How hard or easy is it to buy and setup your own cable modem?

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Schfifty Five

Lifer
Oct 20, 2005
10,978
44
91
I'm tired of paying $5-7 (whatever it costs) a month to rent out an old cable modem from Time Warner.

I looked on amazon and saw this one which appears to be on the approved list of cable modems for TWC.

Seems a bit pricy but I've already paid more than that over the years in stupid rental fees.

How easy is it to install/setup this modem? Is it just plug and play?

I'm currently using this one.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Update: I got the modem and installed it this past tuesday. Had to call up TWC to have them change/activate the MAC ID on the new modem. First rep spent about 20 minutes trying to get it to work. They could connect to the modem but the "codes" were invalid so they kicked it up to level 2 to have them give it a shot. Took another 20 min for them to mess around and still could not get the "codes" to update properly. I type "codes" like that b/c I don't really know what they are and that's what they said on the phone.

So then they kicked me up to level 3 and I waited about 10 minutes when I noticed my internet was finally working. Hung up and haven't had any issues with internet since.

So overall experience wasn't horrible, but took longer than I had originally expected.
 
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Chapbass

Chapbass

Diamond Member
May 31, 2004
3,147
96
91
Yeah, most cable modems are just plug it in and let it rip. Some cable companies track the mac address, so you may need to either tell them the MAC of your new cable modem, or (if possible) you could also spoof it to the old one.
 
JulesMaximus

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,584
985
126
You might need to call Time Warner and give them some information about the modem (MAC Address) to get it to work but that is pretty simple to do.

Setting up the modem itself is pretty easy. They usually come with decent instructions.
 
Gunslinger08

Gunslinger08

Lifer
Nov 18, 2001
13,234
2
81
Last edited:
S

Schfifty Five

Lifer
Oct 20, 2005
10,978
44
91
Chapbass said:
Yeah, most cable modems are just plug it in and let it rip. Some cable companies track the mac address, so you may need to either tell them the MAC of your new cable modem, or (if possible) you could also spoof it to the old one.
Click to expand...

JulesMaximus said:
You might need to call Time Warner and give them some information about the modem (MAC Address) to get it to work but that is pretty simple to do.

Setting up the modem itself is pretty easy. They usually come with decent instructions.
Click to expand...

Gunslinger08 said:
Cheaper at Walmart: http://www.walmart.com/ip/20742485?w...599990&veh=sem

I'm not on TWC, but for my ISP I just:
1. Bought the modem.
2. Replaced their modem with mine.
3. Called them and told them.
4. Returned rented modem and kept the receipt they gave me.
5. Profit.

If you look at TWC's instructions, they're basically what I said. Buy the modem, hook it up, call them with MAC address, return rented modem.

https://www.timewarnercable.com/en/support/internet/topics/buy-your-modem.html
Click to expand...

Thank you all. Seems pretty simple then. I am going to shop around for a better price for the 6141 if I can, otherwise I might just order from Amazon.
 
A

apsbob

Junior Member
Oct 22, 2006
9
0
61
I am also on Time-Warner. I switched to the SB6141 and it works like a charm. Basically all you do is call T-W and give them the MAC address when you switch. I have the T-W telephone. The phone jacks were in the modem so I used a splitter with coax going to both modems. I use the T-W modem for my landline phone and the SB6141 for my internet. They no longer charge me rental charge for the phone. Weird I know, but that's the way it works.
 
RossMAN

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
79,028
437
136
Schfifty Five said:
How easy is it to install/setup this modem? Is it just plug and play?

I'm currently using this one.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

On a scale of 1-10, it's a difficulty level of 1 maybe 1.5

Buy approved modem, plug it in, connect cable coax, using supplied Ethernet cable connect to computer, follow instructions. Restart, open web browser, visit a website, usually you'll be redirected to your cable company's web site where it asks for MAC ID, serial number, account number, etc. should be up and running about 5 minutes later. Done.

The Moto SB6141 goes on sale every few months for around $70, just buy it!

$5 per month x 12 months = $60 per year in rental fees
$120 for 2 years
$180 for 3 years

I can keep going

If an idiot like me can install a cable modem, I'm sure you'll do just fine.
 
A

alpineranger

Senior member
Feb 3, 2001
701
0
76
All currently supported cable modems are DOCSIS compliant. Even from the earliest DOCSIS 1.X standards life is very easy for the consumer. The ISP is responsible for pushing all configuration and updates from their end. All you need to do is plug it in, and make sure the ISP knows what model (remember, all support needs to come from them) and mac address.

My advice, if you're not buying a level of service that promises 50Mbps+ speeds, just get an old DOCSIS 2.X modem off craigslist; they're cheap and there weren't many different models made, and should still generally be supported by the cable companies. I've bought spare used DOCSIS 2.0 cable modems for <$20.
 
VirtualLarry

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,587
10,225
126
alpineranger said:
My advice, if you're not buying a level of service that promises 50Mbps+ speeds, just get an old DOCSIS 2.X modem off craigslist; they're cheap and there weren't many different models made, and should still generally be supported by the cable companies. I've bought spare used DOCSIS 2.0 cable modems for <$20.
Click to expand...

Sure, if you want [poor] service quality and more congestion during primetime, by all means, stick with outdated technology that the cable cos. are phasing out.
 
S

Schfifty Five

Lifer
Oct 20, 2005
10,978
44
91
RossMAN said:
On a scale of 1-10, it's a difficulty level of 1 maybe 1.5

Buy approved modem, plug it in, connect cable coax, using supplied Ethernet cable connect to computer, follow instructions. Restart, open web browser, visit a website, usually you'll be redirected to your cable company's web site where it asks for MAC ID, serial number, account number, etc. should be up and running about 5 minutes later. Done.

The Moto SB6141 goes on sale every few months for around $70, just buy it!

$5 per month x 12 months = $60 per year in rental fees
$120 for 2 years
$180 for 3 years

I can keep going

If an idiot like me can install a cable modem, I'm sure you'll do just fine.
Click to expand...


I just bought one from newegg using the $25 off citiwallet deal. So after I get my $25 credit, it'll be $65, free shipping, no tax. Not too bad I think.
 
S

Schfifty Five

Lifer
Oct 20, 2005
10,978
44
91
Update: I got the modem and installed it this past tuesday. Had to call up TWC to have them change/activate the MAC ID on the new modem. First rep spent about 20 minutes trying to get it to work. They could connect to the modem but the "codes" were invalid so they kicked it up to level 2 to have them give it a shot. Took another 20 min for them to mess around and still could not get the "codes" to update properly. I type "codes" like that b/c I don't really know what they are and that's what they said on the phone.

So then they kicked me up to level 3 and I waited about 10 minutes when I noticed my internet was finally working. Hung up and haven't had any issues with internet since.

So overall experience wasn't horrible, but took longer than I had originally expected.
 
JackMDS

JackMDS

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 25, 1999
29,553
430
126
It is "crap shoot".

At this point if something happened and you need TWC service coming to your home you would pay full charge for home visit (since the modem is No their).
) and your "big" saving will be wipe in a "second". :(



:cool:
 
M

mikeford

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2001
5,671
160
106
JackMDS said:
It is "crap shoot".

At this point if something happened and you need TWC service coming to your home you would pay full charge for home visit (since the modem is No their).
) and your "big" saving will be wipe in a "second". :(



:cool:
Click to expand...

So if you have a problem, stop at the TWC store and rent a modem, return it when issues are resolved.
 
Ichinisan

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
That one you have (Motorola SB5100 series) shows up at Goodwill all the time...often new and unused.
 
Ichinisan

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
Chapbass said:
Yeah, most cable modems are just plug it in and let it rip. Some cable companies track the mac address, so you may need to either tell them the MAC of your new cable modem, or (if possible) you could also spoof it to the old one.
Click to expand...

Modems don't let you spoof the MAC address without hacking them.

When you try to use a CM with the unprovisioned MAC, most cable companies will allow it to lock-on, but it will hijack DNS look-up and show a page that allows you to register it to your account. At that point, the other CM should stop working.

My employer is a smaller ISP and customers have to call us and give us the MAC ID from the newer modem.
 
ch33zw1z

ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
39,781
20,372
146
JackMDS said:
It is "crap shoot".

At this point if something happened and you need TWC service coming to your home you would pay full charge for home visit (since the modem is No their).
) and your "big" saving will be wipe in a "second". :(
:cool:
Click to expand...

You're still responsible for the in home cabling, even if you lease their device.

If you start having problems with just the modem, it's still your responsibility to check problems inside the home, it's the Telco's responsibility from the pole to the outside home, IIRC. The phone support will check modem levels first, and probably try to refresh (reset) the modem before trying anything else.
 
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