Motorola SB6120 SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 eXtreme Broadband Cable Modem
by Motorola
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Motorola SB6120 SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 eXtreme Broadband Cable Modem
Customer Review: Works with Comcast in NJ 08873 with some fussing
Summary: 5 Stars
The first modem could not be provisioned by the Comcast Tech Support. All support was over the phone. Went through 2 techs. First one activated and provisioned and left the call -- he said it would take time for receive/send channels to lock. After 2 hrs no lock. 2nd Tech was more helpful but after an hour, we gave up with no signal lock -- receive/send/on-line LEDs simply cycled green blue. Reverted back to leased Toshiba DOCSIS 1.1 modem. Returned modem back to Amazon. 5 Stars to Amazon return process - UPS picked up modem and replacement arrived next day. This time I got the modem activated and provisioned over chat -- mentioned that it was a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, gave Customer S/N, MAC Addr, and A/C #. After power cycling viola - BUT the story does not end! Accidently dropped the chat session so the browser was stuck requesting anuthentication and asked to download software. #@!*$%# - no way I'm downloading adware/bloatware. Called the 800 number and the tech was able to proceed the final provisioning step. Final note - great modem. Speeds went up close to 2X on both download and upload -- 20Mbps and 4 Mbps. Save yourself the rental fee and get this modem. Pays for itself in a year or 18 months depending on the rental. Two thumbs up to Amazon and the Comcast Techs.
Additional info: It turns out that Comcast has to download firmware or a config file. Here is the evidence from the modem logs @ 192.168.100.1
Feb 04 2011 20:50:33 6-Notice E102.0 SW Download INIT - Via Config file d11_m_sb6120_walledgarden_c01.c
Feb 04 2011 20:50:47 3-Critical R02.0 No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out;CM-MAC=00:23:74:f7:29:8b;CMTS-MAC=00:01:5c:31:dc:4f;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Feb 04 2011 20:52:06 6-Notice E112.0 SW download Successful - Via Config file d11_m_sb6120_walledgarden_c01.c
The delay from the Techs was because he was looking for the "code". Mystery solved!
Customer Review: Cable modem easy to set up; Comcast activation not so easy
Summary: 5 Stars
Just finished setting this up, replacing a leased RCA DCM235 cable modem. In the past year, Comcast raised monthly modem rental from $3 to $7, making replacement a no-brainer. Also, the RCA modem had become extremely unreliable over the past few months. Setting up the Motorola cable modem Mac OS X was very easy: just plug it in.
Despite preparing for the transfer from old to new equipment and having all necessary information available, the Comcast transition required multiple attempts. While these have nothing to do with the modem itself, Comcast customers contemplating this switch may benefit from my experience:
1) Informed Comcast via chat session. I was told to wait 24 hours before activating new modem, but the old modem stopped working within 15 minutes, forcing me into an activation sequence.
2) Web-based activation failed at last step (no write permission)
3) Started another chat session with Comcast. Told that activation requires computer to be connected directly to the cable modem, and not through a router. After changing connections, lost and unable to resume chat session.
4) Restarted everything, no internet connectivity at all. Call Comcast. Got a knowledgeable support person (Eric), who talked me through the rest of the activation procedure.
I only have "basic" Xfinity service, but may upgrade at a later date; therefore, cable modem performance is limited by Comcast, but tests (using speedtest.net) significantly faster than with the old RCA modem -- and much faster than my Xfinity service is rated for.
Equipment of this sort either works, or it doesn't; so far, it's working. The case is unobtrusive (although the indicator LEDs are very bright), and mounts easily to a wall, where it should receive more ventilation and run cooler. Five stars for the hardware; 3 stars for Comcast migration process
Customer Review: Nine days and no problems.
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, with Comcast raising their modem rental rates 133% in the past ten months, I decided to buy my own. I should have it paid for in 10 months.
I received this modem on January 19th, 2011. Nine days later, and it's still working fine. Setting up was easy, I hooked it up to my cable, and let it cycle through with Comcast's updates for about 30 minutes. It only cycled for the first 10 minutes, lights coming on and off and rebooting. I then called Comcast to set it up, gave them the serial number off the bottom of the modem, and the guy was able to see my modem on his end. He rebooted it a couple of times and I was up and running. He then had me plug the modem into my router to make sure everything worked the way I wanted it, and everything worked fine.
I did notice that the bottom "link" light went from a flashing blue, to a flashing amber when I hooked it up to my Linksys WRT54G. That just meant that my computer has a faster Ethernet port compared to my router. My download light is a solid blue, instead of green, which means my downstream channel is hooked up to bonded channels. All other lights are green. It does look like a Christmas tree, with all its multicolored lights, but they don't bother me.
My speed probably only increased about 10%. I get 21 mbps down and 3 up. 21 mbps down is plenty fast for me, as nobody on the other end can ever send me anything faster than 3 mbps. I did notice that my speed is always constant, as it's always 21 down and 3 up, no matter what time of day. I don't know if that is from the bonded channels or what.
When I took my old Motorola SB5101 back to Comcast for a return, the guy at the counter looked to see what I had bought. He said "ah, you got a docsis3.0 modem, that'll be nice." Well, I hope so.
I'll update in ten months, when I have this one paid off.
Customer Review: Fast modem, easy set up
Summary: 5 Stars
I was switching from DSL to cable internet, and didn't want to pay Comcast their monthly rental fee of $5 / month for a modem. I signed up for the 12/2 plan, and after installation, found I'm getting more like 20/3, which based on what I've seen from other users of this modem is about right.
In terms of the modem itself, it is easy to install - power, cable, and ethernet (not even an on/off switch). There are external lights that indicate that its working, so its easy to see if you've got a viable connection or not (I know, as during the recent Chicago snowstorm, my cable was knocked out, and most lights went off).
I've had the modem for a bit more than a week, and it seems quite stable. In terms of reliability, I am having one issue related to upload speeds, but I'm not sure if it is the modem or the router I'm using (I suspect its more an issue with the router). While download speeds are stable, upload speeds occasionally drop from about 3M to 0.5 or less. Sometimes power cycling the router will clear this up, but at least twice I've had to power cycle both router and modem. I'll revise this review once I get more clear on cause and effect on this.
The modem's administration web page is almost all read only; there doesn't appear to be functionality to examine the quality of the cable connection or other such diagnostics (which I did have with my DSL modem); however, (assuming the issue of upload speed is resolved) that functionality may not be needed.
The modem usually takes perhaps 1 minute to reconnect from a power cycle, but has taken up to 3 minutes.
I did not need to use the install disk that was included (I've not done anything with it).
Overall, a good product, does the job intended with a bonus of extra speed (with a potential issue around upload channel / speed).
Customer Review: Very happy
Summary: 5 Stars
We bought this new cable modem as our service provider (Comcast) was upgrading service in my area and they indicated my old modem (3Com unit) wouldn't keep working. With my prior 3Com modem, I got about 5 Megabits/second for downloads and 1 Mbp/s up (per [...]); this was using the standard Comcast cable internet offering and I was happy as could be. However, with the new Motorola modem I now consistently get 19-21 Mb/s down and 4 Mb/s up - that is four times the speed! This makes a big difference in large downloads such on iTunes, Windows Update and large files that come on email. Maybe Comcast will eventually throttle me back to say the 10 Mb/s down they advertise (as I have not changed the subscription nor am I paying any more $$), but the speed sure beats my original modem.
The other thing I noticed regards my phone service. I am a Vontage customer via my cable link and calls were often dropped; none have been dropped since I switched to this modem four weeks ago.
The installation itself was simple *if* Comcast customer reps hadn't mis-entered my MAC address from the modem; replace your current modem with the new one and call Comcast with MAC address from modem so they can register. I have a Linksys router and it and all of my other home devices found the new modem just fine; no changes to the Linksys unit or my PCs. As others reported here, Comcast uses some off-shore provisioning group and they transposed the MAC address when I called so spent 20 minutes rebooting unnecessarily as they couldn't see the device (as they had entered wrong address). But they were helpful and stayed with me until problem was found.
This modem supports the new 3.0 cable data standard but it claims to operate fine in areas that have not yet been upgraded. I couldn't be happier.