Computers & Tablets

[dcoffee]

This will be a bit of a long one and feel free to ask questions that would make answering this easier.

Currently, I have a wireless connection, using a Netgear wifi extender. I can say without any uncertainty that it is better than what I had before, however it's still not enough.

I live with some family and I am in the garage which is about 70 ft from the router which consists of going from one end of the living room where the route for the house is, pass through the dinner table and kitchen, from the kitchen through a door into the garage then passed another door into my room. This is the gist of it.

Due to either me not understanding the whole setup of the internet, or my family just not wanting me to just run a wire through the house which I don't blame them, it would be unreasonable for me to wire it from there to my room. Is there another way around this? I have considered many options, one wanting to get my own internet, I do have a coaxial port and plug in my room that could allow me to plug into a separate modem, but would that be okay?

I have Xfinity and what I want to avoid is having a situation like for example, I get my own modem and router and don't mind paying for my own I just don't want this to reflect on my family's internet.

Could I get my own modem and router put it in my room, connect it all and get a wired connection, while my family has their own internet? 

If so what steps do I take to get to that point, obviously getting the modem and router but what else?

Can someone please help me with this I just really want to enjoy not stressing over wanting to do something simple like play online with friends without rage quitting due to lag.

So as something to refer to I once again have Xfinity, I live in Northern California I say that in case this a state by state issue.

[StormJumper]

Here somethings that might be needed here.

1. Router make/model?

2. ISP bandwidth

3. How many users

4. Wifi extender is only as good as the Main Router.

5. Too many concrete or metal barriers prevent good wifi signals.

[hockeycanuckjc Community Veteran]

You will need to have them call Comcast and explain you want an internet only account. They will add one to the current service and you can pay the charges on the bill. Then you can choose your own modem if you so choose just make sure it is Docsis 3.0 as I think the other Docsis technologys don't work anymore

[bobberuchi]

What router do you have now?  That is a huge part. 

I have a Netgear Nighhawk AC1900 which is a few years old now.  However, I can put my phone on Wi-Fi only and stream music while mowing the lawn.  The first time I did it I also then took my dog for a walk and managed to get 3.3 houses down the street before losing the signal.  I had to get back to my driveway to get the signal back however. 

I do not have an extender.

However, there are lots and lots of issues that could be effecting your signal. In a nutshell on a very upper level issues 

1 The age and quality of the cable going from the street to your house

2. The number of splits between where you cable enters the house and where it gets to your modem.  There is a drop in signal every time it splits. 

3. Then the quality of your splitters comes into factor.  

4. The quality of all the cable in your house.

You may be able to hook a new modem up in your room. But it would be adding another split.

When I had our cable company out the cable guy was awesome.  He hooked up his monitor at the street and then hooked it up to the cable that was feeding into the modem and showed me the drop in signal.  He then went into the access point in my house and disconnected all the splits.  From there one high quality three way spliter.  One to the modem, one to my Tivo, and one to all the other TV's (there were 2).  He then took another reading and showed me that the signal was much stronger.  But still not good enough. He determined that the cable was lower grade and they replaced everything from the street to the modem.  

Long story short higher quality cable, fewer splits, higher quality splitters and my download speed increased by a LOT and my plasma TV no longer pixelated.

FYI your best connection to your computer is going to involve an ethernet cable from the router direct to your computer

[AWBrown Valued Contributor]

Normally Comcast should be able to have a technician come out and in most cases split the cable outside and then draw a cable for that all the way and drill a hole into your side of the house if needed. The line would be supported by their bridges or whatever they are called that tapes to the ceiling of garages and sides of a house.

You could also just do what you said and buy your own internet but that seems kind of extreme. Not to mention from personal experience their internet is super expensive compared to getting a TV/Internet combo. (to use an example internet a lone was $50 or I could do a package for $75)

[mazuhavu]

Yeah, I will suggest you get your own internet. You can have two different internet connections in the same household,

which my neighbor does. And, he doesn't have any problem whatsoever. 

Get a wired connection and use your own modem and router. It will be better for gaming since this process

will lower the latency (delay). I can relate to rage quitting while playing on my Xbox. 

If you call Xfinity, they will say the same thing.

Here are some of the important guides for gaming modems and routers: {removed per forum guidelines} and {removed per forum guidelines}

[deusexmachina Valued Contributor]

Try a powerline kit. It's 2 pieces of hardware. One piece plugs into an outlet by the router and connects to the router with an ethernet cable. The other piece connects to an outlet by your computer and has another ethernet cable that can be connected to an access point, computer, or anything else that uses ethernet. Powerline kits use the electrical wiring in your home to transmit internet data without having to add any internal cables.

Like this:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tp-link-n300-wi-fi-extender-starter-av500-powerline-adapter-kit-white/2...

Or something similar.