Time to purchase a new modem and I'm lost
November 4, 2015 6:32 PM   Subscribe

My internet speeds aren't good, and randomly drop out. I'd like to rent/buy a new modem, but know nothing about them. Help?

I inherited my cable modem from family, and it's very old. I'm pretty sure around 10 years old to be precise. I'm thinking it's probably time to get a new one and I hope that improves my speeds as I'd really rather not deal with switching companies. But I know nothing about modems. Two questions:

1. The offer two modems. A single band modem for 7 dollars a month, and a double band modem for 10 (or you can buy them for 130/150). I don't download huge files. I use the internet for just basic tasks (surfing/email/chat) and for streaming netflix/hulu/itunes movies. Would the more expensive modem be worth it?

2. Should I buy or rent? And if buy, should I buy one of those choices or go out on my own? I'd rather keep this as simple as possible and just rent, but if buying would be a definite advantage, I would certainly look into it.

Thanks for any help/advice. It's much appreciated.
posted by ratherbethedevil to Technology (10 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
If you plan on having the modem for more than 15 months for the $150 one or 19 months for the $130 one, buy. That is less than two years. I have no idea if it is a good value to buy versus shopping the net as you give no details of what each is, but even if it is not a great value, it is unlikely to be more than $20 of overpay so if you really know nothing and want to make your life easy at the risk of overspending a small amount, I would buy from the cable company. I think you only need the single band modem, but be sure you can change what that band is so you can switch to a less used band especially if you are close to neighbors.
posted by AugustWest at 6:39 PM on November 4, 2015


Response by poster: Sorry for the lack of details. The modems on the company site gives no other information other than one or two band.
posted by ratherbethedevil at 7:11 PM on November 4, 2015


Modern cable modems meet a set of technology standards called DOCSIS, and in this day and age, you need at least DOCSIS 3.0 (I think 3.1 is out there, but 3.0 is bog-standard).

I suggest you buy. The rent is rarely a good deal over any reasonable length of service. You've already said you don't want to switch providers, and that will probably be true in 2 years unless some big changes are afoot.

The Wirecutter suggests the Surfboard 6141; it's about $75 on amazon, or at least that's the price they're pitching me.

If you want or need the cable modem to be a wifi router in addition to being a cable modem, that's a normal-enough thing, and you'd want a different modem, probably also in the Surfboard line.

Tom's Hardware has an excellent shopping guide and also recommends the SB 6141, with a couple of good runners-up.
posted by Sunburnt at 9:08 PM on November 4, 2015 [1 favorite]


Print out your ISPs compatibility list and go to every thrift store in your area. Before my favorite huge store closed, i'd see multiple compatible current generation newish DOCSIS 3.0 modems a week. They were all compatible with my local cable ISP(comcast). If i hadn't already paid the usurious fees to them to buy the modem outright, i'd be using one. Several friends are, and i'm about to swap my moms modem with one.

Make sure to buy one that DOESN'T have your ISPs name printed on it. They wont activate it, as someone rented it and didn't return it.(When you pay for a modem you get one without the name on it, at least with comcast. DSL isps still print them on, and your ISP might?)
posted by emptythought at 10:07 PM on November 4, 2015 [2 favorites]


I recommend against buying a unit with built-in WiFi. In my experience it's usually better to have a separate unit for that.
posted by Nerd of the North at 11:34 PM on November 4, 2015 [3 favorites]


I went thru this and bought the Motorola surfboard 6141 (for $69 on amazon) as mentioned. Excellent speeds. Zero static from cable company tonuse it instead of theirs (even when II have had to call for troubleshooting) and seconding to use a separate external WiFi access point.
posted by chasles at 4:12 AM on November 5, 2015


Seconding all the above: definitely buy if you plan on using cable internet for the next year or more. The SB6141 is top recommended by every consumer site for a reason: it's a rock solid piece of hardware and it'll serve you great until the next major DOCSIS revision. Definitely get a separate wireless router - as with nearly all tech, the "convenience" offered by all-in-ones is a sham.
posted by myrrh at 4:14 AM on November 5, 2015


Another "Buy" voice.

Also make sure you hang onto any proof of purchase - I've seen isolated stories of <cable company> claiming that a customer-owned modem is theirs and either trying to charge back rent or tack an unreturned equipment charge to the final bill.
posted by Gev at 5:35 AM on November 5, 2015


Oh, one more thing. Be sure to look in to how they'll want you to return the modem. My ISP wanted me to hand-carry it to their one office (with limited business hours on weekends) in all of Seattle, which was deep in the International District (Seattle doesn't like to call it Chinatown), by the "Little Saigon" section. You'll want to get a receipt from returning it, however you do it.

Fortunately, that put it within a couple blocks of the best banh mi places in the city, so I was okay with it.

Switching modems, by the way, was a piece of cake. Called support, let them know what I was doing, and they just needed me to give them the hardware (MAC) address of the modem, and then I swapped the modems, they tested for 5-10 minutes, and done.
posted by Sunburnt at 7:08 AM on November 5, 2015


You didn't mention whether the modems you're considering have built-in WiFi, but references to bands typically refer to single/dual band WiFi. If you think that's the case then go with the dual band. Most wireless devices made in the past few years support the 5GHz band. Using the 5Ghz band will have less interference with other devices in your home and other wireless routers around you, as well as faster wireless speeds for your devices.
posted by homesickness at 12:31 PM on November 5, 2015


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