Why do routers suck so much?


I’ve had a wireless network in my house since about 2001, and in these 15 years.. I’ve noticed that the quality of routers has declined a lot.  I don’t know if this is caused by my ISP, or by the routers themselves.  When I first setup my house, I actually had a dial up modem that would be used to connect to the net.. I then switched over to a cable modem.  Since switching to a cable modem, I’ve had the same ISP the entire time, and while speeds have increased and the number of devices I’ve had connected has also increased, the overall performance has degraded.  I find myself at least once a week and sometimes multiple times a day, having to reboot my router, and my cable modem. 

I’ve gone from d-link, to Apple, and now a google On-Hub router, and none of it seems to make a difference.  The cable modem is a standard surfboard, that the cable company recommends, even though I bought my own (and have replaced it once already).

I understand that a cable modem setup, actually puts you on a shared network with your neighbors, but that shouldn’t cause a problem if the entire network is setup correctly.  I am wondering if there is a good site for debugging where the problem is?