommend running ethernet cables to your extenders if you can.
If you can do wired ethernet, do it. It's absolutely worth the effort. Every device you connect with a cable is one less device using available WiFi airtime, so everything else will be faster. This especially applies for devices that use a lot of bandwidth, like your Mac, streaming media players, and so on.
It's especially worth running a network drop to your entertainment center. Then you can put a small switch there and plug everything there into it. Game consoles, TVs, streaming boxes, etc... all no longer wasting WiFi bandwidth.
If you can do wired ethernet, do it. It's absolutely worth the effort. Every device you connect with a cable is one less device using available WiFi airtime, so everything else will be faster. This especially applies for devices that use a lot of bandwidth, like your Mac, streaming media players, and so on.
It's especially worth running a network drop to your entertainment center. Then you can put a small switch there and plug everything there into it. Game consoles, TVs, streaming boxes, etc... all no longer wasting WiFi bandwidth.
It's a pity Apple stopped making their own routers, because they had amazing stability and ease of setup compared with other solutions.
I don't have a specific product recommendation - I use Synology, but their commitment to their networking routers is uncertain (either about to be abandoned or due for a product update). Handles my network just fine, even with what must be a mixture of 20-40 computing devices and "internet of things" smart devices. I do have three recommendations:
1) Try to avoid using ISP-supplied equipment. Combination modem-routers are not great. If they're supplying you with one, see if you can put it into "bridge mode" (shut off the router functionality to have it act as a pure modem). I used to have to reboot my ISP-supplied modem-router at least once a month to maintain network performance. I put it into bridge mode and didn't have to reboot it more than once every few months. Now I bought my own modem (cable modem), went with a higher-end model, and it goes years between my unplugging it. Let the modem be a dumb modem, and let your router handle the harder part of controlling network traffic.
2) Regardless of which router you get, don't cheap out. Particularly with "smart home" devices in the mix, the router has become a critical point for device and network performance.
3) Mesh networking is a really nice way to extend coverage throughout your home without needing to bother with wires. You should still favor wired connections where you can, and try to connect your mesh routers via ethernet. This should improve network stability and performance, particularly if you have a lot of devices on the wireless network.
I don't have a specific product recommendation - I use Synology, but their commitment to their networking routers is uncertain (either about to be abandoned or due for a product update). Handles my network just fine, even with what must be a mixture of 20-40 computing devices and "internet of things" smart devices. I do have three recommendations:
1) Try to avoid using ISP-supplied equipment. Combination modem-routers are not great. If they're supplying you with one, see if you can put it into "bridge mode" (shut off the router functionality to have it act as a pure modem). I used to have to reboot my ISP-supplied modem-router at least once a month to maintain network performance. I put it into bridge mode and didn't have to reboot it more than once every few months. Now I bought my own modem (cable modem), went with a higher-end model, and it goes years between my unplugging it. Let the modem be a dumb modem, and let your router handle the harder part of controlling network traffic.
2) Regardless of which router you get, don't cheap out. Particularly with "smart home" devices in the mix, the router has become a critical point for device and network performance.
3) Mesh networking is a really nice way to extend coverage throughout your home without needing to bother with wires. You should still favor wired connections where you can, and try to connect your mesh routers via ethernet. This should improve network stability and performance, particularly if you have a lot of devices on the wireless network.
If you are allowed to comment on the ones you are using for the M1 that would be great. the challenge I have is after reading various articles and specs many say they will give you the world but quite often it is only in mall bites. Since i am 76 I want to buy equipment that will not only last but also be updated as needed without requiring new purchases.
There's nothing special about the wireless on the M1 compared with other modern computer devices. It is backwards-compatible with older routers, as well; even my old 802.11g router from the 1990's could probably work fine, although performance would suffer given how many computing devices are on my network, and something that old would be very insecure. Any router you could buy new in box today should be fine, and you do not absolutely have to buy the "latest and greatest."
As to buying something that can be updated without requiring new purchases... you probably know how this goes with technology
The networking space changes at a fast pace, and the wireless network even more so. You don't have to upgrade to the "latest and greatest" in most cases. Here's something where you'll come upon some terminology, though. The most recent, big change was the development of something called Wifi 6, which was a big deal for a few reasons, most notably that they did started moving away from the old wireless protocol naming scheme (at least, consumer-facing; you probably memorized 802.11b/g, maybe 802.11a, 802.11n, and then 802.11ac... this is 802.11ax). The M1 Macs support Wifi 6, and iPhones starting with the iPhone 11 line do as well, but I'd guess many people do not have devices that can make use of it... and that's OK, because routers are still backwards-compatible with the older devices, too.As to not requiring further purchases, there's always something else on the horizon, and the next big router development will be Wifi 6E, which is Wifi 6 but "extended" to a whole additional wavelength (6 GHz, instead of the 2.4 GHz of g/b/n and 5 GHz of a/n/ac). That, unfortunately, will require hardware upgrades. These routers are available now, but likely very expensive (I haven't looked; I barely have any devices that can support Wifi 6 as it is).
You said you're 76; may you have at least a few more router upgrades in your life 😁
I would suggest you check the ISP provided modem/router to see if it has 4 Gigabit Ports.
If it does, you'd only need one set of 802.11ax 3 mesh wifi 6 routers, each with 1 or 2 gigabit ethernet ports. One for each floor and one for the garage.
Place each mesh router at the center of each location(ceilling is the best) for the best coverage
Running the wire from the ISP router to each wifi mesh router.
If you don't want to use the ISP modem as main router, you just need to add another Gigabit Router (Wire only) nearest to your server (media file server for example) and move all the existing connections to the newly added router, like Ledgem said.
Just FYI, you can get refurbed AirPort Extreme 802.11ac models for about $40 from eBay. Got a second one last month to extend my WiFi. Provides better throughput than the WiFi on my newer xfinity router.
Get a mesh system. Many available. You will have to do some research (read reviews, etc.).
For 2,800 sq. ft., a 3-node system ought to do (3 units).
Also, be aware that there are "2-band" mesh systems and "3-band" systems. The "third radio band" exists to carry backhaul (leaving the 2.4ghz and 5.0ghz channels "free" for data only).
Some also can use ethernet for the backhaul.
I have an early Linksys "Velop" 3-band system (2 nodes).
Works fine.
For 2,800 sq. ft., a 3-node system ought to do (3 units).
Also, be aware that there are "2-band" mesh systems and "3-band" systems. The "third radio band" exists to carry backhaul (leaving the 2.4ghz and 5.0ghz channels "free" for data only).
Some also can use ethernet for the backhaul.
I have an early Linksys "Velop" 3-band system (2 nodes).
Works fine.
This router is solid and has the best web app for management:
My house is only 2300 SQ FT and we get excellent coverage throughout. If you need more Synology enables a mesh option with the MR2200AC.
Also, integrates with Synology NAS.
Synology Router RT2600ac
Also, integrates with Synology NAS.
I considered it, but ultimately moved away from Apple's routers. I had a fifth generation AirPort Extreme and a sixth generation AirPort Extreme, and the 6th generation died surprisingly early. The fifth generation is still going strong and I am using it as a network extender. They're still solid routers, but are starting to get behind on modern features. And at this point Apple has made it clear they're not getting back into the networking arena, so I figured I'd just get the pain of the transition over with and switched to Synology.
I use this. Like it a lot, excellent network performance, but has a lot of options that can get people into trouble (although the web interface is really nice). Also has some features that don't quite work as intended... I hesitate to recommend this router to people largely because Synology is likely either on the verge of upgrading it or abandoning it.
I recently purchased a Synology NAS as well, and I don't see any integration between the two. In fact, if you wanted to have your NAS be internet-facing, they don't even list their own router in the NAS configuration for allowing the NAS and the router to interface directly. What integration have you noted?