Ignite WiFi Gateway Modem XB7 (Gen 2)

[timdesouza]

I've seen ref to a Gen 2 Ignite Gateway modem Easy Setup Guide – Ignite WiFi Gateway Modem (Gen 2) – XB7 | Rogers - Rogers and it looks like there are more ethernet ports based on the images provided but I would like to know if there is more to it than just the extra ports. A search of Rogers.com only returns the link above and nothing else. I'm interested to know does it support wifi 6 technology.

Thx.

Tim.

*** Edited Labels ***

[Draconix]

Thank you for the info, I'll definitely consider switching to the XB6 if I can't get this issue sorted out. I think that I might have figured out what is causing the slower download speed though. The previous CODA-4582 modem definitely had OFDM enabled and working, and I'm pretty sure that OFDM isn't working on the XB7 because it says NA. Could you look at the end of this chart and verify the OFDM in the last column?

7

1

2

3

4

5

6

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

Locked

591 MHz

279 MHz

849 MHz

855 MHz

861 MHz

579 MHz

585 MHz

597 MHz

603 MHz

609 MHz

615 MHz

621 MHz

633 MHz

639 MHz

645 MHz

651 MHz

657 MHz

663 MHz

669 MHz

675 MHz

681 MHz

687 MHz

693 MHz

699 MHz

705 MHz

711 MHz

717 MHz

723 MHz

825 MHz

831 MHz

837 MHz

843 MHz

350000000

43.3 dB

42.0 dB

42.4 dB

42.5 dB

42.6 dB

43.0 dB

43.4 dB

43.6 dB

43.3 dB

43.4 dB

42.8 dB

43.6 dB

43.7 dB

43.1 dB

43.1 dB

42.8 dB

43.0 dB

43.2 dB

43.5 dB

43.0 dB

43.4 dB

43.1 dB

43.5 dB

43.6 dB

43.6 dB

43.2 dB

43.4 dB

43.1 dB

42.5 dB

42.3 dB

42.3 dB

42.1 dB

NA

5.1 dBmV

3.7 dBmV

4.3 dBmV

3.5 dBmV

4.2 dBmV

4.3 dBmV

5.6 dBmV

6.2 dBmV

5.1 dBmV

5.9 dBmV

4.9 dBmV

5.8 dBmV

5.9 dBmV

4.5 dBmV

5.1 dBmV

4.1 dBmV

4.9 dBmV

4.4 dBmV

5.4 dBmV

4.4 dBmV

5.2 dBmV

4.4 dBmV

5.2 dBmV

5.2 dBmV

5.5 dBmV

4.8 dBmV

5.5 dBmV

4.8 dBmV

4.7 dBmV

3.7 dBmV

4.3 dBmV

3.3 dBmV

NA

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

256 QAM

OFDM

[-G-]

@Draconix  See my response to your similar post in this thread.

 I just checked my XB6 and it also shows NA in the Power and SNR stats on the downstream OFDM channel.  However, my "CM Error Codewords" stats are still incrementing so that channel appears to be active.

[brianzheng]

I got my XB7 today, and it seems like it is actually slower than the old CODA modem. The speed is most noticeable when devices are farther away from the modem. I have both CODA and XB7 on the first floor, same spot. I used to get ~500mbps on Wi-Fi with my laptop upstairs. Now it gets about 280mbps on the XB7. Same thing with the basements. I used to get ~430mbps, but now I'm down to about 120mbps on the XB7. I get about one bar less signal with the XB7 than the CODA in my basement or 2nd floor. 

I looked at the specs, and it seems like the XB7 has half the 5GHz antenna as the XB6 (4 vs 8). Is that the cause? I'm pretty disappointed that the XB7 is actually slower.

I also can only get a 1.2Gbps link rate on Wi-Fi 6 instead of 2.4Gbps. 

[tyreman]

Yes Datalink you are quite correct.......

I did look and Rogers iPTV is connected on the rear of the 68U router 

I posted that wrong

I will see if i can correct that

The ethernet cable going to the Rogers  iPTV box is 50' of Blue Jeans Cable  Cat6

[tyreman]

NOTE Correction:
Panasonic Plasma is running off 68U router port
As I dont see an edit function
I looked to be sure .....sorry for my incorrect post about it before

[Datalink]

no problem 🙂   just wanted to make sure that anything connected via the modem's ethernet ports was going to be protected by a firewall further downstream.  

[tyreman]

All Good

[tyreman]

I also have my router set to iPV4 and iPV6 to work together selected from the drop down tab

[sm30]

Does anyone know what the orange/red mark means on port 4 of the XB7 modem?

[tyreman]

isn't that the 2.5 gigabit connection

[Datalink]

@sm30 @tyreman that port is a 2.5 Gb/s port.  So, you would need a router or switch, depending on your network layout, that has a mult-gig port capable of running 2.5 Gb/s.  Some of the newer Asus routers have a 2.5 Gb/s port.  there are switches out now that run 1/2.5/5/10 Mb/s.  Note that these are built under a new ethernet standard, so, you can't run a mulit-gig 10 Gb/s port into a traditional 10 Gb/s port. 

Here's a couple of new Trendnet 2.5 Gb/s switches as examples:

https://www.trendnet.com/products/2-5g-switch/5-port-unmanaged-2-5g-switch-TEG-S350

https://www.trendnet.com/products/2-5g-switch/8-port-unmanaged-2-5g-switch-TEG-S380

Netgear also has multi-gig switches out but I believe that the Trendnet switches are the lowest cost multi-gig switches on the market today.  

https://www.netgear.com/business/wired/switches/multi-gig/

[Mrcanada1968]

Isn’t Rogers top tier internet speed only 1 Gbps currently though?

[Datalink]

Yes but I've seen a post where a PC with a multi-gig ethernet port was running up to 1.2Gb/s on a speedtest instead of the 940 Mb/s that you see thru a gigabit port.  So it looks like Rogers does overprovision the top gigabit tier but you won't see that thru a gigabit port.

The XB7 would allow Rogers to compete with Bell's top 1.5 GB/s plan, at least until Bell rolls out their 5Gb/s plan which they have indicated they will do this year from what I remember reading.

[sm30]

Strange you would think port 1 would be the 2.5 Gb/s.

I currently have the XB7 in bridge mode connected to a Netgear R7000 router. Would you recommend or would it make sense I switch from port 1 to port 4?

[tyreman]

I would stay 1

[-G-]

---

@sm30 wrote:

Strange you would think port 1 would be the 2.5 Gb/s.

---

The 2.5 GigE port on the XB7 gateway can also be configured as an Ethernet WAN port and used for high-speed connectivity to an external ONT with a FTTH service.  It is numbered as Port 4 and has a distinctive mark since it is a special-purpose port that is a bit different from the others, not just due to its higher speed.

I currently have the XB7 in bridge mode connected to a Netgear R7000 router. Would you recommend or would it make sense I switch from port 1 to port 4?

---

If the R7000 only has GigE ports, you won't gain anything with this change.

[Alex4161]

I currently have the XB6 modem with a 500 Mbit internet plan and Ignite Premier service.  I am reading about the XB7 modem and wanted to know what benefits will it have over XB6 and specifically:

- Is the range for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz improved?

- Does the unit run cooler as my XB6 gets pretty warm

- Is it quieter as the XB6 fan is audible about 6 feet away from the modem

- I find that the XB6 modem seems to disconnect every so often.  I am not sure if this is a signal issue or something else.  I rebooted the modem 2 days ago and my signal levels are listed below.  In terms of connections, I just have 1 wire that comes from the side of my house that goes into a 6dB Return Attenuator, and then goes into the Ignite modem.  A Rogers tech gave me the attenuator several months ago.

More importantly, are there any DISADVANTAGES of upgrading to the XB7 modem?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

System Uptime:1 days 23h: 55m: 47s

Index	23	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33
Lock Status	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked
Frequency	693 MHz	279 MHz	849 MHz	855 MHz	861 MHz	579 MHz	585 MHz	591 MHz	597 MHz	603 MHz	609 MHz	615 MHz	621 MHz	633 MHz	639 MHz	645 MHz	651 MHz	657 MHz	663 MHz	669 MHz	675 MHz	681 MHz	687 MHz	699 MHz	705 MHz	711 MHz	717 MHz	723 MHz	825 MHz	831 MHz	837 MHz	843 MHz	350000000
SNR	40.3 dB	40.7 dB	38.1 dB	37.9 dB	37.6 dB	40.5 dB	40.5 dB	40.4 dB	40.3 dB	39.9 dB	39.8 dB	39.4 dB	39.4 dB	39.5 dB	39.5 dB	39.8 dB	40.2 dB	40.5 dB	40.8 dB	40.8 dB	40.7 dB	40.7 dB	40.5 dB	40.3 dB	39.7 dB	39.8 dB	40.0 dB	40.2 dB	38.8 dB	38.8 dB	38.7 dB	38.4 dB	NA
Power Level	0.4 dBmV	2.0 dBmV	-4.1 dBmV	-4.5 dBmV	-5.0 dBmV	0.0 dBmV	0.3 dBmV	0.3 dBmV	0.1 dBmV	-1.3 dBmV	-2.4 dBmV	-3.1 dBmV	-3.5 dBmV	-3.2 dBmV	-2.8 dBmV	-2.1 dBmV	-1.2 dBmV	0.4 dBmV	0.4 dBmV	0.9 dBmV	1.2 dBmV	1.0 dBmV	0.5 dBmV	-1.2 dBmV	-2.0 dBmV	-2.3 dBmV	-1.8 dBmV	-1.0 dBmV	-2.6 dBmV	-2.5 dBmV	-3.0 dBmV	-3.7 dBmV	NA
Modulation	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	256 QAM	OFDM
Index	1	2	3	4
Lock Status	Locked	Locked	Locked	Locked
Frequency	21 MHz	25 MHz	32 MHz	38 MHz
Symbol Rate	2560	5120	5120	5120
Power Level	36.3 dBmV	37.5 dBmV	39.0 dBmV	38.3 dBmV
Modulation	QAM	QAM	QAM	QAM
Channel Type	TDMA_AND_ATDMA	ATDMA	ATDMA	ATDMA
Index	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33
Unerrored Codewords	2272755813	3542679956	3542685669	3542689927	3542696566	3542703500	3542712566	3542718350	3542725178	3542725822	3542734490	3542741334	3542748189	3542751248	3542759200	3542767837	3542772456	3542781358	3542785492	3542793508	3542800324	3542805838	3542813407	3542816401	3542822813	3542829505	3542834125	3542842502	3542847696	3542853819	3542862931	3542864554	2272755813
Correctable Codewords	1870408231	1	27	31	37	12	19	9	21	14	15	16	16	15	12	17	13	26	14	20	21	16	13	10	19	33	15	18	16	12	11	19	1870408231
Uncorrectable Codewords	8299	0	83	131	170	45	66	51	63	67	61	69	49	72	74	69	77	65	73	68	72	70	79	77	76	186	71	78	78	79	85	91	8299

[-G-]

---

@Alex4161 wrote:

I currently have the XB6 modem with a 500 Mbit internet plan and Ignite Premier service.  I am reading about the XB7 modem and wanted to know what benefits will it have over XB6 and specifically:

- Is the range for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz improved?

- Does the unit run cooler as my XB6 gets pretty warm

- Is it quieter as the XB6 fan is audible about 6 feet away from the modem

- I find that the XB6 modem seems to disconnect every so often.  I am not sure if this is a signal issue or something else.  I rebooted the modem 2 days ago and my signal levels are listed below.  

WiFi range should be comparable.  Power levels are limited by government regulations, and remember that the modem's WiFi is only one half of the connection.  The quality of the connection and range is also limited by the transmit power and quality of the antenna of the mobile device as well.  Transmit power on mobile devices is limited (by design) to extend battery life.

Some people say that the fan is quieter on the XB7 but these are probably subjective opinions.  Fan noise seems to differ from one XB6 unit to another, and I am sure that the same will hold true for the XB7.  These units also run A LOT quieter when placed in a cool area with good ventilation.

Any of a number of things could be causing your disconnects, so you have to work with Rogers to get those issues resolved.  One thing that stands out in your stats is the 8299 Uncorrectable Codewords errors on your downstream DOCSIS 3.1 channel.  That number should be zero, or close to zero.

[-G-]

@Alex4161  One other thing: If you have problems with Wi-Fi range and/or experience poor Wi-Fi performance, you probably need to look at where you have placed your Wi-Fi modem/router/access point and look for things that could be interfering with or impeding range... and be mindful of the things that can make Wi-Fi perform poorly.

For more info, check out these articles:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/03/802-eleventy-what-a-deep-dive-into-why-wi-fi-...

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/02/the-ars-technica-semi-scientific-guide-to-wi-fi-access-point...

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/04/remote-work-lagging-if-you-cant-plug-it-in-upgrade-to-mesh/

[brianzheng]

I've had the XB6 and XB7 side by side and the XB7 is without a doubt slower and have lower range than the XB6. When comparing speeds at farther distances, the XB7 is about 30-40% slower than the XB6. On all devices the signal strength is lower on the XB7 than the XB6. This is not surprising because the XB7 only has 4 antennas for 5GHz while the XB6 has 8 antennas for 5GHz. I do not recommend upgrading from the XB6 to the XB7 unless you need Wi-Fi 6, need the 2.5G LAN port, or have 2nd gen Wi-Fi pods to extend the range. The 2nd gen Wi-Fi pods are fantastic with excellent speed and range and I can get close to the advertised 600mbps maximum speed. 

[Mrcanada1968]

What is the cost of the 2nd Gen Wi-Fi pods and do have a model number?