Reddit reviews MOTOROLA MB8600 DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modem, 6 Gbps Max Speed. Approved for Comcast Xfinity Gigabit, Cox Gigablast, and More

If you're buying your own modem, you might as well get a DOCSIS 3.1 modem - Not that the 3.0 won't support your speed, but to future proof yourself. The Motorola version is this:

https://www.amazon.com/MOTOROLA-Approved-Comcast-Gigablast-MB8600/dp/B0723599RQ/ref=sr_1_7?crid=MN7K7BCN9JT8&keywords=docsis+3.1+modem&qid=1566855330&s=electronics&sprefix=docsis+3.1%2Celectronics%2C175&sr=1-7

As for a WiFi router, the Nighthawk series is Netgears top of the line, so place it in the middle most part of your house on a shelf or somewhere up high and you should get pretty decent coverage.

Since you own the home, you could go all out and do a couple of Ethernet runs in the ceiling and mount two (or more) wireless access points where you need a little more coverage.

https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Unifi-Ap-AC-Lite-UAPACLITEUS/dp/B015PR20GY/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=ubiquiti+unifi+apac+lite&qid=1566855646&s=electronics&sr=1-3

You can save an awful lot of money by not paying for your ISP to set up your Wifi. Buy your own Wifi router, configure it yourself, and only pay for Cox's internet.

Get your own Modem if you can, too.

For the modem, you might want to get something like this if you're paying for less than 300Mbp/s (and there is ZERO point in paying for more if you're only connecting wirelessly) or this if you're paying for gigabit and have hardwired ethernet devices.

For the router, if you're living in an apartment or small house where you only need one Wifi access point, something like this should work great, since it has an easy setup app available. If you're in a bigger space (e.g. multi-story or 3+ bedroom house), you might consider this or this, since both are designed for easy setup.

If you go with the 300Mbps plan from Cox, at $80 a month, even with the big space and $300 Mesh Wifi routers, you'd be saving money after six months. It's even faster if you only need a smaller space or are willing to drop to a slower internet speed (I seriously doubt you'll notice anything faster than 100Mbps, which is $60/mo, and if it's just 1-2 and you don't watch Netflix at 4k, even 30Mbps at $40/mo is likely sufficient). Likely, you'll still have to call Cox and complain to them every 12 months or so to get the "promotional" pricing... threaten to quit every time they try to raise your prices and the like.

Setting it all up will involve telling Cox you're putting in the new equipment, and returning the old equipment. I suggest doing this all in-store. If you call, they're likely to insist on a "professional installation" which gets crazy expensive, especially since they don't really need to go to your place to do anything... they just need to flip a switch on their backend (in the Cox offices) to accept the MAC address of your new modem instead of the old one... and if you already own your own modem, they don't even need to do that much (since you wouldn't need to switch it out).

Setting up your own Wifi isn't complicated. Plenty of tutorials all over Google if you need them. Cox charging to install wifi and modems is a scam based entirely on people not realizing how easy it can be.

Source: Being a Senior-Level Computer Networking Professional.

(Now, a Lady like me could do it cheaper / better than what I suggest here, but it would require a bit more expertise)

Where is the bottleneck? What are your speeds when hardwired? What are your speeds when using wireless? If hardwired speed is the problem, you want a better cable modem. Yours is only docsys 3.0, whereas I would suggest something docsys 3.1.

As for wireless, you really aren't going to be pulling 1 gb down unless you are using a 160 mhz channel with all ax equipment, are close to the router, and don't live in a congested area.

For example, I use this docsys 3.1 modem.
https://www.amazon.com/MOTOROLA-Approved-Comcast-Gigablast-MB8600/dp/B0723599RQ/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=gigabit+cable+modem&qid=1564506342&s=gateway&sr=8-6

Alongside a netgear rax80 router.

I use an 80 mhz channel outside of the congested part of the spectrum.
https://imgur.com/a/0idp7AB
And I get about 400 mbps over wifi.

Wired I do 940 mbps.

https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-MB8600-Approved-Comcast-Xfinity/dp/B0723599RQ

or

https://www.amazon.com/ARRIS-SURFboard-SB6183-Docsis-Packaging/dp/B00MA5U1FW

The cheaper one is fine if you have 100mbps or lower speed, but it should be noted that it not future proof.

>Is the incompatibility between the gigabyte signal and the 3.0 modem actually such a big factor?

yes, it is everything.. the gigabit service will work only with a DOCSIS 3.1 modem.

>They also said that I would get faster speeds if I used a 250mbps plan with the 3.0, which I am skeptical of.

they are correct in that downgrading to the 250Mbps plan will get you speeds faster than the default 30Mbps you are getting now (provided the modem you have now can do that speed).

>Worth the 200$ for a 3.1 modem or am I better off downgrading and paying less.

Yes it's worth it, and is absolutely necessary if you want the gigabit speed.. Do you need a voice capable modem? if not I recommend going with the Motorola MB8600

I use one for regular D3.0 service (200/10) and it has performed flawlessly, and it costs a bit under $200..

From mydeviceinfo.xfinity.com I see these devices are compatible with 1000 Mbps service:

Arris SB8200

Motorola MB8600

Netgear CM1000

Yep, similar. I went with the motorola 8600, but that paired with the google wifi mesh (2 wired, 2 wireless) works great.

I bought this Motorola DOCSIS 3.1 modem from Amazon:

​

Motorola DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modem

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0723599RQ/

Thats the modem I use on the 1gig plan. Reach out to /r/Comcast_Xfinity/ and see if they can help you with the plan and pricing.

This is the router I use but you might not need something like it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017NT8Q24/

If I had to do my system over I would go with Ubiquiti but the above setup will be fine for 99% of people.

/r/Ubiquiti/

https://www.amazon.com/ARRIS-SURFboard-Approved-SB8200-Frustration/dp/B07DY16W2Z/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=ARRIS+SB8200&qid=1571518056&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/MOTOROLA-Approved-Comcast-Gigablast-MB8600/dp/B0723599RQ/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=MB8600&qid=1571518076&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Cable-Modem-CM1000-Compatible/dp/B0781VN7W5/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=CM1000&qid=1571518089&sr=8-3

​

All are fine modems. I, myself, like the Motorola MB8600.

https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-MB8600-Certified-Comcast-Communications/dp/B0723599RQ

Is this your modem?

Another option for the modem is the Motorola MB8600 (the sister to the Arris you suggested). The Motorola can be had for ~$160 as of this writing.

https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-MB8600-Certified-Comcast-Communications/dp/B0723599RQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1505263668&sr=1-1&keywords=motorola+mb8200

+1 for the recommendation of PfSense.

I'm a current Mediacom customer on their gigabit line. I have my own DOCSIS3.1 modem (https://www.amazon.com/MOTOROLA-Gig-speed-MB8600-Approved-Comcast/dp/B0723599RQ) and it works fine.

That said, my area for some reason is only able to pull about 760 down, and that was consistent across the Mediacom modem and my own...

MOTOROLA DOCSIS 3.1 Gig-Speed Cable Modem, Model MB8600, Plus 32x8 DOCSIS 3.0. Approved Comcast Xfinity, Cox More https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0723599RQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_2xl7BbF45YKX5

I just picked up a Motorola MB8600 after findiing out about this issue. It's a Broadcom unit and supports >1Gbps. Looks like there are 3 good ones out available right now Netgear CM1000, Motorola MB8600, and the Arris SB8200. All of these are Broadcom chipsets instead of the Intel.

Save a couple bucks with the MB8600 that has the same SoC :P

https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-MB8600-Certified-Comcast-Xfinity/dp/B0723599RQ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1522670843&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=mb8600&psc=1

Thanks. On their website they list a bunch of Arris modems, but recently the negative 1 star reviews on amazon are all complaining about it being bad for gaming (packet loss issue), and that's about all I do on my computer. https://www.amazon.com/ARRIS-SURFboard-SB6190-DOCSIS-Cable/product-reviews/B016PE1X5K/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewopt_srt?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=one_star&reviewerType=all_reviews&pageNumber=1&sortBy=recent#reviews-filter-bar

When I called my ISP about what works for them, they said as long as its Docsis 3.0 compatible it's okay.

I even found people complaining about the puma 6 chipset in reviews for https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-MB8600-Certified-Comcast-Communications/dp/B0723599RQ/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1509993117&sr=1-11&refinements=p_72%3A1248879011

"Does this use the now-notorious Intel Puma 6 chipset?"

Also Arris has a 3.1 model, but it has complaints of overheating issues lol

And what router do I need? No idea what technical needs I need for it.

Thanks for the reply - I went ahead and did a ton of research like you said and landed on the Motorolla Cable Modem link here

With that said - I may be punching out of my weight limit here with the Ubiquiti products. I am a novice when it comes to homenetworking. I have no idea what most of the acronyms mean, never set up a Static IP address before.

Question: Am I wasting my time with the Ubiquiti products or would it be simple enough for a novice to figure out? Otherwise, I may get a top of the line commercial router like this one link here.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

What? My Motorola modem definitely support link aggregation. I had to pull a sticker off and enable it. It was only enabled for two ports not all four. Link for reference https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0723599RQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_Ck-xDbFXQ9RK2

What cable modem do you have, OP?

There's a massive bug with certain cable modems that use the Intel Puma 6 & 7 chipset. I had one (an Arris Surfboard SB6190) and my internet would repeatedly disconnect, until I replaced it with this

New routers that support docsis 3.1 with binding can get up to speeds of 2gbps like this one