Sooooo....
I have been recently learning a ton about networking. Long story short, I paused the video I was watching and went immediately to check which Wifi security protocol we were using. I discovered we were using WPA2.
There is a saying, don't fix what isn't broken.
I believe there is another side to that, it's called preventative measures.
Knowing I didn't have the better security protocol, WPA3, I had to figure out how to make this happen. I check my networking information on my PC. I start to go in circles wondering why my computer has WPA3 as an option, but it isn't being used. I then figured that if it's on my computer, then maybe it's a router problem.
I try several things.
- I reset the router.
- I learn that I cannot do a firmware update on my xfinity router.
- The router is obsolete and does not support WPA3.
To make matters worse, my PC needs a big update in the middle of all this. So, now I cannot use it to solve my networking problems. After resetting the router, I would not of had internet until my PC finished updating, which was taking forever.
So, being relentless, I hot-spotted my laptop from my phone and tried to log into our xfinity account. Upon trying to log in, it said access denied. Now, I've had experience with my phone's chosen IP address causing drama which for some reason says i'm in a neighboring country. (This leads to ALLLL kinds of problems when using the internet on my phone, have yet to resolve that, lol) So, I sort of figured that the account holder (another household member) would most likely get an email verification about it. Lo and behold. Finally logged in.
After several attempts and going in circles with the internet connection, I finally got it working for the time being. I'd like to point out that I had every single person in my house coming up to me every so often to ask me "is it working yet?", "did you fix it?", "Why did you break it?"
No. Just no.
Can anyone relate? This was stressful and added to my negative feelings about the situation. Retrospectively, I should have given everyone notice that the internet was going to be out for a bit. Nope. Just made a decision and went straight for it. Paid the price in the form of people nagging for 3 hours.
After I got the internet back up to its prior state, I called it a night. The following morning, I spent a few hours looking up assorted router and modem options to upgrade the network. There are a few factors to consider when choosing equipment.
- What internet speed will you be accommodating?
- How many devices will be connected, and how?
- Connection to ISP
- Account for any plans to change internet service, such as speed!
Looking at equipment, it's easy to get trapped into wanting the biggest, fanciest, most LEDiest router. But why would you buy a beastly router that has capabilities that will never be used?
Glam?
Alright. Time to come back to reality and my basic internet speed.
Reality
I learn that the old xfinity modem/router is a 2 for one situation. I will not be subscribing to rent a router. So the first thing I do is research a new modem/router combo situation. I find one, but after reading about it some, users express questionable security practices and firewall concerns. Idk about you, but I like to know what is going on. So a separation of concerns brings me comfort. Modem. Router.
I was able to find an adequate router (literally anything would have been an upgrade LOL) and the modem was afforable. It was $200 less to buy them separately and it appears that I will have more security features and control. If one stops working then I just have to replace one thing, not the whole situation, which would be about $600ish. So, I got just a little bit more than I needed, for $200 less. Don't be lazy. Do some digging!
I'm going to also point out here that upon inspecting my xfinity service, I found out we were on a plan that didn't even exist anymore. So, we "upgraded" to the lowest tier. While on the xfinity user page, when I attempted this upgrade, it told me that I needed to upgrade my equipment.
I need to upgrade my equipment to handle the most basic internet service? Good grief.
TO THE STORE! NOW!
I went and grabbed the modem and router I picked out and returned home. (Checked compatibility ahead of time.) I wanted to successfully connect my current service before bothering upgrading, to make sure I could do it. After some setup, she works.
I successfully upgraded the internet and equipment through my own perils. We now have a more secure, faster connection and wider range! Some things are for the professionals, and some things are more interesting to find out.
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