I recently found out that my normally cost-conscious father has been renting his modems from his ISP for like 25 years and for Christmas I want to give him the gift of not having to pay $15 a month to Comcast anymore, but I was hoping for some guidance.
He’s currently paying for 800mb/s and they have him Arris TG3482G wireless gateway.
He lives in a ~1700 sf one story (plus basement) housee. All three bedrooms (and maybe the kitchen?) are wired with with ethernet jacks if that matters. Both he and my mom have said the signal in their bedroom can occasionally get spotty (in the rough sketch of their house below, the router is in the basement roughly on the X, room with occasional coverage issues is red square). That initially made me think maybe I should look into a mesh network, but then I realized it could just be that the signal on those modem/router combos really is that bad and a decent traditional modem could suffice.
Their internet usage typically consists of your run of the mill web surfing and occasional streaming. My dad also works from home over the wired connection.
They recently moved their landline over to Xfinity, so the modem requires voice. The modems xfinity lists as compatible with their plan:
- NetgearCM2050V
- Motorola MT8733
- Arris T25
- Netgear CM1150V
- Arris SBV3202
- Netgear C7100V
- Motorola MT7711
- Arris SVG2482AC
- Arris SBV2402
Any thoughts on which modem and router would best fit their situation and needs? Obviously the CM2050V appears to be the superior modem on the list, but also seems like a overkill given their plan and usage habits (unless it’d be a good idea for a bit of future proofing in case their plan ever gets upgraded?).
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check to see if you will get unlimited bw or get stuck at 1.2 tb a month.
Depends on where you are. In northern New England they don’t have the cap because there’s competition here, but you do need their modem for the higher speed uploads (I’m stuck at 30mbit right now).
Can’t wait to get fiber installed next week.
Consolidated?
There are a ton of little fiber providers up here covering different areas. Just in my area are VTel, ECFiber, Lyme Fiber, Hub66, Fidium (Consolidated, as you mentioned), Burlington Fiber… it depends on where you are, but they’re being given money by the states to build out fiber lines since Comcast won’t get their shit together and just took the money and ran last time.
This. They’ve made it a wash with Xfinity with the Xfi Complete package - you pay for the modem but you get unlimited data. 1.2TB is nothing with a family of five, all gamers, streaming TV, etc.
Comcast still allows you to put the modem in bridge mode, at least for now. I run everything else on my own gear.
Honestly unless you’re prepared to be his on-call tech support for the rest of your life don’t do this.
Before you do this, ask yourself: “Are you prepared to be their internet tech-support ad infinitum?” Because they can’t just ‘call comcast’ when something goes wrong.
I have the CM1150V and have my eye on the CM2050V. These devices are modems only. There is no WiFi. You would need to get your father a separate WiFi router to go along with either device. Additionally, the 2050 has only 1 Ethernet port.
I have always owned my own modems and routers. Never had an issue. Now using eero+ mesh routers. Great service throughout my house and even detached garage.
Get a Motorola with DOCIS 3.1. Motorola makes great modems! You’ll also need to arrange to return the Comcast equipment to the company or else they’ll keep charging your dad the $15 a month.
My wife and I have older Boomer parents who aren’t local. I’ve intentionally let then stay on rented Xfinity modems, so that when they have a service issue, the provider owns the service, soup to nuts, and it’s their problem to solve.
OP. If you replace the modem, you are going to be the person providing tech support for your dad’s internet connection 24/7
Verizon Fios subscribers have the option of using a Verizon provided router (lease or purchase) or going with something else.
If a Fios user is having problems with Internet service and the person is using their own router, Verizon’s troubleshooting ends at the ONT. Using a Fios router…leased or purchased outright…will extend troubleshooting to the router.
People in this thread saying they lose Comcast service by op’s dad having their own modem obviously haven’t tried to use Comcast’s “service” ever. It’s not existent. Comcast goes out of their way not to help you no matter what service you have and no matter what modem you have. Buy one of their supported modems and they will still support it… The same crappy way they support their own modems. Source: I have my own modem on residential Comcast service and I also run a number of businesses that have Comcast equipment and there is no difference in the service level.
Getting him off the rent modem from Comcast is tricky if there is an issue with thr internet they will blame the modem if you own it. If they own it there responsible for any issues up to replacing them
Someone already mentioned this below but it’s worth calling out: Comcast drastically limits the upload speeds when you bring your own router. It’s terrible practice and it punishes advanced users but is what it is. So if your dad is currently utilizing faster upload speeds for work, then he can expect those to go down when you switch him to non-Comcast gear.
I was told by a Comcast rep recently that this policy is going away (at least where I live) by the end of ‘24 so bring your own gear will get the same upload speeds as their gear, but we’ll see if that happens.
So here’s the deal you’re in the 1.2 gig zone. Shit ain’t cheap. All troubleshooting happens on your end. Cables, cords and issues are on you.
If you are unfamiliar there’s no such thing as limiting speeds. Roku? It’s a lie. Asus you can go in a restrict and slow. It’s work. Other option you shut down when you get close. You get 3 complementary overages a year last I knew. The issue you. Can’t fight the speed. It’s gonna go as fast as it can. Speed used to be a 75 modem and router. It’s not. My modem was 150, had a coupon. Wi-Fi. What’s your budget. Unless you’re buying to slow there will be many instances you need to take the xfi unlimited deal.
How do I find out how to select a modem based on service and usage?
We had a purchased modem, Comcast came one day while I was not there, took the existing router we owned, and replaced it with another, then I’m sure to no ones surprise there was a rental fee…
How do we select the right replacement, and are there any procedural steps we need to take to Stop paying for a rental?
Arris S33 works pretty well
Are you sure they’re charging you for the modem and not the gateway/wifi features it comes on the device?, I’m almost certain they will lend you the modem at no cost of your internet plan and you can add your own router, their routers should have the capabilities of handling the internet speeds they sell, but generally speaking as all other comments says docsis 3.1 is the bare minimum any any with this compatbility will offer you speeds, WiFi and accessibility of managing your network would be best from a router vs modem tbh