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bgrimm
join:2012-12-26
Chanhassen, MN

bgrimm

Member

[MN] Motorola SB6121 Offical Support yet?

Hello, I have Mediacomm in Chanhassen, MN.
As the subject states I'm wondering if the SB6121 is supported for firmware updates yet.

We've been having some spotty outages lately and a tech showed up today and swapped out my 7 year old surfboard for an RCA DHG534.
The first unit he pulled out of his truck was DOA, so he fetched another and it's working, but he said this model is unreliable and are a crapshoot on quality.

So I'm preferring now to buy my own, something quality I can count on.

Any info would be appreciated, thanks.

TJFriday
join:2009-06-29
Des Moines, IA

TJFriday

Member

I would recommend the Cisco DPC-3010. I've been using one for a year and it's been solid. Previously, I had been using a Motorola SB6120 for 2+ years (got one as soon as they were available). The Cisco diagnostic pages aren't as good as the Motorola in terms of the amount of information, but the critical, useful information is there. None of the other information that the Motorola modems provide has proven useful in troubleshooting.

The Cisco DPC-3010 is supported by Mediacom and currently uses the same firmware as the DPC-3000 and DPC-3008 (amongst others). In working with the Mediacom personnel, they very much seem to prefer the Cisco equipment as it sounds like they have an excellent relationship with Cisco from a support perspective.

MediacomChad
Mediacom Social Media Relations Team
Premium Member
join:2010-01-20
Gulf Breeze, FL

MediacomChad to bgrimm

Premium Member

to bgrimm
Unfortunately the 6121 is not supported as of yet, and there is no ETA as to when we will have firmware available for it at this time.

mattmag

join:2000-04-09
NW Illinois

mattmag to bgrimm

to bgrimm


I have the SB 6121 and it worked flawlessly out of the box. Should be no need to worry about the firmware at this point.
pjschwartz
join:2005-03-25
Sun City, AZ

pjschwartz

Member

Ditto . . I recently changes out my CISCO DPC3000 for a Motorola SB6121 . . . no issues at all with the SB6121.
GLIMMER
join:2004-01-17
Fisher, IL

GLIMMER

Member

mediacom is lazy about firmware if you ask motorola all they have to do is ask for it. Its not profitable for them to get the firmware they want to rent or sell you a modem.

Lazy Senior
join:2012-01-10
Cobden, IL

Lazy Senior to mattmag

Member

to mattmag
said by mattmag:

I have the SB 6121 and it worked flawlessly out of the box. Should be no need to worry about the firmware at this point.

I hope Mediacom NEVER "supports" or screws with the 6121 firmware. If it ain't broke don't try to fix it Mediacom.

My Moto 6121 has been the best modem I have ever owned and has been flawless. Please Mediacom, don't mess with it!
Lazy Senior

Lazy Senior to MediacomChad

Member

to MediacomChad
said by MediacomChad:

Unfortunately the 6121 is not supported as of yet,

Change that to FORTUNATELY.....

Ferret Face
@mchsi.com

Ferret Face to bgrimm

Anon

to bgrimm
Had to Google Chanhassen to see where you are located. Here is what I did, and what you should maybe do...Visit nearest Staples/Best Buy/Office Depot, etc. and get the SB6121 there. Locally. Check with their return policy first. Make sure they will take it back if "defective."

Take it home and try it. Mine works fine down here in the Ozarks. Not exactly Silicon Valley. My speeds were always less than 9 with old Linksys "stackable" modem/router. Jumped to 26-31 with SB6121. On the 12 plan. Very few interruptions and those were weather related or drunk driver took out poles.

I worry little about firmware updates...
kb0nly
join:2003-07-25
Tyler, MN

kb0nly to bgrimm

Member

to bgrimm
I would buy a SB6121 or a SB6180 if i were you. I bought a 6180, not officially supported by Mediacom but thats what i wanted, i don't need them messing up my modem with faulty firmware. I saw how bad they messed up the Cisco interface on a DPC modem, it was nice you could check signal levels and get all the info, then it was connected to their system and provisioned, the new firmware went in and you can't check jack.

I hope they never support the SB6180... Its a nice DOCSIS 3.0 with 8/4 bonding.

tsduke
Premium Member
join:2006-03-04
Waterloo, IA

tsduke to Lazy Senior

Premium Member

to Lazy Senior
I also agree that I'm not sure I want them flashing new firmware to a modem that appears to be flawless so far for me. But it is bad that they don't support it yet. The 6120 can't even be bought anymore.
RAGEAngel9
join:2002-05-11
Savage, MN

RAGEAngel9 to bgrimm

Member

to bgrimm
I'll just throw in my experience. I bought a SB6121 without checking if it was supported. I was unable to get speeds above about 30 Mbps. As I'm on Ultra, it should be higher. So I do not recommend it at this time.
I am in Savage, Mn.

tsduke
Premium Member
join:2006-03-04
Waterloo, IA

tsduke

Premium Member

How do you know your issues are the modem??
pjschwartz
join:2005-03-25
Sun City, AZ

pjschwartz to RAGEAngel9

Member

to RAGEAngel9
Rage . . . I am in Savage and am running a SB6121. I have Ultra service and my latest speed rating is 56.9 Down and 5.6 Up.

Do you also have Ultra service? If so, go to »192.168.100.1/cmSignal.htm and make sure you are bonding across all 4 channels. When I was first set up with Ultra, there was an issue (which I believe was at Mediacom's end) which was keeping the channel bonding from occurring. That kept my max download speed to ~30 before they got it all fixed.
RAGEAngel9
join:2002-05-11
Savage, MN

RAGEAngel9

Member

First off I will say that I am basing this off my experiences and if the SB6121 can work I will be very happy to be wrong.
I was told by both Chad and another Mediacom tech that the SB6121 would not be able to reach the ultra speed and as said earlier in the thread, no known support date is know.
Considering I'm still not getting ultra speeds with the mediacom provided modems (or if I am I get consistent connection drop offs), I am not trying to pus myself off as any type of expert.
RAGEAngel9

RAGEAngel9

Member

And since I'm now involved in this thread and if no one minds, I assume that with the output below for my modem I am NOT bonding on 4 channels. Is that correct?
Thanks.

Power Level Signal to Noise Ratio
Channel 0: -4.8 dBmV 35.6 dBmV
Channel 1: 0.0 dBmV 0.0 dBmV
Channel 2: 0.0 dBmV 0.0 dBmV
Channel 3: 0.0 dBmV 0.0 dBmV
Random_H3ro
join:2012-12-21
Ottawa, IL

Random_H3ro

Member

Correct
kb0nly
join:2003-07-25
Tyler, MN

kb0nly to RAGEAngel9

Member

to RAGEAngel9
The SB6121 will do the 50Mbps service just fine, in fact it pull much more than that.

Take a look at the spec sheet...

»www.motorola.com/web/Bus ··· heet.pdf

Theoretical max is 171mbps down and well over 100 up, and you will never see those speeds available. I know guys on the 105mbps service where its available that are getting around 110-120 with that very model of modem.

The problem your having is not your modem, its their end, the modem isn't getting bonded on four downstream channels, without that your never going to see the speed your paying for.
RAGEAngel9
join:2002-05-11
Savage, MN

RAGEAngel9

Member

I appreciate the responses. I had assumed what you had pointed out, but since it wasn't working I took MC's word for it.
Since it seems I have other problems than just the modem, I'll have to get that settled first.

Ferret Face
@mchsi.com

Ferret Face to RAGEAngel9

Anon

to RAGEAngel9
Per Best Buy website-SB6121 rated up to 160Mbps download and 120 up.
Reviews give it 4.5 out of 5.
It sells for $99.
I know of several in this area and none have had any significant problems with this modem running on Mediacom.
pjschwartz
join:2005-03-25
Sun City, AZ

pjschwartz to RAGEAngel9

Member

to RAGEAngel9
Reach out to MediacomChad via PM and ask him to investigate at his end . . .
RAGEAngel9
join:2002-05-11
Savage, MN

RAGEAngel9

Member

So I had a tech out this morning and it was a non-modem equipment issue in the house. I've already forgotten which piece the tech said specifically but it was either a splitter that was there when I moved in or one of the connectors on the coaxial. Either way he switched it out and I now seem to be at full speed. I'll have to try switching over to my sb6121 later, but I'm just happy to be getting the ultra speeds.
Thanks again to everyone for help and suggestions.

tsduke
Premium Member
join:2006-03-04
Waterloo, IA

tsduke

Premium Member

Good to hear. I'm just on standard package, but the SB6121 has made my internet rock solid since installing it. I think the 4 channel bonding helps even the standard packages. Seems it handles any hiccups better.
Thordrune
Premium Member
join:2005-08-03
Lakeport, CA

Thordrune

Premium Member

Indeed. I installed a Zoom 5341J for my dad recently, who's on one of the grandfathered tiers (15/1?). He's consistently getting around 17 Mbps down, with no fluctuation (more info here). The modem's currently bonding four downstream channels. His old Arris TM502 would fluctuate between 12-15 Mbps.

IA City
@mchsi.com

IA City to MediacomChad

Anon

to MediacomChad
I just purchased this modem on the recommendation of a telephone tech support agent. There may be problems with my prior Zoom modem (DOCSIS 2.0) and went to this modem (DOCSIS 3.0) with the hope of achieving better stability after 3 tech visits to my home shows "no wiring issues." Looks like the original firmware remains in place. Has there been any attempt to push the new firmware yet? Here are my specs for reference:

Model Name: SB6121
Vendor Name: Motorola
Firmware Name: SB612X-1.0.5.1-SCM00-NOSH
Boot Version: PSPU-Boot(25CLK) 1.0.12.
Hardware Version: 5.0
Firmware Build Time: Dec 21 2010 15:52:06

Thanks!

Anonymous88
Premium Member
join:2004-06-01
IA

Anonymous88

Premium Member

My guess is Mediacom is not really interested in supporting this modem. I mean other cable cos do as far as I know...

your mom
@mchsi.com

your mom to bgrimm

Anon

to bgrimm
i have mediacom and it works great pay for 12 and get 30 down with it full docsis 3 compatibility on downstream but not upstream cause mediacom does not have docsis 3 upstream

mike1965
Geek4rent
join:2002-09-23
Marion, IL

mike1965 to IA City

Member

to IA City
said by IA City :

I just purchased this modem on the recommendation of a telephone tech support agent. There may be problems with my prior Zoom modem (DOCSIS 2.0) and went to this modem (DOCSIS 3.0) with the hope of achieving better stability after 3 tech visits to my home shows "no wiring issues." Looks like the original firmware remains in place. Has there been any attempt to push the new firmware yet? Here are my specs for reference:

Model Name: SB6121
Vendor Name: Motorola
Firmware Name: SB612X-1.0.5.1-SCM00-NOSH
Boot Version: PSPU-Boot(25CLK) 1.0.12.
Hardware Version: 5.0
Firmware Build Time: Dec 21 2010 15:52:06

Thanks!

I had a SB6120. after Mediacom was comvinced it was bad, I got it replaced by Motorola under warranty.....they replaced it with the SB6121....still having same issues....but there is no firmware support for the SB6121...and do not know when there will be
poolShark
join:2002-11-21
Marshall, IL

poolShark

Member

said by mike1965:

I had a SB6120. after Mediacom was comvinced it was bad, I got it replaced by Motorola under warranty.....they replaced it with the SB6121....still having same issues....but there is no firmware support for the SB6121...and do not know when there will be

I've been considering getting the SB6121, but when something is wrong with your service, cable companies like Mediacom seem to blame your equipment more easily when you own it instead of renting it. So it makes me wonder if I should at least stick to a brand/model that is officially supported. Since the SB6121 isn't officially supported, then that would be reason enough for them to put blame on the modem instead of some other issue.

jay67
@sbcglobal.net

jay67 to Ferret Face

Anon

to Ferret Face

Re:support for SBG6580

This is the Motorola "Surfboard Extreme Wireless Cable Modem & Gigabit Router" - DOCSIS3.0. I was referred to this model when i called to set up service (15-1) and wanted to simplify the setup. Does anyone currently use this equipment and, if so, what is their experiences with it ? Does mediacom officially support it, since they specifically recommended it ? Also, does Mediacom usually install a "trap" on a new line if you only order cable ? Do not mean to stray off 6121 topic but did not want to create a new thread just to solicit input.