Motorola or Netgear Modem WiFi Routers with the Orbi Mesh System

Thanks for the great feedback.  I probably get the nomenclatures wrong as I’m not immersed in the IT world.  

"That arrangement is a recipe for problems. Turning off the wifi does not disable the router bit. Putting a modem/router in front of the R7000 means that you have two routers on your network."

 I cannot disagree.  But it this setup does work.  I was one of the first customers online when Comcast ran lines where I live.  15 years ago?  I forget the Arris model I had.  But it was what I call a modem.  It had four ethernet ports.  2.4G Wifi at that time. 

"Replacing the modem/router with a  modem-only device removes that clash.:"

  Understand now.  However, the answer I was looking for is there a modem/WiFi that will work with Orbi System.  The thought is I'm replacing modem.  If I can increase and or improve WiFi coverage with a “WiFi” modem I would look to install one at this time.

" You have not said what the model is of your modem/router, but I find this bit hard to believe."

Mentionedlast reply:

 "pay for renting a 2018 refurb model XB6" –

  I've had various Xfinity models in the last several years.  This latest unit was Xfinity's answer to the poor service I have been getting.  I call it a WiFi modem router. It only has two ethernet ports and has 2.4 and 5g Wifi service.

 "How can Xfinity turn the wifi on by remote control? I suspect something else is happening, including the possible side effects of running two routers on the network.".

  Yes, everyone who has Xfinity service and rents "Their" modem which contributes to strengthening Xfinity's WiFi service for all of Xfinity’s customers.  Their modems have 2 bands dedicated for the residential customer that the customer can password control.  I have a password and can use the 2.4 and 5G Xfinity WiFi.  But everything in my house is using my R7000 WiFi.  I have been on the phone with tech support and watched as they turned off their two bands.  And the lights on the modem would go out and the bands would disappear from my phone.  Weeks or maybe a month later I could tell my service would not be good and there would be additional WiFi signals on say my phone.  I'd go in my computer room and the the 2.4 and 5g lights on the modem would be back on. I called them first several time this happened.  But after that I would log into the modem and disable myself. 

  Xfinity has extensive monitoring systems to monitor quality and strength their service throughout their service areas.  And part of what they do is monitor their modems for issues to identify outages.  And they look for trends in data volume, quality, or bottle necks to make adjustments to prevent issues with customer service.  And like any hardware running software they make tweaks to their software to fix issues, bugs etc.  They push these updates out to "their" modems as needed to keep their service up and running as smoothly as possible to maximize customer service.  When they push these updates out it resets their modems default “WiFI" settings which is on.  So yes, they can control the WiFi settings on "Their" modems.

  In addition to the two WiFi customer bands as I mentioned earlier, there is a "Hidden" Wi-Fi signal that is not accessible when you log into their modem.   This a band is in every Xfinity modem and transmits/ receives WiFi signals to enhance and fill in their service coverage to improve customer’s access and service to the internet, WiFi calls, etc.  I can see it on all my devices in my house.  My house is on large estate lots and thus not close enough to pick up 5bar signals from neighbors.  The signal, named "Hidden", turns off and on when I power up and shut down my Xfinity modem.  Through numerous service calls over the years I have learned this information from Xfinity service techs. 

 "As @CrimpOn says, replacing the Xfinity device with your own modem and using that with one of the Orbi systems you mentioned would be a good start. You could hang on to the R7000 and use it as a wireless access point. It won't be a part of the Orbi's Mesh network but it could fill any local WiFi gaps."

   That’s the information I need.  Although, still curious if there is a newer modem with just "WiFi".  If so, would it improve coverage and service.  And work with the Orbi WiFi system versus creating some interference issues.

  “You could even start by simply replacing the Xfinity modem/router with a modem. Your R7000 already delivers the WiFi you need. Why add anything else?"

   My wife is still working from home since the start of Covid.  She is in video meetings, conference calls pretty much all day.  I just retired this past November.  But prior to that she was constantly complaining she would lose connection during important meetings and or could not connect to meetings.   And she had to switch to her company mobile hotspot as needed.  Now that I'm retired I'm at home doing miscellaneous work during the day and now see the issues.  She kicks me off my computer when she is going into an important meeting.  And we now have more devices connected at various times of the day between multiple TVs, computers, streaming movies, phones, tablets etc.  I’ve checked and at times there are as many as 20 devices connected on WiFi at one time.

  And we are paying for the extra Turbo Boost data plan.  And I recently have done extensive monitoring of our service starting in February and going through March.  Testing during work hours, evenings, nights, weekends.  Tested using Xfinity’s speed test as that is the only one they go by.  And compared their test at each test using High Speed Internet’s test.  As that is what the company I worked for used.

  I have all the data an Excel spreadsheet.  And have multiple Pivot Tables to compare and contrast everything from time of day, workday, weekends etc.  And also when I tested connected directly to the modem with nothing else connected.  Or, if I tested from 5G WiFi using my pretty slick Alienware gaming laptop.  And basically, it comes down to I do receive the 400 Gbs service I pay for.  But, not all the time.  It fluctuates widely.  And the service is extremely inconsistent to the point I cannot identify any trends in the service I’m getting. And when Xfinity checks my service on their end, not from their modem, they always say everything is good and I’m getting an excellent signal.  I tell them if they check it in 10 minutes to an hour the service will not be the same.

  Sorry for dragging this out.  But bottom line is I want Xfinity’s modem out of my house and want to upgrade to bring WiFi service up to 2023 technology and future as we are demanding more from our the internet and WiFi service at my house than we were 15 years ago.

Thanks for all the great responses!

Blue