Shaw is aiming for consistency and ease of use. Aiming fo...

[rickatk]

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@mdk wrote:

@langley834721 -- Please make a "simple" Gigabit modem available ...

That is not simple, on "their end". Adding "back-end" support could be a major investment (training front-line staff and road-warrior technicians), and more.  It's like announcing that Shaw customers in Richmond BC will be able to telephone Shaw, and speak Mandarin, even when the telephone-call is picked-up by a 24/7 Shaw call-centre employee in Moncton.

Use a "bridged" HITRON modem -- no fan, 4 ports, no Wi-Fi, stable at 300 Mbits/second.

How many sites on the Internet can actually send a steady stream at above 300 Mbps?  Not many.

On your home network, how many computers do you have that simultaneously are receiving a steady-stream at 100 Mbps, such that the sum of their streams exceeds 300 Mbps? Probably none.

So, while having "Internet 600" or "Fibre+ Gig" gives you bragging rights, it's not useful to most Shaw customers.

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Shaw is aiming for consistency and ease of use. Deploying one product that supports Docsis 3.1, Gigabit, WiFi with all the trimmings and even telephone. This make sense from an operational perspective. There is nothing wrong with the Xi6 modem/router combo, in my experience. Including fan noise, mine is quiet. If you want to run your own router simply bridge your Shaw Gateway to your router. I used to bridge my Shaw modem with an AirPort Extreme. Dropped the Extreme a while ago. The Shaw gateway works just as good and supports Mesh and Gigabit.

[RejeanP]

There is a lot wrong with the XB6 ..

*Modem is locked in auto manage mode, can only change ssid names and passwords. The modem is supposed to optimize your network but it does a terrible job of that; it will sit on congested channels when there are plenty of less congested (or even wide-open) channels available ... shouldn't have to reboot gateway to get it to change (wife aggro when the TV cuts out during reboot)

* I hate that it broadcasts a hidden shaw ssid for other shaw users to connect to ... I don't get a discount or revenue for providing this service.

*if you bridge the modem and have Xi6s connected to a non-shaw router, shaw won't provide support for the Xi6s (may as well be using a non-supported modem only option at this point)

*if you bridge the modem it still transmits the hidden shaw network (again a piss off)

*At the end of the day if you rent a car you should be able to change the radio station, use the on board navigation, etc ... have full functionality on what you are paying for... this same concept doss not apply to the XB6 modem ... you cannot use its full functionality. You should be able to change dns settings, change the wifi channels, change the bandwidth setting, change the wifi mode. These are basic concepts but shaw won't allow you to tailor their piece of equipment to your environment or use case

At the end of the day its enough to make me call Telus and change providers after 25 years with Shaw.

[rstra]

@RejeanP The XB6 does not broadcast the Shaw mobile hotspot. 

[RejeanP]

• I apologize if I am wrong on the mobile hotspot but please explain the multiple reports that it does broadcast it and then also explain the need to broadcast the hidden Ssids which cause subsequent interference?
• As for the rest, i stand by what I said.... under the gateways current setup/restrictions it's a piece of garbage. There should be an option for simple setup (auto mode) and advanced setup (manual mode) ... this would completely change my opinion of the gateway

[rstra]

“The XB6 Advanced WiFi modem is also capable of broadcasting this secondary WiFi network, and is expected to launch at a later date”

It is not broadcasting Shaw Mobile Hotspot, if they ever did, that feature could be turned off through my.shaw.ca

https://support.shaw.ca/t5/service-updates-outages/shaw-hotspot/ta-p/6066

[rickatk]

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@mdk wrote:

@langley834721 -- Please make a "simple" Gigabit modem available ...

That is not simple, on "their end". Adding "back-end" support could be a major investment (training front-line staff and road-warrior technicians), and more.  It's like announcing that Shaw customers in Richmond BC will be able to telephone Shaw, and speak Mandarin, even when the telephone-call is picked-up by a 24/7 Shaw call-centre employee in Moncton.

Use a "bridged" HITRON modem -- no fan, 4 ports, no Wi-Fi, stable at 300 Mbits/second.

How many sites on the Internet can actually send a steady stream at above 300 Mbps?  Not many.

On your home network, how many computers do you have that simultaneously are receiving a steady-stream at 100 Mbps, such that the sum of their streams exceeds 300 Mbps? Probably none.

So, while having "Internet 600" or "Fibre+ Gig" gives you bragging rights, it's not useful to most Shaw customers.

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@mdk I find, at least subjectively, these faster, higher limit plans work very well and are very stable. I have four wireless tv players and at least two are on at any given time not to mention all my other smart home devices and computers. The bragging rights were pretty good with the 600Mbps Extreme plan but surprisingly the Fibre Gig + plan didn’t really show that big Gigabit increase in speed I was hoping for. Rather a more stable experience with faster web and email on the computers and steady multiple wireless tv performance.

Presently my iPhone SE and iPad Pro come up with about 550 Mbps over wifi. My iMac i7 3.6Hz quad core coughs up speeds of 800Mbps over wifi. All devices push 105Mbps up over wifi, on the Fibre+ Gig connection.

[rickatk]

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@mdk wrote:

@langley834721 -- Please make a "simple" Gigabit modem available ...

That is not simple, on "their end". Adding "back-end" support could be a major investment (training front-line staff and road-warrior technicians), and more.  It's like announcing that Shaw customers in Richmond BC will be able to telephone Shaw, and speak Mandarin, even when the telephone-call is picked-up by a 24/7 Shaw call-centre employee in Moncton.

Use a "bridged" HITRON modem -- no fan, 4 ports, no Wi-Fi, stable at 300 Mbits/second.

How many sites on the Internet can actually send a steady stream at above 300 Mbps?  Not many.

On your home network, how many computers do you have that simultaneously are receiving a steady-stream at 100 Mbps, such that the sum of their streams exceeds 300 Mbps? Probably none.

So, while having "Internet 600" or "Fibre+ Gig" gives you bragging rights, it's not useful to most Shaw customers.

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Wouldn’t bridging the supplied XB6 give the same thing?

[mdk]

>>  Use a "bridged" HITRON modem -- no fan, 4 ports, no Wi-Fi, stable at 300 Mbits/second.

> Wouldn’t bridging the supplied XB6 give the same thing?

Yes, either cable-modem can be "bridged", and bridging will disable the WiFi. I doubt that the noise-levels from each device are similar.

P.S. That Netgear CM1000 cable-modem has exactly ONE Ethernet port. For a "simple" Internet user, that is enough.  But, to use multiple wired/wireless devices, one would need to add a third-party router.

[rickatk]

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@mdk wrote:

>>  Use a "bridged" HITRON modem -- no fan, 4 ports, no Wi-Fi, stable at 300 Mbits/second.

> Wouldn’t bridging the supplied XB6 give the same thing?

Yes, either cable-modem can be "bridged", and bridging will disable the WiFi. I doubt that the noise-levels from each device are similar.

P.S. That Netgear CM1000 cable-modem has exactly ONE Ethernet port. For a "simple" Internet user, that is enough.  But, to use multiple wired/wireless devices, one would need to add a third-party router.

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@mdk  I agree with you, Shaw is less likely to use extra gear, even “simple” gear to its lineup requires extra support. It is much easier to provide support for just one modem/router. In the consumer realm there is probably little need for anything too feature laden. Adding simple devices and letting the customer provide bridged wifi gear(or not), only serves to complicate the support demands as you indicated. They more customizable solutions with advanced features are probably best offered and dealt with over in the business section for advanced users. 

I think the XB6 and XB7 will do a fine job with wifi, Wireless TV, phone etc. Noisy fans sounds like the router should be replaced. 

Both versions of the XB6 had quiet fans in my experience. Perhaps more care with placement should be undertaken.