[Village Taphouse]

Agreed... the Netgear Genie is great.  The setup on this thing was really easy too.  I did have an issue where traffic seemed to slow down a bit over the weekend but then I realized that I installed this thing and never did a restart.  The instructions never mentioned that one was needed but it seemed like a good idea so I did a quick restart and everything was (and has been) humming from that point on.  I think my last router was falling asleep every couple of days or something.  My wife or one of my kids would say, "What's wrong with the wifi!?!?!" and I had to power the router down and back up and then everything was fine.  That didn't happen the first 2 years I had the thing but then it was common all of a sudden.  Erock, I looked at that model too... I think these guys make some good equipment and many reviews by geek sites and magazines seem to agree.  Cheers.

[Stevie]

Every router I have ever owned or used for long periods of time has needed a restart from time to time. I considered setting up an arduino to send a ping every 60 seconds or so and have it reset the power to the modem and router if the response wasn't speedy enough. Never got around to it.

My current router and modem combo is stable, but still needs a restart every couple of weeks.

[Village Taphouse]

Every router I have ever owned or used for long periods of time has needed a restart from time to time. I considered setting up an arduino to send a ping every 60 seconds or so and have it reset the power to the modem and router if the response wasn't speedy enough. Never got around to it.

My current router and modem combo is stable, but still needs a restart every couple of weeks.

That sounds reasonable but this one was stable, stable, stable for something like 2-3 years (a Cisco n-type router) and then started taking coffee breaks once a week or so.  I should also say that the issue seemed to start when I bought a Linksys N600 Wifi Extender.  I placed it in the kitchen to expand coverage to the backyard and suddenly the main router started acting up.  Also, when I got the Nighthawk, I thought I would try to use the extender too just to see if it would make the Nighthawk even better.  But when I plugged it in and watched an app that is supposed to recognize the extender... it could not be found.  So either the extender was toes up or cannot be recognized by the Nighthawk... although the extender is not old and says it can work with ANY router.  Whatevs.  Things seem to be screaming now so all is good.

[Joe Sr.]

I'm running a Netgear router that's a couple years old, but was one of the top recommendation back then.

No dead spots, but I need an extender to get a good signal to all areas of the house.

I've had issues lately with one of my extenders.  It's only about a year old and it crapped out.  I gave it an hour or so of trying to restart and reconfigure, and then I chucked it and ordered a new one.

I've also found that signal reception is device dependent.  Apple products seem to need a better signal than all other devices.

Anyway, if you get more than a couple years out of a router I think you've gotten your money's worth.

[erockrph]

Every router I have ever owned or used for long periods of time has needed a restart from time to time. I considered setting up an arduino to send a ping every 60 seconds or so and have it reset the power to the modem and router if the response wasn't speedy enough. Never got around to it.

My current router and modem combo is stable, but still needs a restart every couple of weeks.

That sounds reasonable but this one was stable, stable, stable for something like 2-3 years (a Cisco n-type router) and then started taking coffee breaks once a week or so. 

I  was in a similar boat. My router/modem would need a reboot every month or so, but nothing obtrusive. Over the past 6 months or so it was becoming an every-other-day or so issue and a real PITA. Especially because neither my router or modem had a physical on/off switch so I had to unplug them each time.

I've probably tripled my number of devices running WiFi in the past year or two, and I think that was probably contributing. I was having other issues with certain devices randomly having connection issues when other devices were working just fine. I'm not sure what the connection limit for my old router was (an older Netgear that had worked well for years), but I'm guessing that I was pushing it.

Since my cable company was starting to get aggressive in pushing us to upgrade to a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, I figured I'd splurge for a new router as well. My old router didn't support Gigabit Ethernet, either, so I'm getting a bit of a boost in performance in my wired connections as well.

[Village Taphouse]

It's funny how Joe says that it may be device-dependent because everyone in the house has an iPhone 6 except for me... Samsung Galaxy S5.  Others are complaining that the wifi is sluggish and I'm cruising along.  Also funny how Erock mentions some devices working while others are not.  Same thing... the boys are downstairs playing an online Xbox Live game (from the basement!) with no issues.  Or their both streaming Netflix to 2 Tvs with no issues but meanwhile my daughter's iPhone is acting up.  I'm glad you guys mentioned this because my wife thinks I'm either "tricking everyone" so I get better wifi or she thinks I'm an idiot who doesn't know how to run this stuff. 

[S. cerevisiae]

Apple iPhones are pathetic when it comes to WiFi signal strength.

[Village Taphouse]

Apple iPhones are pathetic when it comes to WiFi signal strength.

Ooh, this information is clutch.  I can't wait to tell the rest of my family that they have an inferior product.  Oh wait, they probably already know. 

[69franx]

Spoiler alert: silly noob question coming. I have Comcast Xfinity for home Internet and cable. Wired all devices reach speeds of 80+mps but wireless, we are sometimes lucky to get over 5 mps. This system has been in place for less than 6 months. My question is can I add a router like being discussed here after the large single.  box that they say acts as a router and modem to get better service out of their system? Household running 4 smart phones, 2 laptops, 1 desktop, plus tv

[Stevie]

So you are leasing a modem/router from Comcast? It's odd that you would take a performance hit to that degree over wifi. While you may not get the full pipe down, you should be getting near the theoretical maximum of the wifi standard that your router can support.

I would ask for them to swap it out or verify the settings. You could also check to see if there is any savings in owning your own equipment. Good quality routers are still pricey, but good modems can be had for $50 and very good modems for $75-100

[69franx]

Not sure how it's being paid for: lease/rental, but I have done speed tests wired up and wireless with my laptop less than 6 feet from their box and those were the results I g ot. The box has been replaced once already, but even then their tech told me he thought it was my laptop, because his phone was getting fast service as long as my laptops WiFi was turned off. I had the laptop checked out and our IT company said laptop and it's wireless adaptor were fine.

[Stevie]

How old is the laptop? If it is using an older wifi standard, like 802.11b or g, it could be the issue.

Some routers can only perform at the speed of the slowest device connected. This was a big issue when 802.11g first became the standard and many items still operated on b. These days routers should be able to accommodate multiple standards at the same time without issue. That said, the Comcast router should be modern enough to work well.

[69franx]

I've had the laptop almost 2years, got it in January 2014

[69franx]

It's a company laptop, so it's probably almost time for a newer one anyways

[Joe Sr.]

Apple iPhones are pathetic when it comes to WiFi signal strength.

In my experience, Ipads are even worse.  And don't get me started on the Apple TV.  That thing makes me angry.

Also, if you're needing to reset your router on a regular basis, and that need is increasing, it's time to look for a new router.  Something inside is dying.

As far as owning a modem, I should probably look into that.  Used to own ours, but when we added phone service, they gave us a different modem.  I have to assume that you can buy a modem that handles internet and phone, but I've never looked into it.