My ISP replaced my modem/router combo with a new modem and separate router. The 2.4 and 5 Ghz channels are automatically chosen for you. They say (Spectrum tech) it will choose the correct frequency per device. My phone on 5 gig so I can't add any 2.4 devices.
I know I'm long winded.
My question is, which is a good replacement?
Separate router and modem or combo unit?
And any suggestions on best manufacturers.
None of my battery ZigBee devices work now.
You help in this matter would be appreciated.
Use Spectrum's Cable Modem - they do not charge any monthly fees for their cable modems, and you'll receive better tech support from them should something go wrong with it.
Buy your own router - Spectrum does charge you an extra monthly fee to use one of their routers, and their routers are not very good. Buy yourself a decent Asus, Netgear, or similar router after doing some research based on your personal requirements. When you do get your own router, make sure your 2.4GHz WiFi network only uses WiFi channels 1, 6, or 11 with a 20MHz channel width. This will avoid conflicts with your Zigbee 2.4 GHz mesh network. For Zigbee, be sure to use Zigbee channel 15, 20 or 25. If your 2.4GHz WiFi and Zigbee follow the aforementioned best practices, you will have a much more stable Zigbee network.
WiFi 2.4GHz / 5GHz - I personally now use the exact same SSID and pasword for both of these wireless networks. This makes everything much easier when you need to onboard a WiFi device that only uses 2.4GHz, while your phone is connected to the 5GHz WiFi network. If the SSID and password are the same for both networks, it will 'just work'.
I agree the spectrum provided router is not great, but you can go in and configure it if you want. You can change the SSID, passwords, etc... much like any other router.
The only real advantage of the spectrum router is that if it fails they will replace it, and if you have issues they can provide support. But you do pay a monthly fee for it which will probably cost more in the long run than a mid-range router you buy yourself, which will last for years.
I am confused by both of these statements:
Both SSID are the same name for me, phone picks 5Ghz typically, but sometimes will go to 2.4Ghz. Adding a 2.4Ghz only device works fine. Same as if you have separate SSID, you just join your phone to the 2.4 SSID to join a device if needed, then connect back to the 5Ghz. I have never seen a phone yet that only supports 5Ghz and not 2.4Ghz.
5G (cellular) is not = 5Ghz (wifi)
Even if the wifi and Zigbee are on the exact same overlapping frequency, I don't think it would prevent them from working totally, maybe cause issues but not total failure? Unless the 2.4Ghz frequency is already oversaturated in your area, like a condo or apartment complex where everyone has their own Wifi in close proximity. Even in my suburban settings where all the neighbors are close the 2.4Ghz is pretty clear compared to when I was in an apartment.
Spectrum doesn't always charge a monthly fee for it if you live within a condominium or homeowners association that has a bulk agreement. I was recently involved in the negotiations for our community and we were able to get the WiFi router fee waived (among other things).
I completely agree though. The supplied routers are substandard for those that need something we can tweak. For our condo association, the supplied WiFi router will work for 99% of the residents so being free is a pretty good deal.
Not changed for modem from spectrum. With their old Modem combo all devices worked without a problem. Now none of the ZigBee scene switches work. Pair them again but will not work.
Check on your hub and make note of the zigbee channel (Settings > Zigbee Details).
Figure out your gateway IP, possibly 192.168.1.1 or something similar.
Go to that IP in web browser. The admin login should be on a sticker on the router somewhere.
Find the 2.4Ghz settings, look at the chart posted above, manually set your Wifi channel to 1, 6, or 11, whatever is furthest from your Zigbee channel.
You could also change the zigbee channel to 20 or 25 if its not already, but that might cause more devices to drop off (they will usually recover in short time).
Also, have you tried pairing any of the devices that dropped off? They will drop right into the same node, so no harm in pairing them again.
Do you mean the 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz on separate SSID's? Or do you mean the Router and Zigbee frequencies were manually set to be apart? The 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz sharing the same SSID will have absolutely nothing to do with Zigbee performance. The SSID is just a nickname for the Wifi, it does not dictate the frequency or anything else really, it is just a way to find it. Zigbee devices do not use Wifi, they just use the same 2.4Ghz frequency range so the 2.4Ghz Wifi can cause interference with Zigbee if the channels overlap.
Also, if you have any android devices grab a Wifi analyzer app and you can scan to see what channel your Wifi is on, along with close neighbors, if the router interface is not telling you.
There might be a way to see it from PC also, but I have an old Android tablet handy I use.
Let me ask another question. I have an old spectrum router/modem. The server IP is 192.168.0.1. can I put a splitter and add the old router and change the IP to 192.168.1.1
The remove the new router?
Not sure what you mean by a splitter. You could theoretically plug the old router into the new but why? And you risk creating a situation known as "double-NATting," which isn't good - though easily avoided.
The coax is the modem connection, so if you split that you will be connecting both the old and new modem. I doubt Spectrum will allow both to be connected, they probably have disabled the old one and will reject it based on the MAC.
The old Combo device probably does not have a "WAN" ethernet port, so there is probably no way possible to use the old "router" from the combo device on a separate modem. Likely the only way it works is if you use the integrated modem.
Hopefully that makes some sense?
EDIT: They are probably going to want the old hardware back also, or will charge you for it.
