USB Ports: Another neat perk of some modem/router combos is an extra port to insert a USB drive. LED lights easily show you things like upstream and downstream connectivity, power, and port response. LED Lights: At a quick glance, these can be great indicators as to what’s working and what’s not when problems come up. Parental control is available too if you’ve got kids and need to restrict what they can access, and a firewall is another great option for added security. Most modem/router combos will have the ability to offer access to guests while keeping your network completely separated.

Security: As always, with any information-sharing tech, this is an important one. When you’ve got multiple users clogging up your network with streaming and so forth, having additional lanes frees up bandwidth, leaving more space for speed and less slowdowns. When you see a number like 32×8, this is indicating that the modem has 32 channels for downloading and 8 for uploading. There’s also the download/upload channel ratio to consider too. Generally 100-300mbps should be fine for normal internet use, and the heavy streamers and gamers with multiple people on the network can get above 1000mbps (even during hours of peak usage). But that being said, you may not need the most breakneck speed available for your online habits, and can save some cash by figuring out what that is. WiFi Speed: Speeds can vary all over the place, and faster is always better. This can be a nice option especially if you’re always multitasking online, or have multiple people constantly connected and gumming up your download traffic. For example, streaming an HD movie so it remains smooth and uninterrupted, even during a file transfer. Optimized Data Streaming: Some units also provide a priority hierarchy to whatever activities you’ve got going on. It’s helpful if your new modem/router can support both, and some can even broadcast both types of networks at once. Network: Most likely, your router (and accompanying devices) are running on a 2.4Ghz network, but newer 5Ghz networks are becoming increasingly common, as they’re significantly faster with less annoying interference from things like Bluetooth and your microwave. What to Know About Cable Modem/Router CombosĪntennas: This is what keeps you connected wirelessly to the router part, and the more antennas, generally, the stronger connection you’ll have the farther out you go. We’ve created a brief list of things to look out for to make the process a little easier.

If tech specs aren’t your thing, a purchase like this can feel overwhelming.

Best modem router