First off, thanks for any help.  I've learned things in this subforum already

I have frontier. I blamed them for,being slow but I've learned it can be my side.
1. One of my wifi devices is a 9 year old laptop. So,when I fire that up it slows everything down, correct ?
2. I have 4 wifi security cameras. They are not latest tech I'm sure they are a few years old
3. I'm using the equipment Verizon fios installed. Actiontec router ( I guess it handles tv as well? I don't know)


So, I want to dump tv and landline and keep just Internet.  TWC advertises some fast stuff 300mbps etc.
but do they even get close to,that ?  If I understand right Fios should be faster as it isn't carrying cable as well ?

So, maybe stick with frontier and fiber optic and get the best internet package I can ?
Buy a third party router ?  We use a couple of iPads and my wife's laptop.
I could stop using my laptop if it's slowing everything down
And four wifi security cameras
Plan on using ROKU to replace tv programming

I understand that some routers are better at handling the wifi distribution than the Internet company supplied stuff.



Any advice appreciated

Having a slow device on the network should not slow everything else down.

For a router stick with Netgear or Asus.


I like this one

Thank you

im going to find the approved list for frontier or,Verizon fios
If that matters.

Noted. Thank you

Negative, This is a documented phenomenon with certain routers slowing down to b or g speeds when a b or g device is on the network. The Arris TG-862 from Comcast WILL do this and the SMC D3NGV is reported to do this as well.

http://www.howtogeek.com/210062/how-802.11b-devices-slow-down-your-wi-fi-network-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

Thanks

Actually, if the AP is configured to support b/g/n or a/n it will drop to one of the slower standards if a legacy device subscribes to the AP. You can tell the AP to only allow one mode (multiple APs to support multiple 802.11 protocols simultaneously without affecting subscriber traffic).

I pretty much grew up on TWC for internet. I recently tested my parent's speeds in rural Hays county (they've been subscribed to TWC for 15 years at this house)…70x20. In retrospective, I currently live on the outskirts of Fort Worth (still in city limits) and the fastest I can get is 12x2.

There is no point investing in WiFi upgrades unless you are upgrading everything to "ac". This means 5 GHz operation. Get rid of every wireless device you have stuck on 2.4, especially if you live in a densely populated area. You will find happiness with your wireless again.

Troubleshooting residential WiFi issues is the bane of my existence. People constantly bitching about WiFi speed but won't give up that laptop from 1995 with the 801.11b USB dongle. FML.

It really depends. The ISP's around me won't be capable of support 802.11n speeds for at least another 5 years so is it really worth investing in equipment that can perform faster than 150 Mbps per chain? The problem with ac, the APs are being unlocked for UNII-2 and DFS bands…which were the traditionally low QRM bands for running backhauls, add all the weird polarizations for said, chains and 80 MHz wide channels and you really just go from one congested situation to a noisy one. The benefit to ac, only when running in ac mode, is the radios actually have receive filters which helps cut down on adjacent channel interference.

few questions, do you live in a house, condo, etc.  are the walls drywall or something like plaster with rebar re-enforcement?   How much space between the AP (wifi box) and the cameras?

Others have mentioned, get the old device to 5G band, if you can get a .n usb wifi attachment to work great.  

Asus and others make systems with more than one AP, basically you build cells and the devices roam, the cells use 5g bandwidth instead of wire to communicate with the "controller" ap.  I run .ac stuff and newer systems will take advantage of 3x3x3 where the radio is using more than one "link" to the ap to get more data through.

this is helpful with cameras and moving video around.  The higher end consumer stuff also has features built in to deal with legacy clients.

I use txc, they suck balls, most ISP's do, from home isp to L3 and the rest who drop fiber into datacenters, pain in the balls to deal with.

Doesn't matter if the ISP cant deliver speeds that fast. You need it for the filtering in the radios and the channel space. The issue with unlocked APs isnt an issue. There just simply isn't enough users on the band to create co-channel interference. Plus the 5 GHz band doesn't have channels that are "frequency overlapped".

If I didn't have my particular WiFi thermostat, I wouldn't have a 2.4 WiFi radio in my house.



Everyone wants to run out and buy the Netgear Nighthawk because of the throughput number on the box. Only 1 time in 100 will I see a client device capable of even 2x2 operation, and only 1 2.4 GHz transmit chain usually tops out around 50 mbps. Then I answer trouble call for slow internet as they pay for a higher speed but don't see it in the speedtest. Nobody ever thinks about the client device.

The ISP offers a full duplex speed, WiFi is half duplex. You need the higher LAN speeds to overcome the WiFi side of your network.

mimio streams are the shit and do work for some things.

I have aruba 70xx and 2x0 APs sitting around in the home lab and see current generation mac books hit 2x2 / 3x3 when streaming from a media server, ipads as well.   I don't expect the ISP to deliver up to the speed of the lan but devices connected to 10G switch ports with ac connected clients can run Lightroom and Final Cut against remote storage and it feels like a 1gig link.  This setup is atypical for home but depending on what OP is expecting and running there are ac and use cases.

we could get super detailed around channel width and all but for OP if he has 30 neighbors or lives in a hardened home (1100sqft vs 5000) that would be more a factor than n vs ac.  most of the issues i see are simple.