Our Xfinity modem died last night. My boss said I’d be better off buying my own modem instead of renting one. I’ll have to check my Xfinity bill when I get home (and when the Xfinity guy shows up to replace the modem) to see how much modem rental is.
My boss said he has a Motorola. Our previous modem from Xfinity was a Motorola. By default, when I think of a modem, I think of Motorola. So, yeah. That’s what I’d like to get. Here are three I’m looking at:
Both of my computers use 5 GHz. My wife’s newer computer also uses 5 GHz, but her older one – which she still uses --communicates at 2.4 GHz. So any modem I buy will need to be dual-band. It also needs a telephone jack, since we use VoIP.
I actually just replaced my Xfinity modem recently – last month they started sending me emails and texts saying my old one would soon no longer be compatible with their network. I went with the MG8702, mainly because it does have the wifi router built in. I understand @Dr.Strangelove’s argument about keeping the router and modem separate, but my old one had the router and modem combined, so it was more convenient to just buy one device to replace them both than to buy a new modem and a new router.
Now, if you already have a router and intend keep using it, go with one of the other two. I’d probably lean towards the MB8611 just because it supports DOCSIS 3.1. That’s 0.1 more than DOCSIS 3.0, therefore it’s better .
I told my wife I was looking at buying a modem. I’ve just checked my bill, and the Xfinity one we’re renting is $15/month. She asked, ‘Will they come out and fix it if you buy your own?’ No. She then suggested that renting the modem is a kind of ‘insurance’. I think I’ll let it go for a while.
As I said, I’ve just checked my bill. I didn’t see an ‘unused equipment’ charge. I used to have one when Xfinity sent me something unbidden years ago. I finally found it and gave it to the cable guy when he replaced the cable box and modem sometime last year. So no ‘unused equipment’ charge! Yay! Only…
Where did this modem come from? It’s a Motorola SURFboard® eXtreme Cable Modem model SB6121. It has ‘787 663’ written in ballpoint on the box. Inside the box’s lid is written ‘787663’, my name, my street address, and ‘906 EBB [crossout or unknown] EE3E33’. It appears to be unused (plastic still over the front). I have no recollection of buying this, but it does have my name on it. I’m not being charged for it by Xfinity (who wouldn’t put my name on the box anyway). I found a website (commscope) that says the SB6121 was being phased out. The article was originally published 02/29/2016.
It’s never been my experience that they’ll fix a cable modem or router. It’s like most small electronics, there’s nothing repairable, only replaceable.
Before I switched to fiber, both Cox and Comcast wanted enough per month to provide the equipment that I could just buy a new unit every year. Given those tended to last me several years, I came out ahead buying my own. Which then let me pick out stuff that suited my situation better and provided more configuration options that were useful to me.
I have the MB8611 which I got last year and have been very happy with. Note, that one doesn’t include a wi-fi router. I paired it with a EERO mesh system.
Right, they don’t fix things; only replace them. They’ll certainly help me set a new modem up; but they’re not going to come out to my house with a replacement if my owned modem failed.
Comcast discontinued a Motorola I owned, despite saying only the rented of that model would be shut down. I had trouble getting my new owned modem to talk with Comcast (or vice versa) and they sent a guy over. Like I said, maybe it was a slow day and he was bored.
For a cable modem, there’s no setup to be done. You just plug it in and connect the same cables as before and it receives its configuration info from the provider. Worst case scenario is that you have to call the provider and tell them the MAC address from the back of the unit.
Yes, but that didn’t work, so they sent a guy. My third and latest modem I did indeed just give the MAC for. I don’t recall if it was on the web or the phone.
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