Author Topic: Internet modem purchase  (Read 5913 times)

Scnrn

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 10
Internet modem purchase
« on: January 24, 2015, 10:36:36 AM »
Hi,
I stopped by Comcast today to ask why our locked in rate went up $2 a month. Apparently it is now costing us $10 a month to "rent" the modem hence the increase in the locked in rate.The woman said it is fine to buy our own and apparent we need a D3 compliant one and a router for the WIFI.I looked at Amazon and have no idea how to determine what is a good one to buy.Anyone have any suggestions for this non tech type person?
It looks like they are about $130,so a 10 month payback,but the money won't be going to Comcast so that will make me happy.
Thank you,A

shuffler

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 572

Paul der Krake

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5854
  • Age: 16
  • Location: UTC-10:00
Re: Internet modem purchase
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2015, 12:10:48 PM »
No matter what you choose, do make sure that it is supported by your ISP. Even better is to pick a model that's widely supported by all ISP in the event you move away from comcast territory. For comcast, the page is located at

http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/

Scnrn

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 10
Re: Internet modem purchase
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2015, 01:17:31 PM »
Thanks.I will get reading.Think it will keep me busy! Never occurred  to me that Comcast would have anything about modems on their site.
I appreciate you taking the time to direct me to trustworthy information.Thank you. A

bacchi

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7056
Re: Internet modem purchase
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2015, 03:41:17 PM »
Surfboard 6121 works great for D3.

darkadams00

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 419
Re: Internet modem purchase
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2015, 03:51:26 PM »
+1 on the Surfboard. I just found out about our modem rental charge recently and kicked our previously free cable company's modem to the curb.

Scnrn

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 10
Re: Internet modem purchase
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2015, 06:25:52 PM »
Hi again.Read the links(after of course having to wait for the net to come back-a usual Comcast weekend event).
Does look like the Surf one is a good one to consider. Still confused on whether it is better to get a separate router.The tech guy(if I understood correctly)recommends getting separate devices.I am assuming that the "rental"has it built in.

Thanks again for the Comcast link since it does have the compatible ones and the links to the other threads.

BTW it doesn't even show on our bill that we are renting the modem so heads up to other Comcast users.

randymarsh

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1369
  • Location: Denver
Re: Internet modem purchase
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2015, 06:50:56 PM »
Just FYI, but the Internet is filled with horror stories of customers trying to return their Comcast modems to no avail. Comcast either doesn't send the box or shipping label or they do not acknowledge receipt of said modem. Comcast, as Worst Company in the Universe, has even sent people to collections over a modem they either A) never had or B) Returned.

It doesn't matter too much if you get an all-in-one modem/router/wireless access point. WiFi has increased in speed considerably in speed from it's early days, but most residential cable connections max out at ~100mbps. So it doesn't really matter if your access point can do 500mbps. That speed increase will only show up when transferring data from one device inside your house to another.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2015, 07:01:54 PM by thefinancialstudent »

caliq

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 675
Re: Internet modem purchase
« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2015, 06:59:03 PM »
Just FYI, but the Internet is filled with horror stories of customers trying to return their Comcast modems to no avail. Comcast either doesn't send the box or shipping label or they do not acknowledge receipt of said modem. Comcast, as Worst Company in the Universe, has even sent people to collections over a modem they either A) never had B) Returned.

I think the issues come up in 2 places:

1.  You return rented modem.  Comcast "forgets" and continues charging you to rent.  Solve this by keeping the receipt from the return.  I would physically bring the rented modem to your local Comcast equipment place, not try to return it through the mail. 

2.  You use your own modem, but eventually move and get a different provider.  Comcast insists you were actually renting their modem and bills you for not returning it.  Solve this by keeping the receipt from wherever you purchased the modem you own. 

civil

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 81
Re: Internet modem purchase
« Reply #9 on: January 24, 2015, 09:48:27 PM »
Just FYI, but the Internet is filled with horror stories of customers trying to return their Comcast modems to no avail. Comcast either doesn't send the box or shipping label or they do not acknowledge receipt of said modem. Comcast, as Worst Company in the Universe, has even sent people to collections over a modem they either A) never had B) Returned.

I think the issues come up in 2 places:

1.  You return rented modem.  Comcast "forgets" and continues charging you to rent.  Solve this by keeping the receipt from the return.  I would physically bring the rented modem to your local Comcast equipment place, not try to return it through the mail. 

2.  You use your own modem, but eventually move and get a different provider.  Comcast insists you were actually renting their modem and bills you for not returning it.  Solve this by keeping the receipt from wherever you purchased the modem you own.

1. +1. I received a series of malfunctioning Comcast equipment (cable boxes, modems) and returned every item to the local Comcast stores, minus the equipment I ended up with after many returns/exchanges. Kept the receipts. Comcast "forgot" everything I had returned and sent me to collections. Eventually I ended up talking to their legal department on the phone, in a 20 second conversation where I said I had all the receipts and they said, "oh. sorry. we'll take those off your account." Since they "forgot" all the equipment barcodes, they deleted all records of my renting equipment. When I moved, I brought my cable box and modem to the local store and they didn't have any record of my equipment. They actually told me to take it back home with me, since obviously the cable box with the big COMCAST on the side doesn't belong to Comcast if it's not in their records.

2. Keep your old Comcast bills. The bills have a line showing the modem rental. Yours should NOT have this line.


My current promotional deal is up next month and I've been told I can continue it if I call back the day after my promotion ends. I was quoted the same, pre-modem-fee-hike price. We'll see...

Daley

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4825
  • Location: Cow country. Moo.
  • Still kickin', I guess.
Re: Internet modem purchase
« Reply #10 on: January 25, 2015, 09:05:19 AM »
Still confused on whether it is better to get a separate router.The tech guy(if I understood correctly)recommends getting separate devices.I am assuming that the "rental"has it built in.

You read correctly, I do advocate keeping the router separate from the modem for a great many reasons. Lifetime costs, quality control, and non-catastrophic failure points past the modem being the biggest.

Regarding your assumption, if you only have one box that the coax cable plugs into, and that box has multiple ethernet connectors on the back and/or an antenna or two poking out of it, then yes... it's an all-in-one modem/router/wifi combo unit.

Buying parts separate, the only thing you'll need to remember with Comcast is as you're setting up your own equipment, you'll need to go into the stand alone router's settings before connecting it to the modem and find the setting that clones your computer's network MAC address to the router's WAN port itself (the port that plugs into the modem) in addition to the regular cable modem settings (which are simple), and then restart the router before connecting it to the modem. They never tell you about the MAC cloning part.

gGb164OwAY

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 6
Re: Internet modem purchase
« Reply #11 on: January 25, 2015, 09:08:12 AM »
Comcast customer here. Several months ago I reached the same conclusion as OP. Purchased and installed:

1. Motorola SurfBoard SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem - Retail Packaging - White ($87 from Amazon at the time). After receiving it, I called Comcast tech support (very competent folks), and they walked me through the authentication process (you have to call them, otherwise Comcast won't recognize the new device even if you plug it into your cable connection). Then I returned the old rented modem back to Comcast, and they removed the monthly modem rental charge from bill. Very happy with my new modem and the resulting savings (~1 year pay back period since Comcast charged $8 rental fee at the time).

2. ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router ($157 from Amazon at the time). This is a powerful piece of equipment, especially useful for apartment buildings where there is a lot of interference from other WIFI routers that your neighbors use. It took me some time (~2 hours) to configure the router properly, but once that investment was made, it is working very well. Big plus is that it has 5 Ghz band support, so you can use that on newer devices (e.g. iPad, newer iPhones, etc.) instead of the old 2.4 Ghz which typically suffers from mentioned interference from neighbor WIFI routers and is faster. (Be sure to update firmware on the router. I personally use Merlin ASUS firmware).

Hope it helps.

kpd905

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2029
Re: Internet modem purchase
« Reply #12 on: January 25, 2015, 09:14:11 AM »
I just did this too, kicking myself for not doing it sooner.  I paid that stupid modem fee for 2 years.

Scnrn

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 10
Re: Internet modem purchase
« Reply #13 on: January 25, 2015, 05:49:15 PM »
Sounds like I have some products to pursue.
IP Daley thank you for the explanation. My husband did confirm that the Comcast box is "all in one with router" What exactly is the MAC address I need to clone and where would I find that information?I have never heard of that term(I am totally a non-computer person,but I refuse to let Comcast defeat me).
Thanks Zabido for the explanation.I was wondering how exactly it worked once the box was here.
Onward!

Daley

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4825
  • Location: Cow country. Moo.
  • Still kickin', I guess.
Re: Internet modem purchase
« Reply #14 on: January 25, 2015, 06:22:48 PM »
Sounds like I have some products to pursue.
IP Daley thank you for the explanation. My husband did confirm that the Comcast box is "all in one with router" What exactly is the MAC address I need to clone and where would I find that information?I have never heard of that term(I am totally a non-computer person,but I refuse to let Comcast defeat me).

The MAC address is a unique identification number to every network adapter manufactured, but it can be faked. Routers will have an option in the settings to clone over the MAC address from your physical computer to use as the MAC address on the router itself. You really don't need to know what it is so much as simply find the setting in the router configuration and press the appropriate buttons.

As far as routers go, I'm inclined towards TPLink these days due to their prices for the features, the external antennas, and the good DD-WRT support on most of their TL-WDRxxxx series routers (the WDR3500/3600's are probably the best bang for the buck). Their factory default firmware, however, has a history of security issues (but so has nearly everyone else, including Asus). Most people honestly don't need to spend more than about $80 screaming max for a router, and less than $50 will probably get you fixed up. Also, don't be afraid to purchased used/refurbished.
« Last Edit: January 25, 2015, 06:24:59 PM by I.P. Daley »