GL-AX1800 (Flint)

Hello all! Hoping to get some advice for someone who’s learning about WiFi and wanting to save some money. The isp service guy who came out to install my router mentioned I can save some money by buying my own router instead of renting the provided router they give. He mentioned I could grab a WiFi 6 router for about $150 and use that, but I’m learning that I would also probably need a modem or a router modem combo for my needs. I just need something for basic at home stuff like gaming streaming and I work from home so I need internet for that. Can anyone give me some advice on where to start or point me in the right direction for a purchase? TIA!

I actually ended up skipping out on the modem so I’m glad you said this. I ended up getting a GL-AX1800 from glinet and just got everything running. As for the company I use my local east TN utility board’s fiber services since they offer same gig speeds as Comcast and att at a lower cost with pretty good reviews. They provided the router though through a $15/month charge. Main reason I wanted to buy my own router was due to the yearly cost being less, and the tech that came out said I would get better speeds. Also now having the option between 2.4ghz and 5ghz is nice

Get a used Wi-Fi 6 WAX206 for under $60 and install OpenWrt. The original GL.inet Flint 1 is also good for cheap. You get indefinite updates and similar (if not better) security and performance than stock firmware. Doesn’t require any hacking or tinkering

First, you're mentioning a modem, so you don't have fiber available, and you're stuck with half-fast cable? If you have fiber available, switch to fiber, use their ONT and buy your own router if allowed. If in fact you're stuck with half-fast cable, what company? Charter and Comcast both provide equipment included in the plan now, so presumably some other cable company? Determine what they have approved for modems and get a DOCSIS 3.1 modem, and if it's Cox or another company doing mid-split, one that is mid-split capable. Get a separate router, TP-Link, ASUS, and Netgear are all reputable.

Speeds depend on the router, but yeah, it's more economical to buy your own and then you control it. I've heard a lot of good things about GL.inet, they seem to have come up in the last year or two. The bigger advantage with fiber is that it's symmetrical, whereas Comcast at best is 250mbps up if you're in a mid-split area. Also, with fiber, you don't need a modem, you get an Ethernet port out of the ONT. Basically all routers have 2.4Ghz and 5GHz, unless you're referring to using separate SSIDs. I'm not a huge fan of separate SSIDs, most of the time one is fine and let the devices hop between them, but if you need two different SSIDs, it's handy to have the option.

Another glinet flint fan.

Most routers will do just fine for gaming. You also do not need high speed networking for gaming. Only for the downloads. I recommend something like the GL-inet Flint series of routers. They run on open source openwrt. I also second Unifi. Great if you want to go down the networking rabbit hole.