So I've always been contemplating the switch from having to rent a cable modem router to owning one and never really went all in until this purchase. Yeah, it takes a some time to get your return back but it goes by pretty quick when you think about it. I mean I started thinking about it years ago.....
So I'd say about a year ago I did try when I saw a deal on an ARRIS Surfboard SBG6580 (certified refurbished). I paid somewhere around $76 with tax and thought I could make this back in less than a year considering I pay $11 and some change a month renting a unit from Xfinity. It was a bit of a hassle getting it registered as I had to call Xfinity and provide them with key pieces of information specific to the router to get it activated. Got it activated and noticed the speeds were horrendous despite it's advertised properties. It's been awhile now so I can't say specifically what it's speed was but only that it was going way slower than the rented unit from Xfinity. So needless to say I said screw it and returned the ARRIS unit and stuck with the rented one. In all honesty, it may have been that it was a refurbished unit but if it says certified then in my mind it should run like new.
Fast forward to present day and I though I'd give it one more go. Started to do some research and found the Netgear N600 C3700 cable modem router combo. Saw that it was in a whole bunch of various top 10 lists for lower to mid end ranged units and went for it. Setup was a breeze as all I did was hook it up via ethernet to my laptop and inputted the required information. Activation was almost immediate and I was off an running within 10 minutes of unboxing it. Note to those of you who don't have a laptop or computer with ethernet connection availability, you'll have to do it the old fashioned way and call up your provider for activation. This is for Netgear products, can't say the same for other brands as I don't have experience on others aside from ARRIS, which at that time I don't recall there being a direct ethernet option.
Well, same story, I was getting horrible speeds over wi-fi in the range of 5-20 mbps download and maybe 1-2 mbps upload. If I was in the same room near the router I would be on the higher end of the spectrum but as soon as I went to another room it would drop off in speed significantly. So this time around I though I'd just scrap this unit and go for a higher end expensive unit. Did some more research and found the Nighthawk.
Read all sorts of positive reviews on this unit and I can confidently say this thing rocks!
Setup was no different than the other N600. Plugged it directly into my laptop via ethernet and followed the steps.
Did numerous tests over a few days and speeds are at a constant 53 -56 mbps download and 5.78 -5.95 mbps upload. My service level from Xfinity is 60 Mbps download and 6 up so this thing is right on target. I moved around to different areas of my house and experienced very little to no speed variations.
So long story short, everything about this unit is excellent. Simple set up, blazing speeds with little to no drop with distance (strong signal), options for multiple wi fi's, small footprint and extremely light.
It's not built like a tank but what does that matter as it's not like you're going to be moving it around on a daily basis or even interacting with it at all for that matter once it's installed. I liked the fact that it's sleek looking, small, and light.
I have to say that when it comes to cable modem routers, it's best to fork out a little more and go high end because you really do get what you pay for.
It may be a tad expensive at ~$180 + tax but it's damn worth every penny. Now instead of paying myself back from having to rent a unit in 6 months I'm at more like 16 months but time flies so who really cares?
| Wireless Type | 802.11ac |
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