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Router and Modem Questions

ssnswan
I've been here awhile

I have two questions.  One, my internet connection was initially very unreliable when I moved to my current home.  After much back and forth with rogers they suggested I buy a router.  I did this and this seemed to solve the problem - for two or three years actually.  But for the last several months it has been back to the same thing, constantly losing the connection and having to unplug/reset the modem/router combination.  The tech support at rogers got me to unplug the router, and now the computer connections seem to be ok, but the wireless tv streaming box is still an issue.  If I bought a non-rogers modem would I be able to connect it with Rogers, or do you have to stick with what rogers gives you?  (I have the Hitron CGN3, claims to deliver speeds up to 960 Mbps)

Second, I am interested in the Torch wifi router (https://mytorch.com/) as this allows me to cut my kids off of the internet.  Can this be run with Rogers, and how can I avoid the constant disconnects I was getting when I was hooked up to a router before.

18 REPLIES 18

Re: Router and Modem Questions

RogersMoin
Moderator
Moderator

 

Hello, @ssnswan

 

Thank you for joining the Rogers Community Forums and posting your query. I'm assuming the tech support has checked the signal strength etc since your wired computers have a stable connection. 

 

Currently, non-Rogers modem are not supported/provisioned on Rogers network. You should be able to use the Torch WiFi router. You may want to consider other router options for that price range. The popular router in the Community is Asus RT AC68U. 

 

I'll invite @Datalink to this thread, he will more in-depth insights for you. 

 

Cheers,

RogersMoin

Re: Router and Modem Questions

It looks like the Torch, may provice MORE flexability, even moreso than the ASUS, etc routers in terms of monitoring/blocking/parental controls.

 

 

To answer a few things.

 

A) Only rogers modems can be used on the rogers network.  Its possible yours is bad.. but there could be other things involved too.
Even something as simple as a signal issue.
If you are able to log into the modem, and provide us with the signal levels, it can help us troubleshoot that part if that could be causing issues (model of modem, and the firmware would be helpful too)

 

B) You should be able to add that router, as much as you can with any other one, with the rogers modem.
You would put it in BRIDGE mode, efectively turning it into a modem only, and then use your 3rd party one.
As before (or even moreso now), there is just very little support when using your own 3rd party.
Often if any major troubleshooting needs to be done on the rogers end, you may have to UN bridge the router and troubleshoot just on the rogers modem.

Re: Router and Modem Questions

I agree with @Gdkitty on the signal issues.  If you can copy and paste the tables from the modems STATUS .... DOCSIS WAN Downstream and Upstream tables, that will help to determine if there might be a problem.  I think the emphasis should be to resolve the signal issues so that you can use whatever router you want to use.  

 

You can also load pingplotter to keep an eye on the modem to CMTS path, looking for latency and packet loss. The packet loss would be an indication of cable or noise issues.  The latency is being addressed with firmware testing at this time.  Please have a look at the following post regarding pingplotter:

 

http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/forums/forumtopicpage/board-id/Getting_connected/message-id/355...

 

By using pingplotter, especially during times when your internet service is suffering, it might be possible to detect issues that you might not otherwise see, and get tech support online to help resolve the issue.  You can post an image from pingplotter so that we can make some sense out of it for you and suggest what should happen to resolve the problem.

 

The Torch router looks pretty interesting, especially for parents to keep an eye on their kids online activities.  The closest router that I know of would be an Asus router loaded with Merlin's AsusWRT.  That has scheduling built in, as does the original AsusWRT, but it also adds the capability to run the kids devices off of a different DNS service.  That offers the choice of using something like OpenDNS web address filtering while leaving the parents an open non-filtered DNS.  There is a traffic monitoring capability built into the original AsusWRT as well, but I don't know if it comes anywhere near what the Torch might offer.  

 

Some thought that come to mind about the Torch:

 

1.  It has a 700 Mhz processor.  Good but not exceptionally fast.  My Asus RT-AC68U has an 800 Mhz processor and sees 840 Mb/s tops.

2.  There are 6 antenna, 3 for the 2.4 Ghz network, 3 for the 5 Ghz network.  These are located at the inside edge of the device.  That might be marginally better than the Hitron's 6 antenna which are mounted on the board.  My usual recommended solution is to go with something that has external antenna to see the best wifi performance possible.

3.  With all of that monitoring going on don't expect to see high data rates.  I suspect that if you were running a service such as 250/20 or higher, you wouldn't see anywhere near those data rates.  Thats a common complaint for Broadcom based routers.  The choice is to run the router for various monitoring features and take a speed hit as a result, or, run the router for speed, and use very little if any of the monitoring features.   

Re: Router and Modem Questions

Hello everyone, I just got Rogers Gigabit service installed, what I've noticed is that when I'm wired directly to the modem I get great speeds (800Mb/s).

When using wifi my speeds are terrible, 100Mb/s. Even 5 feet from the Gateway I'm getting 450Mb/s MAX. With my old CGN3ACSMR and 250u package I would get 330Mb/s wireless easily. So it looks like the Gigabit modem doesn't have as good WiFi performance as the CGN3ACSMR. So I've decided to get a seperate Wireless Router, what do you guys suggest that will give me equal wired performance as the Hitron, but with better WiFi and Range? My Computer is a 2105 MacBookPro that has 3x3 AC, and got much better wifi performance with my old CGN3ACSMR. Budget for wireless router is $250

 

Re: Router and Modem Questions

Datalink
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

The poor wifi performance might be due to the presence of a secondary beacon transmitted by your current modem.  If so, its on the to do list to take care of.  In order to look for that you would need to use an application such as inSSIDer.  Can you take a look at the following post and read thru the inSSIDer portion of the post.  You would need a windows laptop to load the freebie version.  The link on the page in the post has MAC link but that is for a pay (licenced) version.  Maybe Techspot screwed up the link, don't know.  If you wanted to buy a licence, which I encourage for those who want to use the 5 Ghz 802.11ac capability of their devices, then $20 isn't a huge cost. 

 

 

http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/forums/forumtopicpage/board-id/Getting_connected/message-id/359...

 

At this point in time the question is, buy a Single User-MIMO router which has been around for a long time, or buy a newer technology Multi User-MIMO router.  A Single User-MIMO router services all the devices in the network, one at a time.  The Multi User-MIMO router can transmit to 4 devices simultaneously, and receive responses individually, one at a time.  So, with multiple MU-MIMO devices on the network, through the use of spatial mapping, that router has a very high bandwidth outbound to the devices.  The only catch is that only new MU-MIMO devices can take advantage of that router capability due to changes in the message protocol.  So, realistically it will be many years before most people have enough MU-MIMO devices on the network that can actually take advantage of the router.  Its the usual question, do you buy the devices first, or the capable router first.  What came first, the chicken or the egg?

 

Another point to consider is that I would normally recommend Asus or possibly Netgear.  It appears that Netgear filters IPV6 ICMP, and ICMP is required by IPV6 in order for IPV6 to run properly.  Rogers has recently enabled IPV6 across the network and Windows Operating System prefers to use IPV6 first.  So, personally speaking that takes Netgear routers out of the picture.  IPV6 ICMP experts please chime in here.  I'm all ears.....

 

Fwiw, my RT-AC68U tops out at about 840 Mb/s via ethernet, with nothing running but the Firewall and Trend Micro site check, and tops out around 440 Mb/s via wifi.  There is an update of this out now.  The RT-AC1900P.  This replaces the 68Us 800 Mhz processor and drops in a 1.4 Ghz processor, which is becoming common these days.  Other than that, its the same router.  I wonder about the heat from the 1.4 Ghz processor, but I haven't seen any complaints anywhere.  That is what I would consider buying at this stage, depending on whether you want an SU-MIMO router, which this is, or wanted a MU-MIMO router.  Stay away from the 87U.  That has been a pain for a number of people who purchased it.  You might see that on sale, but, don't go there.

 

Anything that you buy should have at least a 1 Ghz processor or better.  I haven't looked around recently, but I can tell you that the vast majority of routers can't handle the 1 Gb/s data rate.  Its getting to the point where you need to run something like a pfSense router to handle the speeds and anything else that you wanted to do with the data packets in terms of security processing.  So, it would simplify the search by looking at the faster processors.  Keep in mind that if you decide to go with  slower processor, you won't see the 1 Gb/s rate thru the router.  Asus will be coming out with a monster router fairly soon that can to 1 Gb/s and beyond, but its probably going to be pretty expensive. 

 

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/internet-bandwidth-networking-clinic-4/%5Bmaylyn-networking-previe...

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Re: Router and Modem Questions

thanks for replying, I'll be sticking with SU-MIMO for now since have no devices that support MU-MIMO. any idea how the range on the RT-AC1900P is? I have a 2500 square foot house with 3 levels to go through, so something that gets good range is important. I tried my modem on the main floor, and while all my devices get reception, they're all slow. When I have the router on the top level my computers are decent, but I get no signal in the basement.
Any idea how the Linksys WRT 1900ACS is?

Re: Router and Modem Questions

ssnswan
I've been here awhile

One other question - what is the difference between a router like I have that plugs into the modem and the signal boosters that I see in Best Buy that just plug into an outlet?

Re: Router and Modem Questions

Datalink
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

I think you will find that a router with external antenna will make a big difference.  The Asus routers can also use beamforming in both the 2.4 and 5 Ghz world.  That comes out of 802.11ac world, but you can enable it to run on both frequency bands.  It sounds like your house is similar to ours in size.  Our router is on the main floor near the front and there doesn't seem to be any complaints regarding wifi performance.  To be honest, we really don't think about wifi performance.  It just works, which is how it should be.  Having said that, most of what we have is running on a 5 Ghz network as the 2.4 Ghz band is pretty crowded around us.  There at least 35 to 40 modems and routers running nearby in the 2.4 Ghz band, and only a handful, if that, running in the 5 Ghz band.  So, a 5 Ghz channel is much easier to use.  And, all of the rooms have ethernet ports as well, which are also used.  

 

The WRT1900ACS, you need to be careful with.  There are two versions out, 1900AC and 1900ACS??  The first was promised to be the next Valhalla of open-souce firmware but the wifi drivers were never released by Marvell (?) I believe was the story.  So, the product was reworked with a different chipset so that the drivers could be released and used for open source firmware.  If you're considering that router, readup on the history and current affairs so that you know whats going on.  I haven't kept track of that router or where the open source firmware is at these days.  

Re: Router and Modem Questions

@ssnswan, with a router you have a hard physical link back to the modem that should provide data in both directions without any errors.  The signal booster, or range extender usually takes in the operating network on one channel and rebroadcasts it on the same or possibly other channel.  So, it relies on a wifi network back to the original router to receive the data required for rebroadcasting.  If its rebroadcasting on the same channel, then your data rate will take a hit as the same channel won't be in use by two transmitters at the very same time.  If you're in an area that is very crowded with other 2.4 or 5 Ghz signals, the repeater performance will probably suffer due to the wifi interference.  So, your data rates will also be slower when compared to a hard wired router.  As they say, nothing beats a wired link.    

 

Fwiw, there is a powerline device out now that uses the latest Homeplug 2 standard (all three wire pairs of the house electrical system) and combines that with an 802.11ac capability for wifi.  If I needed a solution and was hard pressed for alternatives, I would consider going that route before thinking about a range extender.  

Re: Router and Modem Questions

ssnswan
I've been here awhile

OK - I am a techno idiot, so I'm hoping you can explain the part about the interference if its in an area crowded with other 2.4ghz signals.   Where would this 'crowding" be coming from.  When I first moved into the home I had set up the modem in the bedroom that was being used as an office, connected to the cable in that room.  But I eventually lost all contact with the wifi world leading to a visit from the Rogers technician.  He said A). the cable in the room was the original 1970'something stuff and not cut out for the computer age and B). that the room was too fai away from the living room where the laptop spends most of its time.  So I moved it to a central area in the house right next to the wall where the cable comes in, which the Rogers guy said was more modern.  Still had disconnection issues so got the router (d-linx) and that solved it until recently.  I don't have any new equipment or devices.   It doesn't seem to matter how far we are away from the modem when the disconnections occur, and all the devices lose their connections at the same time.  During the day I have my work laptop hooked up to the wifi, and my personal laptop is always hooked up.  I have a wireless printer, one cell phone with a data plan and a child's cell phone without a data, and an ipad that only see's occasional use.    So is it these devices that are "crowding" the wifi?   Thanks

Re: Router and Modem Questions

gp-se
I'm an advisor

your devices aren't crowding the wifi, it's the other house's near you that are. Every Router needs to broadcast the signal, so the more Routers near you, the more crowded it becomes. Unfortunately there isn't anything you can do about that, unless you live in a rural area far away from neighbours.

Re: Router and Modem Questions

@ssnswan, as @gp-se has indicated, the problem is all of the other wifi modems and routers that are running nearby.  With only 11 channels available in the 2.4 Ghz band, in a typical neighborhood, that means that there are multiple modems and routers operating on the same channel, and that is across all of the channels.  If you look at the inSSIDer image in the following link, that shows exactly what @gp-se was indicating, and that is all of the other wifi modems and routers that are close enough to interfere with your wifi network.

 

http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/forums/forumtopicpage/board-id/Getting_connected/message-id/324...

 

In this particular case, the wifi network that is in use is indicated as "Hobo", sitting at -49 dbm.  The nearest overlapping channel is on channel 2, indicated in red.  Thats "AUJLA 007".  Ideally, for the Hobo network to operate without any interference problems, the closest network, in terms of power would be down around -90 to -95 dbm.  With a 40 to 45 dbm separation between your network and the closest overlapping network, in terms of receive power at your laptop, you could expect the wifi network to operate reasonably well. 

 

Now, in this case, Hobo is at -49 dbm, Aujla 007 is at -67 dbm, and further down and also overlapping is Kuldeep at -75 dbm.  The power separation from Hobo to Aujla is only 18 dbm, and from Hobo to Kuldeep is 26 dbm.  In both cases, the other two networks will present interference that will cause issues with the Hobo network.  Either one of those networks might be transmitted from a modem or router from the next door neighbor.  So, presumably the modem or router probably isn't going to move away soon, and neither is the neighbor.  So that means that if you want to use wifi in your own home, you would have to either change channels to one that is less crowded, if that is possible at all, or, decide that its time to move up to the 5 Ghz band, which doesn't carry as far down the road or across the neighborhood, and where you would have an easier time to find an open channel. 

 

In this particular case, inSSIDer is loaded on a single band laptop, and that is the 2.4 Ghz band, so, the right hand display for the 5 Ghz band is blank as the adapter does not support 5 Ghz operation. 

 

This is a pretty good example of crowding and interference in the 2.4 Ghz band.  There are no good solutions there, other than deciding to run the modem in Bridge mode and use a router with external antenna and beam forming capability to improve wifi performance in the home.  The other networks are not going away, so, the choice is to improve the 2.4 Ghz performance, or, move up to the 5 Ghz band, at least to the greatest extent possible.  As time goes on, there are more and more wifi modems and routers put to use and as a result, that crowding in the wifi bands gets worse and worse.  Where one day you had a clear channel to operate on, the next day its gone as the neighbor has brought home a new wifi modem and router and is now competing with you for the same channel, so now his, or her modem or router is interfering with your network.  

 

The wifi adapters have essentially three levels of signal to work thru.

 

a.  background noise that can't be processed, like far away wifi transmissions that are too weak for the wifi adapter to process, and other noise like microwave ovens, cordless phone perhaps and others.

 

b.  background noise that can be processed, such as the wifi networks that belong to your neighbors.  The adapter will understand that there are other networks out there and modify its behavior if necessary to accommodate those networks.

 

c.  Your own network, which can be received and processed (in theory)

 

Noise A does nothing but raise the overall noise floor that the wifi adapter has to work above.  Noise B can directly interfere with your network.  As the level of interference between some other network and your network increases, it causes your network to use more error correction bits per packet of data.  So you lose in terms of data rate as more and more of the bits that travel between the modem and device are used for error correction purposes.  The modem and device change the data encoding type on the fly in order to take into consideration the background noise level.  The higher the background noise level, the more bits will be used for error correction purposes, just to get the data thru to the receiving device and ensure that its correct .  With low noise levels, such as in the country for example, where the nearest neighbor might be a mile or more away, the modem and device will have very low background noise to deal with and as a result, the encoding changes to use the majority of data bits for actual data, with a very small number of bits for error correction.

 

So, that in a nutshell, a rather large nutshell, is the problem with using the 2.4 Ghz band for wifi. 

 

hope this all makes sense.

 

If you would like instructions on downloading and using inSSIDer, they are posted in varous posts, but I can certainly repost them for you.

Re: Router and Modem Questions

So I ended up trying the Linksys WRT1900ACS and a Asus RT-AC1900P. I found the Asus performed better than the Linksys, however both were similar to the Hitron CGNM 3552. I've decided to Return both and stick to the Hitron. I'm hoping a new firmware will improve WiFi performance, The ACSMR I had before the CGNM 3552 had better WiFi.

Re: Router and Modem Questions

UserBK
I've been here awhile

Hitron Router CGNM-3552

 

What is the significance of the GREEN and YELLOW lights (not only the colour but also solid vs flashing) associated with the Ethernet ports located on the backside of the Hitron Router CGNM-3552 ?

Re: Router and Modem Questions

@UserBK when the connected port LED is flashing Amber, that indicates that the modem port is communicating with the device port at 1 Gb/s and that there is data traffic transmitting back and forth.  A Green LED indicates that the modem port is communicating with the device port at 10/100 Mb/s with data traffic transmitting back and forth. 

Re: Router and Modem Questions

UserBK
I've been here awhile

Thank you for your prompt response RE Datalink.

Re: Router and Modem Questions

User2106009
I've been here awhile

Actually, you're response is misleading.  Rogers has in the past and continues to support the installation of "approved" modems.  The way that the contracts haven been written and, more specifically, the description of the modems available, have consistently shown that this policy of having a "rogers" modem is paramount to false advertising.  Just make sure to copy the fine print on their website, or send my a private message and I'll send you my information.  Now, of course, this was during the good old Motorola Modem Days, and it took a little bit of coaxing... (not coaxe alling).  But in the end Rogers knew, and still knows they're wrong.  If you arrive with a Hitron CGN3 or a Hitron CODA modem, connecting them to service should work perfectly fine.   You just need to be persistent.   And b.t.w. : There are plenty of 3rd Tiers Internet Providers that offer cable internet through "Rogers'" cable system.  They use their own modems with their own logos.  If they continue to give you a hard time with residential service, you can always, and quite easily switch over to Rogers business side.  You also get the Ridiculously Stupendously Amazing ability to make sure you're service is NOT bundled, which makes things much much much MUCH more simpler and straight forward when it comes to discounts and when you're shopping around, or when you've gotten tired of watching cable TV or using their Home Phone and want to cancel.  In fact, I've gone to Rogers website with IE vs Chrome vs Edge, and the packages and the prices have someone changed between internet browsers (and that's even after clearing my cache and refreshing the webpages)

Re: Router and Modem Questions

Yes, 3rd party providers are allowed to have other modems.
But those ones, still have to meet certain requirements ,as they are 'registered' on the rogers network.
(so they just cant pick ANYTHING)

So as long as it falls within THOSE guidelines, of approved modems... should/could they be approved for service?  S
SURE.
But at that point... Outside of the LINE to the house.. rogers would not really support it hardware wise (like using 3rd party routers, etc).  You can use them, but a user could not really expect support on them.
Rogers streamlines their modems they generally use, for this very reason.

Same would go for any other sort of rogers services.  Ignite a prime example.
Or any of the other advertised settings/features.


I am not saying that they shouldnt be allowed.  It should possibly be a option for select users.  (more advanced/experienced users)

But for MOST users.. its plug and go.  They dont know nor necessarily want to do all the extra work to get it going.  For the average user, its not worth the hassle.

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