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relish
join:2009-07-21
Sterling Heights, MI

relish to egeek84

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Re: [Connectivity] How do YOU reset your Comcast modem?

I don't see an Xfinity button. :/

EG
The wings of love
Premium Member
join:2006-11-18
Union, NJ

EG to PeteC2

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to PeteC2
said by PeteC2:

There is no need to unplug or remove the battery, hold the reset for "x" amount of seconds, or any of that. The time that it takes for the eMTA to reset is sufficient unto itself.

FWIW, I've seen this before. Sometimes there is a hardware malfunction with the mechanical reset button where removing the backup battery and simultaneously unplugging the A.C. power cord for about a minute is needed to perform a full hard reset.

Also, if one uses the reset button on the rear, it should be held in long enough until you see the front panel indicator lights begin to cycle and then released.
relish
join:2009-07-21
Sterling Heights, MI

relish

Member

FWIW, it's worth a lot! That's the kind of insight I've been seeking. Only thing I wonder is why Comcast suggests turning off the router too. I've never had to. Is there a small percentage of routers out there that tend to be finicky?

egeek84
Premium Member
join:2011-07-28
Livermore, CA

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said by relish:

I don't see an Xfinity button. :/

Weird, mine is there between CM State and Advance :/
relish
join:2009-07-21
Sterling Heights, MI

relish

Member

Lucky... I only see CM State and Advance.

@EG - You know why this is? We have the same modem.

egeek84
Premium Member
join:2011-07-28
Livermore, CA

egeek84

Premium Member

said by relish:

Lucky... I only see CM State and Advance.

@EG - You know why this is? We have the same modem.

oh i'm a dumbass. Im sorry I thought I had hte 722g, I just checked though and mine is a TG862G.
relish
join:2009-07-21
Sterling Heights, MI

relish

Member

OoooOOoOooo I want new model! :P

EG
The wings of love
Premium Member
join:2006-11-18
Union, NJ

1 recommendation

EG

Premium Member

said by relish:

OoooOOoOooo I want new model! :P

You don't want that gateway device or any gateway device for that matter !!

egeek84
Premium Member
join:2011-07-28
Livermore, CA

egeek84

Premium Member

said by EG:

said by relish:

OoooOOoOooo I want new model! :P

You don't want that gateway device or any gateway device for that matter !!

Agreed. The wifi in this thing absolutely BLOWS. Bridge Mode was one of the first things I did upon getting it. When I first got voice installed I asked the guy if I could have just a EMTA modem since I already have a router but he said this was all they were giving out now
relish
join:2009-07-21
Sterling Heights, MI

relish

Member

Can you just not use the modem router? I don't want to ditch my 3700 router for some sub-par Comcast one.

AnonMan
@comcast.net

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I got you all beat, I am lazy. I just call the 800 number, hit the option for troubleshoot and hit option to send refresh signal... boom modem boots and forces re-download of all :P lol
relish
join:2009-07-21
Sterling Heights, MI

relish

Member

said by AnonMan :

I got you all beat, I am lazy. I just call the 800 number, hit the option for troubleshoot and hit option to send refresh signal... boom modem boots and forces re-download of all :P lol

It's sad I've heard that message so many times calling Comcast throughout the years and yet forgot all about that method.

plencnerb
Premium Member
join:2000-09-25
53403-1242

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Well, since the Subject of this thread is "How do YOU reset your Comcast Modem", I figured I would post what my process is.

Before I do that, here is what is running in my house

Cable Modem: Arris TM722G
Router: Using an old dell tower running PFSense
Connected devices: 3 Desktops connected via CAT5 to the PFSense box via an 8-port netgear switch.

Step #1: Power off two of the desktops in the house.

Step #2: Using the remaining running desktop, I use the web interface to power down my PFSense box.

Step #3: Power of the last desktop.

Step #4: Unplug the AC cord to my 8-port switch.

Step #5: Unplug the AC Cord from the back of my modem, and pull the battery.

Step #6: Wait 1 to 2 minutes.

Step #7: Plug the battery back into the modem, and plug in the AC cord as well.

Step #8: Wait for the modem to power up. Not sure how long this takes as I have never timed it, but I know by looking at the lights on the modem when it is done. All the lights will be solid green, except for the light on Telephone Line #2 (as only one phone line is connected), and the Link light, as the router is powered off. With it being an old Dell tower, it does not have Wake On Lan features.

Step #9: Power up my PFSense Box. Again, not sure how long that takes, but I know its up and running when it plays a little tune through the PC Speaker.

Step #10: Plug the AC Power back into my switch, and power up one of the three desktops.

Step #11: Verify that I can reach the modem's status page, PFSense Web pages, and the internet.

Step #12: Power up desktop #2, and verify I can reach the internet.

Step #13: Power up desktop #3, and verify I can reach the internet.

Is that a lot of steps? Probably. Is it over-kill? Probably as well. However, I remember reading that it is always best to power off (or at least disconnect) everything, and start with the modem first, then your router, and then connect any devices to the router.

--Brian
relish
join:2009-07-21
Sterling Heights, MI

relish

Member

This was the kind of response I was hoping for. Nicely done! I find it very interesting that you're using a standalone PC to serve as a router. Never heard of anyone doing that before!

If you are using a router, it seems totally pointless to turn off PCs. I even find powering off the router debatable on whether or not that is necessary. The recent Blast 50 upgrade only required a quick modem reset. Wonder if using a high end router (WNDR3700) makes it more or less important to reset.

plencnerb
Premium Member
join:2000-09-25
53403-1242

plencnerb

Premium Member

said by relish:

This was the kind of response I was hoping for. Nicely done! I find it very interesting that you're using a standalone PC to serve as a router. Never heard of anyone doing that before!

Not a problem. As far as using a standalone PC for the router, I actually got the idea from news articles that were posted to the front page of this site.

The first was posted to the front page by ryan711 See Profile back on Tuesday, March 20, 2012.

The article was called "Exploring DIY Linux Router Distros: Enterprise Power for Home Users". Here is a link for that article

»Exploring DIY Linux Router Distros [98] comments

The 2nd article was posted by RyanC6 See Profile back on Monday, May 07, 2012. The link to that is below

»Securing Your Home Network Utilizing Multiple Network Interfaces [0] comments
said by relish:

If you are using a router, it seems totally pointless to turn off PCs. I even find powering off the router debatable on whether or not that is necessary. The recent Blast 50 upgrade only required a quick modem reset. Wonder if using a high end router (WNDR3700) makes it more or less important to reset.

Again, I'm not sure how much it really makes a difference if you are using a "normal" router (like a Netgear, Linksys, etc). I always remember that order of startup is important, and starting with the Cable Modem, then router, then PC's was the way to make sure each item was up and running before going on to the next.

When Speed changes have happened to me in the past, I've always done it that way. Not saying you need to do all that just to get a new configuration file for a speed increase, as others have said they just "reset" their cable modem by the little button on the back. I think its just me being overly cautious. In any case, those are the steps that I go though, and since you asked, I figured I would pass them along.

--Brian
aabaaf
join:2011-12-09
Wheaton, IL

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The reason they say to power off both the modem and the router is to MAKE SURE, that everything gets the new information. Old routers especially, but even new one's to make sure that all of the old information is flushed out, and that both the modem and router are using the new information. As far as EMTA's if they have a battery backup, which most do, you need to unplug it from the electrical outlet AND remove the battery. If you don't remove the battery then the unit still has power, so it does not have all of the information in it wiped out, and then need to pull all of the new information, config files, etc...... from COMAST/Xfinity.
relish
join:2009-07-21
Sterling Heights, MI

relish

Member

said by aabaaf:

The reason they say to power off both the modem and the router is to MAKE SURE, that everything gets the new information. Old routers especially, but even new one's to make sure that all of the old information is flushed out, and that both the modem and router are using the new information. As far as EMTA's if they have a battery backup, which most do, you need to unplug it from the electrical outlet AND remove the battery. If you don't remove the battery then the unit still has power, so it does not have all of the information in it wiped out, and then need to pull all of the new information, config files, etc...... from COMAST/Xfinity.

Very good explanation. However, as far as EMTAs go, it sounds like removing the battery may not be necessary. As I mentioned above, my TM722G pulled the new speeds immediately by simply holding the reset button for a few minutes. Never turned a computer off. Never reset the router.

It must be an issue with older routers.
aabaaf
join:2011-12-09
Wheaton, IL

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Yes, hitting the reset button does not require you to unplug from the wall outlet, and remove the battery. But after speaking with a few different TS people at Comcast, and techs that have come to my house, they don't really recommend hitting that button. Something about it resets more than you think. Most of the time it will just reset the modem and you can proceed, but they all said, don't use that to reset the EMTA unless instructed to do so by them. Unplug and remove battery. As far as routers go, yes, it probably is only older routers, but what is an OLDER router these days? Something that came out last week, "could be" considered an older router. Also with literally hundreds of different brands, what models for each line are considered old? Which is why they recommend resetting both, that way, there's no oh you have a X router, model YYRHG-03, that one you don't need to reset, now had you had the YYRHG-02, then..........

EG
The wings of love
Premium Member
join:2006-11-18
Union, NJ

EG

Premium Member

Routers don't care about speed changes. They talk ethernet /TCP IP to the modem. They don't need to be powercycled or reset for a speed upgrade. Only the modem has to pull a new config / re-register with the system.

plencnerb
Premium Member
join:2000-09-25
53403-1242

plencnerb

Premium Member

True, Routers don't care that your config file on the modem allows you to download at 25 MB before and 50 MB now.

However, depending on HOW you reset your modem could effect what your router does. If your process to reboot your modem is somewhat like mine, you may pull a new IP when the modem comes back up (as it was off to long). Depending on the router, there may be extra steps to get things to work now that you have a new IP.

But, that all depends on how you reset the modem. In my case, I think PFsense would flip out if I did not reboot it.

Of course, YMMV.

--Brian