unixsac
join:2008-08-15
|  [TWC] Some questions about Moto SB5101 in SoCal?
Im with Time Warner Cable for 8 years and their best modem ever that wont give me a problem and last for 3-4 year are RCA DCM235. Lately im very dissapointed on their modem because they wont provided DCM235 anymore, Im a TWC in SoCal and I was thinking to go by myself a Motorola SB5101. Alots people told me it very good but I want to ask who ever have Moto SB5101 and ISP Time Warner Cable's experience with it, how good is it, how long did the modem last, does it cause any disconnect or modem is gathering upstream parameters, does it get disconnect when you downloading 2-4 file at same time or play a game or even suffing a website reliable? And I read some thread say un-success config file download, does it just a myth? And how can I register the modem? just call in and tell them i just buy a Moto SB5101 and here is the MAC id? Do you think it worthy to buy a modem for $80 at Fry's and ease myself for another couple years? Any reply would be appreciated. |
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Reinvent3d
join:2004-12-06
Camarillo, CA | I'd say Motorola modems are very reliable. When my area used to be Adelphia, I used a SB5100, then a 5120, and took it with me to TWC just this last year. It's lasted a while, and then I decided to get a SB5101 because it was new. |
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Anonymous_
Anonymous
Premium
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1
clubs:
1 edit | reply to unixsac
i tryed it for an day but took it back
it only gave me 1/2 the speed
if you use torrent it will struggle to even work |
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MacLeech
The one and only
Premium
join:2001-07-14
SoCal
2 edits | said by Anonymous_  :i tryed it for an day but took it back it only gave me 1/2 the speed if you use torrent it will struggle to even work I get full 10/1 my Motorola SB 5101s at a few different locations, including at home. Works with Powerboost too.
It was also one of the few modems Adelphia Engineers certified for use with their 16/2 Extreme product a few years ago.
Plus I've download/upload plenty of torrents simultaneously for days at a time without a problem. |
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MacLeech
The one and only
Premium
join:2001-07-14
SoCal
1 edit | reply to unixsac
RCA DCM235s haven't been made in several years, that's why TWC won't provide them anymore. They had some issues with flaky power plugs too.
RCA makes a new DCM425 which is pretty good and TWC issues in some areas.
I've always found any of the Motorola modems to be some of the best, well-tested, and supported modems available. They're the standard all other modems are compared to. |
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Anonymous_
Anonymous
Premium
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1
clubs:
1 edit | reply to MacLeech
maybe it was Bad firmware as moto has bad rep on that |
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MacLeech
The one and only
Premium
join:2001-07-14
SoCal
| said by Anonymous_ :maybe it was Bad firmware as moto has bad rep on that Could've been the 1.1.1.1 firmware some of the original 5101s shipped with, haven't seen any specific issues since then.
Moto's have had a few flaky firmware versions in very specific situations but they've also been pretty quick to fix them and release new versions, more so then other modem makers and usually more often the ISPs want to upgrade the firmware. This is probably because Motorola has the most modems across the highest number of providers out there.
No modem is perfect, but the Moto's are generally the closest. Which is why I have one at home... |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
| said by MacLeech :No modem is perfect, but the Moto's are generally the closest. Which is why I have one at home... Yep. That's why I have the 5100 and before it the 4100. I won't accept anything else. I pushed Oceanic hard to allow us to buy our own modems during the time periods that Oceanic has had no Motorolas. Even though the TOS now clearly states that we can buy our own Oceanic is still saying we can't. I just pray my 5100 continues to work properly as I don't want to have to make a scene in order to be able to have a Surfboard if my current one was to have problems. Or I hope that Oceanic is again issuing Surfboards if/when I have a problem with my current one which would avoid the buy your own issue. I had a Toshiba 1100U when I first got RR in 2001 and my friends in Kona told me to return it and get a Surfboard 4100. When I did that, I could see immediately why my speed was so poor. The Toshiba had no webpage but the Surfboard did and my sig/noise ratio was 26dB. Oceanic had been saying my speeds were fine but armed with the information from the surfboard's web page, I was able to easily convince them there really was a problem.
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"The same ferocity that our founders devoted to protect the freedom and independence of the press is now appropriate for our defense of the freedom of the internet. The stakes are the same: the survival of our Republic". Al Gore, The Assault on Reason |
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daveinpoway
Premium
join:2006-07-03
Poway, CA | reply to unixsac
If you to Walmart, you can almost certainly find the SB5101 for less than $80. |
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socalguy
join:2005-04-15
Redondo Beach, CA
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to unixsac
So we can buy our own modems for TWC?!?! The tech who installed mine told me I couldn't and that a store bought modem wouldn't work because of how they run their system. Man I feel suckered.  |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
| Well...maybe not in California. The TOS, Privacy Policy, etc. is now generic for ALL states that TW operates in EXCEPT California. (I got the DSLR FAQ for this changed recently as it was from 2005 and reflected the policy then which was a different TOS, Privacy Policy, etc. for each franchise which is no longer the case). You guys in California though are the exception to the generic rule and you have a better privacy policy than the rest of us. Your Subscriber Agreement, etc. is different too but I don't recall what yours says about buying your own modem. The one that applies to the rest of us is very clear about us being able to buy our own although Oceanic says we can't but the Agreement says we can. I think yours doesn't say anything on the subject.
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"The same ferocity that our founders devoted to protect the freedom and independence of the press is now appropriate for our defense of the freedom of the internet. The stakes are the same: the survival of our Republic". Al Gore, The Assault on Reason |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
| Well, well, well. TW has changed their policies AGAIN. The last time I read them was about a month ago. We are returning to policies for EACH division/franchise again evidently. A month ago, going to Hawaii RR Around Town and clicking on the TW Policies link took me to the SAME policies that I would reach if I checked for the policies from »www.timewarnercable.com/corporat···ies.html.
Now, the Subscriber Agreement Policy is DIFFERENT IN SIGNIFICANT WAYS BASED ON WHETHER I CLICK FROM MY AROUND TOWN PAGE OR FROM THE ABOVE LINK.
So, disregard what I said in the post above about generic policies. Read the policies from the above link and also from your division's Around Town page. Maybe the two will be the same for you but they are different for me.
My Subscriber Agreement is MISSING the paragraph allowing us to buy our own modems. However, my agreement does NOT force me to agree to the methods by which TW will enforce a specific limit on the amount of bytes I can use per billing cycle "if there is a specified limit" on my level or tier of service. That is now in the Subscriber Agreement reached via the link above. My agreement says NOTHING about any limit on bandwidth. These are just two of the differences in the two Subscriber Agreement Policies. I don't understand why TWC does not state that the policy on the page linked above is NOT necessarily the policy under which the user is bound. I guess TWC's legal department goofed.
The Operator Acceptable Use Policy appears to be the same for ALL divisions. The Privacy Policy appears to have not changed since I last read it and it is generic for all divisions EXCEPT California which has it own, much better policy.
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"The same ferocity that our founders devoted to protect the freedom and independence of the press is now appropriate for our defense of the freedom of the internet. The stakes are the same: the survival of our Republic". Al Gore, The Assault on Reason |
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yiopsp
@leratedhosting.com
| reply to unixsac
Firmware 1.1.1.1 for the SB5100/5101 was definitely bad news for torrents, as any significant traffic killed it requiring a power cycle. If you had one with 1.1.1.1 you were basically helpless unless your ISP pushed out new firmware. Comcast in SoCal for example could have cared less so you either lived with it or got a different/newer modem. TWC for their part when they took over SoCal pushed out newer firmware for Moto, and 2.3.2.5 has been solid. |
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Guru Sonic
join:2006-01-25
Westminster, CA
| reply to unixsac
Did not have any luck with this in our area, mine blew out after 8 months (X-MAS 2007) due to overheating because of low signal strength (according to TWC field tech). Installing it is rather simple, just call in the MAC id and wait for 15 minutes. They will push the info in their system to register it. According to your other post here, you are on the other side of our city so performance and other issues should be similar. Currently our weak signal issue city wide was a factor in the rather quick demise of the Moto. |
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Anonymous_
Anonymous
Premium
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1
clubs: | reply to MacLeech
yea what ever
»[TWC] New TWC Customer - Cable Modem Problems (Santa Monica) |
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hobgoblin
Sortof Agoblin
Premium
join:2001-11-25
Orchard Park, NY
clubs:
| What is this supposed to mean?
Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Anonymous_
Anonymous
Premium
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1
clubs: | oh he was saying that they work great and in all
but not true for every one |
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hobgoblin
Sortof Agoblin
Premium
join:2001-11-25
Orchard Park, NY
clubs:
1 edit | said by Anonymous_ :oh he was saying that they work great and in all but not true for every one And you know exactly what signal levels that modem is receiving?
The reason they are the most used modem across all MSO's is because they are very consistent.
Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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