I recommend a DOCSIS 3.1 for compatibility, even if the speed level of your current plan doesn't require it. I had a Motorola/Arris SB6141 for seven years, DOCSIS 3.0, eight channels downstream, rated to handle up to 300 Mbps It worked perfectly fine for the service plan I had for the duration, which was initially (introductory) 10 Mbps. The ISP upped it to 100 Mbps, then 200 Mbps, then 300 Mbps a few months ago (of course with forced price increases each time). I was getting 220 to 230 Mbps on speed tests on the 200 Mbps plan. The 300 Mbps increase topped at 270 and the connection would occasionally drop/reset when it was previously quite stable. I upgraded to an Arris SB8200 (low price via Walmart, it has since gone up), which is DOCSIS 3.1 and 32 channels downstream. I tested at 335 Mbps a few mins ago. The connection is stable.

There were bad reviews on the SB8200 so I was a bit leery of it but I had good service from the SB6141 so took the chance and the SB8200 is fine thus far. A few of the complaints I read said the 8200 runs hot/overheats. It's no warmer than the 6141 that exhibited no failure in seven years. I have a separate modem and router. Seems reasonable to avoid the higher cost of replacing a combo for modem reasons when the router is OK. Sticking with a combo may be better for you since you don't already have a router.

OP, you seem to misunderstand some things and you're munging several different things together that are unrelated.

Before buying new equipment, call your provider and tell them you think you're having signal problems. Ask if they'd send out a technician (free of charge) to check it out. I've twice experienced intermittant/inconsistent internet signal issues in the past 5 years (at two different locations) and the problem was the provider's hardware and its connections. Not my owned equipment.

Equipment often starts to fail at and beyond the 5 year point. If your stuff is that old, replacement may be warranted (after your ISP checks the signal path).

Most people misunderstand what internet service tiers are all about. All signals travel at the speed of light, slowed down by equipment processing along the way. 50, 100, 500 etc Mbs is about bandwidth, not speed. The diameter of the pipe (how much water it can carry), not how fast it travels. Streaming HD video takes 25 Mbs or less. Most internet traffic homes use (like website reading) travels in bursts of a few megs at a time. 100 Mbs could support 4 TVs or PCs streaming HD video at the same time. Few homes need to support that kind of traffic at once. Med to large offices may, but homes, rarely. Anything beyond 50 for most homes is wasted.

Keep in mind too that most websites providing data don't respond at anything near 10s of megs of a data rate.

I have had that exact model 3yrs now and not one issue with it like you describe. I am on spectrum 300Mbps speed and my internet is very fast and no wifi disconnects. My PC's and mobile devices all use it wireless as does the printer. I live in a 3 story house and get excellent wifi all through the house and outside in the yard. I would do as Elmer suggested before investing in new equipment as the issue could be on your providers end. Mary

I owe you all an apology and thanks. My PC suddenly began acting up so badly that there wasn't much I could do with it, and I have spent the last few days trying to figure out what was wrong. Finally got a handle on it, so things are looking up. Fortunately my husband's PC is running well right now and he is generous with its use. So now I can turn my attention back to the modem problem.

We have always owned our own modems and routers or a combo of the two, so I can't hope that our provider will feel obliged to do much, if anything, to help for free. A few years ago, they instituted a policy change that customers who opted not to pay for some sort of "insurance," would have to pay what I remember as a pretty stiff fee every time they had to send someone out. So, strongly suspecting that the problem lies in the device we own, we prefer not to bother them.

I like the looks of Elmer's Netgear CM700, so will probably go with that. Thanks, Elmer. You have persuaded me to give up on combo units, too. Any suggestions for a router to go with this modem? Someone on Amazon recommended the Netgear Nighthawk X10 AD7200 Smart Wifi router, but it appears to me to be more than we need. It's a small, one-story house, and neither of us is a gamer, though we watch videos and, on occasion, a movie, so we just hope to avoid the constant buffering and sometimes signal dropping that we have suffered lately. The Wifi signal also has stopped extending as far as it used to.

Hope it works out. I have only ever had a combo units and no issues ever. We are lucky as spectrum will check things free even if we own our own equipment.

biwako, the range of a Wifi signal depends on the placement and capability of the transmitter (usually a router) in the structure and the number, material type, and thickness of the walls the signal passes through between the transmitter and the intended device receiver.

At my second home, I purchased a Netgear R6230 (AC1200) four years ago and it has worked consistently well and with better range than the unit it replaced. It's $70 from Amazon.

You should not be experiencing constant buffering and signal drops when streaming a TV program. Go back to the first recommendation, get your ISP to check on the health of your signal. If your router is not near to the TV set and you continue having the probme, consider running an ethernet cable to the location or using Powerline signal transmission equipment.

Good luck.

Elmer: I am aware of the strength of a Wifi signal, but our TV has nothing to do with it, being in a different room and having a direct coaxial cable delivering the signal; there is no buffering--only on our i-Pads. We may indeed have to get Cox to investigate whether the small TV cable box they force all users to lease from them needs replacement. as some things suddenly become pixelated like a Picasso, but the effect only lasts a split second, so until all our other problems can be solved, we are just putting up with it.

The Wifi, as I mentioned, used to work well all over the house, but now when I am in the kitchen--which is farthest from the location of the modem/route, it often happens that I get no signal in the morning, so I figure that the signal has grown weaker.

Thanks for the suggestion about the Netgear R6230 (AC1200). I am looking into it and other routers on Amazon. Will probably buy the modem you mentioned. Hoping to put in an order for that and a router today and get things working before the present device gives up completely. I have been learning so much about modems and routers lately, thanks to this problem--items in device specifications, certain functions, and other points to consider in buying--that I never knew existed. As my memory gets worse with age, some of my brain cells are probably being hi-jacked and storing information they may never need again!.

Related comment and question: In my installation, there is an RG6 coaxial cable going to what I assume is the modem, In my older installation, there was a device (I don't know what it was called) which provided WiFi out, as well as 8 Ethernet ports, (in addition to the WAN port). The WAN port was connected to the modem's Ethernet port with the provided short Ethernet cable. I was having some speed issues several years ago, so on the advice of my ISP (Spectrum) and the only store within 100 miles in my state (Staples), I got a Wi-Fi switch, but all that were available had only 4 ports, a TP-Link_768C; I get by with a 1GB switch to expand one of the 4 ports. I know I could get an 8-port Wi-Fi switch on Amazon, but I'm not sure that would benefit me in any way. Any suggestions?

I'm not sure I'm following your description but let me talk aloud about the basic layout.

The internet signal comes into the house. Service provided by cable companies comes in on a coax cable. The first connection is to a modem, it's the translator that can speak both to the internet provider and home equipment. A PC can be connected directly to a modem (ethernet cable) if needed or if that's the only device in the house that needs a signal.

Some internet modems are dual devices, acting as both modem and router, otherwise, there are two devices and they're connected with an ethernet cable - output of the modem leads to input of the router. Think of an old-fashioned telephone operator with a switchboard with plug holes and wires with plugs, putting the a wire of the incoming call into the correct hole for the desired destination routes the call. That's what a router does, it connects devices needing an internet connection to the modem.

The connections can be wired (ethernet lines) or wireless (wifi). About four or fewer wired sockets are standard on most routers. If you need more, a ethernet switch does as you describe - a 4 node switch plugged into one socket in the router makes that one socket into 4 possible connections. Wireless connections for home use should be considered as limitless, more than anyone would ever need (though a lot of traffic from dozens of users can slow throughput).

Ethernet switches are like an extension cord or surge protector with multiple sockets, where one cord plugged into the wall socket can provide say 3 or 4 sockets for use (so long as the circuit amperage isn't exceeded).

Ethernet boxes just pass signals through and make one socket into multiple ones. They do nothing otherwise.

As far as buying equipment, there's no need to go into a store. Amazon, NewEgg, and even Walmart are excellent sites selling wide selections of products and brands, competitive prices and (usually) generous and free return policies. I personally can't remember the last item I got from a store, it's been that long ago and rare.

Did I cover your question or miss it?

mtvhike, there's no reason to add or change equipment unless you need more ethernet ports for connecting additional wired devices.

FWIW, i use the ARCHER 7 at church with good success.

We recently upgraded my mother's equipment from an Arris DOCSIS 3.0 combo modem/router to an Arris DOCSIS 3.1 modem and a TP-Link AC1750/Archer 7 router that my sister obtained via surplus when her employer closed an office last year. Less cost than another combo. The Archer 7 configuration is a bit busy/tedious with a plethora of settings/options available for tweaking. It works nicely thus far and the 3.1 modem improved download speed vs. the 3.0.

What uses does your mother have for which higher throughput is useful?

It's a rhetorical question. Few if any homes come anywhere close to using the capacity today's equipment provides. And looking at the other end of the wire, few if any websites/digital data sources come close to serving up streams where the throughput on the receiving end matters.

I owe a final note to the kind people who took the time to try to help me decide on a modem and/or modem/router combo. Disappointingly, in the end, beset by various medical and other time-consuming problems unrelated to digital devices, I caved and just went to the best-stocked Best Buy in town, where I didn't find very much variety and ended up with the same model of modem/router we had before, but at least I could be sure what I paid for was new. (I had heard --and also seen in reviews--that Amazon has some unreliable sellers who sometimes sell used digital equipment as new, aso I felt safer dealing with a store.

Apart from that consideration, if only Amazon would specify exactly which product every review was for, I would have had a little more confidence in buying online, but as it is, there was no way of knowing whether or not some of the bad reviews may have applied to the devices I was considering buying, anyway.