Sorry for the long post, but I think it's helpful and for most of us this isn't easy stuff.
I used to curse Mediacom all of the time because my 100mbps service was consistently under 20mbps using speed test. Sometimes it got under 1. I ended up leaving PS Vue because when it got under 1 it was hard to watch.
Then the great people in the Cable Cutting thread recommended trying Unifi. I had a nice Netgear Nighthawk cable modem/router combo, but the problem was with that hardware trying to do too much. After buying the Arris modem, and Unifi stuff I've had zero problems. I'm testing a month on Hulu to see how it works and so far no issues, in fact the quality is amazing. My speed test is always a steady 90-120mbps. Too bad Mediacom support doesn't push these hardware options. They would have much less unhappy customers.
Unifi is not cheap, but made for businesses, and more configurable than this old MIS guy needs. But if you want reliable, this is the way to go. I'm guessing Google WiFi and other mesh networks are fine for most of our uses.
Since I work from home 100% and do consulting work in IT I wanted to spend the money and allow myself modularity to upgrade/replace pieces of the network. Plus later I will start adding on surveillance cameras and host the recordings for viewing through my network remotely.
Arris Surfboard SB6183 $69 Cable modem. Can probably use whatever you have, but buy one, don't waste rent to your provider.
https://www.ui.com/unifi-routing/usg/ $139 Replaces your current router, most of us have the modem built in with it. My recommendation is to buy a modem and this and just sell your combo on facebook or craigslist like I did.
https://store.ui.com/collections/routing-switching/products/unifi-switch-8 $99 I bought this because I needed the PoE, Power over Ethernet, to power my wireless access points. My modem/router couldn't provide power to my APs.
https://www.ui.com/unifi/unifi-ap-ac-pro/ $149 This is a great AP, that gives a strong signal. I have it on one end of my large ranch home and it services the other end of the house. Not as strong as I'd like on the one end but good enough for streaming. I just don't have an ethernet port on the other end of the house to run.
https://inwall-hd.ui.com/ $179 I bought this for the basement so that I could use the 4 ports to distribute ethernet connection to my PS4, Receiver, and TVs. Plus it broadcasts as an AP to cover the basement.
The great thing with this is the ability to monitor what all your devices are doing using their controller software. I didn't buy the key as I don't need to monitor from another location. When I want to look at the stats and health I use their browser-enabled software which is free.
If anybody is considering this DM me and I will do what I can to help with any questions. A
I used to curse Mediacom all of the time because my 100mbps service was consistently under 20mbps using speed test. Sometimes it got under 1. I ended up leaving PS Vue because when it got under 1 it was hard to watch.
Then the great people in the Cable Cutting thread recommended trying Unifi. I had a nice Netgear Nighthawk cable modem/router combo, but the problem was with that hardware trying to do too much. After buying the Arris modem, and Unifi stuff I've had zero problems. I'm testing a month on Hulu to see how it works and so far no issues, in fact the quality is amazing. My speed test is always a steady 90-120mbps. Too bad Mediacom support doesn't push these hardware options. They would have much less unhappy customers.
Unifi is not cheap, but made for businesses, and more configurable than this old MIS guy needs. But if you want reliable, this is the way to go. I'm guessing Google WiFi and other mesh networks are fine for most of our uses.
Since I work from home 100% and do consulting work in IT I wanted to spend the money and allow myself modularity to upgrade/replace pieces of the network. Plus later I will start adding on surveillance cameras and host the recordings for viewing through my network remotely.
Arris Surfboard SB6183 $69 Cable modem. Can probably use whatever you have, but buy one, don't waste rent to your provider.
https://www.ui.com/unifi-routing/usg/ $139 Replaces your current router, most of us have the modem built in with it. My recommendation is to buy a modem and this and just sell your combo on facebook or craigslist like I did.
https://store.ui.com/collections/routing-switching/products/unifi-switch-8 $99 I bought this because I needed the PoE, Power over Ethernet, to power my wireless access points. My modem/router couldn't provide power to my APs.
https://www.ui.com/unifi/unifi-ap-ac-pro/ $149 This is a great AP, that gives a strong signal. I have it on one end of my large ranch home and it services the other end of the house. Not as strong as I'd like on the one end but good enough for streaming. I just don't have an ethernet port on the other end of the house to run.
https://inwall-hd.ui.com/ $179 I bought this for the basement so that I could use the 4 ports to distribute ethernet connection to my PS4, Receiver, and TVs. Plus it broadcasts as an AP to cover the basement.
The great thing with this is the ability to monitor what all your devices are doing using their controller software. I didn't buy the key as I don't need to monitor from another location. When I want to look at the stats and health I use their browser-enabled software which is free.
If anybody is considering this DM me and I will do what I can to help with any questions. A
