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Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf to Nightfall

Member

to Nightfall

Re: [Speed] Heads-Up: Time to Replace Your DOCSIS 2.0 Modem

I look at it this way, if their modem can't get them online, they won't be able to whine and complain online... Two birds one stone.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

It can be frustrating when some people are SO resistant to changes intended to help so many.
But ComCast really doesn't want to hurt any customer relationships if possible, which explains the long gentle process of moving everyone towards full D3 compliance.
While the process requires a small expense if you want to own your modem, or a small inconvenience of exchanging modems, but it's not like AT&T placing a "HUGE, BLACK MONOLITH-like, Lawn fridge" in front of your door.
In return, most people will find higher/more consistent speeds and new services available for many years because of the evolutionary plant upgrade.

EOL_Modem
@comcast.net

EOL_Modem to newview

Anon

to newview
said by newview:

So "hopefully not" meaning "possibly"? I have an old SB5100 she can use to save the $7 a month rental fee if Comcast is still using D2.0 modems in that area. How to find out? Just order the install and swap out the rental modem after determining if it's a D2.0 or D3.0?

Comcast has officially listed the SB5100 as End Of Life on their »mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/ site. Their EOL policy states:

End of Life basically means we will no longer install the device, either as a new or replacement device.

Of course, as with most Comcast policies, YMMV.
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

1 edit

Mr Matt to Mike Wolf

Member

to Mike Wolf
In late 2008 I considered replacing my D2 Modem with a D3 Modem. I stopped by the local customer service center and asked a Comcast employee if I should upgrade my modem to D3. They responded that the system did not support channel bonding and I would not receive any benefit from making the change. I again asked the same question of a Comcast employee in late 2010 and received the same answer. I guess I asked the wrong question in this thread, which should have been. Does the system servicing Eustis, Florida support D3 Modems? I will not replace my modem until I have been assured that the system will.

Furthermore what ever happened to the free modem offers. Back when I moved here in 2006, Circuit City offered a promotion which included a rebated covering the cost of the modem, performance broadband service at $20.00 per month for Six Months and a $100.00 CC gift card. Comcast should offer D1.1 and D2 customers a replacement D3 Modem at no charge or monthly fee if customer returns obsolete modem they own to Comcast.

Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI

Nightfall to EOL_Modem

MVM

to EOL_Modem
said by Anon80:

said by newview:

So "hopefully not" meaning "possibly"? I have an old SB5100 she can use to save the $7 a month rental fee if Comcast is still using D2.0 modems in that area. How to find out? Just order the install and swap out the rental modem after determining if it's a D2.0 or D3.0?

Comcast has officially listed the SB5100 as End Of Life on their »mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/ site. Their EOL policy states:

End of Life basically means we will no longer install the device, either as a new or replacement device.

Of course, as with most Comcast policies, YMMV.

I have found the policies under what modems they will install to be pretty tightly adhered to. In short, if they don't support it, they won't authorize it.

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

2 recommendations

EG to IowaCowboy

Premium Member

to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy:

I know this is off topic but what are the upcoming speed upgrades that are coming that are necessitating that D2 modems being mothballed?

It's not just about speeds. It's also about shared bandwidth / congestion / capacity factors and having a fatter pipe.
dstathop
join:2013-09-04
Madison, AL

dstathop to Nightfall

Member

to Nightfall
said by Nightfall:

I have found the policies under what modems they will install to be pretty tightly adhered to. In short, if they don't support it, they won't authorize it.

If only this were true, but by and large if a modem is on a tech's truck then it will get installed in your house, which is why a modem that is classified as end of life was installed in my house 2 weeks ago (Arris TM504G) and was authorized on their systems. Now if Comcast were really on their game they wouldn't have authorized a modem that they would want to replace in a few weeks time.

Which begs the question, should I start seeing communication from Comcast telling me to replace the modem that was just installed in my home?

Is this replacement of D2 modems a national corporate initiative or do regional franchises have some wiggle room here?
HerronScott
join:2004-12-23
Staunton, VA

HerronScott to Chris 313

Member

to Chris 313
said by Chris 313:

Both of you would benefit from the upgrade. Your brother especially, if he hasn't already swapped to a D3 Blast! capable modem. D1.x-D2 Modems will never see the 50/10 that Blast is these days, let alone the higher speeds any next upgrades will bring.

If you yourself haven't gotten any notice yet to replace your D2 modem, expect them to start real soon. They want these off the network in favor of D3 modems ASAP.

I already directed my brother to upgrade which he did since even with the promotion he was paying for service that he was not getting with his old cablemodem.

For myself, there aren't any benefits to upgrading at this point with the Performance tier. We don't have any performance or reliability issues so it would just be spending money for no gain. I'll wait until we get the alerts from Comcast and order it from Amazon at that time and with any luck they'll be even cheaper then.

Course looking at how long it took them to get D3 deployed in our area (town of 24,000) I bet it's quite some time before they decide to turn of D2 cablemodems around here.

Scott
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

Mr Matt

Member

HerronScott you make a good point. It would be a waste of money for a customer to upgrade a D2 Modem to a D3 Modem if the system has not been upgraded to support D3 Modems. When I asked a Comcast representative about upgrading my modem to an SB6120 in 2008 they warned me that I would receive no benefit by doing so and they were having problems activating D3 modems because the system had not yet been upgraded. I invite Comcast management to post a list of those cities where systems have not been upgraded to support D3 modems so customers served by those systems do not waste their money upgrading their modem. I placed my email address on the Comcast website list, in 2010, to be notified when speeds that require D3 Modems would be available and I have not yet received any notification. I have to assume that the system serving my home has not yet been upgraded.
AVonGauss
Premium Member
join:2007-11-01
Boynton Beach, FL

1 recommendation

AVonGauss

Premium Member

said by Mr Matt:

I placed my email address on the Comcast website list, in 2010, to be notified when speeds that require D3 Modems would be available and I have not yet received any notification. I have to assume that the system serving my home has not yet been upgraded.

I think the only assumption you can make is that you did not receive the e-mail, nor did I for that matter, yet here I am posting with DOCSIS 3.0 modem on a DOCSIS 3.x system.

newview
Ex .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD

newview to dstathop

Premium Member

to dstathop
said by dstathop:

Now if Comcast were really on their game they wouldn't have authorized a modem that they would want to replace in a few weeks time.

Of course, it *could* be a form of "job security" on the part of the tech.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

1 edit

1 recommendation

tshirt to Mr Matt

Premium Member

to Mr Matt
A lot of the world changed since 2008, or even 2010.
Who know how many email warnings you missed.
I don't believe they would have wasted resources contacting you, if you were not in an area going to be effected.
but as long as you don't complain too loudly on the day it stops working, I guess that's your choice.

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert to jlivingood

Premium Member

to jlivingood
Received the letter yesterday in the mail and went over to Amazon and purchased the SB6121.

Since I expect to see a tad faster speeds since I can now take advantage of the D3.0 network, I'm in the market for a new router (right now I have G router).

Thanks for the reminder Jason!

Chris 313
Because It's Geekier
Premium Member
join:2004-07-18
Houma, LA
·AT&T FTTP
·Comcast XFINITY

1 recommendation

Chris 313

Premium Member

said by Robert:

Received the letter yesterday in the mail and went over to Amazon and purchased the SB6121.

Since I expect to see a tad faster speeds since I can now take advantage of the D3.0 network, I'm in the market for a new router (right now I have G router).

Thanks for the reminder Jason!

Congrats for the upgrade. What plan are you on? Since you say you're expecting to see faster speeds (I'm on the Blast speed and pay for 50/10 but get anywhere from 55-65/11 off of it with the 6141) why did you buy a SB6121 (Which is a 4x4 modem) over a SB6141? (Which is an 8x4 modem and an instant upgrade if your system is 8x4 like mine is at the time I got the modem)

Not that the 6121 is a bad choice, but if you wanted to buy and be done with it for a few years, depending on how fast you want to go at the time, you might want to reconsider your purchase of the 6121 and take a look at these:

»www.amazon.com/ARRIS-Mot ··· ola+6141

Or

»www.amazon.com/Zoom-DOCS ··· om+5341j

(Either are 8x4 modems)

And since you mention router shopping:

»www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-D ··· +RT-N66U

Or

»www.amazon.com/RT-AC66U- ··· +RT-N66U

Hope you're good to go when all set up and enjoy your upgraded service regardless of which D3 modem you have.

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

I'm on the performance plan (currently provisioned at 28750 kbps/5750 kbps), so the 6121 should suit me fine for my needs.

Thanks for the router suggestions, I'll take a look at them.

ILpt4U
Premium Member
join:2006-11-12
Saint Louis, MO

1 recommendation

ILpt4U

Premium Member

I got the ASUS RT-N66U not too long ago to pair with my Moto 6121 -- good combo for me so far

Chris 313
Because It's Geekier
Premium Member
join:2004-07-18
Houma, LA
·AT&T FTTP
·Comcast XFINITY

Chris 313 to Robert

Premium Member

to Robert
said by Robert:

I'm on the performance plan (currently provisioned at 28750 kbps/5750 kbps), so the 6121 should suit me fine for my needs.

Thanks for the router suggestions, I'll take a look at them.

That makes more sense then. I'd think there will be at least 2-3 years of speed upgrades to go before it's time to swap out again.

You're welcome for the router suggestions. I have a N66U and it takes everything I've thrown at it and then some without a problem.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf to Chris 313

Member

to Chris 313
The 6121 is gonna be around a real long time so I'm not worried. Let's keep in mind that running a 4x4 modem in a 8x4 or even 12x4 network isn't going to be a problem because it'll still adjust the best 4 channels available out of the channel pool, which is awesome.

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert to Chris 313

Premium Member

to Chris 313
Click for full size
Now that I am up and running with the SB6121, I need a new router since this modem is complaining (through the front display LED) that it is not connected to a 100 or 1000 network (currently I have the WRt54GL).

Will review your recommendations Chris - THANKS!

Chris 313
Because It's Geekier
Premium Member
join:2004-07-18
Houma, LA
·AT&T FTTP
·Comcast XFINITY

Chris 313

Premium Member

said by Robert:

Now that I am up and running with the SB6121, I need a new router since this modem is complaining (through the front display LED) that it is not connected to a 100 or 1000 network (currently I have the WRt54GL).

Will review your recommendations Chris - THANKS!

Congrats. If memory serves, you're looking pretty good signal wise. Hope your connection is solid. And yeah, I was in the same boat, my modem didn't like my WRT54GL either. Once I got the Asus RT-N66U I use now, my network got real happy and was giving me up to 67 last night. If that's not a happy network, what is?

I look forward to hearing about your router improvements as well.

andyross
MVM
join:2003-05-04
Aurora, IL

andyross to Robert

MVM

to Robert
said by Robert:

Now that I am up and running with the SB6121, I need a new router since this modem is complaining (through the front display LED) that it is not connected to a 100 or 1000 network (currently I have the WRt54GL).

I used a 6120 with a WRT54GL for a long time (recently replaced modem with a Zoom 53141J). I wouldn't think the 6121 would be any different. I never had any issues.

Just how is the modem complaining? Normally, the link light should blink more or less continuously. It'll be orange since it should only 100Mbit.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

I think that's what he means, that it's orange (10/100) instead of blue (1,000)

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

Yea!
Robert

Robert to Chris 313

Premium Member

to Chris 313
Just installed the RT-N66u. Already see a major improvement in speed on my computer and other devices. Great device, not too big, not too small. Thanks for the recommendation!

NetDog
Premium Member
join:2002-03-04
Hollywood, FL

NetDog

Premium Member

said by Robert:

Just installed the RT-N66u. Already see a major improvement in speed on my computer and other devices. Great device, not too big, not too small. Thanks for the recommendation!

I like that ASUS router as well, works great with IPv6..

Chris 313
Because It's Geekier
Premium Member
join:2004-07-18
Houma, LA
·AT&T FTTP
·Comcast XFINITY

Chris 313 to Robert

Premium Member

to Robert
said by Robert:

Just installed the RT-N66u. Already see a major improvement in speed on my computer and other devices. Great device, not too big, not too small. Thanks for the recommendation!

Oh, I'm glad to hear that. It's worth every penny, ain't it? I get incredible speed off my 50/10 with the N66U too.

As long as the servers/devices can take it, I get every ounce of speed my connection is set for and then some. (Gotta love that Powerboost)

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

anybody using the AC66n? or see any big downside to it. The price is so close.... it's hard to resist

Chris 313
Because It's Geekier
Premium Member
join:2004-07-18
Houma, LA
·AT&T FTTP
·Comcast XFINITY

Chris 313

Premium Member

said by tshirt:

anybody using the AC66n? or see any big downside to it. The price is so close.... it's hard to resist

Huh? Do you mean »www.amazon.com/RT-AC66U- ··· +RT-N66U

NetDog
Premium Member
join:2002-03-04
Hollywood, FL

NetDog to tshirt

Premium Member

to tshirt
said by tshirt:

anybody using the AC66n? or see any big downside to it. The price is so close.... it's hard to resist

I have the AC version as well.. Nice model..

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt to Chris 313

Premium Member

to Chris 313
n UUn whats the difference..

yeah yeah that's what I meant