Advanced Gateway (XB7)

They're fine. The XB7 has fewer complaints than the XB8 or XB10 and the techs will tell you that the older ones (XB7) are more reliable. Whether that's true or not, who knows. But XB7 and/or XB8 are good. I stopped using it because I like messing with stuff and wanted an OpnSense box as the router and Ruckus access points, but before that I was using the XFi gateway as-is.

If all you have is one Xfinity device then you have an Xfinity Gateway which is a combo router/access point. If it's working fine I wouldn't upgrade it. If you need to upgrade then I'd just get a newer XFi gateway which is all in one. Buying a modem + router is gonna cost $250+, then they won't really help you if you have issues.

| My equipment (All Obama): LOL, I’m guessing that is a typo/autocorrect issue. Obama equipment? ☺️. I agree with you about ISP equipment being low quality. I’ve used this XB7 (“Xfinity Advanced Gateway”) before with a gigabit internet plan. Details: https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/broadband-gateways-userguides This wireless router is pathetic. Standing right next to it, with a gigabit internet plan, I get about 850mbps. Sitting on the couch about 10 feet away (line of sight!) I get about 650mbps. The next room over (30 feet away, 2 walls blocking signal) it drops to about 400mbps. Two rooms over (3 walls blocking signal) it’s under 200mbps. Not only does it have terrible range, but there’s also a monthly rental fee for these poorly engineered devices. Anyone using these should replace them ASAP with their own modem and router. Save yourself the rental charge… and by using your own equipment it will pay for itself in less than 18 months in most cases. After that you are paying yourself to use your own equipment, which often works much better than the cable company default.

I agree with u/uobytx \- The router your internet provider gives you is generally older technology that is not tuned for performance. The provider buys the device from another manufacturer and keep it "as simple as possible" so it is easier for them to support and troubleshoot in case of issues. The cheaper the unit costs the provider, the higher their profit margins - and the worse your performance may be. As an example, I had Comcast/Xfinity internet service in a prior home previously. Paid for 1 gigabit service (got it as a promotion; would never pay full price for it) and this included the "Xfinity Advanced Gateway (XB7)". Funny they call it "advanced" as it was nothing but. More info on it - [https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/broadband-gateways-userguides](https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/broadband-gateways-userguides) With that gateway I could be standing right next to it, being wirelessly connected at 5ghz and get a speed test of about 850mbps using my iPhone (only 1 year old, so the slow speed isn't due to the iPhone). If I sit on the couch 10 feet away, with direct line of sight to the router, the speed drops to about 600mbps. If I go another 15 feet away to the kitchen (open concept layout; still have line of sight to the router) I get about 250mbps. If I go to another room about 15 feet from the router, separated by one wall and some wood furniture, I get about 150mbps. Compare that to an ASUS XT8 tri-band mesh system which I have now (1 mesh router and 1 mesh node 2 floors downstairs, about 25 feet away, separated by two floors). I downgraded my service to 400mbps after the 1gigabit promotion ended, so now max speed is 400mbps. In the same room as as the router i get 400mbps. Downstairs, separated by one floor in the main room, I get 400mbps. If I move to the front door (about 30 feet away), I only get about 200mbps as the router is separated by a floor and some HVAC equipment (metal shielding etc) in the wall. If I go downstairs (which now uses the mesh node) I get 400mbps. So the only trouble spot I have is by the front door. With the old XB7 I'd be lucky to get 100mbps there. With the ASUS XT8 mesh I get almost 100% speed everywhere. And that's with wireless backhaul; the devices are not connected via ethernet. I did later connect them via ethernet using MoCA, but for over 3 years I used them in wireless config and had very few issues. One in a while a mesh node would drop off/have low signal strength, but I could it by rebooting it. So as you can see if you buy your own router/mesh system you will generally experience improved performance. Are you interested in WiFi 6 or WiFi 7 for router/mesh recommendations?

I have Xfinity. I put their Xfi Modem/Router in Passthru mode. I use a Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro for my router. All my devices use PiHole for DNS. So, it isn’t a problem. I was using my own Modem for years. But, after I upgraded to 2 GB service, they would not support the speed on my Modem, even though it was capable. So, I had to use their modem/router. I only agreed to update my service if I could use it in Passthru mode.