Is there a good AT&T modem paired with a fresh router?
Is there a good AT&T modem paired with a fresh router?
Hi, I have an AT&T Fiber internet plan with a BGW210 modem. I'm connecting lots of stuff via hardwired Ethernet like my computer and NAS, plus some network receivers on switchboxes. Everything is working well so far. The only problem is that my Sonic Transporter sometimes just restarts randomly while using Roon software. I heard you can use a new router in "pass through" mode to connect to the BGW210. My question is: Will all my IP addresses change? Like for mapping purposes? Would I basically have to start over with everything? That would take forever - or is there another way to keep all my current IP addresses up to date? It's a big deal because I really don't want to lose everything. Thanks!
I am pretty sure there won't be much difference between routers when it comes to your software. This isn't really a network type issue. Even though the router in question is considered good, it uses wifi6 and relies on chips found in some of the best routers. Passthough mode can get messy with the att router but I would skip using that unless you actually need port forwarding. Otherwise, just run your router behind another router. The att router will still do nat since devices don't really work well in bridge or modem modes. Keeping the same LAN addresses is going to be a mess. You have to change the lan address on the ATT box and then change the lan setting on your new router so they match the range the att router currently uses. I have never seen that brand of router before, but it probably will work because it likely uses the same wifi6 chipset as most other similar routers. Don't get confused by big numbers; it is very likely your end devices do not support 4x4 mimo at 160mhz.
Okay. This is long and explains my setup that I wrote to my networking guy. Read at your own risk.. Like it says, everything works great! AT&T Box (fiber) coming into basement. Line into BGW210. 4 Ethernet Lines out of BGW. One line going upstairs. (Tech ran that line with wall output upstairs for Ethernet connectivity). One Ethernet out of BGW connected to my desktop computer in basement music room. One Ethernet from BGW going to Phillips Hue hub for all my lights. One Ethernet line into trendnet switch box in basement. Out of trendnet, one line going to Sonic Transporter i9. One line going out to Asustor NAS. One line going out to another netgear switchbox #2 in basement. Out of that switchbox one line going to Onkyo TX-NR6100 network AV receiver. One line going to Apple TV box. One line going to Panasonic smart TV. Back to the trendnet switch. One line going out to other room in basement to linksys switchbox for another smartv. Currently not being used but setup if necessary. On to upstairs. Ethernet line coming out of BGW up the wall to upstairs wall outlet in living room for main stereo. That Ethernet line is connected to a netgear switch box. Out of that box, one line feeds my 4K Apple TV. One line feeds the optical module with optical out of that into UltraRendu. Another line out of trendnet feeding Yamaha RX-A1080 network receiver. Another line out of trendnet going to my office room. In my office, that line runs through a netgear switchbox. Out of my office switch box, one line to work computer, one line to Ultra Rendu, one line to personal laptop computer, one line to 4K Apple TV, and one line to network AV receiver Onkyo TX-8050. Those are all of my Ethernet hardwire devices. Amazingly they all work flawlessly. Here are Speedtests on my three computers. (Can’t attach photos) As you can see, these are all Ethernet wired with great speeds all near 1000 download and upload. I also have many wifi devices (2 iPhones - personal and work). 2 Nest cameras, 1 ring camera, 2 google nest smart speakers, a bond hub which I use to control ceiling fans, a Sonos 1 in kitchen and 2 Rokus. That’s pretty much everything. Here are my findings. Everything works great! Seriously. The three network AV receivers are all hardwired and can be controlled by my iphone. Along with 2 hard wired Apple TV’s. In my house it’s all about connectivity. I’ve only lived in my new house since August 2021, and I’ve tinkered enough to get it all to work. Trust me, I’d say if I have issues but everything just works. And quite well. I never have dropouts, or NAS disconnects, or anything like that. Maybe cause a lot of it is hardwired. Nothing appears to be bogged down. I can say “hey google, turn on the lights” in the morning and it turns on 17 hue lights at once. Without a glitch. So honestly, I know it’s in an insane amount of stuff which makes sense to get a better router. But I don’t think I need to rewire anything. It just works. The only occasional dropout I get is from my Roon Core. And that’s fixed in 5 minutes for up to several days. When I moved from my old house everything connected instantly with my old AT&T modem. I’ve just added a bunch to that. But it all just works. Here’s a few more pics of my setup. I tried to save several pics of my overall setup, but file sizes too big. I can send if needed. This is a lot right. But it’s everything I need. And it all works flawlessly. It’s a sickness, right? But everything sounds so good and works.
So I'm not going to break anything, which means I'm going back home with the new router.
Sure enough, I just looked. It's not a modem; it's actually a standard SOHO router that AT&T set up for you. Any of their techs probably have the ability to reach your network at any time they need to. The ONT is what turns fiber into Ethernet and can plug into whatever device you need to run services in your home. You don't necessarily need another router if yours works well enough. If something else acts weird, it's likely a power or connection problem with that device. Also, the number of devices doesn't really count unless you're going over 200; what matters is how many packets are being sent while people stream at once, and that wouldn't cause random reboots on your gear.
Yeah, things are going well here. Thanks for getting back to me; I'll keep it like that. If something were up with my internet, things would be different. But I'm not having any issues and the guy already told me to get a new router. So I'm sticking around. Thanks again for your ideas!
Internet service provider routers are getting much better over time. This AT&T box runs on WiFi 6 and has a 5 Gbit port, making it quite powerful. Having ethernet cables for almost all devices also gives you very stable installation. The only downside is that the AT&T box is in the basement. It's not the best place for wifi, but if it works for you then there is no need to change it. In the future if you have wifi coverage issues you can use a cheap router as an access point and connect it to one of your ethernet cables to get better coverage.