New Modem

[PowerPCFan]

So I've had the $15/month Xfinity modem + router combo for a long time, and I think it's time to ditch the subscription. Subscription models are the worst.

 

I already have a router, which is a Netgear Orbi mesh system that I've been using for a few years. 

 

What is a good mid-range (not cheap 'budget' but not insanely high-end and overkill for my 500-750mbps connection) cable modem (coaxial input) that uses the newest technology for future-proofness and is Xfinity-compatible? 

[ToboRobot]

3 minutes ago, PowerPCFan said:

So I've had the $15/month Xfinity modem + router combo for a long time, and I think it's time to ditch the subscription. Subscription models are the worst.

 

I already have a router, which is a Netgear Orbi mesh system that I've been using for a few years. 

 

What is a good mid-range (not cheap 'budget' but not insanely high-end and overkill for my 500-750mbps connection) cable modem (coaxial input) that uses the newest technology for future-proofness and is Xfinity-compatible? 

If you contact your ISP do they have an option for purchasing one? 

Unifi does have one... https://store.ui.com/us/en/collections/unifi-internet-solutions/products/uci
 

 

I called my ISP after a few years of renting and asked to buy my device and it was fairly cheap.  YMMV

[BillBill]

1 minute ago, PowerPCFan said:

So I've had the $15/month Xfinity modem + router combo for a long time, and i think it's time to ditch the subscription model.

 

I already have a router, a Netgear Orbi mesh system that I've been using for years. 

 

What is a good mid-range (not cheap 'budget' but not insanely high-end and overkill for my 500-750mbps connection) cable modem (coaxial input) that uses the newest technology for future-proofness and is Xfinity-compatible? 

Before buying anything find out if in your area they allow you to have your own modem. Their website should have a list of approved modems. You can run your current Xfinity wireless gateway in bridge mode. Unless you have VoIP. 

[Donut417]

28 minutes ago, PowerPCFan said:

So I've had the $15/month Xfinity modem + router combo for a long time, and I think it's time to ditch the subscription. Subscription models are the worst.

 

I already have a router, which is a Netgear Orbi mesh system that I've been using for a few years. 

 

What is a good mid-range (not cheap 'budget' but not insanely high-end and overkill for my 500-750mbps connection) cable modem (coaxial input) that uses the newest technology for future-proofness and is Xfinity-compatible? 

If you want faster uploads when available in your area they have a small list of modems that can do it, I know there is a thread and list over at DSLreports.com with that information. Unfortunately in the future Docsis 4.0 will be used, it’s unfortunate right now because there are NO Docsis 4.0 modems for sale. So if you end up on Docsis 4.0 service now then you will have to use there equipment. They have maybe 1 or 2 areas they have been testing Docsis 4.0 in. Faster uploads seem to be restricted to Node +0 areas. 

[Donut417]

25 minutes ago, BillBill said:

can run your current Xfinity wireless gateway in bridge mode. Unless you have VoIP. 

Defeats the purpose of eliminating the rental fee. They have to allow customer owned modems by law. 

[johnt]

Comcast lets you use your own modem for traditional plans. I doubt the Op has anything to worry about there.

 

I would not purchase the Unifi modem because it's a bit crazy priced for what it is. Plus, you have no easy way to manage it without a console. Yes you can setup a console on your PC with their server... Why though? The UCI is for people who already own Unifi gear in my opinion.

 

I also wouldn't worry about future proofing your modem. The modems available on the market are already outdated, there is already newer technology, faster, more better. Edit: There is always talks of 1 to 2 new generations of limited or unreleased technologies surrounding modems. It's not worth trying to future proof. You can't anyway... they aren't even available for purchase lol

 

Just get some random Arris modem. They all work just fine. I purchased the S33 on sale during BF. I bought my previous SB6183 used from Amazon 9 years ago and now my in-laws are using it.

[Donut417]

1 minute ago, johnt said:

Just get some random Arris modem

If they live in a mid split area only certain modems will work. So a Radom modem may not get them full speeds. 

[BillBill]

2 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Defeats the purpose of eliminating the rental fee. They have to allow customer owned modems by law. 

But do they allow customers to use their own wireless gateway with VoIP? 

[Donut417]

5 minutes ago, BillBill said:

But do they allow customers to use their own wireless gateway with VoIP? 

I’m pretty sure. At least at one time they did. Plus who has home phone now days? 

[BillBill]

2 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

I’m pretty sure. At least at one time they did. Plus who has home phone now days? 

Some Xfinity plans offer VoIP at no extra cost I believe. Yet it would be better to have a POTS. 

[johnt]

19 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

If they live in a mid split area only certain modems will work. So a Radom modem may not get them full speeds. 

If you really care about upload bandwidth that much. The download should be just fine.

[Donut417]

28 minutes ago, BillBill said:

Some Xfinity plans offer VoIP at no extra cost I believe. Yet it would be better to have a POTS. 

Maybe in your area they don’t offer shit to us. Pretty much tell us to bend over and take it without lube. 

[PowerPCFan]

2 hours ago, ToboRobot said:

If you contact your ISP do they have an option for purchasing one? 

Unifi does have one... https://store.ui.com/us/en/collections/unifi-internet-solutions/products/uci
 

 

I called my ISP after a few years of renting and asked to buy my device and it was fairly cheap.  YMMV

I could possibly do that but I wanted to eliminate the modem/router combo and just have the one router, i think that would also fix my port forwarding issues

[PowerPCFan]

2 hours ago, BillBill said:

Before buying anything find out if in your area they allow you to have your own modem. Their website should have a list of approved modems. You can run your current Xfinity wireless gateway in bridge mode. Unless you have VoIP. 

As far as i know it's required by law to allow that but i could be wrong, I'll check. Also I'd still have to pay the $15/mo fee

 

1 hour ago, Donut417 said:

If you want faster uploads when available in your area they have a small list of modems that can do it, I know there is a thread and list over at DSLreports.com with that information. Unfortunately in the future Docsis 4.0 will be used, it’s unfortunate right now because there are NO Docsis 4.0 modems for sale. So if you end up on Docsis 4.0 service now then you will have to use there equipment. They have maybe 1 or 2 areas they have been testing Docsis 4.0 in. Faster uploads seem to be restricted to Node +0 areas. 

i don't really understand what that means lol

 

1 hour ago, Donut417 said:

Defeats the purpose of eliminating the rental fee. They have to allow customer owned modems by law. 

That's what i thought! lol

 

1 hour ago, johnt said:

Comcast lets you use your own modem for traditional plans. I doubt the Op has anything to worry about there.

 

I would not purchase the Unifi modem because it's a bit crazy priced for what it is. Plus, you have no easy way to manage it without a console. Yes you can setup a console on your PC with their server... Why though? The UCI is for people who already own Unifi gear in my opinion.

 

I also wouldn't worry about future proofing your modem. The modems available on the market are already outdated, there is already newer technology, faster, more better. Edit: There is always talks of 1 to 2 new generations of limited or unreleased technologies surrounding modems. It's not worth trying to future proof. You can't anyway... they aren't even available for purchase lol

 

Just get some random Arris modem. They all work just fine. I purchased the S33 on sale during BF. I bought my previous SB6183 used from Amazon 9 years ago and now my in-laws are using it.

I was gonna just buy a random one but i don't think Xfinity supports all of them

 

1 hour ago, BillBill said:

But do they allow customers to use their own wireless gateway with VoIP? 

not sure but that's not really a concern, we do have a home phone but it hardly ever gets used because smartphones exist lol

 

1 hour ago, johnt said:

If you really care about upload bandwidth that much. The download should be just fine.

i only have like 20-30mbps upload right now anyways so unless there is a certain type of modem I can buy that will improve that, i don't really care since they're already so low. 

 

 

 

I've never quoted so many people in one message, i probably got so many replies because this is not a very niche topic and rare scenario like most of my posts...

[johnt]

9 minutes ago, PowerPCFan said:

i only have like 20-30mbps upload right now anyways so unless there is a certain type of modem I can buy that will improve that, i don't really care since they're already so low. 

There are modems that can improve that. The Unifi UCI can go more than 40 Mbps upload. Not sure what need most people have for upload bandwidth, but I do think having plans with up to 1000 down and 40 up is very unbalanced.

 

That's why @Donut417 was talking about DOCSIS. It's the latest and greatest, and it is supposed to be offered with much higher upload speeds than the US has been accustomed to (40 or less). In some areas it will be symmetric, meaning your upload and download bandwidths will be the same speed.

 

Comcast has a list of modems and what speeds they support. I'll dig it up and post it here.

[johnt]

https://assets.xfinity.com/assets/dotcom/projects/cix-4997_compatible-devices/2023.11.22 Full List of Compatible Devices.pdf

 

Last updated in November 2023

[SansVarnic]

I found Motorola has the best cable modems, in my experience.

[Donut417]

56 minutes ago, johnt said:

Not sure what need most people have for upload bandwidth, but I do think having plans with up to 1000 down and 40 up is very unbalanced.

We had 10 Mbps for years and just got updated to 20 Mbps. However in Mid Split areas slower plans have 100 Mbps and the higher plans have 200 Mbps if I recall correctly. 

 

People need more upload because now everyone has a cloud connected security camera, but America is not safe. People use cloud storage. Some of us run media servers that we might want to access on the road. More people working from home. Etc. 

 

11 minutes ago, SansVarnic said:

I found Motorola has the best cable modems, in my experience.

Motorola is dead. Google bought them out years ago and gutted them. Arris got the Surfboard Name and I think Zoom is the company that got the Motorola name. 

 

1 hour ago, PowerPCFan said:

don't really understand what that means lol

Let me break it down for you. 

 

Docsis is the standard that the cable company uses to push internet to you via their Hybrid Fiber/Coax network. Most people are using Docsis 3.0 or Docsis 3.1. Docsis 4 is the next newness. 

 

The one thing to under stand about cable internet is its RF based. Like WiFi it uses radio signals for communication. The difference is it's isolated in a cable. 5 Mhz to 42 MHz historically has been the bands that upload uses. Not much, which is why uploads have been slow forever. Mid Split and High split allow higher frequencies to be use, thus increasing speeds. Comcast has chosen to use mid splits. In areas it has been deployed uploads are expected to be 100 to 200 Mbps. The issue is, only select Docsis 3.1 modems are supported with mid split, meaning if you dont have one of those modems, you will only get up to 40 Mbps up depending on the plan your on of course. 

 

 

I have the CM1000v2 from Netgear. It supports 940 Mbps down and 40 Mbps up. It works. 

[PowerPCFan]

2 hours ago, Donut417 said:

Let me break it down for you. 

 

Docsis is the standard that the cable company uses to push internet to you via their Hybrid Fiber/Coax network. Most people are using Docsis 3.0 or Docsis 3.1. Docsis 4 is the next newness. 

 

The one thing to under stand about cable internet is its RF based. Like WiFi it uses radio signals for communication. The difference is it's isolated in a cable. 5 Mhz to 42 MHz historically has been the bands that upload uses. Not much, which is why uploads have been slow forever. Mid Split and High split allow higher frequencies to be use, thus increasing speeds. Comcast has chosen to use mid splits. In areas it has been deployed uploads are expected to be 100 to 200 Mbps. The issue is, only select Docsis 3.1 modems are supported with mid split, meaning if you dont have one of those modems, you will only get up to 40 Mbps up depending on the plan your on of course. 

 

I have the CM1000v2 from Netgear. It supports 940 Mbps down and 40 Mbps up. It works. 

wait so I guess I still don't understand, how am I getting almost 600mbps if the mid-split system only supports 100-200? Are you saying it would be capped at the lower 100-200mbps speeds if I get a 3rd party modem instead of the Xfinity/Comcast modem + router I currently have, which can do higher speeds than 200mbps? 

 

I'll look at that Netgear one you have (or similar models) as long as I'll be able to get my full ~600mbps connection

[Donut417]

1 minute ago, PowerPCFan said:

how am I getting almost 600mbps if the mid-split system only supports 100-200?

You're confusing your download speed with your upload. Mid split is only for upload. Because historically uploads on coax based internet have been terrible. On the download side, the only thing that will limit you is the rated speed for the Ethernet port on the modem. Gigabit ports will top out at 940 Mbps, not sure where the 2.5 Gbps ports top out at but Comcast only offers up to 1.4 Gbps in most areas, I think a few might have 2 Gbps. Again those are download speeds not uploads. 

[PowerPCFan]

2 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

You're confusing your download speed with your upload. Mid split is only for upload. Because historically uploads on coax based internet have been terrible. On the download side, the only thing that will limit you is the rated speed for the Ethernet port on the modem. Gigabit ports will top out at 940 Mbps, not sure where the 2.5 Gbps ports top out at but Comcast only offers up to 1.4 Gbps in most areas, I think a few might have 2 Gbps. Again those are download speeds not uploads. 

OH that makes sense I guess I never realized you were talking about uploads. Heck, even 40mbps is probably fine tbh. 

 

But i'd like one that would be able to support that 100-200mbps upload speed just in case I ever upgrade the plan or something, would this one work? I think it's the one you have right? Or is this the non V2 one https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-download-Spectrum-Compatible-Gig-Speed/dp/B01I5TJGSE/

[Donut417]

1 minute ago, PowerPCFan said:

OH that makes sense I guess I never realized you were talking about uploads. Heck, even 40mbps is probably fine tbh. 

 

But i'd like one that would be able to support that 100-200mbps upload speed just in case I ever upgrade the plan or something, would this one work? I think it's the one you have right? Or is this the non V2 one https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-download-Spectrum-Compatible-Gig-Speed/dp/B01I5TJGSE/

 

 

This is a list of compatible modems. The top ones support the faster uploads. 

 

From what I read, the easy way to check if they offer faster uploads is to be signed out of your account. Go to order service, put in your address, pick the option that says your moving to this address and see if they offer 2 Gbps. If you see 2 Gig you have mid split. 

 

If you dont see 2 Gig, its likely you dont have mid split and you might not get it. From what I have read, Mid split is only available if your area is Node + 0, they didn't push this upgrade to all areas and dont intend to. Non Node + 0 areas likely will have to wait for Docsis 4, at least thats the theory I have seen. 

 

So you might be better off just buying the cheapest Docsis 3.1 modem on the list and waiting until Docsis 4 comes available. 

[PowerPCFan]

36 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

 

 

This is a list of compatible modems. The top ones support the faster uploads. 

 

From what I read, the easy way to check if they offer faster uploads is to be signed out of your account. Go to order service, put in your address, pick the option that says your moving to this address and see if they offer 2 Gbps. If you see 2 Gig you have mid split. 

 

If you dont see 2 Gig, its likely you dont have mid split and you might not get it. From what I have read, Mid split is only available if your area is Node + 0, they didn't push this upgrade to all areas and dont intend to. Non Node + 0 areas likely will have to wait for Docsis 4, at least thats the theory I have seen. 

 

So you might be better off just buying the cheapest Docsis 3.1 modem on the list and waiting until Docsis 4 comes available. 

if the cheapest one works, I'll just get that. Thanks for the help by the way! 

 

Edit: when i checked with my address the highest speed plan was the 1200 mbps one does that mean I'm not in a mid-split area?

[Donut417]

1 minute ago, PowerPCFan said:

'm probably just an idiot but by "top ones" which ones do you mean? lol

 

As you see. There are two lists. The one "labeled Next Gen Speed tier" are the ones that do faster upload. The ones labeled "recommended" are the ones that only do the up to 40ish Mbps upload. 

 

So the modem I have is on the "recommended tier" so it should be cheaper. It tops out at 940 Mbps down and 40 ish Mbps up. That would be the CM1000v2. 

[PowerPCFan]

1 minute ago, Donut417 said:

As you see. There are two lists. The one "labeled Next Gen Speed tier" are the ones that do faster upload. The ones labeled "recommended" are the ones that only do the up to 40ish Mbps upload. 

 

So the modem I have is on the "recommended tier" so it should be cheaper. It tops out at 940 Mbps down and 40 ish Mbps up. That would be the CM1000v2. 

I edited to remove that because i had missed that "next gen speed" category on the image lol

 

I'll just buy any of those ones on the list since they'll probably all work. Thanks again.