Reddit reviews ARRIS / Motorola SURFboard SB5101U DOCSIS 2.0 Cable Modem

You are asking all new prices for used items.

That coffee maker is barely $20 on Amazon and you are asking $15 for it...USED.

Your Old West Boots for $90 aren't even $110 brand new.

The Motorola S85101U Modem is less than $50. The Linksys Router is three years old - the latest and newest version of the same (E1200 vs E1000) is less than $35. So you are asking BRAND NEW prices for three year old items?

So just a few dollars more (or in some cases, like the router & modem, cheaper), I can get brand new items that come with a return policy...plus cashback from my credit card rewards program. Come on...get real.

Stop wasting your money and buy a router modem for $50. Pays for itself in less than a year. i've been using this one for a year without issue.

As soon as I got the rental notice I went to amazon and bought the exact same model I had through time warner for about 50 dollars:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002M3SHXA/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Not a TW fan. I did get a good deal when I tried to switch to Dish, though. So now atleast I'm not paying an arm and a leg for cable.

If you have a lower tier internet package (30 mpbs or lower), you can just get an older model used modem for 10 bucks. This is the one I picked up earlier this year, and I've had zero drops in latency or speed from my original router/modem combo from Comcast:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002M3SHXA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Same Modem without the referral link

Here are the suggestions:

Motorola SB5101u if you just want to keep service and essentially tread water. This modem is old, but still supported. It won't take advantage of the newer DOCSIS 3.0/3.1 technologies, but neither will your Comcast service.

Motorola SB6121 or SB6141 will allow you to keep service, be supported for a longer time than the older SB5101, and take advantage of DOCSIS 3.0/3.1 technologies

Got a suggestion? I have been using this one for three years and it has been rock-solid reliable for only $40.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002M3SHXA

I suppose it depends on the service provider, but I've always used Motorola Surfboard modems with my Comcast service. I recently purchased this sb6121, but would probably just recommend saving the money and getting a basic one like this sb5101u.

I purchased the former with the hope of future proofing and maximum performance for gaming, but I doubt it will ever make a serious difference. My gain was 1mb as per www.speedtest.net over the one I had been renting. $7 savings a month, it will be paid off in ~1yr.

I would highly recommend staying away from them. They are honestly extremely unreliable and notoriously crappy. With that said, you can get separate boxes for around that price point.

$60 router (preloaded with dd-wrt): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833162069

$66 docsis 3.0 modem: http://smile.amazon.com/Zoom-DOCSIS-Cable-Modem-5341J/dp/B0063K4NN6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1395010349&sr=8-2&keywords=zoom+modem

Or if you don't need 3.0, you can get:

$40 docsis 2.0 modem: http://smile.amazon.com/ARRIS-Motorola-SURFboard-SB5101U-DOCSIS/dp/B002M3SHXA

For the modems, make sure they are on the compatibility list for your ISP before buying. While ones not on their list will sometimes work... Sometimes they won't and your ISP will respond to any troubleshooting with "you need to buy a supported modem"

Uhhhh. What?

I have this modem. I bought it myself and I have used it with three different cable companies in four states. I don't know of any cable providers in the US who don't support the DOCSIS 2.0 standard.

The only potential limitation is if they refuse to activate a modem that they did not issue. I've never heard of this happening, and can verify that this is not Comcast's policy.

The cable companies will rent you a modem, and you will pay too much for it. In general, they charge $5-10/mo for the rental, meaning you can buy your own modem and pay it off in less than a year.

Are you positive your modem can handle faster speeds? For example, this modem is only capable of 30/38mbps down/up.

It is actually possible. In NE Ohio with TWC, I generally achieve faster than my purchased speed. However, there are exceptions. When it's a peak traffic time the speed slows down a bit because we're all on a shared "pipe" of internet in my apartment complex - this is common for apartment complexes or portions of neighborhoods (a couple city blocks) to all utilize the same main wire going back to the central office. This wire has a finite amount of bandwidth, because it's only capable of going so fast. This is why you'll see your speeds drop.

I've also seen speed tests show inaccurate results from different servers.

Luckily it was still in my buy history here you go!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002M3SHXA/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?qid=1422414461&sr=8-14&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

Could be the modem. Comcast made all its customers in my area change to their new style modem a couple years back. Should look like this. Not sure if you are using the old surfboard style.

The easiest thing to try first would be that DNS setting to change. Try that for a day or so. You probly wont notice any DL speed difference, but hopefully it will remove that packet loss.

I have the ARRIS / Motorola SURFboard SB5101U DOCSIS 2.0 Cable Modem . http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002M3SHXA

At 15mbps you will only need a DOCSIS 2 modem. You can get them used on amazon for less than 10 bucks.

This is compatible

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002M3SHXA/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

Cox should give you a modem for a monthly rental fee, probably $5/month or something like that. You can still buy your own, though.

Unfortunately that link is not static so it doesn't work here. I'm not sure which modems Cox says are compatible, but as far as regular cable modems go, these are the two that what I would recommend if they're on the list.

For DOCSIS 2.0:

Motorola SB5101U: Amazon link

For DOCSIS 3.0:

Motorola SB6120: Amazon link


and, apparently there's the SB6121 as well: Amazon link

I'm not sure what the difference is.

Depending on what tier of service you have, Cox may require a DOCSIS 3.0 modem.

Note that these are just modems, so unless you have one wired computer you'll need a router as well. However, having a separate modem + router is preferable to having a combination unit. The settings on modem/router combos are usually quite restricted and if you have a problem with say, wireless, there's nothing you can do except replace the whole thing.

I use this one, since we're only paying for 25/10, and it's actually one of the models they used before that horrid Xfinity 2-in-1 they use now.

http://www.amazon.com/ARRIS-Motorola-SURFboard-SB5101U-DOCSIS/dp/B002M3SHXA/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1413211806&sr=1-5&keywords=motorola+cable+modem

I just bought a Motorola Modem for ~38 dollars for use with my Time Warner internet. Works great but only for the 15mbps and below plans.

http://www.amazon.com/ARRIS-Motorola-SURFboard-SB5101U-DOCSIS/dp/B002M3SHXA/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1409503120&sr=8-6&keywords=DOCSIS+2.0+motorola+surfboard+sb6141

this is the cheapest i could find on amazon...do you think it would work alright or is it so junky it would just be a waste of money at this point?

I'm more then happy to lend a hand to someone having issues with stuff I know. I'm hesitant to tell you to buy X & Y to solve it because I cannot be certain of what the issue might be without doing a site visit & survey.

If your paying for close to the 21/3 then a normal DOCIS 2.0 modem should be sufficient so I'd hold off on buying the modem just yet (if your paying for >50MBps then you do need a 3.0).

Do you see many other WiFi networks nearby? I wouldn't believe so off what you've stated so far.

Are you comfortable potentially having to mount the router near a window with a view of the property line? While its well within the realm of being feasible, trying to stream anything at 200ft will be a bit iffy. If you can put it near a window & aim an antenna out it you should greatly increase your odds. There's also ways to boost your broadcast strength but that requires more power, heat dissipation & no one to complain if you knock them off the spectrum.

Are your devices losing connection to the WiFi hotspot or is it just failing to download anything? The other possibility for the issue is a power imbalance on your line coming to your house if you can stay connected but lose data access. Have you ever had a tech come from TW to make sure its not a bad run for cable from the main drop?

Do you know what your walls are lined with? I've done numerous installs that due to the rebar in the concrete, equipment room location & duct locations interfering with the connection to make Netflix stutter but is 100% to surf on.

Are you comfortable setting up a WiFi router that isn't always the most intuitive & will bury you in options? Once they are up, SMB routers are very stable but can be finicky to config 100%.

Do you know what wireless standard your computers have or are you willing to upgrade a desktop/laptop? It'd be preferable of you use the higher channel numbers & also have it in both the 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz spectrums. Unfortunately a lot of older wireless cards from the 802.11G days don't support 5Ghz or the really high channel numbers.

If your comfortable with all that then I'd wholeheartedly recommend the ASUS RT-AC66U (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008ABOJKS), if you don't have anything with AC, can't upgrade your existing or are not planning to replace your existing there's also the ASUS RT-N66U (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QB1RPY).

If you do want a DOCSIS 3.0 modem I recommend the Motorola SB6121 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XC6GJ0) if not the Motorola SB5101U (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002M3SHXA) is a good DOCSIS 2 modem.

Note: Double check that TW has those modems on their approved list otherwise look for the best reviewed ones they do allow

Mine did not, but if anybody is looking for a docsis 2.0 surfboard, let me know. I've got one that I've been meaning to put on craigslist.

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-SURFboard-SB5101U-DOCSIS-Cable/dp/B002M3SHXA/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1369055726&sr=8-7&keywords=motorola+surfboard

Buy a cable modem from Amazon for $43. Problem solved.