What equipment to use if supplying my own

Xfinity maintains a list of modem/devices that work with Xfinity service.    You should be able to get around 600Mb/s from a 16x4 modem and DOCSIS 3.1 is not necessary.   I believe in separating my modem from my router.    Modems seem to change slowly whereas routers change more frequently.     I kept the same modem for more than five years while changing the router four times.    If you want to keep the price down consider purchasing used routers from Ebay.     I just picked up a WRT32X for $70 and flashed it with OpenWRT.    I currently have four WRT1900ACS routers configured as a wireless distributed network, all used from Ebay, all running OpenWRT, and all have been rock solid for the last two or three years.    My modem is a SB8200 (32x4, $169 retail) so all told you could have a solution for well under $250.  

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@royguti wrote:

 

1. Is docs 3.1 necessary? Should docs 3.0 give me the 300mbps speed?

 

No.

 

2. Do I need 32x4 channels?

 

No

 

or can I achieve 300mbps with 16x4?

 

Yes. The Arris SB6183 is a 16x4 straight cable modem that will easily deliver your 300 Mbps speed tier. Comcast rates it for 373 Mbps;

 

https://www.xfinity.com/support/devices/#details

 

It costs $68.20 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/ARRIS-Surfboard-SB6183-Package-Black/dp/B01ITIXYR0

 

It is a proven workhorse, highly regarded, and rock solid performer !!! I am using one as I post this, and with the 300 Mbps speed tier that I also have, I get around 350 to 360 Mbps (due to their 20% speed overprovisioning) all day. I've had it for 3 years without a hiccup.

 

FWIW, the SB8200 that was mentioned by others is a DOCSIS 3.1 capable device which as was discussed, you don't need. It is also more expensive that the SB6183 is.

 

3. What brand and model of modem and router (under $300) do you recommend to achieve close to the advertised speeds? separate or all in one?

 

Here is an excellent site for researching routers !; 

 

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/rankers/router/view

 

BTW that link to a site that others have posted: https://approvedmodemlist.com/comcast-xfinity-approved-modems/ is NOT an official Comcast site / approved modem list. It is a third party site that has had a dubious past. This is the OFFICIAL Comcast approved modems list;

 

https://www.xfinity.com/support/devices/#auth

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My apologies for the wrong link.   I should have checked the URL assigned.   I thought I had cut&pasted the official Comcast list of compatible modems.  

My point with the SB8200 was not to bait and switch you.   My point was to illustrate that a top of the line modem + a recently released (2017), high-end used router can get you a very good solution for under $250.    The cost of the solution seemed to be a critical component of your desired solution.

FWIW, I do not work for Arris or Linksys, I do not work for any of their suppliers, nor do I own interest in those companies or their suppliers.     My advocacy of those particular components is solely based on personal experience.

Just to add, the MG7550 is a very good gaterway. I can't see any massive improvements going with another device, although as @EG said, the SB6183 is probably the best of its class.  The relatively slow wireless speeds could be due to any number of issues - wire mesh under plaster, distance from router, devices interfering with wireless radios. 

As far as the new hoime, it's really hard to predict how an installation will go as there are many things that can go wrong with it. 

OP. Just as a FWIW, I always advise posters to stay far away from those combo gateway devices !! Just look around the forums and you'll see that there are boatloads of issues with them.


There is always an inherent disadvantage with these. Combo gateway devices are always a compromise in both quality and performance compared to separate units. Also, only the ISP can update the firmware so you are always a prisoner of that fact / of them. And the firmware is typically crippled by the ISP's customizing of it and they typically eliminate valuable features.

One of the biggest issues with them is that it is far more difficult to diagnose connectivity issues when it comes to troubleshooting. You can't narrow things down by using the process of elimination by removing just the router from the path. And if either segment fails / malfunctions, you have a total failure.



Get separate units and keep the control of your home network in your hands instead of theirs, you'll be much happier, IMNSHO !

Ok, the Motorola MG7550 was installed in 2 different houses for 300mbps service, both get about 50-70mbps on 2.4 and around 80-110mbps on 5G standing next to the router, they ran new lines in both houses, now for the kicker and someone PLEASE explain this to me, in both houses the comcast tech takes out this comcast phone that has the Ookla speed test app and they say they get 300+ mbps, so magically only this comcast phone running the Ookla app can get 300+ the rest of the world devices are under 100mbps, what is going on here?

I'm going to try to swap out the Motoral MG7550 in one of the houses and put the Arris SB6190 model and the Netgear AC1750 router, to be honest I don't think it will make a difference, I have 3 comcast installations and all 3 are FAR below what I'm paying for (the 3rd one is getting about 60mbps and paying for 600mpbs with gigabit netgear modem and separate nighthawk router). I'm waiting for another company to appear in my area so I can jump ship faster than flash! Way to many hours lost trying to make this work with comcast, horrible experience so far.

Oh by the way, I have a att installation on another house, it's a fiber installation, I pay for 100mbps and get between 90-115mbps, using the same phone that I test in the comcast installations. Unfortunately this service is not available yet for the other houses.

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@EG wrote:

OP. Just as a FWIW, I always advise posters to stay far away from those combo gateway devices !! Just look around the forums and you'll see that there are boatloads of issues with them.


There is always an inherent disadvantage with these. Combo gateway devices are always a compromise in both quality and performance compared to separate units. Also, only the ISP can update the firmware so you are always a prisoner of that fact / of them. And the firmware is typically crippled by the ISP's customizing of it and they typically eliminate valuable features.

One of the biggest issues with them is that it is far more difficult to diagnose connectivity issues when it comes to troubleshooting. You can't narrow things down by using the process of elimination by removing just the router from the path. And if either segment fails / malfunctions, you have a total failure.



Get separate units and keep the control of your home network in your hands instead of theirs, you'll be much happier, IMNSHO !

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@EG wrote:

OP. Just as a FWIW, I always advise posters to stay far away from those combo gateway devices !! Just look around the forums and you'll see that there are boatloads of issues with them.


There is always an inherent disadvantage with these. Combo gateway devices are always a compromise in both quality and performance compared to separate units. Also, only the ISP can update the firmware so you are always a prisoner of that fact / of them. And the firmware is typically crippled by the ISP's customizing of it and they typically eliminate valuable features.

One of the biggest issues with them is that it is far more difficult to diagnose connectivity issues when it comes to troubleshooting. You can't narrow things down by using the process of elimination by removing just the router from the path. And if either segment fails / malfunctions, you have a total failure.



Get separate units and keep the control of your home network in your hands instead of theirs, you'll be much happier, IMNSHO !

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Have you checked what wifi speed you are actually getting?    Being close to the radio I would expect that if the carrier frequency, i.e, 5GHz is configured to support 802.11ac,  you'd connect at that rate but your throughput seems to imply far lower rates; more like 802.11g (54Mb/s) on the 2.4GHz and slightly higher on the 5GHz band.   If you really have the same modem/router combo at two different locations, a 1Gb modem/router at the third, and something completely different at the fourth, then I would start to wonder about the phone/router wifi interaction.    It's a weaker possibility given that your third home with the Netgear router yields similar poor throughput as the two homes with the Motorola solution.  

Do you have another wifi based device like a laptop that you could use to measure throughput?   It would be one way to eliminate a phone/wifi interaction.      One way this type of problem gets solved is to find what is in common with all problem locations.   Are the houses likely all on the same Comcast segment, i.e., maybe in the same neighborhood or close to each other so they could be on the same segment?    If yes, there's still the problem of explaining the tech measured 300 Mb/s and the problem being in the Comcast segment; not saying it can't happen, just saying the explanation needs to cover this scenario.  If no, then what's in common at all locations?    Once you identify that 'thing' you take it outside of the test environment and try to test it independently with known working solutions.   Ideally that's a buddy's house that has the same equipiment or will let you connect your test component to perform sanity tests against it; if your Motorola modem/router works with your phone at a friend's house then you know it's not your phone, router/wifi, or an interaction between the two and you can focus upstream.

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@royguti wrote:

Ok, the Motorola MG7550 was installed in 2 different houses for 300mbps service, both get about 50-70mbps on 2.4 and around 80-110mbps on 5G standing next to the router, they ran new lines in both houses, now for the kicker and someone PLEASE explain this to me, in both houses the comcast tech takes out this comcast phone that has the Ookla speed test app and they say they get 300+ mbps, so magically only this comcast phone running the Ookla app can get 300+ the rest of the world devices are under 100mbps, what is going on here?

 

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Any SpeedTest  will give you the maximum possible speed over your connection. The OOKLA app maximizes your speed by avoiding things that would impact your speed, such as going through the browser and all its associated bloat and unnecessary plugins.  

Also remember that "real world" applications are affected by other things too - the server might be busy, bandwidth constrained, or too far, etc.  Even on my Gigabit connection, which consistently tests at 940/42,  I'm rarely able to download a game from XBox Live at faster than 200 MB/sec, and this on an ethernet connection. 

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@royguti wrote:

I'm going to try to swap out the Motoral MG7550 in one of the houses and put the Arris SB6190 model and the Netgear AC1750 router, to be honest I don't think it will make a difference

It's not often that I recommend against any device on the approved list, but the SB6190 is one of those devices.  The Puma6 chipset in that modem is fraught will all sorts of issues, from malware vulnerability to horrendous lag, and is a subject of a class action lawsuit. 

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@royguti wrote:

Oh by the way, I have a att installation on another house, it's a fiber installation, I pay for 100mbps and get between 90-115mbps, using the same phone that I test in the comcast installations. Unfortunately this service is not available yet for the other houses.

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Apples to oranges comparison. There might be underlying issues in the other houses that may affect your WiFI speed, and WiFi itself can be erratic.

The best way of testing speed is using a device connected by Ethernet directly to the modem or gateway.