Wireless Modems

[Reaper316]

So, I believe my modem is dying on me. Lately I've had to constantly turn it off and back on in order to get my internet to work. It is old however and probably needs replaced with something newer anyway and my service provider isn't going to charge anything for it.

They said it is a wireless modem, and to be honest I've never heard of that before. I just wanted to assurance from you guys that know if everything will basically work the same.

Also, are they difficult to set up? Thanks for the help!

[APAT]

If you don't connect via wireless connection nothing will change. Just make sure to either turn the WIFI feature off (if you don't plan on using it) or set it up so its secured. Its really easy. It'll take you like 5-10min to set up.

[Reaper316]

I have a wired connection. Also, I think your talking about the router. I'm talking about the modem.

[EagleOne]

There are wireless modems, such as the ones offered from ATT or Time Warner. I am sure you can get one from your ISP if you request it. It will already come secured so all you have to do is follow the instructions to be able to connect.

[APAT]

Yeah, many ISPs are giving people modems that are wireless and routers as well to make things more simple for their customers.

Try explaining to a 65 yr old that just purchased internet service from you that he/she still has to buy a router or wireless router along with the modem they rent from the ISP. Not a fun conversation I assume....lol. With the modem/wireless router, its an all in one package.

[Reaper316]

@ Eagle yeah my service is through AT&T and they are sending me a wireless modem.

@ APAT, I didn't know they had combined them into one. I also feel like that 65 year old, I'm not that tech savy. Which is why I post all my questions here, lol.

[EagleOne]

So once you get it then all you have to do when it asks for the key is flip the modem around and there is a ten digit number which is the key.

[norm]

Its a combo router/modem. I personally can not stand those mostly because A. you can not load in your own firmware and B. because the ISP will usually handicap your access tot he router in some way. Making things difficult like opening ports.



The big thing you may have to do is reassign all of your devices an IP again. If so that's not bad at all. Also if you are not using the wireless portion of the router make sure you either turn it off or secure it.



Either way good luck!

[Dioxin]

Although the software Norm loads to his modems/routers is super sweet, it's way more advanced than most people here need. I know that with ATT Uverse, you can get in there and tweak it around if you need to adjust your NAT type to OPEN. The install guy said that he prefers when you don't, but there's always an option to revert to default settings.

[Reaper316]

Oh shit! So, I had to work last night and slept during the day and couldn't keep up with the thread. Is the modem they are sending automatically a router too? I don't need a damn router, I already have that and it's all fixed already.

I may have to call them back on Monday and figure all of this out. I don't want more headaches then its worth.

@ Dioxin...right now I have my router NAT type set to open and when talking to the people at ATT they said we could get Uverse, but then said it was unavailable. Then they kept going back and forth and apologized and said we can't get it yet. Which kinda sucks because I was going to upgrade my download speeds.

One last question if/when I get it do I have to get rid of the router I am using now and use there combo?

Thanks for the responses!

[norm]

lol. When the tech comes out to install it just tell him you want to use your router and ask him to put the new hardware into bridge mode. If you are installing it just call the help desk and ask them to walk you through putting the router into bridge mode.

What bridge mode does is passes through the ISP's IP address through their router straight into yours.

[Cottoinc]

When I moved into my new apt BrightHouse (my ISP) tried to give me a "All in one" cable modem and two weeks later I had them come back and get it because it was slow and dced a lot. Now I have a webstar by Scientific Atlantic as my cable modem and a netgear wnr2000 and it runs great.

[APAT]

I have the same wireless router as Cottoinc and it works great for me too. The wireless feature on the ISP provided modems usually suck for gaming

[Dioxin]

Oh yea norm. I totally forgot this. My chick has Uverse and her brother's modem was too old to connect to the security type.

He bridged his wireless router off of the Uverse router. Now we connect off Uverse and he connects to his own router.