Cable Modem, 6 Gbps Max Speed. Approved for Comcast Xfinity Gigabit, Cox Gigablast, and More, Black
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Speaking as a cable technician for one of the larger companies out there, this runs cooler (less heat produced, more efficient with electricity) and more stable (doesn't drop off nearly as easily due to low dBmV or low MER signal issues) than the rental Ubee, Technicolor, and Arris models my company "includes for free with your package". And yes, the AQM also works with the Cisco CMTS we use are our hubs currently, at least in my city that I work in. I bought one myself in December, it's been running a server without interruptions. Of course any line damage or RF leakage issues will still need repairs, but I've seen it more than once with weak signal on the coax (sometimes even negative dBmV levels from the tap), but yet this modem stays locked on without issues. That's impressive, and only one or two rental model modems we offer (which are exclusive to business class, not residential customers) gets close to that feat. Any one-star reviews you see here are likely going to be significant leakage issues inside or outside the home, almost never the modem itself with a well-made model like this MB8600.If the manufacturer changes who is designing & making this (i.e.: no longer Motorola engineering), I will update this review. Until then, 5-stars and my non-official (can't speak on behalf of the company I work for of course) but personal experienced-based approval.
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The Xfiniity compatible Modem was super easy to set-up following the Quick Start guide included in the box. Word of advice for Comcast / Xfinity subscribers -- when stepping through the set-up Wizard, selecting the option to text an activation code is a joke -- the code is only good for 15 minutes but I didn't receive the text until 30 minutes had passed; just stick with your Xfinity account name for the activation and provisioning.Xfinity upgraded to DOCSIS 3.1, and, while my own 6 year old trusty Motorola Surfboard SB6580 was working fine, Xfinity found every reason to pester me about an upgrade and how much I'm missing not having a 3.1 modem lease an upgrade. I prefer to own my own modem, so, after perusing compatible modems for my region on Xfinity's approved device page, I narrowed my choices to the ARRIS Surfboard SB8200, Netgear CM1000, and, this, the Motorola MB8600. All three are comparable at 1001 Mbps, 32 down x 8 up DOCSIS channels, and DOCSIS 3.1.All the cool kids love the Arris -- especially after they ditched the very problematic Intel PUMA chipset and went with the Broadcom's offering -- and for very good reasons, it has great hardware specs. Sporting 3GB of RAM, 128MB /16 of NAND flash memory it's a tasty treat. And, were it not a horrific white box that clashes with everything in my apartment, I'd happily have purchased it.Vanity, thy name be Monkey Rat, I know.I've never had a lot of love for Netgear, and, I found its hardware lacking -- 128 MB of flash memory and 256 MB of RAM. Ultimately not a huge game changer, with current theoretical home speeds at 1Gb, but one would expect something a tad more, well, more from a name like Netgear. While its feature rich -- which, is saying something for a cable modem -- I really saw no reason to down this path.That clashing white Arris was looking tastier at this point.Then I compared the MB8600 to both and found a happy place. 512 MB of RAM and 128 MB of NAN -- a buck cheaper than the Netgear with a doubling of the RAM, and while not as expensive -- marginally -- than the Arris, and certainly lacking a bit in the hardware department, but I paid more for future ability to bond upwards of 4 separate lines. However, the LACP technology requires a higher end router, and faster than a gig speed isn't necessarily right around the corner, but, this device positioned nicely for a future with a potential of 4Gb.Word of caution -- it's a BIG device. If you're familiar with the older Surfboards, this is easily double the size in height and does not come with any sort of mounting option. However, it has great ventilation thanks to a well aired grid pattern on the side.So, how does it work? My internet plan is the BLAST! 150 Mbps (stop laughing) -- and i assure you, I've never seen that even in the dead of night -- wired speeds show an increase on speedtest.net but it's not really all that noticeable, whether plugged in directly to the cable modem or my ASUS RT-AC86U router, notebook and desktop performance were negligible. However, wireless performance for my nVidia SHIELD K1 tablet and Google Pixel 2 phone were significantly improved - I found this a little odd as they're still going through a router, but, I can't argue with results.I keep forgetting the MB8600 has a baked in spectrum analyzer utility I need to check out -- I'll add an update when I do.Ultimately, I like it -- I play Everquest (the original) and noted better response times, but again, the MS aren't earth shaking or setting the sky afire. Stream the occasional movie, and really I don't have any complaints, and can only praise the device for its eye-popping Wi-Fi boost, for which I have no good explanation.I may change out my Cat5e for Cat6 and upgrade my router next -- hopefully wringing a couple more Mbps out. But, really, I think it's time to call xfinity and have to do some line tests. I will provide updates on that as well.
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Solid, state-of-the-art cable modem using the Broadcom chipset. Works great with Spectrum even though they won't say it's supported. Connect your coax line, plug in, then allow the modem to come fully online before connecting a router or PC. The modem will not "bond" with a router or PC unless it's online first (for the first time). Any time you switch routers you must factory reset the modem before it will bond with a new MAC address. You'll need to call your cable internet provider and provide the modem's MAC address so that it's provisioned on their network.Another note of importance for those who want to access the modem's Admin UI at 192.168.100.1 - if your network is anything but 192.168.1.x, you may not be able to reach the UI from a web browser on any of your network devices until your router is set up for that particular subnet. I was not able to get to the modem from a 192.168.0.x network, even though I could ping it (on 192.168.100.1) no problem. Motorola tech support stated that they don't necessarily see this behavior with all routers, but from my own experience I was not able to open the Admin UI within a web browser until I changed my ASUS router's subnet to 192.168.1.x. The Admin UI is useful for viewing the signal strength on your upstream and downstream bonded channels, among other things (such as the connection status, etc.).A number of reviewers have written negative reviews of this modem, mainly complaining about downstream issues. Make sure your downstream QAM signal Power Level is between -15dBmV to +15dBmV on all channels, SNR should be 35dB-45dB (ideally). If you notice that your power levels are outside that range, you will likely have downstream connection issues and not have full throughput. Upstream Pwr levels should be between 35-55dBmV. If your numbers are outside this range, call up your cable provider and request they send a technician to check your signal levels and correct them.This modem will connect to up to 32 QAM channels on Docsis 3.0 and easily reach throughput speeds of up to 1Gbps and beyond on Docsis 3.1. For those who are wondering if the MB8600 works with Spectrum, it definitely does.
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connected pc directly to modem and did the activation online. super fast activated on comcast in under 5 min. after i activated the modem i connected my router and away i went. internet now is more snappy. i moved from a zoom 5341h(4x4 modem)im on the blast tier and am seeing 230 meg down x 13 meg uploadsignals on my older modem were at +1 power on 4 downstream channels with an snr of 37upstream power stayed the same. as you can see with attached picture my snr greatly improved with this modem.
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Great product. Works as advertised. Instruction manual is terrible but Motorola support is too notch.To use with Comcast / Xfinity:1) plug in modem, attach coax, and connect port 1 to a laptop with Ethernet cord2) go to xfinity setup webpage on your laptop and enter account credentials to activate modem (web page address is in instruction manual)3) modem will reset and then you should have wired web connectivity with your laptop4) unplug modem power, disconnect laptop and connect terminal 1 of modem with Ethernet cable to your router with router powered on, and then plug in modem power5) after plugging in modem it will reboot and then your wifi should now work.Tips:1) you may need to factory reset your router to get it to connect with this modem. I had to reset my apple time capsule reuter2) this is a bridge modem, so you must power it down before connecting a router. Plug in router to modem and give router power, and then plug in modem power3) only one port can be used. The rest are for bridging signals once that functionality is available from ISP. You can only use one of the four Ethernet ports on the rear
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