ExiledInIllinois Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Looking for advice w/my home cable modem setup. I have been on the same wireless cable modem for years now. I want to say 2009/2010 or so? I am with Comcast and own a SurfBoard SBG901. The thing works great. Anyway, to make a long story short... I get a letter from Comcast yesterday saying that I NEED to upgrade my modem since a new one will take advantage of their recently upgraded speeds. Is this BS to get me to spend a couple hundred on something I really don't need. I suppose I am on borrowed time with my current rig. Should I upgrade or hide my head in the sand like a good Neo-Luddite. I do all my own tech stuff, but this has always been a struggle (modems/routers) for me... Like Greek @ times! This is one of the few things in my life that I just set up and forget about... Until now, when those bastards @ Comcast come a pestering... Again, everything is working great... For years... Should I swap it out? I love the combo gateway thing and have had good luck (as noted), should I stay that route? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Call Comcast and ask if your current modem will still be compatable with their network. It probably will be, but your current modem will not be able to utilize the full data rate that you will be paying for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 (edited) Looking for advice w/my home cable modem setup. I have been on the same wireless cable modem for years now. I want to say 2009/2010 or so? I am with Comcast and own a SurfBoard SBG901. The thing works great. Anyway, to make a long story short... I get a letter from Comcast yesterday saying that I NEED to upgrade my modem since a new one will take advantage of their recently upgraded speeds. Is this BS to get me to spend a couple hundred on something I really don't need. I suppose I am on borrowed time with my current rig. Should I upgrade or hide my head in the sand like a good Neo-Luddite. I do all my own tech stuff, but this has always been a struggle (modems/routers) for me... Like Greek @ times! This is one of the few things in my life that I just set up and forget about... Until now, when those bastards @ Comcast come a pestering... Again, everything is working great... For years... Should I swap it out? I love the combo gateway thing and have had good luck (as noted), should I stay that route? tell them that if they send you a new one for free you would gladly accept it. Edited October 24, 2014 by BillsFan-4-Ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Call Comcast and ask if your current modem will still be compatable with their network. It probably will be, but your current modem will not be able to utilize the full data rate that you will be paying for. Thanks... They do list my modem as EOL (End of Life) as 12/13. I wonder if that means what you said and it still would work okay... Just slow. I haven't noticed any problems w/connections being dropped. Through the years, I got a few here and there... Nothing I ever worried about outside of a reboot or signal refresh from time to time. I really don't want to have to shell out any money right now (tight wad) AND I most certainly do not want to lease from them. tell them that if they send you a new one for free you would gladly accept it. You bet! LoL... They probably snag a whole bunch of people who then lease... Say what the heck, why deal with this. I am not a super big downloader/streamer... Just working fine until I got that stupid letter. I know it (current modem) will crap out sooner or later. Why mess with something that is working fine? I guess they don't want me missing any TSW time! But I got mobile data! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Take a look at a Motorola SB6183 in combination with NetGear Nighthawk AC1900. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Take a look at a Motorola SB6183 in combination with NetGear Nighthawk AC1900. Thanks for the rec! I will. I was thinking about possibly going the separate route (modem/wireless router). Is it hard to configure? More like, confusing to configure. Like I said, for some reason I struggle w/this stuff... Concept, security, etc... Again, at times it all Greek! The one I got now, I was able to set it all up, make it secure, etc... What's the benny to not having a combo gateway (like the one I have now)? From my understanding... Separate, the modem is going to hook up to the cable and then hard connect (ethernet) to the router (say NetGear)... Then I would just configure the wireless router, right? Is it similar as my current gateway? For that I go to the Motorola residential gateway site, login and there are all my settings, security, firewall, etc... ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Thanks for the rec! I will. I was thinking about possibly going the separate route (modem/wireless router). Is it hard to configure? More like, confusing to configure. Like I said, for some reason I struggle w/this stuff... Concept, security, etc... Again, at times it all Greek! The one I got now, I was able to set it all up, make it secure, etc... What's the benny to not having a combo gateway (like the one I have now)? From my understanding... Separate, the modem is going to hook up to the cable and then hard connect (ethernet) to the router (say NetGear)... Then I would just configure the wireless router, right? Is it similar as my current gateway? For that I go to the Motorola residential gateway site, login and there are all my settings, security, firewall, etc... ? It's relatively easy to set up via its web based interface: http://youtu.be/hIQrywVynq4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 http://youtu.be/_sNkiqvq1bE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Holy Smokes! I can give my whole neighborhood free WiFi! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynical Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Thanks... They do list my modem as EOL (End of Life) as 12/13. I wonder if that means what you said and it still would work okay... Just slow. I haven't noticed any problems w/connections being dropped. Through the years, I got a few here and there... Nothing I ever worried about outside of a reboot or signal refresh from time to time. I really don't want to have to shell out any money right now (tight wad) AND I most certainly do not want to lease from them. As a present a Comsuck customer, you should be happy they sent you a letter. I never got one when they EOL/EOS my modem. Bottom line, you are going to have to upgrade. If you have already been notified your modem as reached EOL (12/13), than EOS (End of Support) will take place. What does that mean? No "Internets" for you unless you upgrade. http://customer.comcast.com/help-and-support/internet/end-of-life-devices/ Typically, if a device is identified as EOL, it will subsequently move to end of support (EOS) status, this includes all DOCSIS 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0 devices. This means that when a device reaches EOS status, it will no longer work on our network or be compatible with our network and/or services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 As a present a Comsuck customer, you should be happy they sent you a letter. I never got one when they EOL/EOS my modem. Bottom line, you are going to have to upgrade. If you have already been notified your modem as reached EOL (12/13), than EOS (End of Support) will take place. What does that mean? No "Internets" for you unless you upgrade. http://customer.comcast.com/help-and-support/internet/end-of-life-devices/ That's what I am fearing... Hoping to get a new one in a couple of weeks. Thanks for all the help and advice! @26CornerBlitz: I am leaning towards your suggestion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 That's what I am fearing... Hoping to get a new one in a couple of weeks. Thanks for all the help and advice! @26CornerBlitz: I am leaning towards your suggestion! You'd be well set up for the future with more and more wireless ac capable devices becoming available. Good luck with whatever path you decide upon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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