Wireless distance is related to many factors, walls, distance, appliances, equipment and computer settings.
For wireless i prefer Linksys, and always channel 6, gives me the best performance.
I had a Terayon for over a year, gone dead, adelphia gave me a surf boad for replacement, i do prefer the terayon achieved higher speeds.
placing the modem in the freezer so it can work seems to me like a bad chip, spraying some cold blue spray or canned air upside down directly to the chip will do the same work. it will frezze cold the chip till it heats and opens.