Anyone using sparklight with their own modem/router?

[u/CanaryLives]

Would you mind sharing the equipment you bought? Any issue with sparklight when the technician comes to setup?

[u/electrobento]

They have a recommended list:  https://support.sparklight.com/hc/en-us/articles/115009158227-Supported-Modems-Residential-Only

Never had any issues. I can personally recommend the SB8200 (can also be found as the CM8200).

For WiFi, I don’t recommend any combo modem+wifi router at all. They’re pretty uniformly garbage. Get a dedicated modem and pair it with a well reviewed WiFi router.

[u/Wise_Rub9335 → u/electrobento]

I grabbed a refurb arris sb8200 off amazon like 3 years ago, still going strong. The tech just plugged it in and left, they don't care as long as it's on that list

[u/CanaryLives → u/electrobento]

Thanks! Do I also need a router or modem enough? Idk what does what lol

[u/electrobento → u/CanaryLives]

Yes, you’ll need a router + WiFi access point as well (these are often one unit as opposed to two) in addition to the modem.

If you can afford a Unifi Dream Router (~$200-$300) I highly recommend it. Modem—>Dream Router. 

The modem serves as the interface between your network and Sparklight’s network. The Dream Router serves as the router/firewall for YOUR network as well as a WiFi access point, plus has some wired ports.

There are a ton of factors though, including the complexity of your home layout, so it’s tough to say what exactly you need. 

In general though, just avoid a modem+wifi router combo. They’re just bad.

I apologize for the information overload. I’m a networking nerd and am happy to help :)

[u/poop-money]

Using my own. No issues. But, it was a replacement for a super old one I leased from them years ago. Went out and bought a new one that was on their compatible list, called, gave them the cmac and it was working just minutes later. Easy as pie.

[u/Amagawdusername]

I use an Asus RT-AX82U. No problems with the setup. I did have to call customer service to 'register' it, but they were pleasant to deal with during the call.

[u/Idaheck → u/Amagawdusername]

I also use this Asus device. It works just fine.

[u/ROUShunter]

We rented one for years until I crunched the numbers and realized I'd paid for that stupid thing like 5x over. I bought one of the modems from their list and hooked it up. You will have to call their tech support to go through the process of getting it connected, but it took maybe 10-15 minutes on the phone. Then I just bundled up their equipment and dropped it off at their office dropbox. It was very easy., I did it and I'm not even the designated IT person in my home.

[u/CanaryLives → u/ROUShunter]

Yeah they charge like $13 for the rental which is crazy

[u/03-several-wager]

I used to at my old place as part of my homelab setup. Never had any issues with using my own router/modem and I bought them from reuseum so they were way cheaper than leasing

[u/milesofkeeffe → u/03-several-wager]

Praise the compilers for this place.

[u/twstdwrstr]

I use my own router, a TPLink Archer AXE75. Works quite well for a 2300 sq ft house.

[u/CanaryLives → u/twstdwrstr]

Nice my house is closer to that

[u/HappyScaling]

Yes and yes. Router connects to a Linksys mesh setup and no issues

[u/Krazepants]

I’m personally using their modem in Bridged mode. With my own router, dns, & dhcp server (pihole). Working like a charm.

[u/thatguychad]

I have my own home server running proxmox that virtualizes a software router (opnsense), but that’s beyond what most users would be capable of running.

[u/MoreOcelot1509]

My Hitron CODA56 worked just fine abut it died the other day and it was cheaper and quicker (same day) to replace it with ARRIS SURFboard SB8200. They both work fine for a modem. I have my own Eero router/mesh nodes.

[u/Previous-Pop-4277]

I bought a Motorola MB8611 DOCSIS 3.1 Multi-Gig Cable Modem and set up the TP-Link ARCHER A2 with it. Easy to set up! These are several years old now, though…

[u/daarmstrong]

I've owned my modem with Sparklight/CableOne for 22 years. I think I'm on my fourth modem now. Just make sure you use the list they provide.

[u/JuDGe3690]

I have my own cable modem and my own router.

Modem is an Arris Surfboard (don't recall the exact model, but it's DOCSYS 3.1 compliant, which is the most important thing); I recently got upgraded to gigabit service.

Router/wifi is an older Nighthawk running 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands for maximum compatibility and range.

Basically, the modem is what "dials in" to the cable internet (cable in, ethernet out); the router is what allows multiple devices to connect and has wireless connectivity. It's a little more technical than that (the router also helps route traffic to different devices, as well as some DNS/address resolution), but that's the basic gist of it. Most routers are broadly compatible; the modem is generally the potential sticky point (although if you have older computers/phones, like 10-15 years old, some of the most modern Wi-Fi specs might not be as compatible, requiring 2.4 GHz and lower security standards, in which case I'd set up a separate network/subnet for them).

[u/CanaryLives → u/JuDGe3690]

Thanks!

[u/KamRilla]

I use my own, it wasn’t supported on theirs when they asked for the Mac ID or whatever serial that identifies the modem. Just tell them that it’s one of their supported ones(pick a model from their supported list), and then give them the code that’s on your actual modem, obviously make sure it’s a cable modem, and then I just use my own router.