CM400 Modem and N300 Router

[RicardoWhitaker]

Hello everyone,

I bought the Netgear CM400 modem for my Xfinity 100 mbps internet plan. However, I need to access the internet at different rooms in my house, so I was thinking about purchasing the N300 router. Are they compatible? More importantly, do I need to buy both or one or the other by themselves would be able to supply internet wirelessly to my entire apartment? 

[plemans]

The CM400 is a cable modem only. You can directly hook a single device to it and be able to use it. If you want more than 1 device, you'll need a router. 

I would recommend more than a N300 router if your speeds are the 100mbps plan. Its not much more to upgrade to a dual band router. They'll give you more capabilities for minimal cost over the N300. 

[RicardoWhitaker]

I appreciate your answer. I am sorry for the silly questions, but it is my first time buying a modem and/or router. Do I still need the modem or could I just use a better router than the N300? If the answer is yes, what kind of router should I get? 

[plemans]

You need a modem and a router. 

https://www.lifewire.com/difference-between-modem-and-router-4159854

They do make combo devices but I generally don't recommend people buy them because the ISP controls the firmware on them. 

Main reason I recommend at least a dual band device is the diffrence between the 2 bands.

2.4ghz: broadcasts further and through more materials. Downfall to this is that its much lower bandwidth. (slower)

5ghz doesn't broadcast as far but has a quite significant speed improvement.  Much better if you plan on streaming anything over it. 

Today's a great day to shop for routers as its cyber monday.  If you're not wanting anything fancy and aren't covering a whole lot of area, a basic dual band router will cover most situations. I'd go for a newer generation wireless ac router as well.  

[RicardoWhitaker]

I appreciate the assistance, definitely very helpful.