
You may experience annoying buffering, or dead zones in your home where your wireless coverage just doesn’t seem to reach. Though these provide adequate service, you may not be getting all the bandwidth, speed, and coverage that your service is capable of delivering from two separate pieces of equipment that work together but may not have the ideal connection to provide seamless streaming for multiple devices. If you use a cable provider for your television and internet, you are paying each month partly for rented equipment, including a clunky modem and router.
Best wifi modem and router combo plus#
Arris Surfboard Docis 3.0 Cable Modem Plus AC1750 Dual Band WiFi Router ARRIS Surfboard 16x4 Docsis 3.0 Cable Modem Plus Dual Band WiFi Router

Motorola MG700 24x8 Cable Modem Plus AC1900 Dual Band WiFi Router Motorola MG7550 16x4 Cable Modem Plus AC1900 Dual Band WiFi Router

NETGEAR Nighthawk Cable Modem WiFi Router Combo C7000 Netgear Orbi All-in-One Cable Modem + Whole Home Mesh WiFi Router Best value: Motorola MG7315 8x4 Cable Modem Plus N450 Router Premium pick: Netgear Nighthawk Cable Modem WiFi Router Combo C7800 And if you have one of the big cable providers, give your ISP a call to make sure the modem you're thinking about buying is supported by their system. If you've got a big family with a lot of devices, the extra speed can be worth every penny, especially when paired with a router that can handle multiple connections at once with QoS software. The Netgear Nighthawk CAX80, on the other hand, supports multi-gig speeds at Xfinity, but not at Cox, so be sure to check with your ISP. For example, the Arris Surfboard G36 supports 2Gbps speeds on both Cox and Xfinity. Still, if you're ready for multi-gig speeds, you need to make sure your ISP supports those speeds on that router.
Best wifi modem and router combo upgrade#
Cable internet providers have been working fast to upgrade their networks to offer speeds in excess of 1Gbps, but for many, a tenth of that will do. The right modem for you mostly comes down to how much speed you need. Like all the best mesh routers, you can expand your coverage with more nodes if you feel the need later on. The Netgear Orbi CBK752 is a solid mesh system offering tons of coverage with two nodes in the box. The Motorola MG7700 is an excellent value pick with its DOCSIS 3.0 tech supporting up to 800Mbps, so even if you don't need quite that much speed, you have some room to upgrade.

It supports internet speeds up to 1Gbps, which is plenty for most people, and has enough Wi-Fi capacity for most families. If you’re sticking with cable, the Arris Surfboard G34 is a good starting point. You could even pair one of those providers' modems with one of the best Wi-Fi routers. You can also check around to see if you have other internet options such as fiber, which can provide a faster internet experience, or even 5G with a carrier like T-Mobile or Verizon, which has similar speeds to cable with no modem fees or data caps. While some providers in more competitive environments have eliminated rental fees, they’re still a reality for quite a few people. If you’re looking to save money on your home internet service, eliminating modem rental fees can be a good starting point.

Upgrade your internet speed and Wi-Fi with a new router-modem combo
