I use DDWRT on my wireless routers. Full control and stable. Plus, no monthly fees.
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Capsule OTTOMH def? I think itâs open source and free. Does it have beginner and advanced UI overlays? Easy to install? Router specific and available for most common ISP routers? 
Under QoS I can also âprioritizeâ an individual cam. Could this improve connectivity and responsiveness? Or is it just bandwidth priority?
The TP-Link Deco router app warns not to prioritize too many devices or it defeats the effect but thatâs about it.
Yes, as long as you can put it in bridge mode.
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$15 mo ?? At that rate youâd think theyâd give you something really good tailored to their service: make customer happy and continue to glom all that granular usage data otherwise lost when unhappy customer buys a third party brand.
I say that about granular usage data because Wyze mentioned that their router offerings helped them improve connectivity metrics overall.
So does ISP router belong in the donât doozes or no? If Antonius used one with multiple cams for six years without pulling his hair out maybe not?
I like the sound of this. Is the model working now?
More
Wyze set a standard: Be responsive to customer desires.
They set up a system to assess the desires.
- Public: Wishlist and other feedback channels
- Private: Surveys, app usage metrics, etc.
Do you think most customers are aware of this:
âŚeither specifically or because they sense it?
If most are aware and think Wyze is falling short of their standard, that sentiment should begin to show up in some measurable way to Wyze.
But if metrics show customers know but are not âvoting with their feetâ Wyze has no compelling reason to change. Will they work to honor the standard anyway?
Some metric like âdisillusioned enough to bailâ may be the one they watch. Highlighted on their screens in red.
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survival instinct
self preservation
What percentage of the total workforce will be displaced and to what and where will they be displaced?
My answers would be: âA great manyâ and âto a virtual nowhereâ that is âconsciously evolving.â
It truly is us or them, isnât it?
This is more hopeful but i donât believe they want to collaborate (en masse.) With some tiny sliver of us, maybe, but the rest?
Nowhere men. 
I wasnât really trying to argue for or against the tool itself. Iâve complained commented plenty elsewhere on the Forum about how it seems like the Wyze Wizards arenât given much freedom to exercise individual critical thought for solving customersâ problems (and thatâs just my perspective as a customer interacting with them). If the response from a human agent gives the indication that the actual person replying didnât even read my previous messageâand thatâs seemed to be the case all too frequently, with direct questions being completely ignored in subsequent replies (thus making me feel ignored as a user and leading to further unnecessary frustration with the situation)âthen why even have a human do that job in the first place? A robot could ignore me as well as a human could, maybe even better! At least a machine would be expected to process the input/information presented to it. If the human isnât doing that much, then the system should be changed byâŚ
- giving the humans better training on actual problem solving and also granting them the freedom to be humans interacting with other humans and solving those other humansâ problems in a human-to-human way (using brains and building relationships), or
- training the machines better to give reasonable responses, not the irrelevant and useless nonsense that I often see from the âWyze-Eâ robot as an initial ticket reply, and then putting the humans to work doing other real human things.
There might be other options, as well. I want the humans to be human and enjoy helping other humans, because thatâs what I enjoy and what gives me some measure of fulfillment. Iâm not imputing any sense of âwantâ to the machines. 
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I think an intention is programmed into âthem.â Others may not.
Local versus global. Customer vs company. Man vs machine.
Competition. Cooperation.
Wheeeeeee!
Absolutely. The struggle is a common misconception about âsocietyâsâ relationship with univocality and personal preferences and entitlement. Society as a macro concept is inherently divided into a near infinite combination of comorbid opposing micro-tribalisms causing macro intergroup dissonance. The fact that society as a whole accepts, permits, promotes, or rewards one thing that is not in line with those of another group, does not necessarily mean that it is not working. Itâs always working, And itâs also always evolving. Progress can often be messy, and boundaries get tested ,but it is usually inevitable and fairly stabilizes with reduced volatility over time Just like almost everything else. Even the general market as a whole has volatility swings up and down but if you zoom out enough it still has a fairly reliable direction regardless of corrections, both directions. I see something similar with AI.
Speaking of AI, I finally got around to setting up my own personal local, private generative AI models with no use restrictions on my computers and my phone yesterday. Itâs kind of nice. sometime soon I will connect the local API up to my home assistant API so that it can also control all of my smart home locally and allow me to talk to it through my smart speakers all privately and locally. And I will even submit a lot of my own personal data and documents and even books, etc into its training data. Then I will install some image generation local models on my higher end computer.
I was actually incredibly shocked how easy it was to install local AI models now. I looked into it a long time ago and it was fairly complicated. Now it was almost as simple as just installing an app on Windows and Android Just for basic use. Granted there are a lot of other plugins and advanced settings and all sorts of things that are really useful for someone like me, but for just being able to have a local llm to chat with privately securely and locally, it is mind-blowingly simple now.
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It will give those packets priority on upload (send them before others if there is congestion). How well that works and how it impacts the rest of your network depends on how your router has implemented it.
For download it wonât really do much, some routers attempt to delay incoming packets to other devices in hopes that those devices will detect congestion and throttle back, but in my experience it does not work very well, it really needs to be done on the other end of the connection.
Another thing to keep in mind is that enabling QoS on many home routers impacts the hardware forwarding and can impact your total internet speed and latency, so it is something you have to try and see how your router deals with it. Could end up capping your total internet speed.
Long story short, unless you have congestion that is causing impact, QoS likely will do more harm than good. I do multi-layer QoS all day at work, but thatâs on enterprise Cisco routers where I control both sides of the link.
At home the only need I have for it is when I do occasional huge uploads to Onedrive. Usually, it is not capable of maxing out my 300M upload since ondriveâs servers throttle, but sometimes they do let it hit that. In that case, Iâve just configured the onedrive app to limit to 250M so it wonât choke out other stuff Iâm doing, so donât even need the router for that. Though Ubiquiti does have quite powerful and granular QoS, just havenât really needed it.
Real world example, I set a family member up with Ooma years ago. I think at the time her cable internet was like 50/5. Both downloading and uploading files would cause the phone to get choppy and cut out. I tried various settings in the routerâs QoS and even the built in one in the Ooma box. It helped quite a bit with file uploads, but did very little for downloads.
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So you figure most 
s of any significance are unthumbed? The free market is free. Representative democracy is representative. Science is objective. Etc?
God help me, I find the subtleties of your explanations interesting. Thanks, dave!
Never been accused of being short winded. At least not when writing. However on a 2 hour phone call with mom, Iâm a man of few words.
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Some of those are ideals rather than reality.
I believe itâs been fairly conclusively and objectively established that representative Democracy is, in fact, NOT REPRESENTATIVE in the existing implementationâŚat least not representative of the votersâŚit may be representative of the $$$ and power. I would guess itâs not even possible as long as things like lobbying, superpacs, and even first-past-the-post voting and primaries are involved.
Science is ideally objective, but thatâs not entirely possible. For one thing, science is a human endeavor, so itâs subject to many subtle and not so subtle influences. Scientists also donât enter their research as blank slates and are influenced by paradigms and other frameworks that came before them.They are subject to cognitive biases, personal and financial motivations, cultural and social values, and much more. The âscientific methodâ is a powerful tool to minimize bias, but itâs not foolproof, and even so, scientific knowledge is only ever provisional and may get revised or overturned tomorrow with new evidence or perspectives. It has constant evolution toward âgetting less wrongâ over time rather than arriving at a final objective truth immediately.
This reminds me of a funny scientific irony that involves a philosophical thought experimentâŚThis year marks the 10 year anniversary of a scientific study that sent shock waves through the scientific community where it was found that a near supermajority of major scientific studies were unable to be replicated, marking a science crisis where key scientific experiments or studies were not able to be replicated, and thus may not be âtrueââŚso someone attempted to repoduce the study that couldnât reproduce the studies and was able to reproduce the study that couldnât reproduce studies, thus ironically ending the [non]reprocibility crisis by reproducing a critical study which had results that simultaneously extended the crisis [by reproducing and confirming there was a crisis] and countered the crisis [because it was able to reproduce the study, meaning that science was able to reproduce critical studies counter to what the crisis inferred]. 
I just die laughing at the irony of it and love to share it. It seems like the type of humor my froggy friend would appreciate.
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Thanks for the invite to your party.
I have been busy around the house trying to find out what the actual temperature is in my house. I know what time it is down to the second, but nothing really to measure temperature. I guess I can freeze water at 32°F or boil water at 212°F. I am replacing an old thermostat and want to replace it with a new one. Going on 4th thermostat to find a reliable instrument. Buy five thermometers and get five different answers. Even then if a couple agreed on a result, do I trust it. No.
Today I got a calibrated thermometer. Time to find the correct answer, in this case temperature.
You need just a glossary without side comments or troubleshooting steps? I will see what I can do.
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I can give you the @carverofchoice type of answer, but feel free to edit as you will.
What Is Quality of Service (QoS)?
Quality of Service (QoS) refers to a set of technologies and techniques used in networking to manage traffic and ensure optimal performance for critical applications. It prioritizes certain types of data over others to reduce latency, jitter, and packet lossâespecially important for real-time services like video conferencing, VoIP, and online gaming.
**âď¸ Key Concepts of QoS**
Bandwidth Management: Allocates network capacity to ensure high-priority traffic gets the resources it needs.
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Traffic Prioritization: Assigns priority levels to different types of data (e.g., voice > video > file downloads).
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Latency Control: Minimizes delay in data transmission, crucial for time-sensitive applications.
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Jitter Reduction: Smooths out variations in packet arrival time, improving streaming and voice quality.
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Packet Loss Prevention: Ensures reliable delivery of data by reducing dropped packets.
How QoS Works
QoS can be implemented at various levels:
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Router/Switch Level: Devices classify and queue packets based on rules.
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Application Level: Software may request priority treatment for its traffic.
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Protocol Level: Protocols like DiffServ (Differentiated Services) and MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) help enforce QoS policies.
Real-World Examples
Application
Why QoS Matters
VoIP (Voice over IP) - Needs low latency and minimal jitter
Video Streaming - Requires consistent bandwidth
Online Gaming - Sensitive to lag and packet loss
Cloud Services - Demands reliable and fast access
=============================================================
What Is an ISP-Supplied Router?
An ISP-supplied router is a networking device provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP)âlike Comcast, AT&T, Spectrum, or Verizonâwhen you subscribe to their internet service. It typically combines a modem (which connects to the internet) and a router (which distributes that connection to your devices).
Key Features
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All-in-One Device: Most ISP routers are modem-router combos, meaning they handle both the internet signal and local network traffic.
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Preconfigured Settings: They come pre-set with basic configurations, so users can plug them in and get online quickly.
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Remote Management: ISPs often manage these devices remotely for updates, diagnostics, and troubleshooting.
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Wi-Fi Capabilities: They usually include built-in Wi-Fi to support wireless devices throughout your home.
Pros
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Convenience: No need to shop for or configure your own router.
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Support: ISP tech support can assist directly since they know the device.
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Bundled Cost: Often included in your monthly bill (though sometimes with a rental fee).
Cons
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Limited Features: May lack advanced settings like QoS, parental controls, or custom DNS.
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Performance Bottlenecks: Not always optimized for high-speed or large household usage.
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Rental Fees: Some ISPs charge $5â$15/month to rent the device.
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Less Control: You might not have full access to settings or firmware updates.
Alternatives
If youâre tech-savvy (which you clearly are), you might prefer using your own router for better performance, customization, and long-term savings. Many users replace ISP routers with:
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Standalone Modem + Custom Router (e.g., TP-Link, ASUS, Netgear)
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Mesh Wi-Fi Systems for broader coverage
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Open-source firmware routers for advanced control
=======================================================
What Is an ISP?
An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a company that offers access to the Internet for individuals and businesses. They typically provide services such as:
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Internet connectivity via fiber, cable, DSL, satellite, or wireless
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Email hosting and domain registration
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Web hosting and browser packages
ISPs range from small local providers to massive Tier 1 carriers that own the infrastructure and offer nationwide service2.
Top 5 ISPs (Best Quality vs Cost)These providers offer the best balance of speed, reliability, customer satisfaction, and pricing:
Rank
ISP
Highlights
Avg Cost
Speed Range
Google Fiber (GFiber)
Top-rated for speed, reliability, and customer satisfaction
$70â$150
1â8 Gbps
AT&T Fiber
Reliable fiber service with wide availability and good value6
$55+
100 Mbpsâ5 Gbps
Verizon Fios
Great value with perks like free routers and streaming bundles
$49.99+
300 Mbpsâ2 Gbps
T-Mobile Home Internet
Affordable 5G-based service with no contracts or data caps
$50
87 Mbpsâ415 Mbps
Spectrum
Flexible cable plans with good availability and no data caps
$50+
72â245 Mbps
Bottom 5 ISPs (Worst Quality vs Cost)
These providers tend to fall short in speed, reliability, or customer satisfaction relative to their pricing:
Rank
ISP
Issues
Avg Cost
Speed Range
Mediacom Xtream
Low data caps, price hikes after promo, and poor upload speeds
$19.99â$49.99
Up to 100 Mbps
Kinetic by Windstream
Inconsistent DSL speeds and equipment fees after 12 months
$24.99+
Up to 100 Mbps
Frontier Fiber (200)
Good speeds but hidden fees and contract requirements
$29.99+
Up to 200 Mbps
HughesNet
Satellite-based, slow speeds, and high latency
$80+
Up to 25 Mbps
Xfinity (Connect More)
Promotional pricing with steep increases and limited upload speeds
$19.99+
Up to 300 Mbps
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John Henry died this morning having won the battle but lost the war. Some things never change.
under the hood (routers)
This is how complicated things are. You think youâve looked under the hood but you havenât. Itâs deeper.
Hey Dave, since you are giving a free 
router advice. My new Nokia Fastmile 12 has ALG Configuration section that I am not familiar with. As you can see from the screenshot I have DMZed the Eero and using the Nokia as a dumb router. Have disabled the WiFi (I know I am behind a double NAT but that doesnât matter to me). My question is what do I do with the ALG Configuration? Leave it as is or turn everything off? I have also disabled the Firewall on the Nokia. Thanks in advance.
If the firewall is disabled (especially if using DMZ), the application layer gateway should not matter, can just leave it enabled, not hurting anything.
It is just a layer of intelligence for the NAT and firewall for stuff like FTP where the session establishes on port 21 but then the data gets sent back over port 20, so the router knows to allow that inbound port 20 traffic, but only to the device that has the established port 21 connection. A static 1:1 NAT (DMZ) and firewall disabled should allow all incoming traffic regardless and not care about ALG, basically your Eero is now doing the ALG function.
Iâm guessing that router doesnât have an âIP passthroughâ mode where it will just let the WAN IP get assigned directly to your eero and basically become as close to bridge mode as possible? It is basically the same as DMZ but removes that extra layer of NAT. Not a big deal either way.