OT - router/modem help!

Ian.B

Calling techies or at least someone more IT literate than me!

I'm replacing my old wifi router, which keeps running slow or stopping altogether, and have bought a new one. But whereas my old router plugs straight into the telephone line, and is the only thing standing between my computer and the big wide world on the other side of the telephone socket, the first instruction for my new router is to plug it into my modem, which I don't have. So have I bought the wrong thing, or do I need to go out and buy a modem? And if I need a modem, why didn't I need one before? I've always considered my router as a sort of modem with wifi bells and whistles added on.

If it's of any help, my old router is a Netgear DGN2000, and the new one I've just bought is a Netgear R6100.

itboffin

Yup wrong device

Ouija

Sounds like the R6100 is just a router with WiFi whereas the DGN2000 was a modem + router with WIFi.

Essentially a router is just a server stripped of all non essential mass (a computer without keyboard, screen, mouse, hard drives etc) that connects up to other computers in the vicinity via cables or WiFi and acts as a "always on" network hub for all those devices. To provide those devices with a connection to the even bigger computer network that is the Internet it either needs to hook up to a modem or have one built into it which your new one doesn't seem to have.

PBo

I don't know which but "breaks" in slow routers, but if it's the wifi bit that now runs slow then you could still use the old one just as the modem. However if it's the modem bit thats broken then obviously that won't help.

Ian.B

OK, thanks - so that's what I get from quickly ordering something in the 5 minutes I had before leaving to catch a flight without checking properly what I need. Looking now at the bottom of my old router, I see it's described as a "modem router".

So I'm thinking the easy thing now is to buy a modem. Presumably they're relatively basic and cheap? Any recommendations on what I need/should get?

PBo - the main computer is on a wired connection to the router and both that and any anything connected on wifi runs slowly or hangs intermittently, so I suspect your suggestion won't work in this case.

rower63

Yes as has been suggested, you used to have an integrated modem/router. Now you have so far a router only. You need a separate modem, but which type depends on the external network you're connecting to. Cable, normal phone line, or fibre optic for example will each require a different type of modem. Whichever modem you get, your new router will physically connect fine with it, with an Ethernet cable, but will likely require slightly different settings.
What type of external network/service do you have?

dhope

Which bit was breaking before?

If it's just that the wireless was slow then you could probably keep using the DGN2000 as a modem and use the new kit for the wireless.
If the internet connection kept dropping out then you might be able to sort that by putting OpenWRT or some other custom firmware on, then still using it as a modem and using the new kit for faster wifi

Man Of Lard

Perhaps more obvious - what other wireless networks can you see and what channels are they on? If they're on the same channel as you're on, you will experience dropouts/slowdowns from time to time.

Try forcing your (old) router's wireless to channel 1, 6 or 11 (ie. not automatic)

tgotb

Man Of Lard wrote:

Perhaps more obvious - what other wireless networks can you see and what channels are they on? If they're on the same channel as you're on, you will experience dropouts/slowdowns from time to time.

Try forcing your (old) router's wireless to channel 1, 6 or 11 (ie. not automatic)

Further up the thread, the OP said that the problem was also maifesting itself on a wired connection.

Man Of Lard

Oops - then it's possible that the phone line also has issues - depending on which ISP you have, they may be able (and actually bothered enough) to diagnose remotely...

Ian.B

Thanks everyone - I've decided the best/easiest thing to do is buy a new modem router, and send back the (non-modem) router which I had already bought.