My Netgear C6900 modem/router is exactly 3 years old and i've lost another ethernet port. I really do have need at least 3 ports so it's shopping time.

my internet speed is up to 400mbps. I like dual band though most of my smart home needs to be on 2.4ghz. I've fared better over the years with Netgear than Arris. There's over 30 offerings on the Xfinity/Comcast approved device page. Need some help narrowing down my options.

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"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2021 08:29PM by graylocks.

Surfboard modems here, pretty stable, I think the old one is from 2012 and my friends still uses it.

Router: AmplfyHD mesh system. I think there are more economic options, don't spend like I did.

Sam's Club latest catalog has the Linksys MR7350 MAX-STREAM® AX1800 Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router for $99.00 (free shipping for Plus members).

Also $99.99 at B&H PhotoVideo

And $99.99 at Bezosville

Linksys page has a nice feature list. Looks good to me!
[www.linksys.com]

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=TC



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2021 10:27PM by TheCaber.

Do you want simple or do you want to nerd out? How many square feet do you need to cover?

If your current setup is working fine you might just add an Ethernet switch for cheap,

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Quote
mattkime
Do you want simple or do you want to nerd out? How many square feet do you need to cover?

If your current setup is working fine you might just add an Ethernet switch for cheap,

i’m not sure what nerding out would look like. my home is 1300 sq ft. ranch. there are about 17 devices on my network. smart plugs, alexa devices, wifi bulbs, wyze cams, iphones and ipad, imac. son is an xbox gamer.

what’s an ethernet switch? i did recently by an ethernet splitter but that only allows 1 device access at a time.

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"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2021 11:24PM by graylocks.

$12 - add 4 ports - [www.amazon.com]

--

>i’m not sure what nerding out would look like.

Then you're probably not interested unless you want to dive into a ton of details....

[store.ui.com]

plus

[store.ui.com] (however many you need for your property)

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Added this NetGear AX1800 router to my setup last month, very happy with it so far:

[www.bestbuy.com] $130



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2021 12:37AM by SKYLANE.

Quote
mattkime
$12 - add 4 ports - [www.amazon.com]

--

>i’m not sure what nerding out would look like.

Then you're probably not interested unless you want to dive into a ton of details....

[store.ui.com]

plus

[store.ui.com] (however many you need for your property)

Haha...this is low-level nerding out.

This is an old pic of my upstairs set up. It's a little more tidy now. Once you start, its hard to stop...

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fyi, be careful buying a Linksys. Currently made by Foxconn, no issues.
Previously owned by Belkin, had various makers & lacked QC.
Originally owned by Cisco and some were known to have major security issues.

I have a current WRT3200ACM, rock solid. The TP-Links are good too.
Personally, I do not like combo modem/routers. ymmv

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39°36'17"N 75°44'43"W

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Back In the USSR by Bernie's Red Square Trio

My home is about 1300 sq ft with 3 floors and basement. I recently replaced my system with a Netgear CM1000 modem and a Netgear Orbi RBK752 mesh router and satellite. Not cheap but now I have total coverage throughout the house with no extenders needed. Super easy to setup.

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JoeM




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2021 06:56AM by JoeM.

If you're satisfied with current WiFi performance, then mattkime's suggestion of the TP-Link TL-SG105 | 5 Port Gigabit Unmanaged Ethernet Network Switch will fix your problem. No need to spend any more money.

That said, it is unusual to kill an ethernet port. I'm wondering if one of your ethernet connected computers is the root cause of the problem. Either way, the TP-Link should shield your Netgear router from further harm.

Quote
Forrest

That said, it is unusual to kill an ethernet port. I'm wondering if one of your ethernet connected computers is the root cause of the problem. Either way, the TP-Link should shield your Netgear router from further harm.

i do feel ethernet ports dying is odd. i had a 2009 imac where the ethernet port on it died after a power outage or lightning strike of some sort. wifi was fine so i lived without it for years. i got a new imac in 2019. the ethernet port died after a year though it was a Costco purchase so i meant to look into it. the pandemic snd live streaming meant i really did need ethernet connection and the USB C ethernet adapter has worked great. it’s when i needed to live stream from my living room last summer that i learned one of the ports on the Netgear 6900 didn’t work. have no idea how or when that died. In the last week the remaining open port starting getting flaky and yesterday became unusable completely. The ports for my imac and my sons xbox are fine but if one of them goes i have no back up so i’m being proactive and shopping now.

On a possibly related note though i don’t really see how I am working with the Costco Concierge about the random restart issues with my mac. i’ve posted here about this issue a couple of times. We tried one more fix before she then wanted to do a complete factory reset on the imac. it’s been a little over a week and the imac has not frozen or rebooted itself so far. i have about two months left on the concierge service. i should probably call back and ask about the dead ethernet port on the imac. could all this possibly be related, though?

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"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2021 10:32AM by graylocks.

Quote
mattkime
$12 - add 4 ports - [www.amazon.com]

if i’m understanding the description correctly that device connects to the router over wifi and then you connect to it by ethernet. if that is correct that will not suffice. for live streaming the wifi that most home users have is not reliable enough.

however years ago i did use those tp link thingies that did ethernet through electrical outlets. hmmm. i wonder if those might work. i’d still need a new modem/router but it might save me running an ethernet cable across my house.

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"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2021 10:41AM by graylocks.

Quote
graylocks

Quote
mattkime
$12 - add 4 ports - [www.amazon.com]

if i’m understanding the description correctly that device connects to the router over wifi and then you connect to it by ethernet. if that is correct that will not suffice. for live streaming the wifi that most home users have is not reliable enough.

No. Ethernet cable from your router to the switch takes one of the ports on the switch. The rest are available for full bandwidth connection to other devices.

Back to original question, I have a 3 unit Eero that covers a 3 story brick house with enough WiFi bandwidth that the (adult) kids happily stream away.

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Embarassing myself on the Internet since 1978.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2021 10:57AM by raz.

Quote
raz

No. Ethernet cable from your router to the switch takes one of the ports on the switch. The rest are available for full bandwidth connection to other devices.

Back to original question, I have a 3 unit Eero that covers a 3 story brick house with enough WiFi bandwidth that the (adult) kids happily stream away.

Huh. went back again. you're right it is ethernet. too much multitasking i guess. I may give that a shot as an interim measure. i'm still left with only two working ports and a mystery as to why ethernet ports have a short lifespan in this house.

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"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

Quote
MrNoBody
fyi, be careful buying a Linksys. Currently made by Foxconn, no issues.
Previously owned by Belkin, had various makers & lacked QC.
Originally owned by Cisco and some were known to have major security issues.

I have a current WRT3200ACM, rock solid. The TP-Links are good too.
Personally, I do not like combo modem/routers. ymmv

Originally Linksys was its own company, it was purchased by Cisco in 2003. Sold to Belkin 10 years later, and Belkin was bought up by Foxconn 3 years ago.

i had a 2009 imac where the ethernet port on it died after a power outage or lightning strike of some sort.

Are you using a good surge protector, or even better, a good UPS with good surge protection?

Get one of those surge protectors with LED that indicate Protection Working and also one which will detect building ground fault. here are some examples (I have similar models, I don't think I have these exact models)

[www.amazon.com]

[www.amazon.com]

and I think this last one look great

[www.amazon.com]

Quote
space-time
i had a 2009 imac where the ethernet port on it died after a power outage or lightning strike of some sort.

Are you using a good surge protector, or even better, a good UPS with good surge protection?

Get one of those surge protectors with LED that indicate Protection Working and also one which will detect building ground fault. here are some examples (I have similar models, I don't think I have these exact models)

[www.amazon.com]

[www.amazon.com]

and I think this last one look great

[www.amazon.com]

The iMac and a few other things is plugged into a CyperPower UPS. The Netgear and a fe other things are plugged into an APC. The two printers are plugged into strips but not UPS as i read that was not good.

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"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

Laser printers: No UPS (they take a lot of current when they turn on, the fuser needs to warm up)

Inkjet printers: OK to use an UPS.

Quote
mattkime
$12 - add 4 ports - [www.amazon.com]

Okay, this ethernet splitter arrived today and it seems to be working. Still down to 2 reliable ports but at least when/if another port goes I'll have a work around until a new gateway router arrives.

Thanks. BTW it was $17.99 for me. I think Amazon is starting to show me higher prices on things of late. damn algorithm. still worth it though.

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"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

Quote
graylocks

Quote
mattkime
$12 - add 4 ports - [www.amazon.com]

Okay, this ethernet splitter arrived today and it seems to be working.

I know it has a bunch of names on the Amz listing, but just to be concise (or pedantic) this is an ethernet switch. Even though "splitter" is in the listing, this isn't that. A splitter is a dumb device with no capability to deal with traffic conflicts--and a splitter is not something you want to use because of that.

BTW, the price shows $17.99 for me as well, so I assume it was a sale that has expired.

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Great TP-Link switch just got better!

Quote
Amazon
$13.49 Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime & FREE Returns

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39°36'17"N 75°44'43"W

DuckDuckGo
The search engine that doesn't track you.

DemComm Records 2021 Greatest Hits
includes:
Taxman by Joe & Nancy's Rich Ice Cream Band
The Humpty Dance by The Harris-Brown Hookup
Lets Spend The Night Together by The Fang-Swalwell Gang
Díaz-Canel Is A Friend of Ours by The AOC Squad
My Old Kentucky Retirement Home by MitchMcC & The Soggy Boxer Boys
Burning Down The House by Merrick & The Goons
Back In the USSR by Bernie's Red Square Trio