Usually worth it, sometimes free to do, and almost always better hardware. The process differs by connection type, and one mistake catches nearly everybody.
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Three reasons to do it, in order: the hardware is better, you can put it somewhere sensible, and you may stop paying rent on it. The financial case varies enormously by provider — some charge nothing — but the first two reasons apply everywhere.
Is it worth it on your provider?
Published guides list Verizon Fios, AT&T, Frontier and T-Mobile at $0 for equipment rental; Spectrum between $0 and about $10 a month; and Xfinity's gateway as included with upgrades from around $15 — while other reporting puts Xfinity's standard modem-and-router charge at about $15 and Spectrum's Wi-Fi router at about $5. The figures move by plan, promotion and market, so the only number that applies to you is the equipment line on your own bill.
Take that number, divide it into the purchase price, and you have your break-even month. Per-provider detail and the arithmetic are on the provider pages.
Where the fee is zero, the case is purely about quality — and it is still a real case:
A provider gateway a few years into service is usually a generation or two behind on Wi-Fi.
It has to sit where the line enters the building, which is rarely where the Wi-Fi should be.
Provider-managed firmware often hides or omits settings you may want.
How to do it, by connection type
Connection
What you replace
How
Cable (Xfinity, Spectrum, Cox)
Modem and router, or just the router
Buy an approved DOCSIS 3.1 modem, or keep theirs and add your own router
Fiber — Verizon Fios
Just the router
Plug your router's WAN port straight into the ONT. Nothing else needed
Fiber — AT&T
Just the router; the gateway stays
Enable IP passthrough on the BGW320, then run your own router behind it
Starlink
The router
Enable bypass mode in the Starlink app, then connect your router
Fixed wireless / 5G home internet
Usually just the router
Check whether the supplied unit has an Ethernet port and a bridge mode
The process differs meaningfully by technology.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
This usually backfires
The mistake nearly everyone makes: leaving the gateway routing
Plugging your own router into a still-routing gateway gives you two routers in series, both handing out private addresses. That is double NAT, and it breaks port forwarding, some games, some VPNs and some smart-home remote access while adding latency for nothing. Either return the gateway, or set it to bridge mode (IP passthrough on AT&T, bypass mode on Starlink). And turn its Wi-Fi off, so its radios stop competing with yours.
The order of operations
Read the equipment line on your bill. This tells you whether there is a fee and which half it is for.
Check the provider's approved-equipment list for your speed tier, if you are replacing a cable modem. Lists differ by tier, not just by provider.
Buy DOCSIS 3.1 or better on cable. Operators are retiring DOCSIS 3.0 from their lists, and Spectrum ends 3.0 support entirely on 28 October 2026.
Set the new gear up alongside the old before you disconnect anything, so you are not without internet mid-install.
Bridge or return the gateway. Not optional.
Put the router somewhere sensible — this is the part that makes the biggest difference and the part most people skip. See placement.
Return the rented hardware and confirm the fee has gone. Keep the return receipt. Billing systems do not always notice.
When not to bother
If your provider charges nothing, the supplied gateway is recent, it is already centrally located, and your coverage is fine — keep it. Nothing on this site is improved by replacing hardware that is doing its job. And if the actual complaint is a dead zone, the gateway is not the problem at all: start there instead.
Quick picks
Ranked by our published scoring rubric (replaces a gateway, value, wired i/o, longevity). Tap any row to jump to the full write-up, or go straight to the retailer from the right-hand column. How we score.
#
Product
Best for
Score
Price
1
Illustrative
TP-Link Archer BE3600Under about $100 for current-generation Wi-Fi 7, and it covered a 3,500 sq ft test home — plenty to replace a rented box.
Scroll the table sideways on a narrow screen. Scores are our editorial assessment from published specifications and independent testing by named outlets — not our own lab results. What we do and do not test.
The picks in full
Illustrative
#1 · The cheapest sensible gateway replacement
TP-Link Archer BE3600
TP-Link · Budget tier
The cheapest Wi-Fi 7 router worth owning, and it covered a 3,500 sq ft test home with more consistency than its price suggests.
Key specifications
Standard
Wi-Fi 7, dual-band
Tested coverage
A 3,500 sq ft home, consistently
Price class
Under about $100
Score 8.0/10
Replaces a gateway8.5
Value10.0
Wired I/O6.0
Longevity7.5
What it gets right
+Wi-Fi 7 efficiency features at a price that used to buy basic Wi-Fi 6
+Covered a large test home consistently, which is the metric that matters
#ad We do not publish a price we cannot verify, so the button opens Amazon's own listing. How we are funded.
Common questions
Can I replace my ISP's router with my own?+−
On almost every provider, yes. On cable you can replace the modem too if you buy an approved DOCSIS 3.1 model. On Verizon Fios you plug your router straight into the ONT. On AT&T Fiber the gateway must stay but can be put in IP passthrough. On Starlink, use bypass mode.
Do I have to put my ISP gateway in bridge mode?+−
If you keep it and add your own router, yes. Otherwise you get double NAT — two routers each handing out private addresses — which breaks port forwarding, some games and some VPNs and adds latency for no benefit. Turn its Wi-Fi off as well.
Will my ISP still support me if I use my own router?+−
They will support the line and their own equipment up to the demarcation point. They will not troubleshoot your router for you. In practice that is a reasonable trade, and it is why keeping the provider's modem while owning your router is a popular middle path on cable.
Illustrative
