Trying to upgrade our Modem

[Theauramasternul]

Our ISP provided modem is probably around 6 years old and it's not working properly anymore. I'm trying to get a replacement, but I don't know what to search for.

It's a normal modem, router, Access point combo made by Smart rg. I just need one that'll work better and will support Gigabit. I also have a ubiquity access point plugged into it.

 

I genuinely don't know what to search for, so any help with recommendations or what to look for would be a great help.

[Bombastinator]

17 minutes ago, Theauramasternul said:

Our ISP provided modem is probably around 6 years old and it's not working properly anymore. I'm trying to get a replacement, but I don't know what to search for.

It's a normal modem, router, Access point combo made by Smart rg. I just need one that'll work better and will support Gigabit. I also have a ubiquity access point plugged into it.

 

I genuinely don't know what to search for, so any help with recommendations or what to look for would be a great help.

Location, isp, and type of connection play a major role here. “Normal” really isn’t a thing because there are just so many possibilities. In the US, for example if you are using one of the major companies it is often better to have the model the isp knows how to deal with even if it isn’t the top model.  Your modem may not even be the ISP’s currently supported device.  Other places may be very different though.

[Theauramasternul]

46 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Location, isp, and type of connection play a major role here. “Normal” really isn’t a thing because there are just so many possibilities. In the US, for example if you are using one of the major companies it is often better to have the model the isp knows how to deal with even if it isn’t the top model.  Your modem may not even be the ISP’s currently supported device.  Other places may be very different though.

My ISP is a local company, not a large well known one so there isn't much chance of me finding one that they specifically support or anything. 

My grandma got our current modem in 2014, so I also doubt it's their currently supported one either.

[Donut417]

11 minutes ago, Theauramasternul said:

My ISP is a local company, not a large well known one so there isn't much chance of me finding one that they specifically support or anything. 

My grandma got our current modem in 2014, so I also doubt it's their currently supported one either.

We need to know what kind of internet you have. DSL, Coax and Fiber all use different types of equipment. No there is no universal modem. 

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, Theauramasternul said:

My ISP is a local company, not a large well known one so there isn't much chance of me finding one that they specifically support or anything. 

My grandma got our current modem in 2014, so I also doubt it's their currently supported one either.

Other than calling them?  It may be a big deal.  It may not be.

[wseaton]

You really need to contact them and see what they support. Some ISPs don't support customer gear.

[Theauramasternul]

2 hours ago, Donut417 said:

We need to know what kind of internet you have. DSL, Coax and Fiber all use different types of equipment. No there is no universal modem. 

It's DSL. I didn't know they had different needs

[Donut417]

10 minutes ago, Theauramasternul said:

It's DSL. I didn't know they had different needs

Firstly you need to check with the provider, because most DSL connections use PPPOE for authentication and that requires a username and password to be put in to the router. Secondly you need to figure out what flavor of DSL you have, it comes in ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL and VDSL2, there are a few others but they are not heavily deployed from what I have seen. Just make sure what you get supports the flavor of DSL you have. Third, im not sure they make standard DSL modems any more, most I have seen are gateways (modem/router) so just bear that in mind. Connecting two routers together will cause double NAT. So you either will that to disable the router part of the gateway if you choose to use a separate router or just use the gateway as intended. 

[Alex Atkin UK]

I'd always go first to the ISP if their modem/gateway is failing, they might replace it with a new model for free which if so you can see if its good enough before putting money down for your own.  Plus as mentioned, you likely need login details anyway.