Do I need a new modem/router?

[The Napkin]

Our home WiFi will randomly stop working a couple times a day. Then 2 or 3 minutes later it'll kick back on and work like nothing was ever wrong.
Will also have issues with buffering from time to time when streaming YouTube/twitch.
Earlier this week I got a note from Xfinity that said they noticed I was having issues and recommended a tech come out (which is half cool and half scary but whatever).
He came out Wed and thought there might be a short someplace. Put in new cables from wall to splitter and then from splitter to cable box and modem. Also replaced splitter. When that was done we could either have Internet or cable but not both. Replaced cable box and all was well. Cable worked. Internet worked.
But then WiFi went out again Wed night. And a couple times yesterday.
When he was here he had mentioned something about replacing modem/router but since it started to work we didn't bother. But now I'm thinking maybe it's worth trying?
Currently using a Netgear c7000v and was looking at Arris SVG2482AC.
Thoughts?

 

[OfTheCarmen]

Some Questions:

1) Do you know if your problem is specifically with the wireless, or do you think it might be your internet in general?
2) Do you see any similar drops or buffering while watching cable?
3) Assuming you are using the wireless network from your router, have you tried the wireless coming from the cable modem (assuming it also has that capacity)?

If unsure about #1, you could try plugging something into the router directly and running some kind of long trace to see if you have packet loss/etc.
If for #3 you have the option of using a different wifi, you could try that and then run a long term trace on different devices on the different networks and see if they have the same behavior.

I always like to exhaust all options with existing hardware before trying something new, but I'm cheap.

 

[Time to Mo Vaughn]

Looking at the Arris, it does have built in WiFi capability. It's probably not as good as your Netgear, but if it's good enough you could take the Netgear out of the loop for a few days and just use the built in router/wifi in your modem to see if it goes away.

Another similar option if you don't want to use Arris WiFI, is that when the internet goes out, immediatly go and plug the ethernet from your modem directly into a laptop (if your laptop doesn't have ethernet the USB adapters are pretty cheap these days) and see if you are able to get a connection instantly, which could indicate it's the router/wifi. If you still have issues at this point, I'd assume it's the Modem and replace it and keep the WiFi router.

 

[The Napkin]

1) I believe it's the wireless, I can check that with my gaming computer that is hard wired next time it happens

2) I know during Tuesday's bruins game there were 2 times it froze that I just assumed was NESN being NESN. I haven't noticed other times but we don't watch much tv

3) current Netgear is both modem and router which is by far my preference

The biggest issue I've found is we need one that can do voice too and there don't seem to be many out there that do that which is why I looked at the Arris. Certainly not sold on it if there are other modem/router with voice things out there. I am very dumb about this stuff and get frustrated/flustered.

 

[The Napkin]

If it matters when the WiFi goes out the cable is still fine

 

[Max Power]

If it matters when the WiFi goes out the cable is still fine

That means the service to your splitter is just fine. Since the cable modem and router/wireless are all one device, you probably do need to replace that. I always liked having separates so that I could upgrade the router/wireless while keeping the same cable modem. It's also easier to diagnose problems when they're not all tied together.

 

[The Napkin]

That it just kind of fixed itself led me to think that it was the netgear hiccuping and I'm not afraid of throwing $200 at it but y'all are smarter than me so...

In general I'm a separate guy too (too many tv-vcr/dvd combos where one died and made it useless) but in this case only needing one plug makes a big difference in terms of what we have available. Sometimes it stinks to live in an old Boston condo...

Now I guess I just need to decide if that Arris is the way to go or if there's a better modem/router that does voice out there. I can't understand why that's so hard to find. How does one get phone if the modem doesn't do phone?
Sigh.

 

[Time to Mo Vaughn]

That means the service to your splitter is just fine. Since the cable modem and router/wireless are all one device, you probably do need to replace that. I always liked having separates so that I could upgrade the router/wireless while keeping the same cable modem. It's also easier to diagnose problems when they're not all tied together.

I concur with this and misread your initial post and thought you had both the Arris Modem and the Netgear as your WiFi router.

Based on seeing your last comment about the modem/router doing phone, your best bet is to get the list from your ISP directly on which specific models are supported. Since you mentioned Xfinity, their list is here: https://www.xfinity.com/support/devices/#unauth, but you'll need to put in your specific address as I imagine it depends on the specific service you have.

 

[The Napkin]

No worries, I was writing on my phone during lab meeting and probably could have been more clear

I had grabbed that list and the Arris is on it under "compatible" which I guess is nice. None of the "recommended" have built in wifi and voice. Boggles the mind that they sell a cable/internet/voice bundle with no recommended modem/routers with voice but I've banged my head enough on that.
So I guess my decision is pretty much made.

Appreciate y'all talking through things with me!

 

[Max Power]

I also live in an old Boston condo with inconveniently placed outlets. I have something similar to this (the one I have hasn't been sold in 10 years).

Amazon.com: WAudio AC Noise Power Conditioner - Mains Purifier Audio Video Noise Filter Surge Protector with US Standard Sockets (Silver) : Electronics

All my home theater and internet equipment are in the same piece of furniture and this splits power to it all. The size and shape match my receiver, so it's a cleaner setup.

 

[Seels]

I had something like this two months ago and talked to xfinity about it. They said that they're upgrading their docsys so old modems just aren't super efficient. I thought, well that's dumb, my modem is like 2 years old. So instead of upgrading that, I just bought a set of Eero routers to extend the wifi, and it fixed it perfectly.

I do feel like 80% of the technicians you talk with are about as useful as a doctor from 1700 would be to medicine. Not always wrong, but rarely super helpful at the same time.

 

[jayhoz]

Starting 2 days ago my WiFi was terrible. Slow speeds. Intermittent drops. I swapped out my Asus router for the Fios one and everything worked great. I factory reset the Asus and plugged it back in. Everything is perfect again. Not sure what happened two days ago to cause the issue. Might be worth trying a factory reset.

 

[The Napkin]

So interesting update. I picked up the Arris modem/router Friday night but didn't have time to deal with it over the weekend and just lived with internet crapping out now and then. Monday it was awful all day and I was going to swap it out after dinner. Got a text from Xfinity assistant at 7 saying they were aware of a service interruption and were working on it and should be resolved by 12:30 am. Checked the coverage map and it said 100-500 people affected. Si I figured I'd wait and see what they were able to do. Was just about unusable Monday night, cut out every 10-15 minutes and TV would freeze as well and then jump forward after it resolved. Blech. Got a text early Tues am that service was restored ... and we haven't had an issue since.
So whatever it was it was something very local and they found whatever it was and it seems to be fixed and because I procrastinated I can return the modem this weekend and save myself a couple hundred bucks.