4 ms·

This is a thing I would kind of want to do, but I've never bothered to figure out how. Like how will I know if it's a compatible modem, or better than what's t

This is a thing I would kind of want to do, but I've never bothered to figure out how. Like how will I know if it's a compatible modem, or better than what's there? How do you configure it? So those are my reasons.

gnopgnip 10y ago
http://mynewmodem.comcast.net/ http://mynewmodem.comcast.net/ Lists most of the modems you can purchase from amazon. They have a slightly larger list of supported modems but many of them are noy sold to the public like some Cisco models.
erichurkman 10y ago
https://mydeviceinfo.xfinity.com/ https://mydeviceinfo.xfinity.com/ will walk you through finding which devices your local service + speed work with. Spoiler: most DOCSIS 3.0 modems are compatible. Buy it, unplug your existing modem, plug the new one in, and call Comcast. I had mine out of the box and up and running in all of 15 minutes (most of that was spent on hold and waiting for the modem to reboot).
harryh 10y ago
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-cable-modem/ http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-cable-modem/ You can figure this sort of thing out with less than 1 hour of effort.
nommm-nommm 10y ago
https://www.xfinity.com/support/internet/list-of-approved-cable-modems/ https://www.xfinity.com/support/internet/list-of-approved-ca... To configure it, you just plug it in. I think you may have to call them after you plugged it in and then activate it on their end.
manyxcxi 10y ago
The beauty is that (as far as my experience for the last ten years with Comcast for home and business in Seattle and Portland) I've never once had to do any configuration other than plugging it in while on the phone with support and reading off the various IDs. The only thing I've ever needed was the serial numbers and such that are printed on the bottom of my modem. Pro tip, the chat is much faster, tether to your phone for internet and do it via their web chat.
- dubya 10y ago
  I replaced my router a few weeks ago (lightning!) on Comcast and the configuration was completely automatic. Maybe I had to enter my comcast id and password, but I didn't have to call anyone and it was done in just a few minutes. This was in Knoxville, TN.
  - manyxcxi 10y ago
    I've been back on FiOS since we moved back to PDX last summer, so my last cable modem switcharoo was about 5 years ago in Seattle. It's likely they could've made it easier. To that end, I've done the modem switch probably a dozen times for myself, family, or friends and I've never encountered any resistance from Comcast during the process. Though they did fat finger a MAC address or serial number one time.
devonkim 10y ago
Before going out and buying a modem, I would strongly recommend making sure through support that the modem you're planning on getting is ALSO compatible with the very specific data plans for now and for the foreseeable future. One of the interesting things I found was that the Comcast device compatibility site listed a modem I bought as compatible, but you can still wind up unable to get the speeds you're paying for because the specific profile that was listed for my account was not flagged for that modem even though the modem is actually capable of it (300/35 plan, which is a bit unusual). So I wound up returning my 24-channel DOCSIS 3.0 modem and buying a more expensive one on DOCSIS 3.1. The other option was to actually downgrade my plan to maybe 150 Mbps.

gnopgnip 10y ago

http://mynewmodem.comcast.net/ http://mynewmodem.comcast.net/ Lists most of the modems you can purchase from amazon. They have a slightly larger list of supported modems but many of them are noy sold to the public like some Cisco models.

erichurkman 10y ago

https://mydeviceinfo.xfinity.com/ https://mydeviceinfo.xfinity.com/ will walk you through finding which devices your local service + speed work with. Spoiler: most DOCSIS 3.0 modems are compatible. Buy it, unplug your existing modem, plug the new one in, and call Comcast. I had mine out of the box and up and running in all of 15 minutes (most of that was spent on hold and waiting for the modem to reboot).

harryh 10y ago

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-cable-modem/ http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-cable-modem/ You can figure this sort of thing out with less than 1 hour of effort.

nommm-nommm 10y ago

https://www.xfinity.com/support/internet/list-of-approved-cable-modems/ https://www.xfinity.com/support/internet/list-of-approved-ca... To configure it, you just plug it in. I think you may have to call them after you plugged it in and then activate it on their end.

manyxcxi 10y ago

The beauty is that (as far as my experience for the last ten years with Comcast for home and business in Seattle and Portland) I've never once had to do any configuration other than plugging it in while on the phone with support and reading off the various IDs. The only thing I've ever needed was the serial numbers and such that are printed on the bottom of my modem. Pro tip, the chat is much faster, tether to your phone for internet and do it via their web chat.

dubya 10y ago
I replaced my router a few weeks ago (lightning!) on Comcast and the configuration was completely automatic. Maybe I had to enter my comcast id and password, but I didn't have to call anyone and it was done in just a few minutes. This was in Knoxville, TN.
- manyxcxi 10y ago
  I've been back on FiOS since we moved back to PDX last summer, so my last cable modem switcharoo was about 5 years ago in Seattle. It's likely they could've made it easier. To that end, I've done the modem switch probably a dozen times for myself, family, or friends and I've never encountered any resistance from Comcast during the process. Though they did fat finger a MAC address or serial number one time.

devonkim 10y ago

Before going out and buying a modem, I would strongly recommend making sure through support that the modem you're planning on getting is ALSO compatible with the very specific data plans for now and for the foreseeable future. One of the interesting things I found was that the Comcast device compatibility site listed a modem I bought as compatible, but you can still wind up unable to get the speeds you're paying for because the specific profile that was listed for my account was not flagged for that modem even though the modem is actually capable of it (300/35 plan, which is a bit unusual). So I wound up returning my 24-channel DOCSIS 3.0 modem and buying a more expensive one on DOCSIS 3.1. The other option was to actually downgrade my plan to maybe 150 Mbps.