Best DSL modem under $100 (preferably under $50)

[MT Alex]

My condolences, I am also on CenturyLink DSL. I pay for 10 and am lucky to get 7.5mb/s, peak times of the night are simply atrocious. I have been using a TP-Link ADSL2+ modem/router for at least 4 years, with no complaints. I had to make sure they quit charging me my monthly rent on the old Westell that I sent back to them. Compared to that the TP-Link performs much better. I have no complaints other than it runs hot, I have it sitting on top of an old 120mm fan, which seems to have reduced the amount that it needs to be rebooted.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

I have been using a TP-Link ADSL2+ modem/router for at least 4 years, with no complaints.

Can you tell me what model it is?

 

[MT Alex]

Can you tell me what model it is?

Yes, although I believe it's been replaced by a newer, flashier model. It's a TD-W8960N.

 

[MT Alex]

Sorry for the double post, here is a pic of it from March of 2013 on a stand I threw together that has a fan pointed directly into it's innards. The fan is hidden in the bottom.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

Yes, although I believe it's been replaced by a newer, flashier model. It's a TD-W8960N.

Yeah that is now changed to this unit, with same model number. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003CFATMY/?tag=tec06d-20

Don't know why the Amazon reviews aren't so good on it, as Mussels says it has served him well for many years. I have not read through the neg reviews yet though. There could be many regarding features or compatibility, vs reliability.

[Edited]
OK, just skimmed through all the 1 star reviews on this modem on Amazon. I chose the 1 star ones because a whopping 26% of the reviews are 1 star. Most of them said they either could not get it to work, or it stopped working, and many of them were CenturyLink customers.

That is enough to make he very hesitant about this model. It seems overall, people have more luck with Actiontec modems on CenturyLink.

 

[Mussels]

Yeah that is now changed to this unit, with same model number. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003CFATMY/?tag=tec06d-20

Don't know why the Amazon reviews aren't so good on it, as Mussels says it has served him well for many years. I have not read through the neg reviews yet though. There could be many regarding features or compatibility, vs reliability.

[Edited]
OK, just skimmed through all the 1 star reviews on this modem on Amazon. I chose the 1 star ones because a whopping 26% of the reviews are 1 star. Most of them said they either could not get it to work, or it stopped working, and many of them were CenturyLink customers.

That is enough to make he very hesitant about this model. It seems overall, people have more luck with Actiontec modems on CenturyLink.

Or, these people had problems that were not the modems fault, bought a new modem and rather admit they screwed up and wasted money on a new modem, they blamed the new one.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Or the problem was always ISP related, not LAN/WAN related.


I might be able to sell you my Netopia 3341. I no longer use it because I changed to a wireless internet provider.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

Or, these people had problems that were not the modems fault, bought a new modem and rather admit they screwed up and wasted money on a new modem, they blamed the new one.

I considered that, but when you look at the fact that modems are pretty easy to login to and get working, when they do work, that becomes kinda irrelevant.

 

[eidairaman1]

I considered that, but when you look at the fact that modems are pretty easy to login to and get working, when they do work, that becomes kinda irrelevant.

When you got service did they dedicate a pair? Od did they expect you to use the walljack filters?

 

[Mussels]

I considered that, but when you look at the fact that modems are pretty easy to login to and get working, when they do work, that becomes kinda irrelevant.

i've seen people get abusive this year, over buying wifi routers and 'THE WIFI DOESNT EVEN WORK'
these are uni students, in IT classes, who had no idea that you needed an upstream internet connection - they just assumed wifi automatigically came with internet.

 

[eidairaman1]

i've seen people get abusive this year, over buying wifi routers and 'THE WIFI DOESNT EVEN WORK'
these are uni students, in IT classes, who had no idea that you needed an upstream internet connection - they just assumed wifi automatigically came with internet.

Smh.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I can sell the Netopia 3341 if you want it. I'd let it go for $40 (shipping included).

 

[Frag_Maniac]

When you got service did they dedicate a pair? Od did they expect you to use the walljack filters?

Not sure what you mean by "pair", and no, I don't use any filters, or splitters for that matter.

 

[eidairaman1]

Not sure what you mean by "pair", and no, I don't use any filters, or splitters for that matter.

pardon Wire pair a TX/RX balanced wire, part of the local loop Voice Grade (Cat3/Cat5/Cat6 etc)

before BOGB color for Tip and Ring for Telephony/DSL there was Green-Red (Line 1), Black-Yellow (Line 2). It is now White-Blue, White Orange,

for Inside Wiring if using a Cat 3 or Cat 5 Setup the Green Pair is used for DSL if possible, Blue is used for POTS or VOIP (Plain Ol Telephone Service)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25-pair_color_code

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_loop

To Me it sounds like a pair was dedicated in your home, otherwise a Homerun was placed for your modem to feed from the NID

 

[Frag_Maniac]

Well, just got the new modem they promised me. It wasn't supposed to come until at least Fri, so they must have over-nighted this one too.

This one's a ZyXel C1100. It works, but as it stands on one end and is tall, it blocks part of my TV screen. Plus it always tests over 1Mb slower DL speed than the Actiontec C1000, which is roughly 8% of my bandwidth (unacceptable). It's also slightly faster on upload, but I value DL quite a bit more.

I think I'm going to just send the ZyXel back and see whether this other one keeps dropping the signal every now and then. If it does, I may get something else from a place that allows returns, like Amazon, because it seems you have to hope for the best with modems these days.