Review on 🔌 NETGEAR Nighthawk C7100V Cable Modem Wi-Fi Router Combo with Voice - Supports up to 400 Mbps Cable Plans, 2 Phone Lines, AC1900 Wi-Fi Speed, DOCSIS 3.0 by Robert Wood

After three weeks of breakneck internet speeds, I'm hesitant to write this review for fear of jinxing myself, but suffice it to say that this NETGEAR Nighthawk WiFi Cable Modem Router+ isn't just the most user-friendly we've got in 20 seconds, had years of internet use at home, but also the lowest running costs. The speeds we are seeing today at the start of week #4 are as high as the day of installation (see photos). I'll admit that part of my enthusiasm is that I've stuck with AT&T DSL Internet for much longer than we should. AT&T's peak internet speeds were faster than cable broadband a few years ago, but we put up with poor service, buggy modems, and slow speeds because we figured it was easier than switching. There are two reasons I'm including this in my review: 1). I suspect many people, like us, are looking to upgrade from AT&T DSL to faster broadband right now and are reading this review because they are purchasing a compatible modem/router; and 2). I think it's important to explain that this modem/router can only operate at the rate provided by your ISP. In other words, think of this modem/router as a Porsche 911 Turbo and your ISP as the fuel you put in your gas tank. When you fill your turbo with diluted, low-octane gasoline, you can expect diluted performance. But fill it up with premium, high-octane fuel and you get what you expect. In my three week experience with Nighthawk, it delivers every megabit per second I pay for. from 20+ years of bad experience with all the bad modems/routers AT&T sold us. Therefore, before installation day, I had to do extensive research to find hardware that was guaranteed to be compatible and guaranteed ease of use, exceptional performance, and reliability. The NETGEAR Nighthawk WiFi Cable Modem Router+ Voice (AC 1900) was an easy choice, not only because it does everything we need (and more), but because it's manufactured and sold to Xfinity Internet and Voice customers becomes. At first I was a little apprehensive about giving up our landlines and switching to internet phone lines, but now it all seems silly to me. I thought I might have to buy new phones (I didn't). I thought I would have to learn a new set of complex settings (I didn't). To be honest I just plugged the lines into the appropriate jacks on the device and, voila, an instant dial tone. Although we paid Comcast to install it, that was only because they asked us to, as we've never had cable before and they had to run a line from the tower to the house. Building the Nighthawk didn't take long. The technician called the activation number, dictated the required codes from the device and we got to work. From the beginning the installer tried to talk me out of using this router/modem. He fed me a line about how many customers complained that after a few weeks they slowed down their speed, blah blah blah. He had the best router/modem in the truck he could use, blah blah blah. I thanked him for the warning, but I finished reading. I knew better. In the three weeks since the installation I have checked all the settings and functions. First, I connected an Apple Airport Extreme base station using an Ethernet cable to send a wireless signal to the top floor of our house. Since then, the two devices have been working perfectly together and everything has gone smoothly. I've included a picture of the Nighthawk in action (my hand is in the photo to scale it up a bit so you can get an idea of how big the device is). There is). I've also included screenshots of our internet speeds both on the day of install and today. I also recorded the speeds we got when AT&T used their Arris modem. There is no comparison. My only complaint and the only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 has to do with the battery backup which I was hoping would power both the internet and the phone but no. The backup battery is only intended to power the telephone function of the device. It doesn't make any sense to me. Instead, I've decided to buy a separate UPS (uninterruptible power supply) backup battery that can power all of this - the internet and the phone - in the event of a power outage. Otherwise, I highly recommend the Nighthawk.