Question internet in central Iowa

[brianhos]

for someone not in the know, can you explain why you should always get your own router?

Rental fee for a year and a half pays for your own modem. Your own wifi will be much better coverage because it is not the cheapest crap you can find like mediacom will give you.

 

[Bader]

I'm curious how others landed on the mesh network systems you did. I'm trying to decide on one, and they all look fine and I'm suffering from "spec fatigue."

My needs are like most...replacing a five year old router, wanting better coverage, better performance (recently cut the cord), good software that lets me identify and manage each device, and something I can install and manage without getting too deep into the weeds.

I've read good things about Google Nest Wifi but I'm nervous about its lack of ethernet ports. We stream on two TVs, one of which would have a wired connection to the router, but I assume the second TV would still be better off with a wired connection to a mesh satellite rather than relying on its own wireless adapter. And I can envision other (rare) needs for an ethernet port - like a computer network adapter crapping out, for example.

Ubiquiti seems to earn raves but I'm concerned it's over my head technically.

I'm leaning toward the Netgear Orbi RBK50, mostly because if I buy through Costco I can get an extra satellite above the usual 1 router/1 satellite for the same price.

I feel like these are all similar enough and highly-regarded enough that I'll probably be happy no matter what. So talk me into it, talk me out of it, whatever. Thanks.

Huh, why did Google take the Ethernet jacks off the satellite points, that’s dumb. It looks like you can buy a “router” two-pack for $299 and have jacks on the remote puck. I have the original set that all have jacks and then have 8 port Ethernet switches connected to the puck to get everything connected, works great!

https://www.newegg.com/tp-link-tl-sg108-8-x-rj45/p/N82E16833704173?item=N82E16833704173

 

[BryceC]

Longtime Century Link guy but am frustrated as hell about the lack of speed options where I live. I currently have 20. They can get me upgraded to 30 but is ridiculous in 2020.

I have heard nothing but horror stories about Mediacom internet. I work from home so reliability is critical. Do you guys recommend it? Any luck, good or bad?

No joke we switched to Mediacom in January from Centurylink and I think we're switching back. Just terrible.

 

[KCCLONE712]

Really blows my mind to see the options and prices for internet service in Iowa. I have Xfinity (Comcast) and pay $80 for 1gig/second service in Chicago, but get around 400 down when I do test.

 

[brianhos]

Really blows my mind to see the options and prices for internet service in Iowa. I have Xfinity (Comcast) and pay $80 for 1gig/second service in Chicago, but get around 400 down when I do test.

Because there is no competition here.

 

[mapnerd]

Really crossing my fingers that metronet will be a savior for the Ames citizens.

 

[Gunnerclone]

 

[tyrelrobert]

Anyone with CL and google WiFi? What modems work with it? There are far more options for cable modems compared to DSL

 

[MustardTiger]

Anyone with CL and google WiFi? What modems work with it? There are far more options for cable modems compared to DSL

I just use the modem provided by CenturyLink and turn the wifi off on it. If you google "CL fiber and google wifi" you'll find out why. Have a 20 port switch just passed the CL modem that connects ethernet to the whole house. If you're using google wifi, and want to hardwire all the pucks together, you'll have to run ethernet to all of them via the main puck and switch. You cannot hardwire them all individually from the modem/initial switch.

 

[tyrelrobert]

I just use the modem provided by CenturyLink and turn the wifi off on it. If you google "CL fiber and google wifi" you'll find out why. Have a 20 port switch just passed the CL modem that connects ethernet to the whole house. If you're using google wifi, and want to hardwire all the pucks together, you'll have to run ethernet to all of them via the main puck and switch. You cannot hardwire them all individually from the modem/initial switch.

Great! I was hoping I could just use the same modem with WiFi off. Thanks for the info

 

[MustardTiger]

Great! I was hoping I could just use the same modem with WiFi off. Thanks for the info

No problem! I have the older version of google wifi and still haven't quite figured out how to get all 1 gig out of it. So far i can only get around 500 mb/s up and down through google wifi. Have looked a bunch online and it seems its an issue with google wifi. Have no idea if the new version works better.

 

[dmclone]

One thing to keep in mind is that internet speed is not like horsepower in a car. Let's say that you have a 200 mbps package and you want to stream 4k HD content. Now lets say that to get that 4k HD content it uses 50mbps (overestimating). If you upgrade to a 1 gbps package, this isn't going to improve streaming. It looks cool when you do a speed test but you're not going to be able to tell the difference unless you're uploading/downloading files.

 

[jdcyclone19]

Great! I was hoping I could just use the same modem with WiFi off. Thanks for the info

We did the same thing - turn of the CL wifi on the modem and plugged my Google Wifi into the modem. I no longer have CL though. I have 3 google wifi hubs. One in the basement hooked the the modem, one upstairs and one in my detached garage, have service over my whole 1/3 acre. Love it.