schja01
I need to get a life.
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-27
Morton Grove, IL
clubs:  
 ·AT&T U-Verse
 ·AT&T Midwest
| Rental modem -> Purchased modem procedure
Well my modem rental went from $3/mo to $5/mo as I assume it has for many others.
So I ordered a SB5101 for $60 from amazon and should have it this week.
My question is do I install the new modem and contact Comcast with the new MAC address first to get it activated and then turn in the old modem at the Comcast office after I am up and running or do I need to return the old rental modem first before Comcast will activate the purchased one?
I just want to minimize any difficulties with billing etc.
Tnx. |
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tshirt
Premium,MVM
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA
 ·Comcast
| If you don't plan to switch to a higher/faster service tier, I would connect the modem first. You should then be offered the "wall-garden" page from which you SHOULD be able to login/change your modem (you need your account #, plus the MAC address of the modem (on the box and on the modem label)
If for some reason it doesn't work THEN call in and tell them you are changing modems...ocne you are sure it works correctly you can return the rented modem. |
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schja01
I need to get a life.
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-27
Morton Grove, IL
clubs: | Great.
Thanks. |
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K Patterson
Premium,MVM
join:2006-03-12
Columbus, OH | And be sure you get a receipt. |
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Drizew
join:2004-09-17
Los Lunas, NM
·Comcast
| reply to schja01
I think you can find a little better price then that for that modem. For $30 more you could even get a DOCSIS 3 modem and not worry about replacing it for a long time.
»www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···25122011 SB5101
»www.provantage.com/motorola-5451···901Y.htm SB6120
I would go with the 6120. It has a faster processor and also has a gigabit port. Plus there is a chance that your speeds will be more guaranteed since you will be spreading your load over multiple channels once DOCSIS 3 is available in your area. |
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Hal A
@comcast.net
| I just returned my just purchased Motorola SB 5101U (still don't know the diff between 5101 and 5101U) but the 5101U didn't have standby button on top and only 5 lights on front instead of 6. Salesman said the 5101U had latest firmware so I figured great. Got home Friday, installed it and my upload and download speeds DROPPED by close to half. Went from 25-26 Mbps to 11 Mbps download. Upload from 2.8 to 1.5. I should add I have been leasing a Motorola SB 5120 for a year and was happy with the speeds but didn't want to lease any longer. So I packed up the SB 5101U and returned it today and put the leased SB 5120 back in service, ran a speed test and the numbers jumped back up immediately to 26.5 D - 2.8 U . Will keep using the SB 5120 for now until I figure out why this happened. It drove me nuts all weekend, switching back and forth , getting new MAC addresses, running at least 25 speed tests etc. Someone said the chipset in the SB 5120 is a better one and handles a weaker signal better than the 5101. I have no idea. If I knew the SB 6120 would solve the problem, I would purchase that one but until I research more , I'll have to stick with the leased SB 5120. Any other suggestion for a good modem that will at least maintain my prior speeds? |
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Elliot
join:2009-06-22
Fort Lauderdale, FL
2 edits | reply to Drizew
The new model SB5101u that Newegg is selling looks like motorola dropped the Internet disconnect button from the top of the case. A feature appreciated by many.
Sorry Hal beat me to it!
Elliot |
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Hal A
@comcast.net | reply to schja01
There is also a Motorola SB 5101N . That model only has an ethernet input port on the back, no input port for firewire/USB. |
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tshirt
Premium,MVM
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA | reply to K Patterson
Get and KEEP a reciept. |
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schja01
I need to get a life.
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-27
Morton Grove, IL
clubs:
·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T Midwest
| reply to Drizew
Re: Rental modem -> Purchased modem procedure
said by Drizew  :I think you can find a little better price then that for that modem. For $30 more you could even get a DOCSIS 3 modem and not worry about replacing it for a long time. » www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···25122011 SB5101 » www.provantage.com/motorola-5451···901Y.htm SB6120 I would go with the 6120. It has a faster processor and also has a gigabit port. Plus there is a chance that your speeds will be more guaranteed since you will be spreading your load over multiple channels once DOCSIS 3 is available in your area. Thanks. Your DOCSIS 3 suggestions was interesting. ProVantage charges shipping. Amazon has the same modem for almost exactly the ProVantage price when you factor in the shipping costs.
See:»www.amazon.com/Motorola-SB6120-S···6&sr=8-1
I really like Amazon if for no other reason their return policy is very good. They pay return shipping, not restocking fees so I think I'll return the SB5101 and order the SB6120. Like you said it should have a little longer useful life being a DOCSIS 3.0 versus the SB5101 being DOCSIS 2.0. |
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andyross
join:2003-05-04
Schaumburg, IL | reply to tshirt
Does the walled garden let a regular person manually enter the MAC address now? The last time I changed modems, you had to download software, or call it in. |
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tshirt
Premium,MVM
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA
·Comcast
| It used to allow it, but I'm not sure if it does now.
Myself I'd probably call in if it wasn't immedietely obvious how to do it (I might JUST call in first, I never have to wait (could be because there is a large call center 6 miles away)
if you log in to your account of Comcast .COM and check under the users&settings tab you can see the MAC of all device registered to your account. »https://customer.comcast.com/Secure/Users.aspx
either way, Install & first, then return seems to be the safest method. |
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Hal A
@comcast.net
| reply to schja01
When I rebooted first time on Saturday with the new 5101U, I got that Comcast walled garden page. It offered a choice of customer or technician to click on to proceed. I was on the phone with tech support at the time and she said very firmly.."Don't click on either of those. Don't go in there. If that window ever appears again, close it immediately." Have no idea why she was so insistent that I don't use that page. |
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PGHammer
join:2003-06-09
Accokeek, MD
clubs:
·Comcast
| reply to Hal A
The U model only connects via USB (the standard SB-5101 and SB-5120 connect either via USB or wired Ethernet). I have tried the SB-5120 both ways, and USB is slower than wired Ethernet (I've compared to both card-based 100 Mbps Ethernet and built-in gigabit Ethernet - the card-based 100 Mbps Ethernet is Olde Reliable 3com 3C905-TX (a pull from an ex-Netware LAN client; Windows Vista is the first NT-based operating system that *didn't* include drivers for this workhorse), while the gigabit Ethernet is built into chipsets from Intel (875P) and nVidia (nForce 7100/630i); so in no case was it Brand X). I'm no fan of USB-only cable modems (this isn't Moto's first example of one, either; the company has had USB-only versions of the previous SURFboard models SB-3100 and SB-4100 as well) for the simple reason that it makes modem sharing difficult, if not impossible/impractical; further, there is absolutely no reason whatever for any computer (desktop or portable) to fail to support wired Ethernet out of the box (and that includes netbooks).
Price? Please; wired Ethernet (even in netbooks) is a checkbox item, as every chipset for netbooks (without exception) supports wired Ethernet as standard; in fact, most support wireless (up to wireless-G) as well. |
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Johkal
Cool Cat
Premium,MVM
join:2002-11-13
Happy Valley
clubs:
 ·Comcast Digital Vo..
·Comcast
·Vonage
1 edit | Look at this advertisement for the SB5101U:
»www.amazon.com/Motorola-SURFboar···02M3SHXA
Product Features
# Environmentally-Friendly
# All packaging products are made from recycled materials
# The shipping carton is made of recycled corrugated material
# 100% of package contents is created from recycled materials
# Energy Star Compliant
# Smaller Power Supply (PWB) for reduced environmental impact
# USB and Ethernet connectivity to help ensure compatibility with almost any PC or Mac network-ready system
# Supports up to 63 users (with additional networking hardware; not included)
# No telephone lines needed; always on, always connected
# 10/100Base-T Ethernet for blazing speed; capable of downloading at speeds up to 100 times faster than a standard 28.8Kbps analog phone modem
--
Write me up a 125.......I Can't Drive 55 »redrocker.com/ »cabowabo.com/ |
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Hal A
@comcast.net
| reply to PGHammer
PG, I just had the 5101 U in my hands for two days. It definitely had both ethernet and USB ports in the back . The 5101 N has only an ethernet port in the back. The U version eliminates the standby button on top that was on the 5101 and prior models but has the most up to date firmware installed. (I was told that, don't know first hand)) |
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Johkal
Cool Cat
Premium,MVM
join:2002-11-13
Happy Valley
clubs:
·Comcast Digital Vo..
·Comcast
·Vonage
| I wonder what happened to the SB5102 which also had no USB port, which was out before the SB5101U & N.
--
Write me up a 125.......I Can't Drive 55 »redrocker.com/ »cabowabo.com/ |
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Hal A
@comcast.net | reply to schja01
schja, when you get your SB6120 hooked up, please post your up/down speeds and if they are an improvement. As I posted earlier, the SB5101U I had for two days posted horrible speeds , so I went back to the leased SB5120 for now. |
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