Shawn's profile

New Contributor II

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10 Messages

Wednesday, January 29th, 2025

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What are your fastest Gigablast 1Gig plan speeds with your hardware?

I am trying to find out if my modem is not able to get the full Gigablast 1gig speeds for my plan.
I am pretty sure my router is a bottleneck, but I don't want to replace my router until I know my modem is not the final bottleneck.

Cox dashboard test. Las Vegas, NV to Glendale, AZ. I forgot to test using speedtest.net.
806 / 39 / (down/up Mbps) 16ms: Ethernet direct to my Netgear CM1000 cable modem. 

Speedtest.net results below. Phoenix to Glendale, AZ. (2025.01.29)
822 / 40 / (down/up Mbps) 9ms: Ethernet through Asus AC-RT68U Wifi 5 router. 
311 / 40 (down/up Mbps) 9ms: Wifi 5G 5.0 ghz link speed 650, through Asus AC-RT68U Wifi 5 router.
82 / 36 (down/up Mbps) 10ms: Wifi 2.4 ghz link speed 144, through Asus AC-RT68U Wifi 5 router.

Plan: Gigablast (Details from Cox:)
Typical Download Speed: 1173 Mbps
Typical Upload Speed: 40 Mbps
Typical Latency: 13 ms
Typical speeds represent national median test results.
Listed at  https://www.cox.com/residential/internet/gigabit.html as of this post.
Date, time of day, and network activity in the home at the time can affect results.

 

Moderator

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503 Messages

7 months ago

Hi, Shawn. That modem has 32 downstream channels. As we're addressing each channel at 25Mbps, you are likely going to hover around 800 and would benefit from a different modem. 

Esteemed Contributor III

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3.5K Messages

It may only have 32 QAM downstream channels, but it also has the capability of using OFDM downstream channels which can support higher speeds. Cox lists the modem to support up to 1Gbps as per here. Can you explain? What model would you suggest?

Moderator

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503 Messages

Alright, thank you for that information. 

New Contributor II

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10 Messages

As WiderMouthOpen mentioned, it's on the list of modems that support 1Gig. My CM1000 currently has 32 of 32 locked channels, plus 2 of 2 locked OFDM channels for downstream. I am just curious if my speeds are what other people are seeing from Cox Gigablast using a similar 32+2 (down) 8+2 (up) OFDM modem. If other people in my area are getting faster with the same spec modem, I am wondering if the DMARC point to my house needs to be looked at.

Esteemed Contributor III

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3.5K Messages

Shawn wrote:

I am wondering if the DMARC point to my house needs to be looked at.

I wonder that too. As per your old post here, there might be a filter on your line that blocks out some of the signal that kept you from getting the TV signal. That was before Cox encrypted their signal, since now they don't have to block/filter signal to stop service. Since it requires a box/CC now, all they have to do is flip a switch in their computers. That same filter may be stopping some of the signal needed to allow your modem full speed. Just a guess. 

New Contributor II

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10 Messages

Thanks. I will ask Cox if there is a charge to send a tech to check on the external wiring. I don't see any filters at my house box outside and no splitters since I don't use it for TV still. Still really sad that Cox (and Comcast/Xfinity) charge to pipe free OTA signals over the coax. I miss that.

Esteemed Contributor III

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3.5K Messages

7 months ago

I saw your post on Reddit. You won't get much input here from users. There are only 3-4 of us here(besides the moderators).

With that said, most problems are related to signal and not hardware. AFAIK all DOCSIS 3.1 modems support up to 1Gbps(hyperthetically) while actual speed maxes around 940Mbps because of overhead. You can squeak out a bit more by getting a D3.1 modem with a 2.5Gbps ethernet port like the S33, but that won't help a signal issue. See here for a full list.

Can you post your signal levels? See here.

As for your router, that model is EoL as per here, so even if just for security reasons, probably a good idea to replace. I have the RT-AX86u and love it. They have a Pro model though which is better and I think the same price now. The gl-inet FLint 2 router is also a good choice. You won't get gigabit over wifi though unless you invest in a Wifi 6e or above and you have devices that support it. 

New Contributor II

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10 Messages

Thanks, I figured Reddit probably has more activity. I would like to get 900+ since that should be possible when including the overhead. I am guessing that the 1173 Mbps number listed by Cox is by using a 2.5GB cable modem on the gigablast plan. Which for the sake of future proofing (again), I might consider that route since my desktop supports it. Though I would need to upgrade my switches to 2.5GB as well. 

My signals look great with an SNR of 43-45.5 across the 32 QAM channels. And 40-42 for the OFDM channels. The RT-AC68U is still great and Asus still keeps updating it for security. My last firmware update was Nov 2024. But yes, it's old. I plan to upgrade to another Asus router as I really like the firmware, free VPN, free DDNS, and other controls/monitoring. Though I would prefer a separate router and access points. The Asus Ai Mesh doesn't work great with this model so I currently only use 1. Maybe the new Asus Ai Mesh actually works great. lol. 

I would love to get the ASUS RT-BE92U BE9700 since it has a 10G and 2.5G WAN, plus 2.5G LAN ports. Under $300, so I might go that route. I could do that since my main desktop goes straight to the router switch and the rest of the house can get 2.5GB switches later. lol. As for wifi devices, I just want to hit the 600 range which a new Wifi router should solve. :) 

And thanks for suggesting another brand. I will check out the Flint 2 for prices and specs. And to see if they have a firmware emulator like other brands do.

Esteemed Contributor III

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3.5K Messages

Well if Asus lists the model as EoL, I don't think they plan to update the firmware anymore. Last update was a month ago and it didn't have any security patches or bug fixes or anything like that, and I think that will be the last update.

If you want to stay with Asus, the RT-BE92u is probably great. Haven't heard too much about it to be honest, bad or good. Main thing I notice is it has 1 10Gb WAN port and 4 2.5Gb LAN ports. Why do you need a switch? Have more then 4 wired devices?

If you are going to buy it, but ASAP. With the new tariffs on chips that routers use, I think prices will go up. Not meant as political, just a warning from one Asus user to another. If you want a separate router and AP, look into Unifi. That is the way to go if you have the ability to run ethernet to backhaul the AP and set up a controller to improve roaming. More expensive and complex to set up though. Unifi also has a site/app to help you decide what hardware you need and where it should be placed.

New Contributor II

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10 Messages

My 2nd RT-AC68U was used for mesh with a wired 1GBE backhaul, but the automatic roaming was terrible. And some non-roaming wireless would switch from the Asus that was only 10 ft away for the one that was 50ft away and more walls in the way. I had to start blacklisting some devices from the unit that was the farthest from them. But that was only an option for non-roaming devices. It was not a good working mesh at all for 2.4 or 5 ghz. So I finally moved the  primary RT-AC68U to the center of the house and removed the mesh. I really like the interface and what I get included without subscription from Asus. So I probably won't jump to a separate router & AP anytime soon.

Here is most but not all of my home setup. I try to have everything wired as much as possible. And I need more UPS units since I shifted things around. This isn't the ideal wiring that I would have done, but the previous owner had a mess of ethernet routing in the walls and attic and this was the best I could do without ripping it all out and starting over. Which I am tempted to do. I personally would have done a single star topology with the attic wiring.

One day I will probably redo some of the previous owner's work to at least remove the switch in the closet. They were cheap on wire instead of pulling multiple long home runs.

Legend: Blue connections represent in-wall ethernet. 

 

Esteemed Contributor III

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3.5K Messages

Setup looks good. Having cascading so many switches is not optimal, but it shouldn't cause any issues.

As for seamless roaming, not only do you need the right hardware, but the device you are using needs to support the method used by the router/APs. It should roam eventually, it's just a matter of how long it takes and how much data you lose during the transition. Like if you use voip while walking around the house, you can have issues.

New Contributor II

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10 Messages

Yeah, I haven't had any issues with 4-5 switch hops. Likely not hitting any saturation on any one switch. But it drives my OCD crazy. My last house I wired to be home runs to all the rooms with multiple ports for a single star topology. And then only a few switches for things like printers, the AV cabinet, and test devices. It annoying knowing that this house's wall jacks are dependant on a switch in another room so if anything happens to one switch it can take multiple rooms down.

I never had roaming issues of weak signals and drops with my last small office design using Aruba APs with decentralized controllers. But I wouldn't spend my own money on that for my home. Luckily now that I have moved my single wifi point to the center of my house, the wifi is great everywhere including the garage. 

I don't have the funds for it right now, but I would love to upgrade to the Arris S34 or Hitron CODA56 cable modem (Both support mid split for faster uploads), and the ASUS RT-BE92U or similar Wifi 7 by Asus.

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