Question Xfinity 100mbps modem

[Fardringle]

I've been cruising along for years with an Xfinity 60mbps plan, which is more than enough for my needs. But recently I got an offer to 'upgrade' to 100mbps for about 2/3rds of the price I have been paying. Unfortunately, my 5+ year old modem doesn't seem to be able to support the higher speeds so I need a new inexpensive modem.

Reviews I found online seem to mostly be recommending the Netgear CM500 or ARRIS SB6183 as good budget options (about $60-70). Is there anything else in that price range that might be a better option, or is one of those two likely to be most reliable?

I honestly don't care a lot about getting the max possible speed. I just want something that is likely to last a while without having connectivity/downtime issues.

 

[mnewsham]

Either CM500 or SB6183 are good options, both are 16x4 DOCSIS channels and should offer identical performance.

They should also be good for 300mbps+, not that you need it currently.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I run a SB6183, solid modem.

 

[ElFenix]

i've had a 6183 for years now, works fine.

 

[Fardringle]

Thanks. If they are otherwise pretty much equal, I'll go with the Arris 6183.

 

[SamirD]

6183 is solid for sure, but the 343Mbps limit is a bit dated. I have 2x 6190s with the 600+Mbps and they work great. You can pick these up for $50 at walmart last time I checked, and I've never had any issues with latency and both modems pass all sorts of puma tests as well as having a 24x7 ipsec tunnel between them that is running latency sensitive applications across it. The whole 'puma' scare was a bunch of bs from my experience. But it did allow me to buy one of my modems open box for dirty cheap.

 

[ch33zw1z]

6183 is solid for sure, but the 343Mbps limit is a bit dated. I have 2x 6190s with the 600+Mbps and they work great. You can pick these up for $50 at walmart last time I checked, and I've never had any issues with latency and both modems pass all sorts of puma tests as well as having a 24x7 ipsec tunnel between them that is running latency sensitive applications across it. The whole 'puma' scare was a bunch of bs from my experience. But it did allow me to buy one of my modems open box for dirty cheap.

That's a fair point. If you can get a newer model for a good price, go for it.

 

[KentState]

I would also get the fastest one you can find around $60.

 

[mindless1]

In context, if you're only now upgrading to 100Mb, how likely is it that you're going to need a 600Mb+ modem soon? There are several 16x4 or higher channel(s) modems on Amazon Warehouse for under $50.

Amazon.com : modem

Here's a CM500 for $21 ($27 - 20% discount shown at checkout):

Amazon.com: NETGEAR Cable Modem CM500 - Compatible with all Cable Providers including Xfinity by Comcast, Spectrum, Cox | For Cable Plans Up to 300 Mbps | DOCSIS 3.0

Amazon.com: NETGEAR Cable Modem CM500 - Compatible with all Cable Providers including Xfinity by Comcast, Spectrum, Cox | For Cable Plans Up to 300 Mbps | DOCSIS 3.0

www.amazon.com

Some will warn that there is a risk with non-new/retail product, of the modem already being reserved ("in the system") for a prior owner on your ISP and can't be activated with that ISP due to that, but odds are it isn't and if it is, you can simply return it. Plus, Amazon warehouse items often aren't really "used" at all despite that word (so don't even have that small risk), are just damaged packaging and even if the description is "cosmetic imperfections" it usually means the package not the product.

I don't find it practical to pay much more for a modem to get more channels than you're likely to need in the next 5 years, which is about what I consider the service life of consumer grade network gear. Granted my modems have often outlived some other networking gear like switches or routers, but if you snag a deal on them, it is more cost effective to replace before they fail and reduce the chances of suffering any downtime (and still have your old modem in working condition if replaced before it fails, redundancy is good).

Any of the modems mentioned in this topic are likely to be supported by xfinity but you should consult their modem support page to be certain.

 

[SamirD]

Getting a deal that cheap is definitely worth it, but what I've seen is that isps are 'retiring' modem support from their system much faster than the modems stop working, so a fully working cm500 may be retired next year and then you're having to buy again.

 

[mindless1]

Getting a deal that cheap is definitely worth it, but what I've seen is that isps are 'retiring' modem support from their system much faster than the modems stop working, so a fully working cm500 may be retired next year and then you're having to buy again.

That has not been my experience. More often, the ISP will just stop activating new accounts with older modems but do not remove existing support (do nothing to make the modem stop working) for customers already using those modems.

 

[SamirD]

That has not been my experience. More often, the ISP will just stop activating new accounts with older modems but do not remove existing support (do nothing to make the modem stop working) for customers already using those modems.

Yes, but if a particular modem step working and you need to reactivate it, they won't do it. For the few extra bucks to not have to mess with it again, it's worth that to me. Besides, most modems can move when people move too and service speeds keep going up.

 

[mindless1]

^ There is no such thing as a moden stops working and needing to reactivate [this modem already on your existing account]. Further there is no indication that CM500 support is being dropped any time soon.

They have a modem support list for exactly this reason. If the modem is on it, it's fine.

Let's suppose that 4 years from now, it is time to upgrade the modem again. That works out to $6/yr, when a $60 modem that lasts, say 5 years works out to $12/yr. You still have to activate a new modem, slightly more often but this is (with most ISPs) a very quick and easy thing to do.

Last time I upgraded my modem, I didn't even need to talk to a human, just call a number and hit some buttons on my phone, done in 3 minutes with no waiting. Some ISPs make it even simpler and a new modem goes to their walled garden registration page to get it done so you don't even need a phone.

It just seems like the bigger issue is worrying about things that aren't likely to be a problem, but that you're going to do that either way and one way saves more money than the other.

 

[SamirD]

^ There is no such thing as a moden stops working and needing to reactivate [this modem already on your existing account]. Further there is no indication that CM500 support is being dropped any time soon.

They have a modem support list for exactly this reason. If the modem is on it, it's fine.

Let's suppose that 4 years from now, it is time to upgrade the modem again. That works out to $6/yr, when a $60 modem that lasts, say 5 years works out to $12/yr. You still have to activate a new modem, slightly more often but this is (with most ISPs) a very quick and easy thing to do.

Last time I upgraded my modem, I didn't even need to talk to a human, just call a number and hit some buttons on my phone, done in 3 minutes with no waiting. Some ISPs make it even simpler and a new modem goes to their walled garden registration page to get it done so you don't even need a phone.

It just seems like the bigger issue is worrying about things that aren't likely to be a problem, but that you're going to do that either way and one way saves more money than the other.

You haven't dealt with enough isps or cable internet service long enough then to go through a carrrier back-end equipment change. It does happen.

Depending on the isp, they may not even support the cm500. The isp chooses that, not the consumer.

If it's 4 years from now, then you're living somewhere with a stagnant Internet industry. I've seen upgrades from 60M to 1G in the last 7 years at almost all my sites. A free 100Mbps upgrade isn't uncommon as I just got one of those at one of my sites.

You and I are saavy enough to do that if we've got the spare time (I don't). But for others it's worth it to pay $20-40 more and not deal with any bs down the road. Their time is more valuable since this stuff stresses them out.

And I know how to penny pinch with the best of them, but money is only a tool--learn how to use the tool to do what you want while making sure you have enough tools--that's the name of the game.

 

[mindless1]

^ It is strange that you are inventing this fiction. No, once your modem is accepted on the account, it is tied to that account and will continue to work after the ISP stops taking new customers. As of right now, there are multiple sources stating xfinity supports CM500.

The matter of 4 years is not a matter of max speed possible but rather what a person opts to pay for. Apparently you were not reading carefully because the opening statement to this topic reads as follows:

I've been cruising along for years with an Xfinity 60mbps plan, which is more than enough for my needs. But recently I got an offer to 'upgrade' to 100mbps for about 2/3rds of the price I have been paying.

This pretty clearly suggests that the OP would rather save money than throw it at more internet speed than needed, and that the only thing prompting this modem change is to support 100Mb. You would like to ignore these facts and steer someone towards something else for illogical reasons not supported by the facts of what usually happens with modem obsolescence, that it is very unlikely that xfinity is going to end support for CM500 any time soon because it is Docsis3, because it is 16 channels, and because they're offering 100Mb plans which don't even need 16 channels.

What they would do first is stop registering new accounts with 8 channel modems. I see plenty of 8 channel modems on their support list.

Xfinity Help and Support Forums

Let's look at it from past history until now. What if the OP had asked this 4 years ago and at that time, everyone said to pay more for a 16 channel modem. Wouldn't that have been wasted money based on the history? An 8 channel would've been less expensive and still faster than is needed now, yet due to age, soon should be retired anyway. The difference in frequency of activating a new modem is not much, while the difference in price in this example, was over 250%.

 

[SamirD]

^ It is strange that you are inventing this fiction. No, once your modem is accepted on the account, it is tied to that account and will continue to work after the ISP stops taking new customers. As of right now, there are multiple sources stating xfinity supports CM500.

The matter of 4 years is not a matter of max speed possible but rather what a person opts to pay for. Apparently you were not reading carefully because the opening statement to this topic reads as follows:



This pretty clearly suggests that the OP would rather save money than throw it at more internet speed than needed, and that the only thing prompting this modem change is to support 100Mb. You would like to ignore these facts and steer someone towards something else for illogical reasons not supported by the facts of what usually happens with modem obsolescence, that it is very unlikely that xfinity is going to end support for CM500 any time soon because it is Docsis3, because it is 16 channels, and because they're offering 100Mb plans which don't even need 16 channels.

What they would do first is stop registering new accounts with 8 channel modems. I see plenty of 8 channel modems on their support list.

Xfinity Help and Support Forums

Let's look at it from past history until now. What if the OP had asked this 4 years ago and at that time, everyone said to pay more for a 16 channel modem. Wouldn't that have been wasted money based on the history? An 8 channel would've been less expensive and still faster than is needed now, yet due to age, soon should be retired anyway. The difference in frequency of activating a new modem is not much, while the difference in price in this example, was over 250%.

I've worked with 3 different isps in 4 different states with cable Internet for over 20 years now. (And I've worked with even more if I don't count just cable.) It's not any type of fiction--it does happen when carriers (isp) does a major change to their network, changing nodes or other major configurations. Then each modem has to be put back on the network, which will happen automatically if it's supported modem. But if not, you'll have finger pointing and clueless csr calls until you figure out that it's your old modem no longer supported. That's great that xfinity support the cm500, but I've seen them drop modem support on people when they simply change plans so there's always caveats to what you're talking about.

Xfinity is RAPIDLY increasing speeds across the board. I've seen increases of 200Mbps in my plan just in the last 2 years, and that's without an upgrade. There will be a point when the user is paying for service they're not getting because of trying to save a few bucks on a modem. It's not about the cm500 specifically, but about what you're touting as the 'right' solution for everyone.

You can look at the supported list all day long--I've seen more than my share of 'oops, we no longer support that' and oh, that's no longer supported even though it's on the list. No one updates these lists fast enough--and why should they? There's money to be made renting out their equipment with the hidden hotspot you can't shut off--don't forget that.

Back when speeds were slower 4 years ago, the sb6183 was the most deployed moden and the sb6190 was the 'newest fastest'. Anytime you're buying the 'newest fastest' you're paying a premium for it. That's not what we're talking about here. It's about getting the most value for the money for the maximum time possible, that would be a modem that can handle speeds of the near future and/or one that won't be on the 'oops, we don't support that one anymore' list.

Bottom line is that if you're buying tech that is too old, you're actually going to spend more than if you move to something slightly newer--and that's the point you're missing.

 

[mindless1]

^ Sorry but no, you are wrong. You've ignored what the OP wrote, make wrong projections about modem support and the timeframe for retirement, and pretty much disregard wasting other people's money.

That's fine since it isn't my money, but it goes against logic, the majority of the facts and the industry trends up until now.

A 16 channel modem is not tech that is too old at all when it is both a contemporary model, on the support list by the ISP, and supports over 4X the bandwidth that the OP stated was needed.

Hand waving and claiming the future will be different than the past, is not reliable or factual. You are welcome to come back in a few years and see if the extra money was well spent, except that in a few years, you'll be able to get a 24 channel or more modem for a similar low price so there is not at all a case of spending more money.

That's as utterly backwards as it gets when dealing with the specifics of this topic. It's almost as though you cannot process more than two variables at a time and the two you fixated on were "cable" and "modem" but then ran out of memory for further processing, lol.

Let's solidify the differences in our arguments. The OP is interested in having the low/lowest cost plan from xfinity. You are suggesting what, a roughly $40 extra expenditure?

I will bet you $40 that in 4 years, the lowest cost plan from xfinity does not exceed 300Mb and that CM500 is not unsupported (meaning it still works) for existing customers that have one. Do you care to take that bet??, or is it just easier to risk someone else's money?

 

[ch33zw1z]

This seems to be quite a bit of excitement over $15 -$40

Arris SB6183 is in the OP's budget, a 6190 is about $20 more.

Whereas the CM500 isn't listed on the Comcast supported device page.

There's a CM500V and a Cm500-100NAS, but no CM500. Also, CM600 and CM700 are listed. Both are just a bit out of the OP's budget.

My own personal bias, I prefer Arris, and I dont tend to buy used or open box network gear.

I picked up my sb6183 from best buy, they knocked $20 off their price to match Amazon's, and I got some extra warranty for just a few bucks too. So it cost me $60 ish plus tax

Netgear is a solid company, not trying to say it isn't, but I would definitely be hesitant to buy a legacy product from that's potentially used or open box

Each person has a their own preferences, I dont see what all the fuss is about. The OP's question was answered just fine without all the other nonsense.

Edit: I guess it's worth noting I don't buy electronics at Walmart either lol

 

[SamirD]

^ Sorry but no, you are wrong. You've ignored what the OP wrote, make wrong projections about modem support and the timeframe for retirement, and pretty much disregard wasting other people's money.

That's fine since it isn't my money, but it goes against logic, the majority of the facts and the industry trends up until now.

A 16 channel modem is not tech that is too old at all when it is both a contemporary model, on the support list by the ISP, and supports over 4X the bandwidth that the OP stated was needed.

Hand waving and claiming the future will be different than the past, is not reliable or factual. You are welcome to come back in a few years and see if the extra money was well spent, except that in a few years, you'll be able to get a 24 channel or more modem for a similar low price so there is not at all a case of spending more money.

That's as utterly backwards as it gets when dealing with the specifics of this topic. It's almost as though you cannot process more than two variables at a time and the two you fixated on were "cable" and "modem" but then ran out of memory for further processing, lol.

Let's solidify the differences in our arguments. The OP is interested in having the low/lowest cost plan from xfinity. You are suggesting what, a roughly $40 extra expenditure?

I will bet you $40 that in 4 years, the lowest cost plan from xfinity does not exceed 300Mb and that CM500 is not unsupported (meaning it still works) for existing customers that have one. Do you care to take that bet??, or is it just easier to risk someone else's money?

Boy, you're arrogant. You're actually wrong because you're arrogant--most people this arrogant just can't take being wrong or seeing any other point of view but their own.

You've utterly ignored all the experience I've had with these situations.

Not only will I take your bet, let's double it...better yet, let's make it 10x--$400. I'm willing to have papers drawn up that will put the money into escrow for 4 years until the results of the bet are available. You game for that?

 

[SamirD]

This seems to be quite a bit of excitement over $15 -$40

Arris SB6183 is in the OP's budget, a 6190 is about $20 more.

Whereas the CM500 isn't listed on the Comcast supported device page.

There's a CM500V and a Cm500-100NAS, but no CM500. Also, CM600 and CM700 are listed. Both are just a bit out of the OP's budget.

My own personal bias, I prefer Arris, and I dont tend to buy used or open box network gear.

I picked up my sb6183 from best buy, they knocked $20 off their price to match Amazon's, and I got some extra warranty for just a few bucks too. So it cost me $60 ish plus tax

Netgear is a solid company, not trying to say it isn't, but I would definitely be hesitant to buy a legacy product from that's potentially used or open box

Each person has a their own preferences, I dont see what all the fuss is about. The OP's question was answered just fine without all the other nonsense.

Edit: I guess it's worth noting I don't buy electronics at Walmart either lol

I agree, but I guess some people just need to let everyone know they're wrong so they can be right.

I totally agree with what you posted. I also prefer Arris as they seem to not have as many issues with isps. And the $20 to upgrade to the sb6190 didn't seem like too much to me to ensure a few more years of compatibility, but that may not work for the isp, and I get that too. Just was presenting the longer term value of the increase in expense. But hey what do I know--I only have 3 current isp accounts with cable providers and 3x arris modems.

 

[mindless1]

Boy, you're arrogant. You're actually wrong because you're arrogant--most people this arrogant just can't take being wrong or seeing any other point of view but their own.

You've utterly ignored all the experience I've had with these situations.

Not only will I take your bet, let's double it...better yet, let's make it 10x--$400. I'm willing to have papers drawn up that will put the money into escrow for 4 years until the results of the bet are available. You game for that?

You're an ignorant fool who hasn't mastered reading for comprehension. Do you not understand how very basic things like conversations work? When someone (the OP) writes something, they wanted you to pay attention to what they wrote, until such time as they decide that they want to change direction and for you to ignore what they wrote.

How about you quit trying to posture and either accept the bet or decline, accepting you're clueless as you are?

Fiddling around with an escrow for $40? You're an idiot.

HOW ABOUT you just accept my bet, plain and simple instead of your nonsense? $40 is appropriate as it is the amount of money you feel is trivial to waste of other people's money. If you want a $400 bet, suggest a $400 waste of money. The stakes are always about what is on the table.

However if you REALLY want a $400 bet, then PM me some identity because a $40 loss, I'd let slide but $400, I might seek recovery out of principle.

 

[JackMDS]

Well... It seems that the thread exceeds its technological usefulness.

Thread Closed.