Modem and/or router combo for Cox 500 Mbps to 1 Gig

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250 Mbps is causing issues when we're both home

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this sounds almost impossible. You are likely having other issues, especially if you are wifi dependent.

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My question: what modem/router would be good to run at least 500 Mbps for us? I'm tired of paying $15/mo and would rather have quality hardware.

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Buy a compatible modem from Cox's approved list. Any docsis 3.1 modem will do 500Mbps. Probably avoid any modems with a Puma Chipset if possible. Humax HGD310 is a solid no frills modem.

As for a router, it really depends on what level of WiFi you need. You could get a basic WiFi 6 router like an AX1800 rated router for well under $100. If you need Mesh, it depends if you are going to do wireless backhaul or not. If you do wireless backhaul, you need something with tri-band WiFi 6e. These are more expensive and you'd be looking around $200-300 likely. If you can do ethernet backhaul, you could get something like Deco X20 for $100-120.

Getting 500Mbps from wifi speeds will be very difficult regardless and you are probably just wasting money on 500Mbps internet if you are primarily using wifi.

Gotcha. I mean, when I check my wifi connection there are at least 12 devices connected. The time I usually face these issues is mid day if I'm on Xbox and she's on the work computer.

Complain to Cox and buy equipment?

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when I check my wifi connection there are at least 12 devices connected

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I've got 78 devices on my home wifi right now. Internet service 250/15 and no issues. Speed is not your problem, at least not the speed you are paying for.

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The time I usually face these issues is mid day if I'm on Xbox and she's on the work computer.

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Do you notice it as lag on the xbox, or does she notice it on her computer, or both? Might sound crazy, but it might be weather related rather than workload on your network. I've had a similar issue in the past where my internet would act up around the same time each day. Turned out to be some overheating issue with Cox equipment. Another time it went out when it rained. Turned out a squirrel had chewed through the insulation which allowed water inside the cable.

Or maybe your wifi just sucks and a new router will fix it.

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Complain to Cox and buy equipment?

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First I would run some speed tests (again, preferably hardwired or at least in a strong signal location if you must use wifi) to see if you are getting close to the speed you are paying for. I would also run some long-running pings to see if those are consistent. Open a command prompt and type:

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ping -t 8.8.8.8 > ping.txt

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That command will show the results in the window, as well as write them to the file ping.txt. It will run forever, so press ctrl-C to stop after some time (minutes to hours). The results should be in the neighborhood of 20-30ms, maybe with occasional spikes close to 100ms, and preferably 0% packet loss. You can check this at any time, so maybe try it when you notice the problem as well as when you don't.

If the ping results look worse than described, reboot your router and try again as soon as everything is back online. If they are still bad, reboot your modem and try again. If the results improve after either of those tests, you may have identified the faulty device. Of course if it's a combo device it would just be the one thing to test. If the results are still bad, well, the problem could be upstream of the modem, or the faulty device could just be bad even after a fresh reboot. Hard to say without swapping gear.

But if the pings and speedtests are good even while your service is acting up, then I'd say the problem is definitely your wifi and I'd get a new router.

You can also run some tests which target your wifi. Swap out 8.8.8.8 with the IP of your router (typically 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1) and check those results. Should be single digit ms every time and 0% packet loss. If that test looks wonky, then your wifi is bad. You can also do a local speedtest but that's a bit more involved.

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Cox moden

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didn't have to read any further

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The time I usually face these issues is mid day if I'm on Xbox and she's on the work computer.

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I read my ISP's net neutrality paper the other day. It explains up to 32 residents share 2.5 Gbps of bandwidth and no matter the speed you pay for it is possible it will be throttled during peak usage.


Either way if you are looking at new equipment consider something better than the usual consumer routers.
https://opnsense.org/
https://www.pfsense.org/
Install those on an old computer with a NIC or buy something turnkey.
https://protectli.com/

I've been using an Arris SB8200 modem with a three set Google WiFi mesh on Comcast for two years with no issues.

It looks like the SB8200 is approved for use with Cox.

The Google mesh is wireless but provides good coverage and speed throughout our house.

what do the logs show on the device?

EDIT: Also what does the uptime show on the device?

Just get whatever modem they provide, then put it in bridge mode and buy your own router where you can create different vlans and wifi networks and control what wifi channel your different wifi connections use.

Additionally, you should take a look at where your wifi router is in proximity to the connected devices that you’re having issues with. That said 12 wifi connected devices isn’t that many devices so as others have said, bandwidth isn’t the issue.

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know your audience, bro

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Fair enough. That said, I’m only like 18 months removed from being in the same boat as the OP. Didn’t know anything and only had whatever my ISP rented to me. I got tired of having issues, so invested in some Unifi equipment, watched some YouTube videos to help me set it up, and never looked back. The learning curve to set up a basic home network isn’t terribly steep. I’m still only a beginner at this myself.

So I got the Humax and A1800 combo. Got nervous because I didn't realize I needed Cox to do work on their end and make changes on their end to allow internet to flow into the modem (I've been out of the home IT game for awhile) and my laptop charger decided to get weird and not want to charge for 30 minutes.

Overall, everything around the house feels a bit quicker. Also there's a much noticeably higher range between my wifi and devices that were once attached to the older router. Might end up getting rid of the extender I bought unless my outdoor cameras still need a stronger connection. Thank you all.