Stop trusting your ISP's router blindly - this is what you should do instead

What's wrong with trusting an ISP's Wi-Fi router?

You know what they say about the details

The first point is that if you're paying a rental fee just for Wi-Fi, that may be a waste of money. Let's say the cost is $5 per month -- if you end up staying with the same internet provider for at least five years, that's $300 towards something you don't get to keep, and may never have had the best range or performance in the first place. Your ISP could let you swap in better hardware at some point for no extra cost, but don't expect miracles. You may need to contact them just to discover that an upgrade is available.

It's specs that you should be most concerned about, since as a rule, ISPs tend to provide equipment that's acceptable, not exceptional. Something like AT&T's BGW320 gateway (a hybrid modem/router) relies on Wi-Fi 6, despite the fact that Wi-Fi 6E arrived in 2021, and Wi-Fi 7 launched in early 2024. You may not experience any problems with Wi-Fi 6 if you have modest bandwidth demands -- but if nothing else, you won't be witnessing the full power of newer devices like the iPhone 17. That could become especially important as AR and VR devices like the Meta Quest 3 go mainstream. I wouldn't even attempt to play a PC game like Half-Life: Alyx over a wireless link if I didn't have rock-solid Wi-Fi, since disruptions could break the illusion or cause motion sickness.

ISP routers and gateways also tend to be standalone units, rather than a part of a mesh system. While that could be fine, mesh systems provide wider and more balanced Wi-Fi coverage, eliminating weak or dead zones. If you need that sort of coverage from the jump, it's definitely more cost-effective to buy your own mesh bundle. ISPs typically charge you extra to extend your Wi-Fi network. Returning to AT&T, that provider charges $10 per month for up to five extenders. Over five years, you'd be shelling out $600, which is ridiculous when you could own something like an Eero Pro 7 two-pack for $50 less, or a vanilla Eero 7 two-pack for $280. I'm not even trying to endorse Eero, here -- it's just a handy touchstone.

If your ISP equipment is up to par, you may still need to tweak its settings to get the most out of it. I'll talk about that more in a moment. For now I'll just say that a technician setting up your Wi-Fi is probably more concerned with it being functional, rather than optimized. They have other appointments to get to, and they may not understand your networking demands as well as you do.

What's the better approach to Wi-Fi?

Time for science

Credit: TP-Link / Pocket-lint

If you've already got some form of ISP-provided Wi-Fi, gauge how well it's performing for about a week. You don't necessarily have to run bandwidth tests using apps like Ookla -- but that's not a bad idea, and at a minimum, you should be looking for pain points. Are there weak or dead zones in some rooms? Can you stream a 4K HDR movie on your TV without any artifacts or buffering? If you've got a gaming PC or console, does it have tolerable lag for online action games like PUBG or Fortnite?

If your ISP equipment passes those tests, you can keep using it if you like, but you should still probably buy your own router if you're currently renting one. Wi-Fi 7 routers are rapidly becoming more affordable, to the point that a basic one should be as cheap or cheaper than renting for two years. That includes mesh systems, since as I mentioned, ISPs will sometimes charge exorbitant fees for extended coverage, no matter how essential it is for your living situation.

Personally, I believe it's always worth spending a premium on your own Wi-Fi router, even if you luck into an ISP with a decent all-in-one gateway. Think of Wi-Fi as the highway for your digital existence -- if there are any traffic jams or closed-off lanes, it can cause a world of hurt. That's especially true in a business or family situation, and/or if you depend on a lot of smart home accessories. You can't afford to have lights, locks, or security cameras temporarily blip off your network because of range or congestion issues. Indeed, multiple cameras can consume a surprising amount of Wi-Fi bandwidth if they're all recording at 1080p or higher.

Should you decide to stick with your ISP's Wi-Fi, it's vital to learn how to change settings using the provided app or web portal. Some routers may, for example, default to separate SSIDs (network IDs) for their 2.4 and 5GHz bands. That can actually be ideal for some smart home setups -- but if you want the convenience of switching your phone or laptop to the best available band automatically, rather than manually, you'll want to unify everything under a single SSID. Mesh systems rely on unified SSIDs for seamless roaming from router to router.

I haven't even touched on security yet. While an ISP router probably has decent protection active, it's worth checking that it's using the WPA3 protocol, and that you're taking advantage of any other features you might need, such as firewalls. Some routers will even let you set separate profiles for different users as a way of enforcing parental controls. On my Eero Pro 6E, I could hypothetically link all my son's devices, and knock them offline when he's supposed to be doing homework. I use Apple's Screen Time system instead -- but router-based controls could potentially be simpler.

Wrapping up, I understand that it can be intimidating to learn about Wi-Fi settings, or what sort of specs you should shop for. But once you're comfortable, doing so can go a long way towards solving problems or even saving you some money.