11 ms·

Comcast internet speed improved with non-Comcast hardware

229 points by jmartens 10y ago

nodesocket 10y ago
I'm with you, my Comcast bill is now $160 a month for internet and TV. However perhaps the old modem was not DOCSIS 3.0 and the new one is? I'm guessing the new modem is just better hardware thus the increased throughput. No grand conspiracy. Go buy your own DOCSIS 3.0 modem from Amazon and stop paying the monthly rental.
- jmartens 10y ago
  Its one thing if their service is unreliable, but another when the hardware they rent us doesn't even support the service speeds they sell us. Class action?
  - nodesocket 10y ago
    Nope. Good luck with that.
- johnbellone 10y ago
  I just decided to jump on the cord cutting bandwagon. My bill was ~$180 and I was able to get it down to $97 for the "best Internet". My cost for PlayStation Vue is $29.99 plus $15 for HBO. It streams to the PS4 and Amazon Fire TV. I am very happy with the change simply because I am not giving Comcast more money than I have to.
  - nodesocket 10y ago
    I need sports though, that's the problem.
    - derrickrose 10y ago
      You can opt for the league-provided services, or if you look on the internet you'll quickly find services that are better than the officially-provided ones themselves.
      - jessaustin 10y ago
        In my experience the league sources usually black out local teams, which makes them useless for fans of local teams.
    - johnbellone 10y ago
      PS Vue has sports-they are running channels specifically for basketball during march madness.
M_Grey 10y ago
At a guess this is a result of Comcast using the absolute, most mindbogglingly cheap hardware on the planet Earth. Second to that I would guess some kind of incompetence, and only after that would I seriously entertain what amounts to theft.
- jmartens 10y ago
  You are probably right about cheap equipment and incompetence, but isn't it still fraud if they sell you something that they knowingly can't offer? If I rent a car and pay extra for a 4WD, but the 4WD doesn't work, I want my money back. Is this different?
  - sjg007 10y ago
    It's the same. You can sue for breach of implied warranty. They may try to get out of it by saying 'speeds up to'. But if the device can't do that then yes you'd have a good argument.
    - M_Grey 10y ago
      Well, that's not quite the same as fraud, which is a much higher bar to prove. I absolutely wasn't disputing that if you're not getting the advertised service, you should seek recourse, I was just disputing "fraud". It's the difference between being sold a lemon car, and being sold a car that someone turned the odometer back on.
  - closeparen 10y ago
    My speedometer goes "up to" 180mph, but my car will certainly never get there. Is Volkswagen guilty of fraud? (Well, not in this particular case...) They said 4WD, not "up to" 4WD. OTOH, they only say "up to" n mpbs. If you want guaranteed minimum speeds, you can pay an order of magnitude more for a business class connection.
exabrial 10y ago
Yes.
1propionyl 10y ago
Yes.
r1ch 10y ago
"Pretty poor coverage" sounds like the author was relying on Wi-Fi for connectivity. I wouldn't trust an ISP-provided combo modem/router to do anything more than the bare minimum when it comes to wireless, most likely a single chain 2.4 GHz network (and 5 GHz if you're lucky). Replacing it with Google Wifi which is a Wave2 802.11ac 5 GHz device with Beamforming will make a world of difference. Intentionally supplying old hardware that can't reach high speeds (eg a DOCSIS 2 modem) is actually bad for them as it wastes frequency.
- jwilliams 10y ago
  I'd wonder about the same. Easy to test by plugging the Google router into the Xfinity one. The other factor could be the Xfinity wifi sharing feature (customers can connect to other routers). Could be causing some issues or interference.
- rhino369 10y ago
  In many apartment buildings the 2.4 Ghz spectrum is just too crowded. Just using a cheap 5Ghz 11n without breamforming would likely solve the problem. I've got at least 40 bss's on 2.4 and I'm the only one on 5Ghz. It's crazy. I'd say Comcast should use 5Ghz but then that spectrum will get crowded too.
  - gtdawg 10y ago
    All devices going forward (especially isp routers) _should_ use only 5ghz. Consumers should have to spend extra on 2.4 AP gear to support legacy client devices. 5ghz has reduced propagation and there are so many more channels available that it is actually optimal to use in dense evvironments. Mesh wifi is pretty much a requirement for a lot of users to keep the same coverage with multiple rooms compared with their existing 2.4 ghz network.
    - Matt3o12_ 10y ago
      As far as I understand, 5ghz is weak on distance which is a problem at my apartment building. Every time I'm on the 5G SSID, the internet becomes unusable in the bedroom and kitchen which makes 5G unusable for me because my devices don't select the 2.4ghz band automatically.
joshfraser 10y ago
Another way to get the advertised speeds is to regularly call and complain. From my experience, they'll dial your speed up, just to stop you from calling in all the time.
- johnbellone 10y ago
  You also need to keep in mind if you bought your own modem that you may need to upgrade the firmware (or worse case, a new modem) to get advertised speeds. This generally is advertised as 8x4 channels or better. My old surfboard tops out at 150Mbps.
  - gergles 10y ago
    You as the end user can't 'upgrade the firmware' in cable modems, it's all sent from the CMTS. It's how they enforce "supported modems" - no firmware for your modem, you can't use it.
loser777 10y ago
It's almost hilarious how cheap and bad the Xfinity modem/router combo is. Any kind of configuration via the web interface is a dice roll on whether or not the settings actually take. If you're lucky, your configuration changes get applied, but don't expect them to be displayed. I guess whatever little money it cost to build went into the annoyingly bright white LEDs on the front of the case.
manyxcxi 10y ago
The best thing anyone can do is swap out the junky cable modem + WiFi router combos they rent to you. They're horrible under standard usage, bad when lots of clients are connected, bad wifi range, low memory, require frequent reboots, etc. For about $70 (about 5mos of rental charges) you can get a Surfboard barebones Docsis 3 modem that will vastly outperform whatever junk they rent out. After that you could get a TP-Link Archer C7 for sub $80 that will have good range and performance for that price point. So within about the first year you've broken even with vastly superior components and you'll be able to take them with you to any cable provider you wind up using in the future. I get why most people don't do this, they don't even know it's possible, but I'm amazed when colleagues in the industry are still running the company hardware.
- throwaway6556 10y ago
  TP-Link is Chinese crap, please stop recommending it. Thanks. Ubiquiti is fine, and Debian-based, to boot.
  - dogecoinbase 10y ago
    Ubnt doesn't respond to security reports, violates the GPL, abandons product lines without warning while continuing to sell them, and sells underpowered devices that don't support basic functionality. But they are really cheap!
    - shimo5037 10y ago
      I believe the reason they continue selling them is so that companies with existing deployments can expand them with the same gear that already works for them. It's the same for most enterprise-oriented hardware. What would you suggest instead?
  - noonespecial 10y ago
    Really? I've found the opposite. TP-Link has managed to match recent Ubiquiti's on performance and beaten them on price, but hasn't tried to ram a bunch of useless cloud crap down my throat when all I want is a simple AP.
JustSomeNobody 10y ago
Why not call for a technician? I mean if you're using their equipment and all, at least give them the chance to fix it.
- loeg 10y ago
  They'll bill you more for an hour of a technician's time than the cost to just buy a new modem/router.
  - JustSomeNobody 10y ago
    Not if it is their fault/equipment.
    - MertsA 10y ago
      >Not if it is their fault/equipment. That depends entirely on the technician you get. At least for Cox, it's up to the technician to determine if the customer foots the bill or not and while you might get a competent technician who will happily redo all of the outside wiring while he's there for free you might also get a technician from some third party contractor who doesn't even have the equipment to test anything and is just relying on the customer's modem for troubleshooting. Just because it's their fault doesn't mean that they'll admit it or even fix it.
      - acdha 10y ago
        … and even if the technician does the right thing, there's no guarantee that the charge won't mysteriously show up on your bill next month unless you live in a city/state with very consumer-oriented regulators.
BostonEnginerd 10y ago
Comcast's business practices aren't great, but I will give them credit. I get every Mbps that they claim I am supposed to get. This is plugged into my router (Turris Omnia) and my cable modem (self-owned Arris SB6190). http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest/13090043 http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest/13090043
- jbuzbee 10y ago
  Of course, there's always the suspicion that ISPs, including Comcast, give priority to the various speed-test sites... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r28685577-Speed-comcast-speed-test-lies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r28685577-Speed-comcast-spee...
- jmartens 10y ago
  You are using your own equipment, right? Thats the point of this post....their equipment doesn't support their service speeds, you have to use your own.
- PUMA6FAIL 10y ago
  You're using a SB6190? You're probably not getting the Mbps you're supposed to be getting, at least not all the time. Just Google "puma 6 issue" and see the vast issues that chipset has, and checkout http://www.dslreports.com/tools/puma6 http://www.dslreports.com/tools/puma6
- voltagex_ 10y ago
  Hey, another Omnia user! How are you finding it? Is lighttpd crashing for you?
QUFB 10y ago
I'll counter Jeffrey Martens' anecdotal evidence with my own. I've had Comcast in my last 3 residences, leasing equipment provided by Comcast. In each case, performance was as advertised.
colemannugent 10y ago
On the subject of class actions: it's most likely impossible. In their terms of service they will undoubtedly state that you agree to go to arbitration rather than court, and they have you explicitly waive your right to a class action. Also the terms of service makes it very clear that the speeds they quote on their ads are essentially entirely theoretical.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- peeters 10y ago
  > they have you explicitly waive your right to a class action Almost certainly not going to be upheld by a court if there is evidence of fraud. > Also the terms of service makes it very clear that the speeds they quote on their ads are essentially entirely theoretical. Completely irrelevant if you can prove that they purposefully implemented a scheme to throttle your speeds.
deeth_starr_v 10y ago
She probably had an old DOCSIS 1 modem from a few years ago. You could only get 30MBPS with that. They usually tell you that on the phone when you try to upgrade, but they've been giving free upgrades without you asking in SF. I had to buy a DOCSIS 3.0 modem to get the best speeds.
narsil 10y ago
Switching to 5 GHz instead of 2.4 GHz has made this magnitude of difference for me in the past. Today, at home, I haven't had dedicated internet connectivity for 4 years. I log in to the xfinitywifi SSID that some of my neighbors in my apartment complex are probably broadcasting via my parents' comcast account and get good speeds. I'm on it right now and speedtest.net shows 30 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up. Plenty enough for my purposes, including Netflix. I switch to tethering on my AT&T device if needed for 15-25 GB 4G data each month; the "unlimited" plans offered by carriers today don't provide more than 10 GB of high speed data in contrast. Not sure how much longer this setup will work, but I plan on continuing it for as long as I can; the cost savings really add up. A side-effect of this that I've noticed is increased operational awareness on my part. Comcast MITMs any unencrypted HTTP traffic and injects in a "powered by xfinitywifi" banner that is a great reminder to not trust the network. :)
- hbosch 10y ago
  Yes, this "xfinitywifi" public hotspot is enabled by default on many (all?) leased Comcast router-modems. Seems like many people in my complex are unaware or leave it open. I turn mine off.
tmaly 10y ago
I did the same thing, swapped out an xfinity provided cable modem for my own. I definitely have better speeds now. My modem supports more channels
username223 10y ago
I wonder how much of that has to do with their providing "xfinity" wifi to anyone nearby who wants to share your cable line? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xfinity#Xfinity_WiFi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xfinity#Xfinity_WiFi
- narsil 10y ago
  FWIW Comcast claims this will not affect the speed [0]. At the low speeds in the OP's article, this is likely the case. [0] https://www.xfinity.com/support/internet/xfinity-wifi-hotspots/ https://www.xfinity.com/support/internet/xfinity-wifi-hotspo...
- ac29 10y ago
  Just turn it off, I did when I was using Comcast equipment last year. You dont owe Comcast any favors.
- r00fus 10y ago
  I have a limited setback on my house and I swear when I replaced their combo router I stopped having people (late at night eating burgers and listening to loud music while browsing) randomly parked in front of my house (presumably they got signal on the street). I'll never go back to that configuration again so it's not like I can retest.
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Merad 10y ago
I used my own modem from the start with Comcast (bought specifically for their service), but after about 6 months I was having problems with the modem being disconnected multiple times per day, and sometimes unable to reconnect for hours at a time. Comcast support insisted that my modem was unsupported, despite it being present on their supported modems list. After about 3 calls I gave up and started researching on my own, and eventually discovered that some of the incoming signal strengths were way off what they should be. Crossed my fingers and checked the box outside the house, and yup, Comcast had wired it up with a single cheap 6 way splitter. Replaced it with a quality 2 way splitter, and now I can at least get decent service for the absurd price I pay.
- rev_bird 10y ago
  Ran into a similar problem with my modem -- the website clearly said it was supported, but three different phone service reps said it wasn't. I went out, spent $100 on a new surfboard modem, didn't help. When they finally sent a tech out, he said my original modem was fine.
  - larzang 10y ago
    This is a part of their sales playbook. Even if you have a top of the line modem that just came out and is on their support list, they will tell you its either unsupported or about to become unsupported and push you to rent garbage from them instead. You can never trust anything a phone/chat rep tells you because they're aggressively pushed by management to integrate sales into support.
prdonahue 10y ago
Umm, they ship a crappy radio in their wifi device. They know this, the technician "installing" it even told me not to use it. I had nearly the exact same results after disabling wifi and patching in an Apple Airport Express that I could connect to using 5GHz spectrum.. Speeds jumped from 25Mbps down to ~95Mbps down and latency dropped from 20ms to 9ms.
chrissnell 10y ago
Don't use Speedtest.net. The major providers all prioritize their traffic and it gives unrealistic results. I built a graphical console-based speed tester (client+server) that you can run yourself to get a more accurate picture and test between your home and servers you actually use: https://github.com/chrissnell/sparkyfish https://github.com/chrissnell/sparkyfish
- Mtinie 10y ago
  I appreciate the tool you've built. Having options is awesome. That being said, when you know that Comcast and others prioritize their traffic through Speedtest AND you encounter subpar speeds even with this allocation in place, you know there is a problem.
- jftuga 10y ago
  For firewall rule purposes, I wish your program would have used 5201 by default, the standard iperf port.
  - chrissnell 10y ago
    It's configurable! Just use --listen-addr on the server side and on the client side, just run it like sparkyfish-cli <hostname:port>. I think it's a good idea not to use standard ports, to avoid any sketchy prioritization practices on the part of the provider.
- foota 10y ago
  Would also recommend fast.com, which uses Netflix cdn as the test, and so theoretically will reflect actual usage.
- johnbellone 10y ago
  I think that Google provides one if you search "Speedtest" on a non-mobile device.
- fake-name 10y ago
  Another reason to not use speedtest.net is they use compressible data for their tests. DOCSIS has some support for stream compression, so you'll often get highly unrealistic results. On the other hand, basically all internet content is sent over the wire already compressed, so any stream compression doesn't help with it at all. I've had speedtest.net overrate my connection by 2-3 times it's actual throughput.
saboot 10y ago
Is it possible your wireless channel was overused? Most of my neighbors have comcast, as do we. I've had poor coverage and connection also, couldnt even get our wireless printer to work anymore. I used a program called WifiInfoView and viewed how many nearby wireless networks there were, their signal strengths, and set my router to a channel that wasn't being used. Cleared up all of our problems instantly. I would check this, perhaps his google modem was preset to another channel.
Steeeve 10y ago
This is interesting. I had the same experience in Mountain View - paid for 100mbps+ service, and only got 30 - and even that was haphazard. I went through a series of support requests. I eventually complained to the FCC and cancelled service. Once I involved the FCC, I had a rep call me, say they absolutely understood why I would cancel given my experience and wish me well. They provided me a partial refund for service levels that they never provided me with, and for days which I received no service. I'm on Sonic now and I've been happy with them. The few times I've had problems they have been very responsive, and you definitely get the sense that their techs know what they are doing. They scoffed at the idea that they would ever sell their customer's data after the recent bill passed, and pointed out that although they resell AT&T service, their contract prevents AT&T from selling it either. It's the only ISP that has made a statement about their intentions publicly. I get a lower service level than what comcast promised, but I actually get that speed, and sometimes burst higher than promised.
- plopz 10y ago
  Thats where competition benefits the consumer, its unfortunate that for large areas of the US, there isn't any competition.
mschuster91 10y ago
That seems to be common practice, also in Europe, across providers. And a single look at the GPL source code for your cable modem usually offers the reason (ancient kernels, slow CPUs, more security nightmares than you ever wanted to see)... replace your provider-supplied modem by an AVM FritzBox Cable and boom, gone are the wifi and cable speed problems. Not to mention that AVM has quite a good track record when it comes to security fixes... way better than every other SOHO router vendor I have encountered. Downside: newer FritzBoxes are way less open than they used to be (no Telnet, no selfbuilt firmware support), and they can't do VLAN. (Not employed or business related with AVM, just an extremely happy customer)
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tzakrajs 10y ago
This person seems very confused as to how to verify the truth of something before calling for media attention.
thedevil 10y ago
Comcast ripped me off much more than that. My HOA signed a (incredible bad) deal with Comcast to provide basic channels (the ones nobody wants) for $35/unit* * for 3 years. Then, Comcast's rep allegedly* forged the contract to last 8 years instead of 3. The stupid manager lost the emails, Comcast insisted on the (allegedly* forged) 8-year contract and so the HOA paid it until the manager found the original signed contract (years later) and compared it to the forged version. Then Comcast still pressured the board on the 8-year until we hired a lawyer. I estimate that this alleged* fraud was worth $378,000. * It was never proven in court but the evidence is pretty strong. The forged pages have inconsistent numbering, scanner marks, wording, and date format. * * It was actually a rate that increases over years. $35 was last year's rate. I'm not under any NDA so I'm exposing it but making sure all my details and wording are correct so I don't get sued. Please forgive the edits.
- driverdan 10y ago
  Another reason to never live somewhere with an HOA.
  - thedevil 10y ago
    As an HOA board member, I approve of this comment.
    - spullara 10y ago
      Indeed. I became HOA president of my loft building as a defensive measure.
      - briandear 10y ago
        Great move! I wish more of us would run for government office as a defensive measure!
        zymhan 10y ago
        Look no further than POTUS.
codezero 10y ago
I complained about my speeds and they upgraded my router to a newer one. I find it pretty unacceptable that when I'm renting equipment from them, they don't provide me the equipment that is the speed of the pipe I pay for unless I complain...
jhallenworld 10y ago
I know Verizon at least is preparing for the day where each family member is watching their own 4K TV stream: 15.6 Mbps is required per stream for Netflix. It would be interesting how their "quantum gateway" performs, this one: https://www.verizon.com/home/accessories/fios-quantum-gateway/ https://www.verizon.com/home/accessories/fios-quantum-gatewa... Fios is great, but they were focused on the 4G LTE network for home internet instead of further fios rollout. Here is the router for this: https://www.verizonwireless.com/home-office-solutions/verizon-lte-internet-and-home-phone/ https://www.verizonwireless.com/home-office-solutions/verizo...
eapen 10y ago
You can find the best channel to use using one of these techniques: https://www.howtogeek.com/197268/how-to-find-the-best-wi-fi-channel-for-your-router-on-any-operating-system/ https://www.howtogeek.com/197268/how-to-find-the-best-wi-fi-... Although, that article says you need a jailbroken iPhone to find the best wifi, it is possible to identify high traffic networks with your iPhone using the Airport Utility - https://forum.music-group.com/showthread.php?6603-TIP-Choosing-the-best-WiFi-channel-using-iPad https://forum.music-group.com/showthread.php?6603-TIP-Choosi...
bnolsen 10y ago
Honestly I'd be shocked if comcast isn't ripping everyone off in mulltiple ways. I hate that company.
b34r 10y ago
This is likely just the difference between a DOCSIS 2 vs DOCSIS 3 modem. Regardless of which modem you use, Comcast pushes its own firmware patches that likely have rate limiting built in.
joecool1029 10y ago
We had a Comcast SMC-D3G on Comcast Business. It's garbage. Once we pushed too many connections through it, it would crash and packet loss would skyrocket requiring a manual restart (unplug/replug). This is because it's also a very poor router that can't be changed to bridge-only. There's still plenty of these pieces of crap in the wild, and they also can't properly route ipv6. If you're a business class customer that needs static ip's, you're stuck with Comcast hardware. Fortunately all my locations now can get away with dynamic ip's so we run our SB6121's (deprecated, but fine for 50/10 or 75/15 tiers). The final bullshitty thing that's started in the past year is $100 per on-site visit if they can't prove the issue was caused by their network. I used careful wording there because if this is a peering/intermittent issue they'll come out next day just to pocket that charge and blame you.
decisiveness 10y ago
Never rely on your ISP to provide great wifi equipment. This is not something specific to Comcast. Generally, it seems residential ISPs are only on the hook for providing quoted speeds via a wired connection to their gateway. This is why I always either disable the wifi from my ISP's modem/router combo and branch off my own wifi router from the modem's LAN or request a modem only device from the ISP and use my wifi router's LAN. The downside to the former case is that your wifi devices are now double NATed (unless you use a wireless bridge) which can be annoying if you want to forward ports (you now have to do it twice). The modem/router combo might not support disabling its LAN to act as a bridge very well.
devonkim 10y ago
The great, vast majority of Comcast users are ignorant and get fleeced constantly (I firmly do believe the great majority are old people with their primary bandwidth "hogs" being an SD-broadcast Netflix TV show, 3 iOS apps / year, and a bank website login), so this practice of under-delivery visible to the consumer will probably never really stop (they're cash cows) until we get the FCC involved across the board showing it's a corporate policy to not deliver an advertised service. Unfortunately, they probably get around this too by putting so many disclaimers and exceptions in ads based around wi-fi inconsistencies and system loads that it makes any lawsuit about service levels impossible to prosecute successfully.
- JustSomeNobody 10y ago
  I'm not old or ignorant but I am a Comcast customer. Have to be because they're the only game in town.
yeukhon 10y ago
I was in CA for a summer. My girlfriend at the time lives in SF. She was using AT&T until she had enough of the DSL performance, so I helped her switch to Comcast. Comcast would even charge us for WiFi, but we were able to keep the Wifi off the modem. Luckily we had a nice rep from Portland to work with us. The price has only gone up since signing up with Comcast, and service hasn't been good. I live in NYC so TWC (now Spectrum) is a choice in my area. The service has been pretty good since their first major service line upgrade (probably around 2013, 2014). I get to speak with a customer representative and get a discount promo price every 12 months (very known trick for ISP, just call and tell them you wanted to cancel your ISP account, they will likely offer you a promo price). TWC even have a mobile app which I can use to check service status and even chat with the representative directly from the mobile chat! The app itself is slow kind of a crappy version, but hey, it's amazing. When I moved to my new home, I bought motorola sb6141 modem instead of the stock version. I can tell you that the speed is consistent and noise level is low compared to my old modem. I understand environment (where I live) may matter, but I am happy with my own equipment. TWC let me keep the factory modem in case I needed a replacement which is a nice touch. I have more faith in TWC than in Comcast. Just another customer rant.
nnwright 10y ago
I can confirm this on my end as well. Switching out Comcast equipment for my item router and modem has effectively doubled my speeds.
peterwwillis 10y ago
You pay for service, and the equipment is optional - the rental fee can be waived and you can provide your own equipment. The fact that your equipment works better is not a violation of their contract, unless they specifically said you would get 120Mbps with their equipment. Which they would never say, because there is no guarantee your computer can even handle that speed, and it's always been known that cable speeds vary per neighborhood and household. So, no, there's probably not a class action case. Just stop renting crap equipment and buy a DOCSIS 3.0 modem and a router that does at least 150mbps.
vkdelta 10y ago
Comcast supplies any new customer with a D3.0 modem from one of their suppliers (Arris, Cisco (now Technicolor) or Technicolor). Some of these models are known to have horrendous wifi. If you get one of the old models, Please please turn to "BRIDGED" mode and buy a decent dual-band 802.11ac router. OR go ahead and purchase one of the retail modems and a seperate. If you want option of upgrading the Firmware and controlling your Router, buy a separate modem and separate Router. A customer CANNOT upgrade any Firmware on the modem or if is a Combo device. If one of the Favourite vendor has a bug with Portforwarding or something, your modem is pretty much paperweight unless Vendor is willing to fix it quickly and Comcast can push the FW to you quickly. All this can easily take 3+ months for Urgent bugs. If you are buying new modems and are on service tier > 100 Mbps, Please buy 16x4 Bonding Modems as minimum If you are on extreme 250 or 300 Mbps package, Please buy atleast 24x8 or 32x8 modem. 32x8 modems based off INTEL puma6 had a critical latency bug but I have heard it is fixed in the field now. If you are on Gigabit, you kind of stuck with Comcast modem for now until they let people active DOCSIS 3.1 modems. They can activate for other tiers but NOT gigabit. edit: grammar
strictnein 10y ago
> "What do you say, do we have a nice class-action on our hands?" No.
jdeibele 10y ago
Replaced my Motorola/Arris SB6121 with a Zoom cable modem, going from 4 channels down to 16. A month later, I saw that Comcast was billing me $10/month for not returning "their" modem. Called and raised a little hell because I've never rented a modem from them in 20 years of service. Got some minor credits for the next 3 months. Got the Zoom because I figured it would deliver more consistent bandwidth when the family is doing lots of Netflix at the same time. No real problems with the SB6121.
lph 10y ago
I signed up for Comcast basic cable a few years ago because I was hosting a Superbowl party. I signed up in person at an xfinity store because I didn't want to wait around for shipping. Right after I told the dude at the desk I had a brand new HD TV that I was eager to watch the Superbowl on, he tried to send me home with a cable box that only had one output: (standard definition, analog) coax. I don't even know why they would still offer such a thing, but I had to fight with them to get a box that output HDMI.
- striking 10y ago
  If you were just getting basic cable, I don't think you'd get HD video... It might be part of the training to give crappy boxes to basic cable customers.
- EduardoBautista 10y ago
  The Super Bowl is available through antenna.
  - krallja 10y ago
    ...in HD!
danielparks 10y ago
I get 120 Mbps down on a 75 Mbps Xfinity plan. I think. My bill says I have “Performance Pro Internet”, which appears to be specced for 75 Mbps download. I'm using an Arris (née Motorola) SB6183 modem. fast.com and speedtest.net both report that I'm getting 120 Mbps down. (I'm pretty sure that I signed up for 75 Mbps down, but Xfinity makes it really hard to figure out what service you're using.)
matt_wulfeck 10y ago
Honestly it's bad everywhere. I'm lucky enough to have U-verse 1Gb fiber. I get around 95% of the speed, which is awesome. EXCEPT for some awful reason I'm required to use their modem/firewall combo. Even if I forward all IP traffic to my own router I still have to keep the AT&T router in front because it authorizes me on the network. To make matters worse it exposes a management port for who-knows-why. I'm hoping somebody picks the thing apart and dumps the 802.1X certificate so I can use my own modem.
3guk 10y ago
Not really sure what the author is trying to achieve with this one - first off appears to be comparing wifi speeds which we all know is a fairly poor way to test a connection. Second of all the speedtests shown are 3 months apart...
digitalpacman 10y ago
This happened to my friend too. He was arguing for a new modem. They said no there was no problem. So he replaced it with a non-comcast modem and poof max speed.
gambiting 10y ago
If you are in the UK and using Virgin, the very first thing you should do is buy any router other than their garbage SuperHub 3.0. I was getting a ~50ms ping on LOCAL NETWORK, and weirdly high packet loss over internet, after complaining to virgin they sent me another router, was exactly the same - there's plenty of threads on their forums complaining about the same thing. Just buy anything other than their own hardware and the connection is brilliant.
ajaimk 10y ago
I've had a similar experience with Comcast in the past. The biggest problem with using my own Modem is pretty much every time I call support, they blame it on my Modem. This includes the time when the cable wire outside the building was disconnected by one of their Techs who was working on the neighbor's connection. Class actions against Comcast should be a dime a dozen.
exounx 10y ago
This is definitely not a reliable test. You're doing a speed test, over WiFi on an iPhone 6s. There are so many factors that could contribute to slower speeds including frequency, interference, range, and devices connected (If they went from 802.11n AES+TKIP it can be bottlenecked to 54Mbps.) Also if they're on 802.11b/g/n compatibility mode and a 802.11g device is connected it can also bottleneck the device. I'm sure there are issues with Comcast but this blog post identifies none.
- robalfonso 10y ago
  I think you have a point, however, those issues all exist regardless of the router/modem. If that is all you changed and the speeds dramatically changed, then it bears further investigation. I don't think the post is saying this is definitive. Merely that it bears further investigation. Where there is smoke there is fire.
- acdha 10y ago
  This is not a widespread, comprehensive test but that doesn't mean it's not a reliable test of the limited situation described in the post. The major different I have with your comment isn't the technical aspects but the fact that the average user isn't – and arguably shouldn't be – aware of any of those details. If everyone can get significant speed improvements simply by swapping out the access point because the defaults on the ISP-managed equipment aren't appropriate for normal usage, that's a big deal — especially since they charge $150 + $10/month for that service, which would more than cover some basic config management.
itimetrack 10y ago
Before switching modems, try to turn off QoS, its a setting that optimizes for voice and real-time communication... some how optimize for RTC means everything else is slowed down.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

229 points by jmartens 10y ago

I'm with you, my Comcast bill is now $160 a month for internet and TV. However perhaps the old modem was not DOCSIS 3.0 and the new one is? I'm guessing the new modem is just better hardware thus the increased throughput. No grand conspiracy. Go buy your own DOCSIS 3.0 modem from Amazon and stop paying the monthly rental.

jmartens 10y ago
Its one thing if their service is unreliable, but another when the hardware they rent us doesn't even support the service speeds they sell us. Class action?
- nodesocket 10y ago
  Nope. Good luck with that.
johnbellone 10y ago
I just decided to jump on the cord cutting bandwagon. My bill was ~$180 and I was able to get it down to $97 for the "best Internet". My cost for PlayStation Vue is $29.99 plus $15 for HBO. It streams to the PS4 and Amazon Fire TV. I am very happy with the change simply because I am not giving Comcast more money than I have to.
- nodesocket 10y ago
  I need sports though, that's the problem.
  - derrickrose 10y ago
    You can opt for the league-provided services, or if you look on the internet you'll quickly find services that are better than the officially-provided ones themselves.
    - jessaustin 10y ago
      In my experience the league sources usually black out local teams, which makes them useless for fans of local teams.
  - johnbellone 10y ago
    PS Vue has sports-they are running channels specifically for basketball during march madness.

M_Grey 10y ago

At a guess this is a result of Comcast using the absolute, most mindbogglingly cheap hardware on the planet Earth. Second to that I would guess some kind of incompetence, and only after that would I seriously entertain what amounts to theft.

jmartens 10y ago
You are probably right about cheap equipment and incompetence, but isn't it still fraud if they sell you something that they knowingly can't offer? If I rent a car and pay extra for a 4WD, but the 4WD doesn't work, I want my money back. Is this different?
- sjg007 10y ago
  It's the same. You can sue for breach of implied warranty. They may try to get out of it by saying 'speeds up to'. But if the device can't do that then yes you'd have a good argument.
  - M_Grey 10y ago
    Well, that's not quite the same as fraud, which is a much higher bar to prove. I absolutely wasn't disputing that if you're not getting the advertised service, you should seek recourse, I was just disputing "fraud". It's the difference between being sold a lemon car, and being sold a car that someone turned the odometer back on.
- closeparen 10y ago
  My speedometer goes "up to" 180mph, but my car will certainly never get there. Is Volkswagen guilty of fraud? (Well, not in this particular case...) They said 4WD, not "up to" 4WD. OTOH, they only say "up to" n mpbs. If you want guaranteed minimum speeds, you can pay an order of magnitude more for a business class connection.

exabrial 10y ago

Yes.

1propionyl 10y ago

Yes.

r1ch 10y ago

"Pretty poor coverage" sounds like the author was relying on Wi-Fi for connectivity. I wouldn't trust an ISP-provided combo modem/router to do anything more than the bare minimum when it comes to wireless, most likely a single chain 2.4 GHz network (and 5 GHz if you're lucky). Replacing it with Google Wifi which is a Wave2 802.11ac 5 GHz device with Beamforming will make a world of difference. Intentionally supplying old hardware that can't reach high speeds (eg a DOCSIS 2 modem) is actually bad for them as it wastes frequency.

jwilliams 10y ago
I'd wonder about the same. Easy to test by plugging the Google router into the Xfinity one. The other factor could be the Xfinity wifi sharing feature (customers can connect to other routers). Could be causing some issues or interference.
rhino369 10y ago
In many apartment buildings the 2.4 Ghz spectrum is just too crowded. Just using a cheap 5Ghz 11n without breamforming would likely solve the problem. I've got at least 40 bss's on 2.4 and I'm the only one on 5Ghz. It's crazy. I'd say Comcast should use 5Ghz but then that spectrum will get crowded too.
- gtdawg 10y ago
  All devices going forward (especially isp routers) _should_ use only 5ghz. Consumers should have to spend extra on 2.4 AP gear to support legacy client devices. 5ghz has reduced propagation and there are so many more channels available that it is actually optimal to use in dense evvironments. Mesh wifi is pretty much a requirement for a lot of users to keep the same coverage with multiple rooms compared with their existing 2.4 ghz network.
  - Matt3o12_ 10y ago
    As far as I understand, 5ghz is weak on distance which is a problem at my apartment building. Every time I'm on the 5G SSID, the internet becomes unusable in the bedroom and kitchen which makes 5G unusable for me because my devices don't select the 2.4ghz band automatically.

joshfraser 10y ago

Another way to get the advertised speeds is to regularly call and complain. From my experience, they'll dial your speed up, just to stop you from calling in all the time.

johnbellone 10y ago
You also need to keep in mind if you bought your own modem that you may need to upgrade the firmware (or worse case, a new modem) to get advertised speeds. This generally is advertised as 8x4 channels or better. My old surfboard tops out at 150Mbps.
- gergles 10y ago
  You as the end user can't 'upgrade the firmware' in cable modems, it's all sent from the CMTS. It's how they enforce "supported modems" - no firmware for your modem, you can't use it.

loser777 10y ago

It's almost hilarious how cheap and bad the Xfinity modem/router combo is. Any kind of configuration via the web interface is a dice roll on whether or not the settings actually take. If you're lucky, your configuration changes get applied, but don't expect them to be displayed. I guess whatever little money it cost to build went into the annoyingly bright white LEDs on the front of the case.

manyxcxi 10y ago

The best thing anyone can do is swap out the junky cable modem + WiFi router combos they rent to you. They're horrible under standard usage, bad when lots of clients are connected, bad wifi range, low memory, require frequent reboots, etc. For about $70 (about 5mos of rental charges) you can get a Surfboard barebones Docsis 3 modem that will vastly outperform whatever junk they rent out. After that you could get a TP-Link Archer C7 for sub $80 that will have good range and performance for that price point. So within about the first year you've broken even with vastly superior components and you'll be able to take them with you to any cable provider you wind up using in the future. I get why most people don't do this, they don't even know it's possible, but I'm amazed when colleagues in the industry are still running the company hardware.

throwaway6556 10y ago
TP-Link is Chinese crap, please stop recommending it. Thanks. Ubiquiti is fine, and Debian-based, to boot.
- dogecoinbase 10y ago
  Ubnt doesn't respond to security reports, violates the GPL, abandons product lines without warning while continuing to sell them, and sells underpowered devices that don't support basic functionality. But they are really cheap!
  - shimo5037 10y ago
    I believe the reason they continue selling them is so that companies with existing deployments can expand them with the same gear that already works for them. It's the same for most enterprise-oriented hardware. What would you suggest instead?
- noonespecial 10y ago
  Really? I've found the opposite. TP-Link has managed to match recent Ubiquiti's on performance and beaten them on price, but hasn't tried to ram a bunch of useless cloud crap down my throat when all I want is a simple AP.

JustSomeNobody 10y ago

Why not call for a technician? I mean if you're using their equipment and all, at least give them the chance to fix it.

loeg 10y ago
They'll bill you more for an hour of a technician's time than the cost to just buy a new modem/router.
- JustSomeNobody 10y ago
  Not if it is their fault/equipment.
  - MertsA 10y ago
    >Not if it is their fault/equipment. That depends entirely on the technician you get. At least for Cox, it's up to the technician to determine if the customer foots the bill or not and while you might get a competent technician who will happily redo all of the outside wiring while he's there for free you might also get a technician from some third party contractor who doesn't even have the equipment to test anything and is just relying on the customer's modem for troubleshooting. Just because it's their fault doesn't mean that they'll admit it or even fix it.
    - acdha 10y ago
      … and even if the technician does the right thing, there's no guarantee that the charge won't mysteriously show up on your bill next month unless you live in a city/state with very consumer-oriented regulators.

BostonEnginerd 10y ago

Comcast's business practices aren't great, but I will give them credit. I get every Mbps that they claim I am supposed to get. This is plugged into my router (Turris Omnia) and my cable modem (self-owned Arris SB6190). http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest/13090043 http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest/13090043

jbuzbee 10y ago
Of course, there's always the suspicion that ISPs, including Comcast, give priority to the various speed-test sites... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r28685577-Speed-comcast-speed-test-lies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r28685577-Speed-comcast-spee...
jmartens 10y ago
You are using your own equipment, right? Thats the point of this post....their equipment doesn't support their service speeds, you have to use your own.
PUMA6FAIL 10y ago
You're using a SB6190? You're probably not getting the Mbps you're supposed to be getting, at least not all the time. Just Google "puma 6 issue" and see the vast issues that chipset has, and checkout http://www.dslreports.com/tools/puma6 http://www.dslreports.com/tools/puma6
voltagex_ 10y ago
Hey, another Omnia user! How are you finding it? Is lighttpd crashing for you?

QUFB 10y ago

I'll counter Jeffrey Martens' anecdotal evidence with my own. I've had Comcast in my last 3 residences, leasing equipment provided by Comcast. In each case, performance was as advertised.

colemannugent 10y ago

On the subject of class actions: it's most likely impossible. In their terms of service they will undoubtedly state that you agree to go to arbitration rather than court, and they have you explicitly waive your right to a class action. Also the terms of service makes it very clear that the speeds they quote on their ads are essentially entirely theoretical.

deleted 10y ago
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peeters 10y ago
> they have you explicitly waive your right to a class action Almost certainly not going to be upheld by a court if there is evidence of fraud. > Also the terms of service makes it very clear that the speeds they quote on their ads are essentially entirely theoretical. Completely irrelevant if you can prove that they purposefully implemented a scheme to throttle your speeds.

deeth_starr_v 10y ago

She probably had an old DOCSIS 1 modem from a few years ago. You could only get 30MBPS with that. They usually tell you that on the phone when you try to upgrade, but they've been giving free upgrades without you asking in SF. I had to buy a DOCSIS 3.0 modem to get the best speeds.

narsil 10y ago

Switching to 5 GHz instead of 2.4 GHz has made this magnitude of difference for me in the past. Today, at home, I haven't had dedicated internet connectivity for 4 years. I log in to the xfinitywifi SSID that some of my neighbors in my apartment complex are probably broadcasting via my parents' comcast account and get good speeds. I'm on it right now and speedtest.net shows 30 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up. Plenty enough for my purposes, including Netflix. I switch to tethering on my AT&T device if needed for 15-25 GB 4G data each month; the "unlimited" plans offered by carriers today don't provide more than 10 GB of high speed data in contrast. Not sure how much longer this setup will work, but I plan on continuing it for as long as I can; the cost savings really add up. A side-effect of this that I've noticed is increased operational awareness on my part. Comcast MITMs any unencrypted HTTP traffic and injects in a "powered by xfinitywifi" banner that is a great reminder to not trust the network. :)

hbosch 10y ago
Yes, this "xfinitywifi" public hotspot is enabled by default on many (all?) leased Comcast router-modems. Seems like many people in my complex are unaware or leave it open. I turn mine off.

tmaly 10y ago

I did the same thing, swapped out an xfinity provided cable modem for my own. I definitely have better speeds now. My modem supports more channels

username223 10y ago

I wonder how much of that has to do with their providing "xfinity" wifi to anyone nearby who wants to share your cable line? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xfinity#Xfinity_WiFi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xfinity#Xfinity_WiFi

narsil 10y ago
FWIW Comcast claims this will not affect the speed [0]. At the low speeds in the OP's article, this is likely the case. [0] https://www.xfinity.com/support/internet/xfinity-wifi-hotspots/ https://www.xfinity.com/support/internet/xfinity-wifi-hotspo...
ac29 10y ago
Just turn it off, I did when I was using Comcast equipment last year. You dont owe Comcast any favors.
r00fus 10y ago
I have a limited setback on my house and I swear when I replaced their combo router I stopped having people (late at night eating burgers and listening to loud music while browsing) randomly parked in front of my house (presumably they got signal on the street). I'll never go back to that configuration again so it's not like I can retest.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

Merad 10y ago

I used my own modem from the start with Comcast (bought specifically for their service), but after about 6 months I was having problems with the modem being disconnected multiple times per day, and sometimes unable to reconnect for hours at a time. Comcast support insisted that my modem was unsupported, despite it being present on their supported modems list. After about 3 calls I gave up and started researching on my own, and eventually discovered that some of the incoming signal strengths were way off what they should be. Crossed my fingers and checked the box outside the house, and yup, Comcast had wired it up with a single cheap 6 way splitter. Replaced it with a quality 2 way splitter, and now I can at least get decent service for the absurd price I pay.

rev_bird 10y ago
Ran into a similar problem with my modem -- the website clearly said it was supported, but three different phone service reps said it wasn't. I went out, spent $100 on a new surfboard modem, didn't help. When they finally sent a tech out, he said my original modem was fine.
- larzang 10y ago
  This is a part of their sales playbook. Even if you have a top of the line modem that just came out and is on their support list, they will tell you its either unsupported or about to become unsupported and push you to rent garbage from them instead. You can never trust anything a phone/chat rep tells you because they're aggressively pushed by management to integrate sales into support.

prdonahue 10y ago

Umm, they ship a crappy radio in their wifi device. They know this, the technician "installing" it even told me not to use it. I had nearly the exact same results after disabling wifi and patching in an Apple Airport Express that I could connect to using 5GHz spectrum.. Speeds jumped from 25Mbps down to ~95Mbps down and latency dropped from 20ms to 9ms.

chrissnell 10y ago

Don't use Speedtest.net. The major providers all prioritize their traffic and it gives unrealistic results. I built a graphical console-based speed tester (client+server) that you can run yourself to get a more accurate picture and test between your home and servers you actually use: https://github.com/chrissnell/sparkyfish https://github.com/chrissnell/sparkyfish

Mtinie 10y ago
I appreciate the tool you've built. Having options is awesome. That being said, when you know that Comcast and others prioritize their traffic through Speedtest AND you encounter subpar speeds even with this allocation in place, you know there is a problem.
jftuga 10y ago
For firewall rule purposes, I wish your program would have used 5201 by default, the standard iperf port.
- chrissnell 10y ago
  It's configurable! Just use --listen-addr on the server side and on the client side, just run it like sparkyfish-cli <hostname:port>. I think it's a good idea not to use standard ports, to avoid any sketchy prioritization practices on the part of the provider.
foota 10y ago
Would also recommend fast.com, which uses Netflix cdn as the test, and so theoretically will reflect actual usage.
johnbellone 10y ago
I think that Google provides one if you search "Speedtest" on a non-mobile device.
fake-name 10y ago
Another reason to not use speedtest.net is they use compressible data for their tests. DOCSIS has some support for stream compression, so you'll often get highly unrealistic results. On the other hand, basically all internet content is sent over the wire already compressed, so any stream compression doesn't help with it at all. I've had speedtest.net overrate my connection by 2-3 times it's actual throughput.

saboot 10y ago

Is it possible your wireless channel was overused? Most of my neighbors have comcast, as do we. I've had poor coverage and connection also, couldnt even get our wireless printer to work anymore. I used a program called WifiInfoView and viewed how many nearby wireless networks there were, their signal strengths, and set my router to a channel that wasn't being used. Cleared up all of our problems instantly. I would check this, perhaps his google modem was preset to another channel.

Steeeve 10y ago

This is interesting. I had the same experience in Mountain View - paid for 100mbps+ service, and only got 30 - and even that was haphazard. I went through a series of support requests. I eventually complained to the FCC and cancelled service. Once I involved the FCC, I had a rep call me, say they absolutely understood why I would cancel given my experience and wish me well. They provided me a partial refund for service levels that they never provided me with, and for days which I received no service. I'm on Sonic now and I've been happy with them. The few times I've had problems they have been very responsive, and you definitely get the sense that their techs know what they are doing. They scoffed at the idea that they would ever sell their customer's data after the recent bill passed, and pointed out that although they resell AT&T service, their contract prevents AT&T from selling it either. It's the only ISP that has made a statement about their intentions publicly. I get a lower service level than what comcast promised, but I actually get that speed, and sometimes burst higher than promised.

plopz 10y ago
Thats where competition benefits the consumer, its unfortunate that for large areas of the US, there isn't any competition.

mschuster91 10y ago

That seems to be common practice, also in Europe, across providers. And a single look at the GPL source code for your cable modem usually offers the reason (ancient kernels, slow CPUs, more security nightmares than you ever wanted to see)... replace your provider-supplied modem by an AVM FritzBox Cable and boom, gone are the wifi and cable speed problems. Not to mention that AVM has quite a good track record when it comes to security fixes... way better than every other SOHO router vendor I have encountered. Downside: newer FritzBoxes are way less open than they used to be (no Telnet, no selfbuilt firmware support), and they can't do VLAN. (Not employed or business related with AVM, just an extremely happy customer)

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

tzakrajs 10y ago

This person seems very confused as to how to verify the truth of something before calling for media attention.

thedevil 10y ago

Comcast ripped me off much more than that. My HOA signed a (incredible bad) deal with Comcast to provide basic channels (the ones nobody wants) for $35/unit* * for 3 years. Then, Comcast's rep allegedly* forged the contract to last 8 years instead of 3. The stupid manager lost the emails, Comcast insisted on the (allegedly* forged) 8-year contract and so the HOA paid it until the manager found the original signed contract (years later) and compared it to the forged version. Then Comcast still pressured the board on the 8-year until we hired a lawyer. I estimate that this alleged* fraud was worth $378,000. * It was never proven in court but the evidence is pretty strong. The forged pages have inconsistent numbering, scanner marks, wording, and date format. * * It was actually a rate that increases over years. $35 was last year's rate. I'm not under any NDA so I'm exposing it but making sure all my details and wording are correct so I don't get sued. Please forgive the edits.

driverdan 10y ago
Another reason to never live somewhere with an HOA.
- thedevil 10y ago
  As an HOA board member, I approve of this comment.
  - spullara 10y ago
    Indeed. I became HOA president of my loft building as a defensive measure.
    - briandear 10y ago
      Great move! I wish more of us would run for government office as a defensive measure!
      - zymhan 10y ago
        Look no further than POTUS.

codezero 10y ago

I complained about my speeds and they upgraded my router to a newer one. I find it pretty unacceptable that when I'm renting equipment from them, they don't provide me the equipment that is the speed of the pipe I pay for unless I complain...

jhallenworld 10y ago

I know Verizon at least is preparing for the day where each family member is watching their own 4K TV stream: 15.6 Mbps is required per stream for Netflix. It would be interesting how their "quantum gateway" performs, this one: https://www.verizon.com/home/accessories/fios-quantum-gateway/ https://www.verizon.com/home/accessories/fios-quantum-gatewa... Fios is great, but they were focused on the 4G LTE network for home internet instead of further fios rollout. Here is the router for this: https://www.verizonwireless.com/home-office-solutions/verizon-lte-internet-and-home-phone/ https://www.verizonwireless.com/home-office-solutions/verizo...

eapen 10y ago

You can find the best channel to use using one of these techniques: https://www.howtogeek.com/197268/how-to-find-the-best-wi-fi-channel-for-your-router-on-any-operating-system/ https://www.howtogeek.com/197268/how-to-find-the-best-wi-fi-... Although, that article says you need a jailbroken iPhone to find the best wifi, it is possible to identify high traffic networks with your iPhone using the Airport Utility - https://forum.music-group.com/showthread.php?6603-TIP-Choosing-the-best-WiFi-channel-using-iPad https://forum.music-group.com/showthread.php?6603-TIP-Choosi...

bnolsen 10y ago

Honestly I'd be shocked if comcast isn't ripping everyone off in mulltiple ways. I hate that company.

b34r 10y ago

This is likely just the difference between a DOCSIS 2 vs DOCSIS 3 modem. Regardless of which modem you use, Comcast pushes its own firmware patches that likely have rate limiting built in.

joecool1029 10y ago

We had a Comcast SMC-D3G on Comcast Business. It's garbage. Once we pushed too many connections through it, it would crash and packet loss would skyrocket requiring a manual restart (unplug/replug). This is because it's also a very poor router that can't be changed to bridge-only. There's still plenty of these pieces of crap in the wild, and they also can't properly route ipv6. If you're a business class customer that needs static ip's, you're stuck with Comcast hardware. Fortunately all my locations now can get away with dynamic ip's so we run our SB6121's (deprecated, but fine for 50/10 or 75/15 tiers). The final bullshitty thing that's started in the past year is $100 per on-site visit if they can't prove the issue was caused by their network. I used careful wording there because if this is a peering/intermittent issue they'll come out next day just to pocket that charge and blame you.

decisiveness 10y ago

Never rely on your ISP to provide great wifi equipment. This is not something specific to Comcast. Generally, it seems residential ISPs are only on the hook for providing quoted speeds via a wired connection to their gateway. This is why I always either disable the wifi from my ISP's modem/router combo and branch off my own wifi router from the modem's LAN or request a modem only device from the ISP and use my wifi router's LAN. The downside to the former case is that your wifi devices are now double NATed (unless you use a wireless bridge) which can be annoying if you want to forward ports (you now have to do it twice). The modem/router combo might not support disabling its LAN to act as a bridge very well.

devonkim 10y ago

The great, vast majority of Comcast users are ignorant and get fleeced constantly (I firmly do believe the great majority are old people with their primary bandwidth "hogs" being an SD-broadcast Netflix TV show, 3 iOS apps / year, and a bank website login), so this practice of under-delivery visible to the consumer will probably never really stop (they're cash cows) until we get the FCC involved across the board showing it's a corporate policy to not deliver an advertised service. Unfortunately, they probably get around this too by putting so many disclaimers and exceptions in ads based around wi-fi inconsistencies and system loads that it makes any lawsuit about service levels impossible to prosecute successfully.

JustSomeNobody 10y ago
I'm not old or ignorant but I am a Comcast customer. Have to be because they're the only game in town.

yeukhon 10y ago

I was in CA for a summer. My girlfriend at the time lives in SF. She was using AT&T until she had enough of the DSL performance, so I helped her switch to Comcast. Comcast would even charge us for WiFi, but we were able to keep the Wifi off the modem. Luckily we had a nice rep from Portland to work with us. The price has only gone up since signing up with Comcast, and service hasn't been good. I live in NYC so TWC (now Spectrum) is a choice in my area. The service has been pretty good since their first major service line upgrade (probably around 2013, 2014). I get to speak with a customer representative and get a discount promo price every 12 months (very known trick for ISP, just call and tell them you wanted to cancel your ISP account, they will likely offer you a promo price). TWC even have a mobile app which I can use to check service status and even chat with the representative directly from the mobile chat! The app itself is slow kind of a crappy version, but hey, it's amazing. When I moved to my new home, I bought motorola sb6141 modem instead of the stock version. I can tell you that the speed is consistent and noise level is low compared to my old modem. I understand environment (where I live) may matter, but I am happy with my own equipment. TWC let me keep the factory modem in case I needed a replacement which is a nice touch. I have more faith in TWC than in Comcast. Just another customer rant.

nnwright 10y ago

I can confirm this on my end as well. Switching out Comcast equipment for my item router and modem has effectively doubled my speeds.

peterwwillis 10y ago

You pay for service, and the equipment is optional - the rental fee can be waived and you can provide your own equipment. The fact that your equipment works better is not a violation of their contract, unless they specifically said you would get 120Mbps with their equipment. Which they would never say, because there is no guarantee your computer can even handle that speed, and it's always been known that cable speeds vary per neighborhood and household. So, no, there's probably not a class action case. Just stop renting crap equipment and buy a DOCSIS 3.0 modem and a router that does at least 150mbps.

vkdelta 10y ago

Comcast supplies any new customer with a D3.0 modem from one of their suppliers (Arris, Cisco (now Technicolor) or Technicolor). Some of these models are known to have horrendous wifi. If you get one of the old models, Please please turn to "BRIDGED" mode and buy a decent dual-band 802.11ac router. OR go ahead and purchase one of the retail modems and a seperate. If you want option of upgrading the Firmware and controlling your Router, buy a separate modem and separate Router. A customer CANNOT upgrade any Firmware on the modem or if is a Combo device. If one of the Favourite vendor has a bug with Portforwarding or something, your modem is pretty much paperweight unless Vendor is willing to fix it quickly and Comcast can push the FW to you quickly. All this can easily take 3+ months for Urgent bugs. If you are buying new modems and are on service tier > 100 Mbps, Please buy 16x4 Bonding Modems as minimum If you are on extreme 250 or 300 Mbps package, Please buy atleast 24x8 or 32x8 modem. 32x8 modems based off INTEL puma6 had a critical latency bug but I have heard it is fixed in the field now. If you are on Gigabit, you kind of stuck with Comcast modem for now until they let people active DOCSIS 3.1 modems. They can activate for other tiers but NOT gigabit. edit: grammar

strictnein 10y ago

> "What do you say, do we have a nice class-action on our hands?" No.

jdeibele 10y ago

Replaced my Motorola/Arris SB6121 with a Zoom cable modem, going from 4 channels down to 16. A month later, I saw that Comcast was billing me $10/month for not returning "their" modem. Called and raised a little hell because I've never rented a modem from them in 20 years of service. Got some minor credits for the next 3 months. Got the Zoom because I figured it would deliver more consistent bandwidth when the family is doing lots of Netflix at the same time. No real problems with the SB6121.

lph 10y ago

I signed up for Comcast basic cable a few years ago because I was hosting a Superbowl party. I signed up in person at an xfinity store because I didn't want to wait around for shipping. Right after I told the dude at the desk I had a brand new HD TV that I was eager to watch the Superbowl on, he tried to send me home with a cable box that only had one output: (standard definition, analog) coax. I don't even know why they would still offer such a thing, but I had to fight with them to get a box that output HDMI.

striking 10y ago
If you were just getting basic cable, I don't think you'd get HD video... It might be part of the training to give crappy boxes to basic cable customers.
EduardoBautista 10y ago
The Super Bowl is available through antenna.
- krallja 10y ago
  ...in HD!

danielparks 10y ago

I get 120 Mbps down on a 75 Mbps Xfinity plan. I think. My bill says I have “Performance Pro Internet”, which appears to be specced for 75 Mbps download. I'm using an Arris (née Motorola) SB6183 modem. fast.com and speedtest.net both report that I'm getting 120 Mbps down. (I'm pretty sure that I signed up for 75 Mbps down, but Xfinity makes it really hard to figure out what service you're using.)

matt_wulfeck 10y ago

Honestly it's bad everywhere. I'm lucky enough to have U-verse 1Gb fiber. I get around 95% of the speed, which is awesome. EXCEPT for some awful reason I'm required to use their modem/firewall combo. Even if I forward all IP traffic to my own router I still have to keep the AT&T router in front because it authorizes me on the network. To make matters worse it exposes a management port for who-knows-why. I'm hoping somebody picks the thing apart and dumps the 802.1X certificate so I can use my own modem.

3guk 10y ago

Not really sure what the author is trying to achieve with this one - first off appears to be comparing wifi speeds which we all know is a fairly poor way to test a connection. Second of all the speedtests shown are 3 months apart...

digitalpacman 10y ago

This happened to my friend too. He was arguing for a new modem. They said no there was no problem. So he replaced it with a non-comcast modem and poof max speed.

gambiting 10y ago

If you are in the UK and using Virgin, the very first thing you should do is buy any router other than their garbage SuperHub 3.0. I was getting a ~50ms ping on LOCAL NETWORK, and weirdly high packet loss over internet, after complaining to virgin they sent me another router, was exactly the same - there's plenty of threads on their forums complaining about the same thing. Just buy anything other than their own hardware and the connection is brilliant.

ajaimk 10y ago

I've had a similar experience with Comcast in the past. The biggest problem with using my own Modem is pretty much every time I call support, they blame it on my Modem. This includes the time when the cable wire outside the building was disconnected by one of their Techs who was working on the neighbor's connection. Class actions against Comcast should be a dime a dozen.

exounx 10y ago

This is definitely not a reliable test. You're doing a speed test, over WiFi on an iPhone 6s. There are so many factors that could contribute to slower speeds including frequency, interference, range, and devices connected (If they went from 802.11n AES+TKIP it can be bottlenecked to 54Mbps.) Also if they're on 802.11b/g/n compatibility mode and a 802.11g device is connected it can also bottleneck the device. I'm sure there are issues with Comcast but this blog post identifies none.

robalfonso 10y ago
I think you have a point, however, those issues all exist regardless of the router/modem. If that is all you changed and the speeds dramatically changed, then it bears further investigation. I don't think the post is saying this is definitive. Merely that it bears further investigation. Where there is smoke there is fire.
acdha 10y ago
This is not a widespread, comprehensive test but that doesn't mean it's not a reliable test of the limited situation described in the post. The major different I have with your comment isn't the technical aspects but the fact that the average user isn't – and arguably shouldn't be – aware of any of those details. If everyone can get significant speed improvements simply by swapping out the access point because the defaults on the ISP-managed equipment aren't appropriate for normal usage, that's a big deal — especially since they charge $150 + $10/month for that service, which would more than cover some basic config management.

itimetrack 10y ago

Before switching modems, try to turn off QoS, its a setting that optimizes for voice and real-time communication... some how optimize for RTC means everything else is slowed down.

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