Do I Really Need To Upgrade - Rogers Ignite

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Apr 16th, 2020 3:27 pm

The_Professor [OP]: Deal Addict; Jan 14, 2007; 3657 posts; 862 upvotes; GTA

Apr 16th, 2020 3:27 pm

Do I Really Need To Upgrade - Rogers Ignite

Hello,

I have Rogers Ignite 150 internet at home and it's been perfectly fine for my family all these years. Recently however, as the kids have had to start doing school from home due to COVID-19, our internet is crashing daily. The two Wi-Fi networks (2.4GHz and 5GHz) are just disappearing and the only way to get them back is to do a hard reset on the Rogers modem (which doubles as our wireless router and has been fine in that respect).

I spoke with Rogers and they said that the issue is being caused by having too many devices connected. Apparently Ignite 150 is good for ~8 devices and when the tech logged into my modem she said I had 16 devices connected. She insisted that to resolve this issue I needed to upgrade to either Ignite 500 or Gigabit. I just did a mental calculation and can confirm that in my home we have at least 23 devices connected to the Wi-Fi network, though not all simultaneously. We have things like Alexa's, Wyze cameras, Smart TV's, iPads, Smartphones, Laptops, Ecobee, Fire Stick, etc.

My question is will upgrading actually solve the issue or am I better off trying something else like a mesh router system?

49 replies

Apr 16th, 2020 3:33 pm

spike1128: Deal Fanatic; Oct 7, 2010; 9922 posts; 1799 upvotes

Apr 16th, 2020 3:33 pm

Buy a more powerful standalone router and disable the router on the modem. That Hitron white router modem is complete trash.

I never had much problem with the flat black modem but they forced me to upgrade to the white one. They cancelled my line by mistake and claim they cant reactivate the old modem.

Will never sign up with robber again since they are so incompetent.

They lying to you about upgrading to get more mone out of you. Of course you will need to go Gigabit if everyone is running hd feeds and gaming. I see no problem with 150mbit for a small family. Its overkill really.

+7

Apr 16th, 2020 3:38 pm

The_Professor [OP]: Deal Addict; Jan 14, 2007; 3657 posts; 862 upvotes; GTA

Apr 16th, 2020 3:38 pm

The modem I have is a black one. We are what I would consider to be light users.....never streaming on more than two devices at once, and not always at 4K/HD quality either. We do tend to download a lot of content to watch offline (Netflix, Disney+, etc.).

Apr 16th, 2020 3:40 pm

Cheapo-Findo: Deal Guru; Mar 9, 2007; 13871 posts; 8937 upvotes; Think of the Childre…

Apr 16th, 2020 3:40 pm

Do a bandwidth test, disconnect all other devices just your laptop/pc and check to see if you're getting the full advertised bandwidth.
I would plug the RJ45 directly to Rogers modem, not wifi when testing.

WOULD SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!

Apr 16th, 2020 3:42 pm

teoconca: Deal Fanatic; Oct 16, 2008; 8064 posts; 2732 upvotes; Maple

Apr 16th, 2020 3:42 pm

Router/modem from Rogers are weak. Get separate router will enhance signals. 23 devices connected are not too many.

+1

Apr 16th, 2020 3:58 pm

The_Professor [OP]: Deal Addict; Jan 14, 2007; 3657 posts; 862 upvotes; GTA

Apr 16th, 2020 3:58 pm

So the consensus so far seems to be just to upgrade to a dedicated wireless router and put the Rogers modem in bridge mode. Do I just need a regular type of router or should I get a mesh system? I will admit that one of my kids bedrooms is at the opposite end of the house to where the router is now and the Wi-Fi signal is weak there at best.

Apr 16th, 2020 8:24 pm

trane0: Deal Addict; Jun 8, 2005; 3050 posts; 525 upvotes; Toronto

Apr 16th, 2020 8:24 pm

The_Professor wrote: ↑ So the consensus so far seems to be just to upgrade to a dedicated wireless router and put the Rogers modem in bridge mode. Do I just need a regular type of router or should I get a mesh system? I will admit that one of my kids bedrooms is at the opposite end of the house to where the router is now and the Wi-Fi signal is weak there at best.

In my opinion, wired backhaul is better than mesh. That means either powerline ethernet (if your house is modern and not knob and tube) or MOCHA (coax) but that's not an option unless you have separate coax runs.

+2

Apr 16th, 2020 8:50 pm

Keigotw: Deal Expert; Mar 25, 2003; 16048 posts; 4554 upvotes; Markham

Apr 16th, 2020 8:50 pm

The_Professor wrote: ↑ So the consensus so far seems to be just to upgrade to a dedicated wireless router and put the Rogers modem in bridge mode. Do I just need a regular type of router or should I get a mesh system? I will admit that one of my kids bedrooms is at the opposite end of the house to where the router is now and the Wi-Fi signal is weak there at best.

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Apr 17th, 2020 7:19 am

The_Professor [OP]: Deal Addict; Jan 14, 2007; 3657 posts; 862 upvotes; GTA

Apr 17th, 2020 7:19 am

After doing some homework I think I want to give a new router a shot. There are two that have caught my eye at BestBuy and are currently on sale:

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/ne ... k/13906332

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/d- ... k/13371092

Does anyone know which is the better system to get (or can recommend an alternate at around the same price point of $200-$250)? I would have to run them with a wireless backhaul if it makes a difference.

Thanks!

Apr 17th, 2020 10:28 am

krist8: Member; Sep 30, 2015; 248 posts; 67 upvotes; York, ON

Apr 17th, 2020 10:28 am

Another alternative is to upgrade your whole house to Ignite TV bundles. It comes with ignite tv (one free tvbos, and one rental), ignite 500/20 mbps mesh system (one mesh modem and 3 pods), home phone. I negotiated a real great deal from them. Beats the bundle cost of their digital cable.

Just like you, I had their 150mbps service with the black cgn3 modem, and I had to unplug it from time to time. With this new ignite mesh, I have never unplug it in 2 months.

+2

Apr 17th, 2020 10:52 am

elgros4: Deal Addict; Sep 13, 2011; 1036 posts; 662 upvotes; Canada

Apr 17th, 2020 10:52 am

The_Professor wrote: ↑ After doing some homework I think I want to give a new router a shot. There are two that have caught my eye at BestBuy and are currently on sale:

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/ne ... k/13906332

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/d- ... k/13371092

Does anyone know which is the better system to get (or can recommend an alternate at around the same price point of $200-$250)? I would have to run them with a wireless backhaul if it makes a difference.

Thanks!

Netgear is better than D-link. But I would buy a single router, compatible with Mesh, and try this first, if you need another one later you would have the possibility. None wired Mesh is not great, With a new router, you may have a better coverage than before, you could also try to increase you router height to the maximum possible. Mine is wall mounted and one router cover the whole house and more.

+1

Apr 17th, 2020 11:03 am

sliu070: Member; Sep 9, 2012; 280 posts; 205 upvotes; Ottawa

Apr 17th, 2020 11:03 am

I have the Orbi, but since my house is Ethernet wired, I actually use the satellites in wired back-haul mode. I'd recommend Ubiquiti APs if your house is wired.

+2

Apr 17th, 2020 11:33 am

Mulder and Scully: Deal Addict; Aug 3, 2006; 4518 posts; 1096 upvotes

Apr 17th, 2020 11:33 am

- It sounds like OP has the Hitron CGN3 modem/router. I think ISPs first began using this in 2012 so yes it's a bit old. I don't think it even supports 802.11ac. The CGN3 can support 40+ concurrently connected devices.
- Having 23 devices connected to wifi shouldn't be an issue. The devices aren't all in active use at the same time. Idle devices would barely use any bandwidth from OP's 150MBit connection.
- If anything it sounds more like the modem is having issues. Not surprising. Over the past few years Rogers has been asking customers to replace their old modems with the current modems. Though they only do so if you happen to have a tech support issue or are upgrading your internet service.

+1

Apr 17th, 2020 12:58 pm

The_Professor [OP]: Deal Addict; Jan 14, 2007; 3657 posts; 862 upvotes; GTA

Apr 17th, 2020 12:58 pm

Mulder and Scully wrote: ↑ - It sounds like OP has the Hitron CGN3 modem/router. I think ISPs first began using this in 2012 so yes it's a bit old. I don't think it even supports 802.11ac. The CGN3 can support 40+ concurrently connected devices.
- Having 23 devices connected to wifi shouldn't be an issue. The devices aren't all in active use at the same time. Idle devices would barely use any bandwidth from OP's 150MBit connection.
- If anything it sounds more like the modem is having issues. Not surprising. Over the past few years Rogers has been asking customers to replace their old modems with the current modems. Though they only do so if you happen to have a tech support issue or are upgrading your internet service.

You are correct, that is the modem I have and it's been in the house now for ~8 years. I'm not starting to second guess my plans for a mesh system since I'd have to run it wireless and instead considering trying to upgrade the modem first as that'll be no charge so worth a shot.

Apr 17th, 2020 1:21 pm

sliu070: Member; Sep 9, 2012; 280 posts; 205 upvotes; Ottawa

Apr 17th, 2020 1:21 pm

The_Professor wrote: ↑ You are correct, that is the modem I have and it's been in the house now for ~8 years. I'm not starting to second guess my plans for a mesh system since I'd have to run it wireless and instead considering trying to upgrade the modem first as that'll be no charge so worth a shot.

I'd stay away from the Obri from personal experience. Netgear just can't seem to figure out stable firmware. There were countless times where I had to restart my router because I was getting 1.0Mbs on WIRED.

Apr 17th, 2020 1:21 pm

DanielM491: Deal Addict; Sep 15, 2015; 1092 posts; 1091 upvotes; Abbotsford

Apr 17th, 2020 1:21 pm

What do you pay a month just for internet?

Apr 17th, 2020 1:21 pm

ds2chan: Deal Addict; Dec 11, 2003; 2358 posts; 956 upvotes; Toronto

Apr 17th, 2020 1:21 pm

The_Professor wrote: ↑ You are correct, that is the modem I have and it's been in the house now for ~8 years. I'm not starting to second guess my plans for a mesh system since I'd have to run it wireless and instead considering trying to upgrade the modem first as that'll be no charge so worth a shot.

I say if Rogers will give you the modem for free then go for it. I have the white modem/router combo and it works great. The router is very strong in my house. I have it in a central location and I get a strong signal in every part of the house. I don't know what issues people are having when they say it's crap (nobody ever goes into details). When I switched over it beat out my $120 D-Link router that I was using in terms of speed and signal strength.

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Apr 17th, 2020 1:34 pm

The_Professor [OP]: Deal Addict; Jan 14, 2007; 3657 posts; 862 upvotes; GTA

Apr 17th, 2020 1:34 pm

DanielM491 wrote: ↑ What do you pay a month just for internet?

$51 plus HST for 150u including the modem rental. I also have cable TV with them and have a $25 perpetual monthly discount applied as part of having a package with them. I don't have any other services with Rogers.

Apr 17th, 2020 1:35 pm

Mulder and Scully: Deal Addict; Aug 3, 2006; 4518 posts; 1096 upvotes

Apr 17th, 2020 1:35 pm

ds2chan wrote: ↑ I say if Rogers will give you the modem for free then go for it. I have the white modem/router combo and it works great. The router is very strong in my house. I have it in a central location and I get a strong signal in every part of the house. I don't know what issues people are having when they say it's crap (nobody ever goes into details).

Same here. I think most people don't understand wifi and wifi has so many variations that it's difficult to troubleshoot. Like just off the top of my head we have:
- 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies
- 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n and 802.11b/g
- Spatial streams that are 1x1, 2x2, 3x3 and 4x4

And these are just the basic variations per device from modems to routers to phones to tablets to USB wifi cards. There are so many permutations with wifi devices that it's difficult to troubleshoot issues.

Apr 17th, 2020 1:36 pm

The_Professor [OP]: Deal Addict; Jan 14, 2007; 3657 posts; 862 upvotes; GTA

Apr 17th, 2020 1:36 pm

ds2chan wrote: ↑ I say if Rogers will give you the modem for free then go for it. I have the white modem/router combo and it works great. The router is very strong in my house. I have it in a central location and I get a strong signal in every part of the house. I don't know what issues people are having when they say it's crap (nobody ever goes into details). When I switched over it beat out my $120 D-Link router that I was using in terms of speed and signal strength.

A colleague of mine has the same modem as you and raves about it. He says he gets a signal on the street in front of his house! He has the Gigabit internet package though so I think he has to get this particular modem.

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