How good is a Quest modem/router? Yes, I said Quest...

[icymist]

We are having trouble with our telephone line and have just got off the (cell) phone with Century Link customer service. We have determined that something is wrong with the telephone line to the house and a service tech. is coming over tomorrow to look at the connection box outside. While the customer service rep. was on the phone, I asked her about the Quest modem/router and she replied that all indications show it 'working just fine'. My question is shouldn't Century Link update these old modem/routers? We have had this one since 2007. I looked this issue up on google and the most I can find is that some people hate these old devices. Should I be looking for something better? There's not many choices for ISP out here: Comcast and dial-up are the only alternatives I can find.

Thank you for your time.

[hobbit709]

1. Does it work?

Did it connect you at the speeds you were paying for? Is your ISP compatible with newer equipment? I know of people that still have their 10+ year old Speedstream modems from their original SBC DSL-which is now AT&T.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. The wires aren't any faster, so it may not make much difference ...

Modem standards haven't changed much in years, since the performance has pretty much plateaued out at 56K. Modems do wear out and burn out, though, so it's not a bad idea to replace it if you suspect trouble. You can probably find a cheap overstock or discontinued modem for $10, if you're worried about cost. Heck, you can buy used cable modems for less than that on eBay.

[Sunlei]

3. what I do with my isp when they push off 'problems' to the 'outside' phoneline is

plug in a phone or even the modem to the phone plug in the connection box.

A suggestion, something that has 'fixed' a lot of 'modem problems' for me is disconnect power to modem, wait a minute and turn it back on. look and make sure all the lights are on. power light, connection light and a light for each connected device.

[icymist]

4. I want to thank everybody here.

We had a huge windstorm today and power was out for 16 hours. Even the library! Anyway, the modem seems to be working fine right now. I don't know if Century Link came out here and fixed the telephone line in the middle of such a storm, but it is working. Thank you all.

[Egnever]

5. You should be able to take your old modem into a centurylink office and exchange it

free of charge if you want. I have done it for several customers with no problems whatsoever.