I am looking for some home wifi education

[Michael6745]

I feel like a noob, but I am not.  I just haven't researched the new technology in a long time.  I am looking for some suggestions on how to set up my home wifi.  I'm not sure where I should post this either, so I'm starting here.  Pay no attention to the model # as I do not have one yet.  But I needed to fill out that space.

We have AT&T fiber with the AT&T router with wifi built in.  I am aware it's not the best product out there.  The problem is that many of our wifi devices keep getting disconnected. Mostly my wife's stuff.  I bought a wifi extender and hard wired it to the router.  It doesn't do a lot for the situation as it is it's own SSID and you have to change to the SSID if/when the main signal is weak.  Kind of a pain.

I am looking for suggestions on how to set up my home, before I spend a lot of money for no reason.  i.e. Can I buy one of the nighthawks, connect it to my router (turning off the main wifi in the router) and just use the Nighthawk.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[FURRYe38]

You can connect another Nighthawk or Orbi system to your modem:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Cable-Modems-Routers/What-s-the-Difference-Between-a-Cable-Modem-an...

Your ISP Modem already has a built in router and wifi. This would be a double NAT (two router) condition which isn't recommended. https://kb.netgear.com/30186/What-is-Double-NAT
https://kb.netgear.com/30187/How-to-fix-issues-with-Double-NAT
Couple of options,
1. Configure the modem for transparent bridge or modem only mode. Then use the Orbi router in router mode. You'll need to contact the ISP for help and information in regards to the modem being bridged correctly.
2. If you can't bridge the modem, disable ALL wifi radios on the modem, configure the modems DMZ/ExposedHost or IP Pass-Through for the IP address the NightHawk or Orbi router gets from the modem. Then you can use the Nighthawk or Orbi router in Router mode.
3. Or disable all wifi radios on the modem and connect the Nighthawk or Orbi router to the modem, configure AP mode on the Night hawk or Orbi router. https://kb.netgear.com/31218/How-do-I-configure-my-Orbi-router-to-act-as-an-access-point and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7LOcJ8GdDo&app=desktop
https://kb.netgear.com/26765/Disabled-Features-on-the-Router-when-set-to-AP-Mode

I would try option#2 or 3 first with nighthawk or wifi mesh system. 

Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many? Can use a wifi scanner to see whos around you:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/network-analyzer-lite-wifi/id562315041?mt=8
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html
https://www.acrylicwifi.com/en/wlan-software/wlan-scanner-acrylic-wifi-free/
https://lizardsystems.com/wi-fi-scanner/screenshots.php
http://nutsaboutnets.com
http://www.metageek.com/products/inssider/
https://www.sandman.com/knowledgebase/cordless-wifi-rfid-troubleshooting

Interferences from other wifi sources can cause problems.