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When to upgrade Rogers modem?

roses4u
I've been here awhile

I currently have the Ignite Internet Gigabit 1.5 package using the XB6 (the first ignite modem, Gen1) - I also have a Google Nest mesh setup (Gen 2) - not the Pro but not the first Google Wifi mesh.  I have bridged my Rogers modem, and I have 6 Google mesh points throughout the house.  The internet is slow, and I cannot figure out why.  Would it improve to update to the most recent Google Pro mesh or to get the Rogers's Pods?

 

Or should I be upgrading the modem to Gen3?  Would that help?  Please help!

 

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Re: When to upgrade Rogers modem?

-G-
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

@roses4u wrote:

I currently have the Ignite Internet Gigabit 1.5 package using the XB6 (the first ignite modem, Gen1) - I also have a Google Nest mesh setup (Gen 2) - not the Pro but not the first Google Wifi mesh.  I have bridged my Rogers modem, and I have 6 Google mesh points throughout the house.  The internet is slow, and I cannot figure out why.


When you say that your Internet is slow, how slow is it?

 

The XB6 gateway only has Gigabit Ethernet ports, and it provides Wi-Fi 5 connectivity internally.

 

The XB6 (Gen 1) gateway was only meant to be used for Internet speeds up to 1 Gbps.  With the 1.5 Gigabit service, Rogers should upgrade you to either the XB7 (Gen 2) or XB8 (Gen 3) gateway.  With the Ignite 1.5 Gigabit service, I have been able to attain more than 1.8 Gb/s of throughput.  You can only achieve that over Wi-Fi 6E or with a device that has 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity.

 

If you plan to run the gateway in bridge mode and continue to use your own network gear, then it does not matter which gateway you get.  However, you will only benefit if you have network gear (router or Wi-Fi mesh) with a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet WAN connection.

 

 

Would it improve to update to the most recent Google Pro mesh or to get the Rogers's Pods?


If your Google Nest mesh has a 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN connection, the fastest that you will be able to move data is 940 Mb/s.

 

If the Google Nest WiFi Pro mesh has 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, and all of your network connectivity is over Wi-Fi, then it would be beneficial to upgrade.

 

Pods also work well but they currently only support Wi-Fi 5, so you will only have a maximum of 650 Mb/s of throughput between the Pod and Gateway under ideal conditions.

 

Or should I be upgrading the modem to Gen3?  Would that help?  Please help!


The XB8 (Gen 3) gateway adds Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.  However, you will only really benefit from that if you have Wi-Fi 6E-capable devices on your network and use them at close range to your gateway.

 

If you will be running your Ignite Gateway in bridge mode, then there is no benefit to using the XB8 gateway over the XB7.

 

The XB8 also has a (slightly) upgraded antenna design so if you will be using it for Wi-Fi connectivity rather than an external Wi-Fi mesh solution, it will provide better coverage than the XB7.  However, if you will require Ignite Wi-Fi Pods to provide more coverage, they only support Wi-Fi 5, so all devices connecting through that Pod will effectively be sharing a wireless uplink that cannot transfer data any faster than 650 Mb/s under ideal conditions.

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3 REPLIES 3

Re: When to upgrade Rogers modem?

-G-
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

@roses4u wrote:

I currently have the Ignite Internet Gigabit 1.5 package using the XB6 (the first ignite modem, Gen1) - I also have a Google Nest mesh setup (Gen 2) - not the Pro but not the first Google Wifi mesh.  I have bridged my Rogers modem, and I have 6 Google mesh points throughout the house.  The internet is slow, and I cannot figure out why.


When you say that your Internet is slow, how slow is it?

 

The XB6 gateway only has Gigabit Ethernet ports, and it provides Wi-Fi 5 connectivity internally.

 

The XB6 (Gen 1) gateway was only meant to be used for Internet speeds up to 1 Gbps.  With the 1.5 Gigabit service, Rogers should upgrade you to either the XB7 (Gen 2) or XB8 (Gen 3) gateway.  With the Ignite 1.5 Gigabit service, I have been able to attain more than 1.8 Gb/s of throughput.  You can only achieve that over Wi-Fi 6E or with a device that has 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity.

 

If you plan to run the gateway in bridge mode and continue to use your own network gear, then it does not matter which gateway you get.  However, you will only benefit if you have network gear (router or Wi-Fi mesh) with a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet WAN connection.

 

 

Would it improve to update to the most recent Google Pro mesh or to get the Rogers's Pods?


If your Google Nest mesh has a 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN connection, the fastest that you will be able to move data is 940 Mb/s.

 

If the Google Nest WiFi Pro mesh has 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, and all of your network connectivity is over Wi-Fi, then it would be beneficial to upgrade.

 

Pods also work well but they currently only support Wi-Fi 5, so you will only have a maximum of 650 Mb/s of throughput between the Pod and Gateway under ideal conditions.

 

Or should I be upgrading the modem to Gen3?  Would that help?  Please help!


The XB8 (Gen 3) gateway adds Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.  However, you will only really benefit from that if you have Wi-Fi 6E-capable devices on your network and use them at close range to your gateway.

 

If you will be running your Ignite Gateway in bridge mode, then there is no benefit to using the XB8 gateway over the XB7.

 

The XB8 also has a (slightly) upgraded antenna design so if you will be using it for Wi-Fi connectivity rather than an external Wi-Fi mesh solution, it will provide better coverage than the XB7.  However, if you will require Ignite Wi-Fi Pods to provide more coverage, they only support Wi-Fi 5, so all devices connecting through that Pod will effectively be sharing a wireless uplink that cannot transfer data any faster than 650 Mb/s under ideal conditions.

Re: When to upgrade Rogers modem?

roses4u
I've been here awhile

@-G- - Thank you very much for this information.  With your response and a few hours of researching, Rogers is coming Saturday to upgrade the modem.  However, to answer your question on how slow my internet is - when I do a speed test via Google Mesh, I get:

 

805 Mbps download

44 Mbps upload

 

The XB8 also has a (slightly) upgraded antenna design - do you happen to know the sq ft of coverage the wifi expands too throughout a house? It's the reason I went to a mesh system because the XB6 didn't work throughout the house.

Re: When to upgrade Rogers modem?

-G-
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

@roses4u wrote:

@-G- - Thank you very much for this information.  With your response and a few hours of researching, Rogers is coming Saturday to upgrade the modem.  However, to answer your question on how slow my internet is - when I do a speed test via Google Mesh, I get:

 

805 Mbps download

44 Mbps upload


I would need to know more about your Wi-Fi configuration and Wi-Fi client to say whether this is good or bad.  I'm a bit surprised that your upload speed measurement is topping out at 44 Mbps; I would have expected it to exceed 50 Mbps.

 

The XB8 also has a (slightly) upgraded antenna design - do you happen to know the sq ft of coverage the wifi expands too throughout a house? It's the reason I went to a mesh system because the XB6 didn't work throughout the house.


Your Wi-Fi performance depends more on your home's construction and where you place your gateway than square footage.  For example, in my parents' home, they need to place their gateway in their family room, and it also needed to be placed against a wall that divides the front and back of the house, which also has plumbing, duct work, electrical, and a closet with mirrored doors, and all that blocks the Wi-Fi signal.  HOWEVER, I found a 1-foot section that does not block Wi-Fi, so I placed the modem there, and placed a Pod upstairs where it can get also a good connection to their XB7 gateway.  Their Wi-Fi performs well and they have total Wi-Fi coverage throughout the home, and seamless hand-off when they walk through their home with a mobile device.

 

When I tested the XB8 in my home, my devices had better connectivity (based on signal strength and speed tests) in some areas than with my XB7.  However, I have also measured better Wi-Fi performance than the XB8 with high-end Wi-Fi routers (which had a good Wi-Fi chipset and external antennas) and even better performance than the consumer Wi-Fi router with dedicated business-grade Wi-Fi Access Points, that were designed to perform well with a hundred (or more) active connected devices in an office environment.

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