Do the outages affect wired devices too or only wifi? Maybe you could just switch the xfinity provided modem to passthrough mode (if it has that option) and then plug your own router into that.
xfinity can probably remotely configure the modem to passthrough too, probably easier for most users instead of getting the gateway IP and logging into the modem and doing it themselves.
Lastly, apparently we are paying for more powerful internet than our modem supports
they should be giving you a modem that gets your speed, or you shouldnt be paying as much. That makes no sense at all.
You should ask xfinity(which sucks having to call any of these shitbag ISPs) what options you have before spending anything. If the problems are happening to equipment you rent from them, they should be able to help troubleshoot it and replace it if need be. You could also ask what kind of modem or wifi access point you could get that would be better. If they replace the equipment and the issue continues then i would consider getting my own modem. They might not let you have your own modem, only your own wifi access point. Some ISPs will give a modem/wifi all in one, some will have them separate.
When the internet goes down, can you plug an ethernet cable in to the modem to see if the internet is down there as well?
Yeah the steps to troubleshoot are start at hardware layer and work up. Turn off wifi Connect via LAN cable direct to ISP router and see if same stuff happens. Try with a different computer once as well. If it keeps happening issue is with ISP so raise a ticket with them, have them replace their modem or see if there is a different isp available
if wired internet is down as well as all wifi, then you should have them send you replacement devices and see if it continues. If it continues, there could be an issue with one of the lines going into your house. My friend bought a house and it def needs work, but the internet stopped working and they found a burned out wire. And i think xfinity is more likely to replace the equipment first before sending someone to repair the line into the house.
sometimes - and this is the part that boggles me the most - the internet will work when you connect through the wifi extender, but NOT when you connect directly to the modem's wifi. I assume this has something to do with IP addresses, but again, I don't really know how IP addresses work, how to change mine, or whatever.
I'll freely admit my knowledge is more theoretical than the practical, but this might be a DHCP issue? Hopefully someone more knowledgeable here can confirm, but it sounds like the kind of thing that might happen if you mistakenly have multiple DHCP servers running on the same network (DHCP servers being the bits of software on your routers that hand out IP addresses). If for some reason the extender is running its own DHCP server in addition to the main router, you have a rogue DHCP server on your hands, which can cause some of the issues you're describing. The extender should not be handling anything like this--it should just be acting as an access point, which is essentially a glorified antenna that passes all traffic to your modem.
As a concrete example, I'm using a cheap router as an additional access point to extend my Wi-Fi range and when setting it up, I have to make sure to select "Access point mode" rather than the default "Wireless router mode" to avoid the rogue DHCP server issue among others. Might want to look at the manual for the extender and take a peek at the config page to confirm the equivalent setting on your device (if applicable).
thats a good point on DHCP. I didnt know what to say about extender working but other wifi not.
Extenders are dodgy also.
For wifi I recommend ubiquiti products, they have a mesh option, and are simply the best rn
A third party router can help improve the stability of wifi connections since the ISP provided routers are always crap however a lan connection shouldn't see that much issue. If lan is down then the ISP is likely the one that sucks. If its wifi only thats down then the router sucks. But this isn't necessarily always the case.
I had massive issues with our shitty copper lines in britland where my bandwidth would slowly get slower and slower until it was unusable. I'd open a support ticket, they'd fix it after a few weeks then it would slowly start dropping again. Didn't matter what router was used the only thing yhat resolved it was when fiber lines got installed and I switched to that.
A third party router may make your wifi more reliable but wont do shit against actual outages. I have heard stories of virgin media routers being so crap that they themselves are the point of failure causing what would appear to be an outage.
