You see the ads promising 100Mbps, 200Mbps, 300Mbps? What they don’t tell you is that those are downlink speeds under optimal conditions. They don’t bother telling you about the uplink speeds, because frankly its embarassing how bad they can be and sometimes you find out too late to cancel. That’s exactly what they want.
What can you do about this? Find out the upload/download speeds before you order. You can check with them before you order online via chat, customer service request, or asking your neighbors. I often have to get someone on the phone, and then wait and have them check with someone else to confirm the speeds. This is in 2020 folks. The sales reps don’t know, and worst is they may make up stuff that simply isn’t true to get you to sign up.
For instance, a lot of us are doing Zoom conference calls and meetings now. If, like most people in business, they expect to see a video feed of you in the meeting to connect with your team, you share your webcam or camera to the rest of your team. Typical webcam of regular HD stream requires a few Mbps upload speed to look OK. And full HD, I’m more comfortable at 8Mbps to 12 Mbps. If two people need to be on a conference call in the house, and your uplink speed is only 4 (yes, that’s my uplink speed) – one or both of you are going to suffer, especially with other people in the house using the internet.
There might even be call drop-offs where you can’t hear them, or they can’t hear you. And its all because your internet uplink speed doesn’t meet the cut.
If your paid for internet speeds are decent, and there are no service issues on the Internet Service Provider’s end, the next upgrade is your home cable modem, router and wifi access point. If you aren’t a heavy user, sometimes the all-in-one units work just fine.
Personally, I prefer a completely separate router/wifi from the cable modem. I’m using the Orbi Mesh system at home now to support up to 1 gigabit. Love it so far. Its not the best, but its good enough for the family and my uses.
Some recommended home network equipment:
| Photo | Title | Price | Buy |
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NETGEAR C7800 Modem (Old Model) | $299.99 |
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NETGEAR Nighthawk Cable Modem Wi-Fi Router Combo C7000-Compatible with Cable Providers Including Xfinity by Comcast, Spectrum, Cox for Cable Plans Up to 400 Mbps | AC1900 Wi-Fi Speed | DOCSIS 3.0 | $152.47 |
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NETGEAR Nighthawk Cable Modem with Voice CM1150V - for Xfinity by Comcast Internet & Voice, Supports Cable Plans Up to 2 Gigabits, 2 Phone Lines, 4 x 1G Ethernet Ports, DOCSIS 3.1 | $188.77 |
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NETGEAR Orbi Built-in-Modem Whole Home Mesh WiFi System with all-in-one cable modem and WiFi router and single satellite extender with speeds up to 2.2 Gbps over 4,000 sq. feet, AC2200 (CBK40) | $223.49 |
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Google Nest Wifi - AC2200 - Mesh WiFi System - Wifi Router - 4400 Sq Ft Coverage - 2 pack | $295.96 |
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Motorola 24x8 Cable Modem, Model MB7621, DOCSIS 3.0. Approved by Comcast Xfinity, Cox, Charter Spectrum, Time Warner Cable, and More. Downloads 1,000 Mbps Maximum (No WiFi) | $77.98 |
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Motorola MB8600 DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modem, 6 Gbps Max Speed. Approved for Comcast Xfinity Gigabit, Cox Gigablast, and More, Black | $149.99 |
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NETGEAR Cable Modem CM600 - Compatible with Cable Providers Including Xfinity by Comcast, Spectrum, Cox | for Cable Plans Up to 400 Mbps | DOCSIS 3.0 | 24x8 | $79.99 |
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NETGEAR Orbi Tri-band Whole Home Mesh WiFi System with 3Gbps Speed (RBK50) – Router & Extender Replacement Covers Up to 5,000 sq. ft., 2-Pack Includes 1 Router & 1 Satellite White | $282.05 |
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NETGEAR Orbi Pro Tri-Band Mesh WiFi System (SRK60) -- Router & Extender Replacement covers up to 5,000 sq. ft., 2 Pack, 3Gbps Speed Router & 1 Satellite | $205.00 |
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Do you need help replacing your Cable Modem?
I’m trying to put together a resource document, and how-to videos to get this done. If you can’t figure it out and would like to help, or if you have something to share, please visit this link and fill it out.https://modemhelp.paperform.co/
