If you buy it yourself, you can keep it for years, even if you switch to a different ISP. You could buy the modem, rent it, or get it from the ISP. Older modems used telephone lines to connect to the internet, but newer ones rely on cable or fiber optics, depending on the service provided by the ISP.Įach modem has a unique IP address that works like its identification code, helping identify it on the internet. Typically, a modem that’s not a router has two ports: one for connecting the modem to the outside world and a jack for the ethernet cable to connect the modem to a router or a computer. Modern modems don’t work this way, but the term “modem” refers to all kinds of such devices. In other words, it modulates and demodulates (hence the name) analog signals sent through wires and digital signals that computers or other electronic devices can use and understand. It works like a medium that takes signals from your Internet Service Provider and converts them into signals readable by your local devices and vice versa. When you purchase internet service from your provider, you need a connection from outside to your home, just like you bring telephone connections or electrical wires from your city’s telephone network or power grid.Ī modem is a device that brings the internet from your internet service provider (ISP) into your home. While the two may seem similar, they’re not interchangeable. Understanding the difference between a modem and router can be confusing when you receive both as part of the internet package from your internet service provider. However, other devices exist which integrate both technologies, called a wi-fi modem or a gateway. Therefore, you can’t use a modem as a router. These two are entirely different devices with separate functions. If you have multiple devices, however, you need to have a router.Īs a router can’t connect to the internet directly, you can never use it separately. Modems have just one LAN port, so if you only have one computer to connect to the internet, you can use a modem and connect it to the computer using a wired connection. Modems and routers can’t work separately as they somehow complement each other. This article will explain the functions of a router and a modem, and it explains if you can use a modem as a router. While they may look similar-both are boxes with flickering lights, cables, and antennas-they have entirely different functions. Modems and routers are two basic devices necessary to connect you to the internet.ĭepending on the Internet service provider, you may get one or both of them.
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