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[Internet] backup modem with Time WarnerI've been with Time Warner Internet 4 years. The lease payments keep going up, so I want to buy a modem.
I don't know how often modems fail, but a backup seems like a good idea. Will TWC allow me to have two modems registered, so I can use either one as I wish? |
actions · 2015-Mar-22 1:32 pm · (locked) |
 swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME
2 recommendations |
swintec
Premium Member
2015-Mar-22 1:42 pm
No, it doesnt work like that. If money burns a hole in your pocket that much, buy an extra modem and put it in the closet. Once your other modem probably wont ever fail in a meaningful time frame, you will have a backup modem still in the box that is most likely no longer allowed on the network anyways because newer equipment is required. |
actions · 2015-Mar-22 1:42 pm · (locked) |
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC |
to handlebar
I started with TWC in early 1998. I've never had a modem fail. My parents got into the cable modem world sometime around 2007. They've had 1 fail due to a thunderstorm and an improperly grounded cable.
The grounding has been fixed.
I wouldn't waste money keeping a backup. Especially when you can run out to BestBuy and pick one up inside an hour or so. |
actions · 2015-Mar-22 2:05 pm · (locked) |
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Thanks, ke4pym and swintec. I've never had a modem fail, either. More than 20 years ago, a backup was important to my BIL. A surge too small for his protector to catch would routinely blow a tiny fuse in his modem, and it had to be replaced at the factory.
When Bellsouth began pushing DSL, my dialup speeds kept getting kicked down from about 53k to about 29k after I was online a few minutes. Switching ISPs didn't help. Because I had a backup modem, I could eliminate the possibility of modem trouble. It looked like Bellsouth sabotage, and I had no choice but to buy their DSL. |
actions · 2015-Mar-22 3:08 pm · (locked) |
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Amazon is your backup modem. It can deliver a new modem to you overnight, if need be. |
actions · 2015-Mar-22 4:05 pm · (locked) |
elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA |
to swintec
said by swintec:No, it doesnt work like that. If money burns a hole in your pocket that much, buy an extra modem and put it in the closet. Once your other modem probably wont ever fail in a meaningful time frame, you will have a backup modem still in the box that is most likely no longer allowed on the network anyways because newer equipment is required. Meh. Never had a problem with Time Warner disallowing a reasonably compatible modem, whether it is on the current list or not. Unless you feel you must have the latest, greatest modem, i.e. you have 300mbps for bragging rights - in which case you weren't looking to save money, just buy two, identical, *used* units, and put one the shelf. Odds are, the primary one will never fail, but if it does, the OP can restore service in under an hour, not wait 2-8 days for a unit to ship. In the meantime, the rental rate on the leased modem would have climbed another 50% - the OP will come out far ahead. |
actions · 2015-Mar-22 6:05 pm · (locked) |
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC |
to cousintim
said by cousintim:Amazon is your backup modem. It can deliver a new modem to you overnight, if need be. Pffbt. Considering BestBuy matches Amazon's price - get it same day and save on shipping. Amazon charges tax in these parts. So it's a wash price wise. |
actions · 2015-Mar-22 6:49 pm · (locked) |
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to elray
Thanks, elray. On their website, Time Warner lists 6 approved modems. If you click a button at the bottom of the list, it adds 17 more. If you ask for a printer-friendly, list, it shows all 23. That could be confusing. There doesn't seem to be a printer-friendly version of their activation instructions. I guess I'll save the web page.
I want wireless, but I decided to buy a wireless router separately, so there's less to go wrong with the modem. |
actions · 2015-Mar-22 6:50 pm · (locked) |
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC |
ke4pym
Premium Member
2015-Mar-22 6:56 pm
If you don't intend to pay for the ultimate package - pick up the SB6141. If you plan to get the ultimate package get the SB6183.
The all-in-one modems suck. Good call on going with a separate router. |
actions · 2015-Mar-22 6:56 pm · (locked) |
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Before I saw your reply, I ordered an Arris CM820A. Out of 244 Amazon reviews, 73% have 5 stars and 18% gave 4. |
actions · 2015-Mar-22 8:42 pm · (locked) |
1 recommendation |
to ke4pym
said by ke4pym:Considering BestBuy matches Amazon's price - get it same day and save on shipping. You assume that everyone lives near a BB. They don't. My point was that it is silly to keep a backup modem when a replacement can be quickly obtained. |
actions · 2015-Mar-22 9:51 pm · (locked) |
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC |
ke4pym
Premium Member
2015-Mar-22 9:52 pm
said by cousintim:You assume that everyone lives near a BB. They don't. OP lives close enough to one.... |
actions · 2015-Mar-22 9:52 pm · (locked) |
 hobgoblinSortof Agoblin
Premium Member
join:2001-11-25
Orchard Park, NY
1 recommendation |
to cousintim
said by cousintim:My point was that it is silly to keep a backup modem when a replacement can be quickly obtained. I keep a Porsche 924 as a back up in case my Mercedes does not start one cold morning. Hob |
actions · 2015-Mar-22 10:26 pm · (locked) |
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to cousintim
said by cousintim:Amazon is your backup modem. It can deliver a new modem to you overnight, if need be. Overnight? How about same day! Amazon offers same day delivery via Prime and Prime NOW for many popular products in major cities. |
actions · 2015-Mar-22 11:01 pm · (locked) |
 PamelaTSDigital Chick
join:2004-04-20
Dallas, TX |
to handlebar
Save your money in order to buy the latest greatest DOCSIS 3.1 modem when they become available in the next couple of years. In the mean time your current modem will likely not fail if it hasn't already. |
actions · 2015-Mar-23 12:28 am · (locked) |
1 recommendation |
to handlebar
If you want a backup for redundancy sake..then look to another service type provider. I have DSL and Cable in my home, using PfSense Load balance connections that need to be and dedicated for one service or another using rules..
I have not lost internet service since the second line in. Make sure you use different technologies if that is your goal. |
actions · 2015-Mar-23 10:23 am · (locked) |
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omghi2u
Member
2015-Mar-23 12:09 pm
said by modem_reset:If you want a backup for redundancy sake..then look to another service type provider. I have DSL and Cable in my home, using PfSense Load balance connections that need to be and dedicated for one service or another using rules..
I have not lost internet service since the second line in. Make sure you use different technologies if that is your goal. I would take it a step further and get a 4G/LTE connection so if a utility pole breaks or the physical cables are cut, you can still get service. You can plug in the usb modem to most routers these days and configure as the backup connection. |
actions · 2015-Mar-23 12:09 pm · (locked) |
1 recommendation |
to hobgoblin
I always pictured you in a Fiat hobgoblin with a Yugo as a backup. |
actions · 2015-Mar-23 3:12 pm · (locked) |
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 maartenaElmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA |
to handlebar
said by handlebar:I've been with Time Warner Internet 4 years. The lease payments keep going up, so I want to buy a modem.
I don't know how often modems fail, but a backup seems like a good idea. Will TWC allow me to have two modems registered, so I can use either one as I wish? No, you can only have one modem registered at a time. You can however just keep an extra modem, and when the modem fails you just swap it, and call them for re-activation. That whole deal can be done in under 15 minutes, unless you are on hold for a while with phone support. I wouldn't bother buying 2 modems though. Reality is that a modem can break in 6 months, but it might also work for 6 years. And by the time even 3 years have passed, both of your modems are going to be obsolete. There is even a good chance that if you buy a modem NOW, that in 3 years from now that particular modem will have been taken OFF of the supported modem list, and will no longer be activated (for new activations). Bottom line: Just buy one modem. If it ever fails, just run to the store and get a new one. Should you go down outside shopping hours, your risk of downtime is probably only around 12 hours, if the store is closed from 9 to 9.  |
actions · 2015-Mar-23 3:28 pm · (locked) |
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC |
ke4pym
Premium Member
2015-Mar-23 4:29 pm
said by maartena: and call them for re-activation. That whole deal can be done in under 15 minutes, unless you are on hold for a while with phone support. Ahahahahahaha. Odd you mention this! I called in yesterday morning to have my shiny new 6183 registered. At 30 minutes into the call the tech was still stumbling around. I asked to get escalated because it was taking too long. It took 6 minutes for the tech to transfer me. The other end rang, then went silent. After about 3 minutes, I went to hang up and the call dropped. Started cussing and dialing the number again. A call comes in as I'm about to yell at the IVR. Switch over, it's a T2 tech calling. He had it done in 45 seconds after he kicked the other guy out of my record. It ... was ... painful. |
actions · 2015-Mar-23 4:29 pm · (locked) |
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I understand that an approved modem can be registered online in 5 minutes. » www.timewarnercable.com/ ··· ion.html |
actions · 2015-Mar-23 4:55 pm · (locked) |
hobgoblinSortof Agoblin
Premium Member
join:2001-11-25
Orchard Park, NY
1 recommendation |
to Rick4769
said by Rick4769:I always pictured you in a Fiat hobgoblin with a Yugo as a backup. I have to say that made me laugh! Hob |
actions · 2015-Mar-23 5:55 pm · (locked) |
maartenaElmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA |
to handlebar
Yeah, but it doesn't work in 5 minutes. If you do online provisioning, the system only processes those every few hours, so there is a chance you will still be pulling your hair for a few hours wondering why it won't work. Telephone is much quicker, and activation is instant. |
actions · 2015-Mar-23 8:36 pm · (locked) |
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to omghi2u
No Cell where I live. Plus...i'm pulling ~500gb across 2 interfaces....caps would be an issue. |
actions · 2015-Mar-23 9:45 pm · (locked) |
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to maartena
said by maartena 
Yeah, but it doesn't work in 5 minutes. If you do online provisioning, the system only processes those every few hours, so there is a chance you will still be pulling your hair for a few hours wondering why it won't work.
Telephone is much quicker, and activation is instant.
[/bquote :I wonder why TW doesn't post on the web when they do online provisioning. My phone is VOIP. |
actions · 2015-Mar-23 10:26 pm · (locked) |
maartenaElmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA |
maartena
Premium Member
2015-Mar-24 9:53 am
Yeah I don't know why. But reports from many on this site that it may take up to 24 hours for the modem to actually activate when it is done online. I guess maybe that is said when you actually activate the modem. In any case, I have learned a long time ago that you DON'T ever use the chat service either, you just call and get to a person. All this online stuff may seem so convenient, but it doesn't always work, and more times then not when a problem is reported on this site.... it's because they tried to fix it using a chat session. |
actions · 2015-Mar-24 9:53 am · (locked) |
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If I tried to activate the modem online and it took 24 hours, would I be able to use my old modem in the mean time?
Lucky me! I went across the street to see if a neighbor could lend me a flywheel puller. He didn't have one, but there was a dust pan beside his gate. There was one item in the dust pan: a Time Warner splitter. I believe that means I can phone them with my old modem while the new one is hooked up for them to activate. |
actions · 2015-Mar-24 8:46 pm · (locked) |
 antdudeMatrix Ant
Premium Member
join:2001-03-25
US |
to swintec
said by swintec:No, it doesnt work like that. If money burns a hole in your pocket that much, buy an extra modem and put it in the closet. Once your other modem probably wont ever fail in a meaningful time frame, you will have a backup modem still in the box that is most likely no longer allowed on the network anyways because newer equipment is required. Local retail stores sell cable modems. Just go to them when the current cable modem has problems? |
actions · 2015-Mar-25 5:09 am · (locked) |
| antdude |
to cousintim
said by cousintim:Amazon is your backup modem. It can deliver a new modem to you overnight, if need be. Assuming his TWC still works. Maybe he needs a backup Internet provider too.  |
actions · 2015-Mar-25 5:10 am · (locked) |
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to maartena
said by maartena:Telephone is much quicker, and activation is instant. When I got my 5341j, I did it by phone and it still took over an hour to activate.. |
actions · 2015-Mar-25 8:38 am · (locked) |
