old modem dying, need new modem advice

[fsquared]

I was already a longtime Sonic.net customer when I signed up for Fusion service in 2010. At that point, you sent me a ZTE modem to replace the previous one I'd been using. Three years on, that modem seems to be reaching the end of its lifespan (it's conked out and needed a reset twice in the last week), so now I'm trying to decide whether to go buy a new one or go with Sonic's rental modem. I need to make a decision quickly, before the old modem dies on me.

I'm leaning toward the rental just for support and ease of use, but I already have an Airport Express for wireless networking. I don't actually need another wireless router, even one built into my modem. Can I switch off the Pace modem's wireless router function and use it just as a modem? Alternatively, can I choose to run two wireless networks -- one a secured network over my Airport just for me, and the other an open network over the Pace for guests -- and if so, how would I set that up?

[bhaveshmital]

I was already a longtime Sonic.net customer when I signed up for Fusion service in 2010. At that point, you sent me a ZTE modem to replace the previous one I'd been using. Three years on, that modem seems to be reaching the end of its lifespan (it's conked out and needed a reset twice in the last week), so now I'm trying to decide whether to go buy a new one or go with Sonic's rental modem. I need to make a decision quickly, before the old modem dies on me.

I think as per latest information sonic only supports rental modems.

I'm leaning toward the rental just for support and ease of use, but I already have an Airport Express for wireless networking. I don't actually need another wireless router, even one built into my modem. Can I switch off the Pace modem's wireless router function and use it just as a modem? Alternatively, can I choose to run two wireless networks -- one a secured network over my Airport just for me, and the other an open network over the Pace for guests -- and if so, how would I set that up?

Yes , it is possible to turn off routing functionality and just use it as a modem.This is a standard feature in almost all modem/router combos.You will need to do some research on the internet as there are lots of articles on this.might need to play with it as well.
In a nutshell,
you need to stop routing/dhcp/wireless of the modem/router combo and then connect the router to the modem.You might also have to connect the routers intenet port to the modem .Im going by memory here but any quick search on internet will help you with this setup.Plan on spending a couple of hours on this .It is doable and pretty standard.

[clairet]

If you choose to buy a modem, we cannot guarantee that it will work with your service and we also can't help you set it up. Regarding the Pace, we recommend that instead of bridging the modem, you set it up using LAN subports. That way, you will be able to use your Apple router and we can still view the Pace's diagnostic page. If you want to use your Apple router as the main router and the Pace as an access point, you can definitely do that. Just make sure to give them different SSIDs, opposite wireless channels (such as 1 and 11), and don't keep them too close to each other. I also recommend that if you do set up a network for guests, you do not leave it open. That makes it a little too easy for people to connect to your network and leech off your bandwidth.

[fsquared]

Regarding the Pace, we recommend that instead of bridging the modem, you set it up using LAN subports. That way, you will be able to use your Apple router and we can still view the Pace's diagnostic page.

Would you be able to help me set that up? I'm just technical enough to know that I don't know how to do that.

[clairet]

If you give our tech support number a call at (707) 547-3400 we can definitely help you set that up. We can't help you change any settings on the Apple router though so you will have to contact Apple for that.

[ankh]

Is there a file of screenshots of the Pace modem's setup options, for reference?

EDIT --that's not at https://wiki.sonic.net/wiki/Pace_4111N

I've got an odd setup now -- Motorola modem, to a switch, to three different routers (each of them set up for a single fixed IP). (One handles a network, one handles one big box, one handles a wifi device). I'm hoping to drop the Pace in where the Motorola is now. I have my collected screenshots of how the Motorola is set up, to try to duplicate that.

[digitalbitstream]

I was already a longtime Sonic.net customer when I signed up for Fusion service in 2010...Three years on, that modem seems to be reaching the end of its lifespan (it's conked out and needed a reset twice in the last week), so now I'm trying to decide whether to go buy a new one or go with Sonic's rental modem. I need to make a decision quickly, before the old modem dies on me.

Just about any old $10 eBay ADSL2 modem will work, for example the Actiontec GT701D. Buy two, they're cheap. Just hold down reset for 30 seconds to get factory defaults, plug power/phone line/airport express, and go.

Sonic offers supported modems for $6.50/month. They don't offer a simple rental modem, just an all-in-one unit with wireless. The wireless is (in my experience) far weaker than your Airport Express. See also https://wiki.sonic.net/wiki/Actiontec_gt701_PPPoE

[digitalbitstream]

I was already a longtime Sonic.net customer when I signed up for Fusion service in 2010...Three years on, that modem seems to be reaching the end of its lifespan (it's conked out and needed a reset twice in the last week), so now I'm trying to decide whether to go buy a new one or go with Sonic's rental modem. I need to make a decision quickly, before the old modem dies on me.

Just about any old $10 eBay ADSL2 modem will work, for example the Actiontec GT701D. Buy two, they're cheap. Plug in power/phone line/airport express, hold reset for 30 second to get factory defaults, and you're good to go.

Sonic offers supported modems for $6.50/month. They don't offer a simple rental modem, just an all-in-one unit with wireless. The wireless is (in my experience) far weaker than your Airport Express. See also https://wiki.sonic.net/wiki/Actiontec_gt701_PPPoE

[linelle@sonic.net]

Just about any old $10 eBay ADSL2 modem will work, for example the Actiontec GT701D. Buy two, they're cheap. Just hold down reset for 30 seconds to get factory defaults, plug power/phone line/airport express, and go.

Sonic offers supported modems for $6.50/month. They don't offer a simple rental modem, just an all-in-one unit with wireless. The wireless is (in my experience) far weaker than your Airport Express. See also https://wiki.sonic.net/wiki/Actiontec_gt701_PPPoE[/quote]

My old (purchased) Sonic modem died on Christmas day. I got a Pace (rental) the next day. It was the first time I'd used a modem/router combo and was told I didn't need my Airport Express any longer. However, I've noticed a real drop off in performance since just going with the Pace by itself, plus numerous resets as the lights just go nuts. I doubt anyone else is using my wifi as the password is crazy long.

I'm very tempted to get a plain vanilla ADSL2 modem and put my Airport Express back in service.

[linelle]

My old modem died on Christmas. It had worked great with my Apple Airport Express as a router. I picked up a new Pace which I'm renting for the time being. Since the Pace comes configured as a router, I was getting some weird listings (doubles) since I now had two routers. At first it seemed like a good idea to take out the Airport Express and go with just the Pace.

Since then I've had to restart the modem just about every day. When my iMac woke up from a sleep, it would go, where's my connection? I can't see the Internet!!! I have six wifi devices in my house, but mostly just one at a time. My browsers seemed much slower.

I read here that folks seemed to prefer performance with the AExpress. I called Sonic Tech and we disabled the router in the modem. Plugged my AExpress back in and, bam, it's like night and day. Solid connections and I swear my browser (Chrome) is loading pages way faster. Of course, it's just been two days, but so far, I'm liking this simple change.