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Moving to a bigger house - need help on the best networking setup
I have an AC1600-WiFi Cable Modem Router that works fine for the 1200 sq ft apartment I'm in. But I'm moving to a three level townhome and am trying to figure out the best setup. The house will be fully wired so I'll need a switch on the first level in the tech enclosure where I was planning to put the AC1600 connected to the ISP. I know I'll need an extender or an access point to cover the whole house and I was hoping I could use an AC1750-Smart WiFi Router connected via one of the ethernet ports and be able to use the Netgear Armor protection. Will that work or is there a better solution? I didn't want to have to buy a whole new mesh system.
NinoBrown2008 wrote:
I do have the C6250. It looks like only the Orbi with the Cable modem supports Armor. It's unfortunate I can't just buy a new Nighthawk router that supports Armor to use with the Cable modem I have rather than having to buy an entire mesh system.Most, but not all, Netgear modem/routers will work in "modem only" mode. (Check the manual.) That bypasses the router bit and lets you hang a router off the end.
Experienced users often use separate modems and routers because that gives them a wider choice of routers and features. It also means that they can keep the same router if they change their Internet technology, from cable to optical for example. All they have to do is replace the modem bit.
One reason for going down that route is that cable modems (and most cable modem/routers) come with firmware that only the ISP can update. Most don't. So you are stuck with the features and security that they come with. This means that you can't update the firmware to add features like Armor.
My experience with DSL devices as that there can be problems when you use a modem/router as just a modem. I have no idea if that also affects cable devices. But that is something to worry about later.
4 Replies
NinoBrown2008 wrote:
I have an AC1600-WiFi Cable Modem Router
AC1600 is not a reliable guide to model number. Many devices come with an AC tag, but it is essentially a label that Netgear, and other brands, attach to hardware to describe wifi speeds.
NinoBrown2008 wrote:
I know I'll need an extender or an access point to cover the whole house and I was hoping I could use an AC1750-Smart WiFi Router connected via one of the ethernet ports and be able to use the Netgear Armor protection.
The C6250, if that is what you own, does not support Armor.
Which products support NETGEAR Armor? | Answer | NETGEAR Support
- I do have the C6250. It looks like only the Orbi with the Cable modem supports Armor. It's unfortunate I can't just buy a new Nighthawk router that supports Armor to use with the Cable modem I have rather than having to buy an entire mesh system.
> [...] It looks like only the Orbi with the Cable modem supports Armor.
> [...]How, exactly, did you arrive at that conclusion?
> [...] It's unfortunate I can't just buy a new Nighthawk router that
> supports Armor to use with the Cable modem I have [...]Who says that you can't?
"the Cable modem I have", a C6250, is a modem+router, not a simple
modem. It could be configured as a simple modem, and then you could use
it with any simple router, including a router which offers Armor.Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your model number, and look
for Documentation. Get the User Manual. Look for "Cable the Modem
Router to a Router and Use Bridge Mode".