In the last one week, the internet connection was intermittent. Changing the router did help on the range and stability. Bought the Surfboard 5120 modem was bought in Dec 2008 for $28 on E-Bay when DOCSIS 1.1 was common and I replaced an old DOCSIS 1.1 modem with a DOCSIS 2.0 modem. I saw that the market value is just $10 now and Comcast recommends DOCSIS 3.0 modems effective July 2014.
http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.
http://forums.comcast.com/t5/
"As of July 2014, all DOCSIS 1 and 2 modems are being phased out." Comcast sent me email recently that with "Performance High Speed Internet" I was supposed to get 50Mbps down if I just reset the modem. I got about 31Mbps up from 25Mbps.
I did some reading and decided to get Surfboard 6141 modem white retail version with warranty by Arris for $88 on Amazon.
It may be cheaper on E-Bay.
I had to call Comcast in Fremont, CA to provide the new MAC address, make and serial number. Self-activation was not possible unless I buy directly from Comcast. I had to call Comcast twice due to a dropped call. The second time I called I gave the call back number before I said anything. Got it activated 15 min after I opened the box. Remember to connect a laptop or PC directly to the cable modem before calling Comcast or your cable provider unless you can self-activate with your cable provider.
So, what was the difference? I have so called according to an email I received from Comcast recently. The best I saw was 31Mbps with Surfboard 5120. Today I measured 57+Mbps!
Here is the comparison of the 5120 and 6141 modem status reported by looking at 192.168.100.1
Note that there is only 1 channel up and 1 channel down and note the signal level.
Here is the same status with 6141.
Note that signal is about the same but there are 8 channels down and 4 up. I guess the fatter pipe helped get the bandwidth I paid for.
Moral of the story: Do not rent a cable modem. Do your homework and buy a modem. $88 was well worth the higher speed I was paying for.
I will update this blog based on my experience. Hope to see no intermittent failures.
http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.
http://forums.comcast.com/t5/
"As of July 2014, all DOCSIS 1 and 2 modems are being phased out." Comcast sent me email recently that with "Performance High Speed Internet" I was supposed to get 50Mbps down if I just reset the modem. I got about 31Mbps up from 25Mbps.
I did some reading and decided to get Surfboard 6141 modem white retail version with warranty by Arris for $88 on Amazon.
It may be cheaper on E-Bay.
I had to call Comcast in Fremont, CA to provide the new MAC address, make and serial number. Self-activation was not possible unless I buy directly from Comcast. I had to call Comcast twice due to a dropped call. The second time I called I gave the call back number before I said anything. Got it activated 15 min after I opened the box. Remember to connect a laptop or PC directly to the cable modem before calling Comcast or your cable provider unless you can self-activate with your cable provider.
So, what was the difference? I have so called according to an email I received from Comcast recently. The best I saw was 31Mbps with Surfboard 5120. Today I measured 57+Mbps!
Here is the same status with 6141.
Note that signal is about the same but there are 8 channels down and 4 up. I guess the fatter pipe helped get the bandwidth I paid for.
Moral of the story: Do not rent a cable modem. Do your homework and buy a modem. $88 was well worth the higher speed I was paying for.
I will update this blog based on my experience. Hope to see no intermittent failures.
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