Would like recommendations for an internet modem.

[Oldmoparguy1]

I currently have an ARRIS Surfboard SB6141 that is several years old. I installed this when time warner modems cost $8/month and were junk. The Surfboard has been good until recently when Spectrum took over TWC. I have had techs out twice this year and will have another on this Wed the the 10th. Yes, 3 days to get on site service for a total outage.

Anyway, maybe a new modem might help. Haven't checked prices, would $100 be a reasonable price for a quality modem. All suggestions are appreciated.

Wayne

 

[The_Jeff]

I got mine for $10 so I think your budget's great.

Call TWC customer service to find out what version DOCSIS they want you to run. You might get by with an older one but not have all frequencies/ speeds available.

 

[redhat]

I have been hearing that Spectrum doesn't charge rental fee for the modems anymore. I am in Western New York.

Perhaps check with them and let them serve you a modem free of charge before you buy another one.

 

[14Accent]

I had the same model you have now, I upgraded it purely to take advantage of the additional downstream channels in my area.

I bought a Zoom 5370, it's a 16x4 modem that's been absolutely rock solid for me. It's no longer available, however the Arris (Motorola) SB6183 is $69 on Amazon and should suit you well.

 

[BigD1]

Spectrum modems are free. They did away with the monthly modem fee long time ago.

 

[mclasser]

Originally Posted by redhat
I have been hearing that Spectrum doesn't charge rental fee for the modems anymore. I am in Western New York.

Perhaps check with them and let them serve you a modem free of charge before you buy another one.

Yep. I have Spectrum and they gave me a free Arris modem.

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

Thanks folks. Good info. I will definitely ask for them to give me a modem.

 

[The_Jeff]

They don't "give" modems. They'll let you use them for free for a while then start charging rental.

Ask for a receipt indicating you own the modem.

That said, if a Spectrum modem works better, see if you can find one like it, and keep an eye on your bill.

 

[csandste]

I've been using Spectrum for the last three or four years. Never a modem charge. Router yes (buy this, not that).

 

[NYSteve]

If you need to buy one, I would get the 6183 refurb from NewEgg for $40. Stay away from the 6190. The 6183 should be good for at least 400-500 download speeds.

 

[MNgopher]

Spectrum did away with modem fees / rental many, many years ago. The reason was that they had no idea who had their modems and who was using their own on their network, and their default practice was to charge the modem fee regardless. They got caught, so now the modem rental fee is gone.

The modem is essentially leased equipment when you take one from them. You don't own it. When it breaks, its their problem, not yours.

Call them up or stop by their customer service. Their customer service nearby in person is actually pretty good here, and they will have one ready to hand to you...

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

Originally Posted by NYSteve
If you need to buy one, I would get the 6183 refurb from NewEgg for $40. Stay away from the 6190. The 6183 should be good for at least 400-500 download speeds.

Amazon has the same deal with prime..

 

[Revving2Redline]

I'm rocking the Arris SURFBoard SBG6950AC2. Works great on my Docsis 3 . Got 350Mbps download

 

[ruhroh]

NC here too. I have a self-bought SB6141 too with Spectrum. It was solid until our underground cable had to be replaced and now it's resetting every hour due to upstream T4 errors, sometimes no connectivity for a long time. I just bought a refurbished Netgear CM500 modem on ebay.

Spectrum did away with the rental fee and they'll provide you with a usable modem now... but.... they told me that the account would be converted to Spectrum plan/pricing from the legacy TWC plan. Right now, I get 50 Mbps download for $41.95/mo. To convert to Spectrum, the first year is cheap at $45/month but then the price goes up to $65/month for 200 Mbps. 4x the speed but I don't need it and I'd rather save an extra $240+ a year. This might apply to your plan too and it's something to consider.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

I recently took older modem into Spectrum to see if I could get the newly advertised speeds. Once customer service person saw the old modem said I definitely need an upgrade. No change in speed, but more consistent stable speed. Pretty much same process as getting a bad TV remote replaced.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted by ruhroh
NC here too. I have a self-bought SB6141 too with Spectrum. It was solid until our underground cable had to be replaced and now it's resetting every hour due to upstream T4 errors, sometimes no connectivity for a long time. I just bought a refurbished Netgear CM500 modem on ebay.

Spectrum did away with the rental fee and they'll provide you with a usable modem now... but.... they told me that the account would be converted to Spectrum plan/pricing from the legacy TWC plan. Right now, I get 50 Mbps download for $41.95/mo. To convert to Spectrum, the first year is cheap at $45/month but then the price goes up to $65/month for 200 Mbps. 4x the speed but I don't need it and I'd rather save an extra $240+ a year. This might apply to your plan too and it's something to consider.


Good point. If you sneeze around TWC/Spectrum you don't get back what you had.

In the last recession they offered 2 mbps internet for $14.99/mo. I got that. They offered a year of much faster for $30. Bit that. Year ended, the $15 offer was nowhere to be found. Hanging tough at $45 for "100 mbps" that comes in at around 22.

I literally imagine if I added a family email address they'd bump me up a tier against my will.