Comcast insists on sending a free replacement modem

[chela]

First the Dear Customer letter,

Our records indicate that the cable modem which you currently use for you Comcast hi speed internet service may not be able to recieve the full range of speeds available.

Soo...sounds good to me, they are pleased to form they will send a new one for free. But I laughed out loud wondering what their idea might be when they say access to "full range of speeds" Do they want to slow me down or speed me up?

I let the letter sit for a week, while I browsed netflix streaming and other wii channels.

I'm not experiencing buffering delays or twitches in our service, it makes me wonder about my modem. If it aint broke why fix it? Or does comcast want to "fix" this customer?

[tdn]

I don't know, but I had a problem last year. They sent out some service people who had to replace the modem. It was a faster one, and my old computer couldn't handle the speed. They had to include a special dongle and load some drivers to make it work. It took them a couple of hours.

The funny thing is I got a new computer a couple of weeks later.

[Marc Xenos]

Originally Posted by chela

First the Dear Customer letter,

Our records indicate that the cable modem which you currently use for you Comcast hi speed internet service may not be able to recieve the full range of speeds available.

Soo...sounds good to me, they are pleased to form they will send a new one for free. But I laughed out loud wondering what their idea might be when they say access to "full range of speeds" Do they want to slow me down or speed me up?

I let the letter sit for a week, while I browsed netflix streaming and other wii channels.

I'm not experiencing buffering delays or twitches in our service, it makes me wonder about my modem. If it aint broke why fix it? Or does comcast want to "fix" this customer?

Sure sounds suspicious to me. Are you SURE it's from Comcast? I've never known Comcast to offer anything for free without some benefit to them, and your internet speed ain't it. Like you said, if it's not broke, don't fix it.

Comcast already knows what "speed" you're paying for, and if your current modem is capable of that, then they won't waste equipment for speeds that you're not paying for. If you own your modem, they don't care. If you're renting their modem, then there's no need for a replacement. And certainly no reason to give you a "free" one to end the rental revenue.

"Microsoft" was calling people awhile back, explaining how they'd discovered that their computers were having problems, even though the owners may have been unaware of any, and could be resolved by downloading a program that gave remote access to "Microsoft" technicians to correct the problems. Of course, it wasn't really Microsoft, and some people really did download the program.

If you think the letter might really be from Comcast, it's easy enough to call them for verification and ask WHY it's so important.

(I STILL haven't gotten a straight answer from my bank why they offer FREE Online Bill Pay. Their stock answer that the bank truly does care about my security and customer convenience is the trashiest bullcrap I've ever heard. They do nothing for free that doesn't pay off somewhere else.)

[Bob Ducca]

They switched our modem out recently. I think it helps them communicate with the device for whatever reason.

They recently offered us a new wireless router (over the phone during a service call, not via mail) but we would have had to start paying a monthly rental fee so we declined the offer since we already own ours.

[Skald the Rhymer]

Originally Posted by Marc Xenos

Sure sounds suspicious to me. Are you SURE it's from Comcast? I've never known Comcast to offer anything for free without some benefit to them, and your internet speed ain't it. Like you said, if it's not broke, don't fix it.

Comcast already knows what "speed" you're paying for, and if your current modem is capable of that, then they won't waste equipment for speeds that you're not paying for. If you own your modem, they don't care. If you're renting their modem, then there's no need for a replacement. And certainly no reason to give you a "free" one to end the rental revenue.

"Microsoft" was calling people awhile back, explaining how they'd discovered that their computers were having problems, even though the owners may have been unaware of any, and could be resolved by downloading a program that gave remote access to "Microsoft" technicians to correct the problems. Of course, it wasn't really Microsoft, and some people really did download the program.

If you think the letter might really be from Comcast, it's easy enough to call them for verification and ask WHY it's so important.

(I STILL haven't gotten a straight answer from my bank why they offer FREE Online Bill Pay. Their stock answer that the bank truly does care about my security and customer convenience is the trashiest bullcrap I've ever heard. They do nothing for free that doesn't pay off somewhere else.)

It's been a decade since I worked in banking, so take this with a grain of salt. Back then online bill pay was new, and the bank was in favor of it because it cost them less, on average, to process payments electronically than to do a paper check. Even if it's only a tiny difference per customer, it won't take long for the bank to see their expenses go down, and thus their profits go up. I'm sure they'd like to force EVERYONE to do everything electronically.

[Joey P]

Originally Posted by Marc Xenos

Sure sounds suspicious to me. Are you SURE it's from Comcast? I've never known Comcast to offer anything for free without some benefit to them, and your internet speed ain't it. Like you said, if it's not broke, don't fix it.

Comcast already knows what "speed" you're paying for, and if your current modem is capable of that, then they won't waste equipment for speeds that you're not paying for. If you own your modem, they don't care. If you're renting their modem, then there's no need for a replacement. And certainly no reason to give you a "free" one to end the rental revenue.

If the modem is ridiculously old, they very well might be willing to upgrade it. When I first started with Time Warner Cable, I was getting 768 down, over the years, without calling and asking for a speed increase or receiving any major price hikes, it's now at 12Mbps. I assume my first modem wouldn't have been able to support that. But over the years modems break and you bring them in to be replaced. If the OP is still using a 10 year old modem, that could be what triggered the letter. It's entirely possible they need him to upgrade his modem to get him faster internet. If his modem maxes out at 768, but their typical cheapest tier is 12Mpbs (for example) they'd rather he was at the faster speed. The reason being that if he's running at 768 sooner or later he's going realize how much slower his internet is then everyone elses and start shopping around for another ISP. Comcast could just be being proactive in trying to get him a new modem.
Of course this is just conjecture.

[Skald the Rhymer]

Missed the edit window. I wanted to add this:

My bank were certainly willing to pay its employees to persuade people to do online bill pay. I can recall a quarter in which my bonus was a few hundred dollars more than the other FSRs (financial sales representatives -- the people at desks opening accounts & servicing loans) because, though I'd done no more loans & lines of credit than average else, I was the only one who'd done any online banking & bill pay setups with new accounts.

[Astroboy14]

I work for one of the big cable companies (won't tell you which one, tho it rhymes with Kime Borner Mable).

We replaced a few modems some months ago that were not capable of handling the new DOCSIS 3.0 standard, so it doesn't sound suspicious to me...

Maybe you just have an old modem and they are upgrading everyone to DOCSIS 3.

[Marc Xenos]

Originally Posted by Joey P

Comcast could just be being proactive in trying to get him a new modem.
Of course this is just conjecture.

I agree. About the conjecture part. Comcast has never just been proactive. If the customer isn't complaining, then there is no problem. Even if the customer did complain, usually they complain to the service they already have. It's possible that Comcast may offer to replace it for free, but I doubt it. Their first step would be to recommend the customer buy a new, faster modem. The second step would be to offer the customer a rental of a newer modem. (Maybe vice versa.) But a company doesn't just offer free equipment without a tangible benefit to itself. This is any company that wants to stay in business, not just Comcast. It would be hell just explaining such a program to the shareholders.

Hell, I couldn't get Comcast to replace the 30 year old cracked coaxial cable in my apartment that was slowing down my internet because their tests showed speed was up to spec (even though MY tests showed that I was barely getting dialup speed at 28K).

[TBG]

WAG maybe someone found an "uncapping" exploit for your old modem model so they want to swap it for a new model without the exploit (even if you're not using, or are even unaware of such an exploit).

[Marc Xenos]

Originally Posted by Astroboy14

I work for one of the big cable companies (won't tell you which one, tho it rhymes with Kime Borner Mable).

We replaced a few modems some months ago that were not capable of handling the new DOCSIS 3.0 standard, so it doesn't sound suspicious to me...

Maybe you just have an old modem and they are upgrading everyone to DOCSIS 3.

I was buying your comment, right up to the part about "Maybe".
Maybe a pig's ass isn't porky, but until someone can demonstrate otherwise, I'll still have my suspicions.

If the letter happened to state the reason, and this is the fix, then it might be possible, but I'd still believe that a company would target specific households for definite replacement, not just a mailing list of addresses of unrequested offers. And you did say "a few"? "A few" doesn't sound like a concerted effort to adapt some new standard to the masses.

So, sorry, still not buying.

[ExcitedIdiot]

Comcast put a charge on my bill last month($3.00 i think) for equipment upgrade, or something to that effect. I called and asked about it, they told me if was for a new modem. They claimed my old one can't handle their new higher speeds. I say I never got a new modem, they told me to go pick one up at their office.

ETA: I never did pick it up, as my internet is as fast as it's supposed to be.

[jz78817]

it's legit. I had my modem replaced last year after I was having connection problems (turned out it was the big box outside my apt. building, but the tech said my SurfBoard was old and busted and gave me a new one.) Long story short, my connection went offline late last Saturday night, and I was able to find the new modem's dox on my phone and determined that it was "downloading configuration."

woke up the next morning to find that my download speeds had doubled. And I'm not talking about the "powerboost" BS, but my sustained download speed went from 750 kB/s to 1.5 MB/s. Yes, 1.5 MegaBytes/s. Or MebiBytes, for those who care...

[Bag of Mostly Water]

There are several reasons Comcast could be doing this.

Most likely is that your modem only supports DOCSIS 1.0 which is now being phased out region by region. I'm sure they are giving you a DOCSIS 2.0 modem which supports many features not available in 1.0, some of which will improve your speeds.

It's also possible that the manufacturer of your modem no longer supports it. The manufacturer may have gone out of business or been purchased by another company. It's much cheaper and easier to give people new modems than to try and support orphaned equipment.

[jacobsta811]

Doesn't sound suspicious to me - Comcast has been rolling out DOCSIS 3.0, and perhaps they want everyone upgraded so they can (eventually, long term) move your area over to IPv6 and sell off/repurpose the IPv4 IPs. I assume given that it is a "free" upgrade you probably are paying to rent your modem in the first place (something like a $3/mo charge)

[Astroboy14]

Originally Posted by Marc Xenos

I was buying your comment, right up to the part about "Maybe".
Maybe a pig's ass isn't porky, but until someone can demonstrate otherwise, I'll still have my suspicions.

If the letter happened to state the reason, and this is the fix, then it might be possible, but I'd still believe that a company would target specific households for definite replacement, not just a mailing list of addresses of unrequested offers. And you did say "a few"? "A few" doesn't sound like a concerted effort to adapt some new standard to the masses.

So, sorry, still not buying.

*shrug*

"Maybe" because I don't know for sure. I don't work for Comcast.

We did replace a few modems... and by few I mean 3 or 4 hundred (out of, at a guess, 250 thou. or so in the San Diego/Desert Cities region). IIRC, the customers were sent a letter, then a few weeks later we called them. The team I was working on at that time was a kind of catch-all for various projects, and that fell to us. I was given a list of names and account numbers (I got maybe 50 or so) and spent a morning calling customers to fill them in, or leaving messages when no one answered. The idea being that we would avoid having to roll a truck to the customer's house when an upgrade related to the release of DOCSIS 3.0 had a strong possibility of bricking older modems.

No scam was intended at all, unless you count avoiding a truckroll and some customers being without internet until we got the modem replaced, after the fact, as a scam.

But, as I said, I don't work for Comcast, so I can't say for sure what they're up to... perhaps there is some higher mucky-muck with a Snidely Whiplash mustache cackling in glee as the poor sheeple bring in their modems for replacement.

1) make them swap out their modems!
2) ?????
3) PROFIT!! BWAHAHAHA!!!

[Astroboy14]

Why those particular 3 or 4 hundred modems? I dunno... I does what I'm told. But I can think of several possible reasons.

[antonio107]

Do you have to give the old one back?

Bell Sympatico courriered me out a DSL modem when their internet stopped working. They never asked for the old one back. Then the internet started working again, because it wasn't the modem that was broken, it was just my shitty ISP.

So, I brought the old modem over to my mum's, and now I have High Speed Internet there with a much cheaper ISP, and no box rental!

[Sunspace]

Originally Posted by jz78817

Yes, 1.5 MegaBytes/s. Or MebiBytes, for those who care...

Megabyte, not mebibyte. Telecommunications, along with disc storage, measures data transfer rates and storage capacities in even millions of bits or bytes, not in powers of two as used by solid-state memory makers. The only reason memory makers use powers of two is because that's how the memory is built.

And when spelling out the unit name, you don't put capitals in the middle, or at the beginning either. You only capitalize the fully-spelt-out name of the unit when you'd capitalize any other word, like at the beginning of a sentence.

This goes for metric unit names taken from names of people as well. The symbols may be capitalized, but the full names aren't. 'W', but 'watt', 'megawatt'. 'Pa', but 'pascal', 'kilopascal'.

[Marc Xenos]

Originally Posted by jacobsta811

... perhaps they want everyone upgraded so they can (eventually, long term) move your area over to IPv6 and sell off/repurpose the IPv4 IPs.

You're losing ground further and further. IPv6 was developed because someday, in the foreseeable future, IPv4 will not handle all the traffic. But it won't be this year, or next, or even the next 5 years.

But like I said earlier, call Comcast and ask them. If it's real, and it's free, AND it really is Comcast, then what the hell, go ahead. But I'd be suspicious and not just automatically accept the letter at face value. In spite of what people claim about IPv6 vs IPv4.

[Marc Xenos]

Originally Posted by Sunspace

And when spelling out the unit name, you don't put capitals in the middle, or at the beginning either. You only capitalize the fully-spelt-out name of the unit when you'd capitalize any other word, like at the beginning of a sentence.

MB/s or MegaBytes per second. Mb/s or Megabits per second. In the 21st century, there is a convention that does not follow the old stodgy mid-20th century textbooks.

While W (watts) is capitalized, milliwatts is mW, capitalized in the middle. Since W continues to be capitalized, kilowatt-hours is kWh. Same for milliamp-hours, mAh. Terms referring to any negative power of ten is always lower case, while positive powers of ten are capitalized, regardless where it falls within a sentence or usage. So, technically, KWh would be just as correct as kWh, although common usage avoids the double caps since the priority is watts, not multiplier prefix, and a lower case "k" would not be confused with any other prefix.

Or to put it simply, feel free to use caps where it avoids confusion.
Oh, and lastly, there's no such word as "spelt". But we won't criticize you for it.

[Sailboat]

Originally Posted by Marc Xenos

Oh, and lastly, there's no such word as "spelt".

You may find yourself going against the grain on this.

[Astroboy14]

Originally Posted by Marc Xenos

But like I said earlier, call Comcast and ask them. If it's real, and it's free, AND it really is Comcast, then what the hell, go ahead. But I'd be suspicious and not just automatically accept the letter at face value.

Marc, just out of curiosity: suspicious of what, exactly? What kind of scam are you suspecting here?

The only possible thing I can think of is if the OP owns his current modem, and Comcast is offering to replace it with theirs (and thus begin charging him rental on it... which would be pretty scummy, granted, and the OP might not notice right away if he wasn't keeping a close eye on his bill). That's all I'm coming up with, but of course it wouldn't be the first time I've had a massive failure of the imagination when it comes to human scummery...

As for IPv4 vs. IPv6. technically we are already out of IPv4 addresses. Cite. What that means to you and me as consumers is nothing... yet. At some point we'll have to start using IPv6.

[Revtim]

A couple years back I realized I still had the original cable modem I started with ten years ago when I began my service. I did a speed test, wrote down the results, then went to the local Comcast office and swapped it out for a newer modem. When I got home and hooked it up and did the speed tests again, I was getting like double the speed.

I wouldn't completely dismiss the idea that they wanted to improve performance for the user to remain competitive. Competitors like Verizon FiOS are expanding their service areas.

[jacobsta811]

While I agree that you won't be using IPv6 only in the next 5 years, that doesn't mean comcast won't have already moved you to a combination of IPv6 and IPv4 NAT before then - your only "public" IP that isn't shared could very well be IPv6 sometime in the next 5 years.

[chela]

Originally Posted by ExcitedIdiot

ETA: I never did pick it up, as my internet is as fast as it's supposed to be.

ThAt was my thought, my internet is as fast as it's supposed to be, and yet ....

I called comcast, read the letter they filtered me through 2 or 3 csr's, then sent it out UPS, it comes with self installation kit.

now I have their box on my table, the ubee D3.0.

I feel so favored by comcast . This after I cancelled HBO, and started streaming Netflix. I should bundle my phone too....

I agree they do want to remain competitive.

WAG maybe someone found an "uncapping" exploit for your old modem model so they want to swap it for a new model without the exploit (even if you're not using, or are even unaware of such an exploit).

Uncapping exploits! is that a hack? I read there was a data cap in 2008.

While I agree that you won't be using IPv6 only in the next 5 years, that doesn't mean comcast won't have already moved you to a combination of IPv6 and IPv4 NAT before then - your only "public" IP that isn't shared could very well be IPv6 sometime in the next 5 years.

Cool? what's it mean? And shared IP's , sound like a party line?

[Marc Xenos]

Originally Posted by jacobsta811

While I agree that you won't be using IPv6 only in the next 5 years, that doesn't mean comcast won't have already moved you to a combination of IPv6 and IPv4 NAT before then - your only "public" IP that isn't shared could very well be IPv6 sometime in the next 5 years.

IPv6 IS a combination, since it's backward compatible with IPv4.

But then, there's LOTS of people who still believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, that the federal government provides all their programs and services for Free, and companies just give away millions of dollars in equipment in HOPES of staying ahead of the competition.

And that's why I'm suspicious of any letters purporting to be from E. Bunny Inc offering me free stuff, or anyone who claims to work for the similar company S. Claus Enterprises, Ltd and can testify to the inner workings of such company but doesn't know the details.

[TBG]

Originally Posted by chela

Uncapping exploits! is that a hack? I read there was a data cap in 2008.

I don't know the exact details (I don't even have a cable modem) but yes, some people have found ways to hack cable modems to get a higher speed than their plan pays for. Almost certainly illegal, and definitely something Comcast would not want you doing. But like I said, only a WAG that this could be a reason for a modem swap. Other people's ideas sound good too.

[Astroboy14]

Originally Posted by Marc Xenos

But then, there's LOTS of people who still believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, that the federal government provides all their programs and services for Free, and companies just give away millions of dollars in equipment in HOPES of staying ahead of the competition..

Look at it this way: what does a new modem cost? $30 or $40? OK... but the cable company is buying them in large lots, so I suspect they are paying a bit less than that. To roll a truck to a customer's house because an update that the cable co. did in implementing a new standard costs something over $100 all said and done. Replacing modems that have a high likelihood of being bricked by an update saves the company cash.

Originally Posted by Marc Xenos

And that's why I'm suspicious of any letters purporting to be from E. Bunny Inc offering me free stuff, or anyone who claims to work for the similar company S. Claus Enterprises, Ltd and can testify to the inner workings of such company but doesn't know the details.

(I assume that's in reference to me...)

I did a stint at Pizza Hut shortly after I graduated... so I have a good idea how they do things (at least how they did them ~25 years ago anyways). That doesn't mean I could just walk into Domino's Pizza and know all the procedures and policies that they employ without at least a modicum of training in their corporate culture.

However, as I'm *not* selling anything, it makes no difference if you're buying it or not. I was just trying to help is all...

[jacobsta811]

Originally Posted by Marc Xenos

IPv6 IS a combination, since it's backward compatible with IPv4.

BZZTTTT sorry, thanks for playing. One of the biggest problems with IPv6 is that it was NOT designed to be backwards compatible - we only have them working together with dual stacking (running both at the same time) or tunnelling - neither of which mean IPv6 is backwards compatible and both of which have drawbacks.
One cite among many:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/200...6-mistake.html

[Marc Xenos]

Originally Posted by jacobsta811

BZZTTTT sorry, thanks for playing. One of the biggest problems with IPv6 is that it was NOT designed to be backwards compatible - we only have them working together with dual stacking (running both at the same time) or tunnelling - neither of which mean IPv6 is backwards compatible and both of which have drawbacks.
One cite among many:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/200...6-mistake.html

You say po-TAY-to, I say po-Tah-to, big deal. Either way, why is Comcast suddenly spending lots of money RIGHT NOW to give away freebies to people who haven't complained nor who've indicated any intention of going to the competition?

[knestle]

I got the letter from Comcast 'offering' a free modem upgrade.

I waited several days before calling for the upgrade.

The day after I called for the upgrade I got a phone call from Comcast(obviously not aware that I had already made the call).

I don't remember the actual wording of the message that they left, but it was to the effect that the upgrade 'was not optional'.

I KNOW that Comcast does nothing that does not involve a profit for them. So, I too am curious as to how this 'free upgrade' is going to benefit them. I am absolutely certain that there will be no benefit to me without additional charges.

One can only wish it was benign as saving money on service calls with some upfront modem upgrades. Unfortunately, I tend to think there is an ulterior motive like, data gathering, some kind of invasive control of your system, forcing you to buy future cable service upgrades tied to the modem. THERE IS a catch here. I just can't see it yet.

When my new 'upgraded' modem arrives it will sit in the box until I can see where this 'SCAM' is going.

[Chessic Sense]

The modem comes with a renewed contract. It locks you in for a few years more, and if you drop their ISP, you'll pay a cancellation fee. It's the same reason phone companies offer you a "free" phone upgrade every two or three years. If you're just about at the end of your initial contract, I'd bet money that that's the catch.

[knestle]

My new modem arrived today.

The original letter says:

"... please dispose of your older modem properly ... or you can check with your local municipality to learn about its recycling days."
"Please note that there is no unreturned equipment charge for your older modem".

The letter included with the new modem says to return the old modem(return shipping label is included) and:
"Please note that once (the modem) is received any charges associated with the equipment will be removed from your billing statement."

There is no mention of disposing of, or recycling the old modem.

[sadrobot]

I worked at Comcast until just recently and I can confirm that these offers are legitimate. We were actually quite proactive in getting our customers to upgrade their old modems. Although there is no additional cost to the customer for the modem itself, these letters would get customers to call us, where we would try to sell them on the more costly high speed plans.

There may have been a legal reason for this upgrade program as well; as customers with the older modems were not able to reach the advertised download speeds.

[chela]

Originally Posted by knestle

My new modem arrived today.

The original letter says:

"... please dispose of your older modem properly ... or you can check with your local municipality to learn about its recycling days."
"Please note that there is no unreturned equipment charge for your older modem".

The letter included with the new modem says to return the old modem(return shipping label is included) and:
"Please note that once (the modem) is received any charges associated with the equipment will be removed from your billing statement."

There is no mention of disposing of, or recycling the old modem.

What did they send you, the ubeeD3.0? Have you installed it yet?

Is there any chance this will bunge up my router? For a few days last year we thought we had a router problem, it was "invisible" not picking up signals etc. It seemd to work itself out right after we bought a new one that we still haven't installed. Now we have a new in box router, a new in box cable modem and no desire to switch out either of them right now.

At this point if Comcast's customers say "eh, whatever" and leave it in the box, will comcast press the point or flag the account and wait until it's "bricked by a update" () and then what? Take the baby customer by the hand and install it for them?