O Canada! > Canadian > Rogers > [Modem] Worth it to upgrade modem?

[Modem] Worth it to upgrade modem?

the best thing to do before you upgrade is to talk to your neighbours that currently have the D3 modem, find out what they are experiencing see if they are getting slow speeds and how steady their connection is, if their connects are good i dont see why you wouldn't want to upgrade, as for the question of purchasing or renting, i would rent because i believe its 7 bucks a month but you can easily talk to retentions and get that cut down to half the cost if not all. Good luck hopefully everything works out and tell us how it went if u do go head and upgrade.

Cheers

reply to bournenl
alternativly, get it, and then swap it for a cisco and have them put it in bridge mode

Hey guys,

Thanks for the advice.
I asked around with the neighbours but unfortunately there was no one with Rogers. Landlord used to have Rogers though and said there was never anything wrong with the connection speed or consistency. So it might be worth it for me to see if I can get a modem upgrade.

@dan mackay
Can you elaborate on your suggestion a little more? Sorry I am not 100% sure of what you mean.

Cheers

i say keep the motollolla modem, it will cost u mroe for the docsis 3

reply to bournenl

reply to bournenl
If you're going to switch to a TPIA ISP, you might as well tough your old SB5xxx until then. Most TPIA ISPs sell the DCM475 for $100 with some degree of discount on activation fees when you buy your modem directly from them when ordering service so you'd save ~$125 by doing that.

reply to bfksc
Yes I have been experiencing slow downs during peak hours to the point where sites are slow to load and things like YouTube will not buffer.

Also, I checked with Rogers and discovered that I was bumped to the new Extreme package speeds of 28 Mbps. I have yet to be able to hit that number, nor maintain a number even close to that. Testing with speedtest.net I burst up to about 24 Mbps and then immediately fall down to between 10-15 Mbps. Using Newsgroups I never download at a speed past 1.2 MB, which is the speed I was getting when I first signed up for the Extreme package and it was only offering speeds of 10 Mbps.

So if upgrading my modem to a DOCSIS 3 modem would help bring my speeds up and make them more consistent then it is worth it for me.

Cheers

reply to bournenl
I'm surprised that a lot of the guys that post on here can walk and chew gum at the same time. This has turned into a website for Rogers loving idiots.
We're talking about giving Rogers $200 for a SMCD3GN Gateway and then swapping it for a Cisco and then putting it in bridge mode so you're only using half of what you paid for.
And for what? The gateway will be obsolete this time next year. As long as we continue to allow Rogers to dictate what hardware we use there will be no end to Rogers tyranny.
Stick with your D2 modems and FORCE Rogers to support a D3 modem only unit so we can continue to use superior 3rd party high end routers that are not subject to Rogers spyware, control or rental fees.

reply to bournenl
I'd say if you can get the Cisco DPC3825 it would be worth it to get the modem. (not the SMC)
This is because you would be able to get up to 8 channel bonding on the downstream, and also the 4 channel upstream bonding (associated with the new upload speeds that will be offered next year)
Also with speedboost on the channel bonded DOCSIS 3 modem I am able to get 65 megabits on off peak times.

reply to bournenl
The DCM475 does show up on most TPIA ISP's for sure.
Distributel being one of them.

Perhaps it's better I save my money for when I can the switch. I can live with the service the way it is now. Unless it totally goes to crap at my new place, it's probably better I just wait.

I don't think Rogers has the Cisco model available anymore. I could be wrong, but from what I got from their phone support people as well as what their website shows, it looks like it isn't available anymore.

Thanks for the help

reply to bournenl
I have the DCM475 right now and I currently have 4 channel bonding with 1 channel upstream.
Considering if you do go third party later on it does have full support for the 8 channel bonding and 4 channel upstream when it happens.

reply to bournenl
bournenl i was very reluctant to upgrade away from my old Surfboard which i own. It was reliable, and rock solid.

I was on the extreme package and had allot of trouble keeping my roof under the cap specially with teenagers, somehow though i did keep it under 95 for at least 10 out of 12 months a year.

Noticing the caps getting higher but only if you upgraded to the new DOCSIS 3.0 modem, outside that all you got was a lousy price increase.

Reading over and over again how unreliable the SMC is i chose not to upgrade and decided to keep my current infrastructure. Here and there i read about how awesome the Cisco DPC3825 modem is but are hard to get and you get what they give you if you rent. Meaning you're going to get a SMC and seriously i had zero issues, never ever had to reset that Motorola modem, and then just the thought of having problems and resetting your modem all the time wasn't something i want to bother with. If it ain't broke attitude.

Finally the levee broke for a few reasons, internet usage in the house keeps going up, xmas we went way over the cap, and then rogers increased prices again but also bumped the caps up nicely this time too.

So here is what i decided to do and did do. I upgraded my package online to the next tier and decided to rent. I went to the next tier because I'm tired of trying to keep the house under the cap, so instead of 95 and only going to 120 i went all the way to 150. Which should be OK as some months without me having to intervene we were well under 95.

I also decided to rent because chit happens, if anything goes wrong give me a new one, done. Also I'm not out a couple hundred dollars as well. In a few years if new models come out, well, if it's better, mine might fail for some odd reason.

Since i upgraded the package online i was instructed to go to a store to get the modem, sure you can have it shipped to you but you're really rolling the dice on that. Having to go to a store of my choice means i can call around a get what i want, first night sold out of Cisco everywhere lots of SMC though and it's first come first server btw, next night one store had a couple left, got over there asap and voila Cisco.

I've had it since Rogers upgrade and knock on wood reliable as the old one and not only that it's far more up to date tech wise than my old infrastructure.

Yeah i totally planned on keeping my old structure and throw the Cisco into bridge mode (which i did for a spell) but thought about it and here is basically the changes i made.

I replaced 4 devices with 2.

I replaced my old modem, an SPI firewall about 5 years old, a wifi G access point and a 100 meg switch, well all of it was 100 meg. All replaced with the Cisco DPC3825 N wifi 1 gig, and a gig switch.

Going into this speed wasn't of interest to me at all, but finding that downloading off the web feels like I'm copying files from another computer in the house, was a very pleasant surprise.

It's one of those times you never look back and only wonder why the heck you didn't do it sooner.

reply to elitefx
Lol you serious? The only forum on the Internet with more hate towards Rogers is Rogers own forums. This is also the Rogers section, so less hate will be here, than the Teksavvy or any other IISP's one.

Also i am pretty sure the SMC has been $150 for the last few months, Rogers just hasn't updated the price. Also Rogers allows you to trade your purchased modem within 1 year for one with equal or GREATER value.

Just posting facts, but then again you will probably accuse me of being a "Rogers loving idiots" anyway, so this is a waste of time.

reply to bournenl
Don't waste your money on the SMC, if you're gonna spend $200 get the Cisco or just keep you SB510x.

If you switch to Distributel just get the DCM 475 from them at the time you switch over.

reply to coolio10

reply to bournenl
Yeah, i was surprised how they even started at $200 considering the MSRP is even only $150. Hopefully the IISP's are seen as enough competition for them to actually "compete". The only issue is lack of advertising. I am sure if people see "Save $10 a month" on T.V." at least half of all Rogers customers would at least research other options. A lot of people believe Rogers and Bell are the only option.

Even just comparing Rogers caps to Shaw, you wonder how they get away with it. I guess with "competition" like Bell, you don't even have to try.

reply to bournenl
I've never been a big fan of Rogers (or Bell), but its a choice of either using the service or not having service.

I was hesitant to change from the stable dpx2100 to the doc3 modem but wanted to upgrade from express. Took the chance, as I had some wiring that I wanted done too. Was advised I'd get the Cisco, but he brought the SMC. I tried the gateway function for 2 days and then bridged it. The wireless is crap. But, the change was worth it. On the 28/1 Extreme profile, I am getting file downloads of up to 38mbps and speed test results that range between 32/1 and 45/1. I'm not displeased with the results.

Good luck with your choice.

reply to elitefx
love your post because it's true. The rental with "sucker" stamped on it throws me into that category though.

In my situation i owned my old D2 modem which i bought nearly 10 years ago when i signed up with rogers for a bout $50 on some sign up deal.

Over the years i bought 1 - expensive firewall, 1 - 100 meg switch and 1 - wifi access point/switch which i probably spent upwards of $400 for all that gear and in all reality is outdated garbage now.

I lost my firewall due to an electrical storm (my fault should have had it better protected than a power bar) So i had to go out and blow about another $150 plus for a new firewall. Another instance my switch just stopped working and had to replace that, inwards of $600 or more i probably blew over the years on infrastructure fees which i reiterate is all out dated crap.

This measly little rental has more teck in the on button than all this stuff i own. Dropping $200 for a Cisco DPC3825 which they are as i asked the guy at the store about 2 weeks or so back is off the charts i totally agree with you, the guy at the store even said wait till the price drops if you want to buy.

However, I already planned to rent because now my entire infrastructure is the Cisco DPC3825 and the 40 dollar gig switch i just bought. If anything fries i'm out nothing, rogers can totally give me a new one. Also in two years when all this teck is obsolete garbage I'm sure mine will meet some sort of demise which Rogers will have to give me the latest and greatest for nothing more than my rental fee.

Yeah over all i completely agree with your post. Retrospect look at my costs over the years, renting ain't that bad. i'm just glad the modem never fried as I've already sold that for more than what i paid for it. Don't think you'll ever recoup $200 on a D3 though.