Need Help picking out best modem and router

I'm using a TP Link AX11000 from Costco with a fiber connection. Similar story, only one internet provider in town and my speed tests are not always close to the advertised rate. Wifi speeds are about half of what I get on ethernet.

 

You may want to upgrade your main wireless router, but hold on to your old stuff depending on what you have going on in the house. We have a household of 4, everyone with a desktop, laptop, phone, tablet/e-reader, multiple gaming systems, multiple televisions, home alarm system with cameras and multiple wireless sensors, 2 Nest thermostats, Google Home and pods in every room, and various other stupid "smart" devices. At any time there are 40+ devices on the network -- it adds up quickly! Here's how I have things set up.

Wireless is turned off on the AT&T fiber modem - they don't let you choose your DNS server, so I don't use it for anything but the connection to the fiber.

The alarm system is on its own wireless network and Access Point.

Smart devices and non-streaming and non-gaming devices connect to the older WiFi5 mesh system set up as an Access Point.

Streaming and gaming connect to the newer WiFi6 network, which I use as the DHCP server. DNS is directed first through a pi-hole container running on an Unraid box to block ads and tracking, and then through Google DNS. Pi-hole blocks 30%+ of DNS requests -- it's amazing how much traffic is dedicated to ads and tracking, but I fear they will get smarter over time and it will be tougher to block.

This setup helps to unclutter the radio waves used for devices that need good performance, and distribute the routing load across multiple access points. I use an Asus RT-AX86U as my high-performance AP and have been pleased with it so far.

The downside is that nobody else in the house knows how to fully reset the network because I made it too complicated, lol.

 

Depending on your set up I've had great results with Motorola DOCSIS 3.0 modems, and the best router I've ever used and I have had a bunch is the (pricey) AmpliFi Alien 6 mesh modem. It's a screaming speed demon.
As for an alternate ISP, depending on your situation, Starlink offers satellite independent of wired connection, but may be pricier then your current provider.

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I had a Nighthawk AC1750 off of VerizonFios fiber and after 2.5 years it just started acting up terribly. I couldn’t get it to consistently operate at the speeds I should’ve been getting of the 1gig. When I initially set it up I was up in the 900s hardwired off a laptop and around 500-600 on wifi 5gHz, then around the 2.5 yr mark it would just drop ass and I could only get 30mbps on wifi sporadically throughout the day. I reset the router completely, power cycled everything else (Verizon fiber power box, etc) and even played around with firmware updates/downgrade and nothing worked. Might’ve been an actual hardware issue at that point. Also I could’ve sworn the Netgear Nighthawk models were compromised security-wise a while back with Netgear just deciding initially to do nothing about it. Not that any other routers haven’t been targeted for hacking.

So I bought an Asus RT-AX3000 and that router has worked flawlessly. Turned the nighthawk into an access point. I moved to a new house and just use the Asus by itself now with Spectrum 1gig (cable with modem not fiber) and I’m not hitting as good of speeds as I had with Verizon but I’m still 400 ish wireless and 800 ish wired. But spectrum sucks a bit. Maybe the modem in tandem is bogging my speeds just a tad. Cable guy wasn’t hitting but about the same numbers too. Anyway, good enough for me.

Most ISPs have a caveat of “speeds up to”.

 

I would be careful with how exactly you're measuring bandwidth. An R6400 will NEVER EVER get 1Gbit. The WAN port will connect at 1Gbit, but the dual core CPU cant move that much data. You can find reviews online that show the max wan to lan speed at 710Mbps.

If you're not getting that, then it's likely one of the following

1) ISP is getting overwhelmed, try during off peak hours e.g. 6am.
2) line is too noisy (doubtful since the tech test it at 950)
3) DOCSIS modem is too old. You didn't say which modem you're using but I doubt this is a problem
4) QOS or DPI firewall setting are putting too much load on the router CPU. Make sure QOS is disabled and there are no DPI firewall rules turned on. Just use the standard firewall settings.
5) you're too far from the access point. Not all 5ghz is the same. Are you using 20Mhz channels? 40? 160? Check you router settings. Also check the SNR on the slow connections.

Don't use the Comcast benchmark tool. It always reports bs numbers. A few months ago I throttled my router to 200mbps and Comcast was still claiming that my download speed was 800mbps.

Okalo is my go to.

 

I gave up and just rented it fro Xfinity before I got rid of it. I had purchased routers and modems to get my own setup and after awhile they no longer supported it. Ended up just being easier to rent it. I still did add additional routers to manage wirless but modem wise was easy. you can always exchange it anytime they come out with new ones.

 

make sure your chosen modem is on the latest docsis standard. shoudl be 3.1 i believe. as for router, any modern router shoudl be able to handle the speeds you're asking of it. especially on wifi6. the 5ghz band should have plenty of space. I find people sell high end routers for a lot lower than they should in my local area...because they just don't know what they have and assume it's just the same dinky router as the low end version. So that's another source to find a new-to-you router if needed.

 

I would have loved to have gone this route, but I would need 3 of them for full coverage and couldn't stomach the cost. I have the previous mesh system, the Amplifi HD, which some devices further from the Asus router still use. It's been super solid. I mainly bought a new router so I could have WiFi6 for some devices and the ability to configure my DNS servers. If something breaks, I'll likely just drop the coin on 3 of these, although I wish they used a dedicated backhaul band -- if I was going to use wired backhaul, I'd just wire the dang house.

I haven't bought into the WiFi 6E thing yet, as I hear it has blazing speed, but you have to have line-of-sight between device and router, and not too far away. That would not be very useful for my setup.