#1:Motorola MT7711 24X8 Cable Modem/Router with Two Phone Ports, DOCSIS 3.0 Modem, and AC1900 Dual Band WiFi Gigabit Router, for Comcast XFINITY Internet and Voice
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Customer reviews
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At one time my old Wifi modem did well for my home but as technology advances cable signals change and I noticed that my wifi data dropped significantly and knew I needed an upgrade my 5 year old system. My current carrier is Grande/Astound and I recommend before buying any system that you check with your carrier what equipment they say is compatible for their network. Typically you can find this on their internet site. I didn't want to buy a cable modem and a seperate wifi system. I have a single story home 2800 sqft home and I had a central location to place it so I saved some dollars and a cable modem with wifi router built in. If you have a larger home or 2 story home you may want to conider gettng a wifi router that has Wifi base modules that you can place around the house.
Anyways the set up was breeze the directions included assumes your provider is Xfinity. if you have this provider it might be plug and play based on the directions but for me once I had it all setup I had to contact my carrier and give them my MAC address. If your a Grande/Astound customer I recommend using their tech support chat line on their website. If you try and call the help line the automated phone system and options kicks you to setting a time for a tech to come to your place which comes at a price.
Once I gave the Chat line tech the model and serial number and Mac address I was up and running in 5 min and pretty much the whole house is getting 300Mbs to 400Mbs depending on what room your in. The system is capablie of a Gig but can't speak to that right now since I'm only paying for 300Mbs
Be sure to give different names to different network bands
I had a lot of trouble with this modem at first. My wireless thermostat kept dropping and couldn't stay connected to my Apple AirPort. I thought it was just a poor wireless signal from the modem and was thinking of returning it. Eventually figured out (I think) that the modem creates wireless networks on two bands (2.4 and 5 GHz) and it's important to give them different names. I gave them both the same name as my existing network so my devices would stay connected but I think my devices were trying to connect to two different networks and therefore not staying connected. Once I gave the different bands different network names (adding a -5 for the 5 GHz) and figured out my AirPort would only connect to the 2.4, everything worked great. Hope that helps someone out there.
Easy as Pie
Like most here I got tired of paying the $13 a month rental for the Comcast gateway. The Arris gateway provided by Comcast also created a problem for me whenever we experienced a power outage. I sometimes took up to 3 hours for the Arris to sort itself out and allow me an internet connection even though it would let me connect to the gateway.
Connecting the Motorola couldn't be easier (especially if you use the Ethernet cable connection between the computer and gateway). To connect via WiFi, I only had to log onto the gateway using the default user name and password printed on the tag on the bottom of the gateway. As soon as the computer log onto the gateway an immediate window popped on the computer screen welcoming me to Xfinity and with the click of one button the gateway registered itself with the provider. A message came on the screen and notified me that it may take up to 30 minutes before I had network access but I was connected and ready to surf the internet immediately. If you connect with the Ethernet cable you don't even have to select a user name or enter a password. As soon as the gateway powers up and runs through about 2 minutes of light blinking it will automatically bring up the Xfinity registration page. I don't understand the comments from some users that said it was necessary to call Comcast to register both the WiFi and Voice capabilities and have their techs push magic buttons to get the gateway up and running. This thing really is connect, plug, hit the power button on the rear of the gateway, wait for the lights to indicate it is ready, then log in with your computer and select the register mode on the computer screen.
The user interface is much better than the Arris gateway with much more flexibility on configurations. In addition the built-in firewall the gateway also has an onboard VPN. The Motorola has a much better array of security options than the Comcast rental. After changing the admin login as well as the user name and password for both channels I ran a WiFi analyzer to check for signal level, speed, and overall performance on both the 2.4 and 5 GHz channels and everything was perfect. My download speed on 5 GHz is about 20% faster than with the Arris. Usinng slightly different names for each channel will allow you to divide you network load so you are not taxing the channel you have connected to your computer. I kept my computer on the 5 Ghz channel and split off my Nest system, smart TV, DirecTV, and tablet to the 2.4 GHz channel.
The only thing I liked better with the Arris gateway compared to the Motorola is the power supply is internal to the Arris so you only have a power cord leading from the socket to the unit. On the Motorola, a power brick plugs into the wall and a low voltage wire travels from the brick to the gateway. This just creates a little more clutter and one more thing sitting on the shelf. The Motorola is slightly smaller and obviously lighter since the power supply is external.
I did experience one problem that had nothing to do with the gateway and mention it here because other users may also have a WD MyCloud Home NAS drive that you will be attaching to the gateway. Once I had my gateway up and running smoothly I connected the Ethnernet cable between the MyCloud Home and the gateway. As soon as I did I lost internet connection even though both the 2.4 and 5 GHz channels showed they were still available. I called Motorola customer support to see if they had any tips. The support rep said they had never heard of any problem like this and even quizzed the other reps. One rep said he was running the same gateway with the same MyCloud Home on his network and had not problems. It took a while to determine that the MyCloud was the problem and a Google search indicated that the Plex app that was enabled on the MyCloud was causing the problem. I disconnected the MyCloud, cycled the power on the gateway and it returned to normal operation. I did a reset on the MyCloud and did not enable Plex when I had it reconnected and everything worked fine. After making sure everything was working correctly I eventually enabled Plex and everything remained normal. Powering everything off and back on did not cause any adverse reaction so everything is good.
Solid modem, good performance, setup/install good, and not*
Replaced my older (3 yo) Comcast modem with this one. Internet activation was easy took 5 minutes over the phone. WiFi is much faster than the old one. So 5-stars for speed, ease -- for internet it just worked.
Getting my voice line up, however, was a Comcast support adventure. Two levels of Comcast consumer customer support could not get the voice modem to register on their network. It seemed super odd, since the device was online on their internet service. Couldn't they just access the device directly and do it? Wasn't the case it seem that's not a skill they have. So they scheduled a tech to come out (in 2 days). So, no land line for 2 days, they gave me a bill credit (OK, thanks).
The Comcast tech they sent was great (shocking, I know). After he checked the signal coming in and all the house wiring he calls their support line. First level he gets can't fix it after going through their script. He looks puzzled and goes back to the truck to make some calls. He comes back with dedicated xfinity voice support on speaker (so I can hear the tech on the other end). Voice specialist goes through all checks and reboots the modem 3 times. Still no success, then voice support claims "I don't know. It must be a bad modem." The tech on-site says, "It came out of the shrink wrap 2 days ago. That seems unlikely, but thanks." He hangs up and says, "OK, this is no good. Let me see what I can find out." Ten minutes in the truck and he's back with another tech on speaker who sends the modem for a boot again -- but this time the phone line light comes on!! It blinks four times and then goes out. I hear the tech on the phone say, "Hang on, I'm looking at the log here." Then, "OK, I have it and can update. Unplug it and let it cold boot lets see if it registers."
The modem cold booted -- and bingo, picks up the voice line. Dial tone. Test call. All good. Lights all green. 45 minutes that all took. Neither I nor the on-site had any idea what needed to be done -- but don't let them tell you the modem is bad. They certified the device -- it's supposed to work on their network.
Oh, and if you have to get a tech visit like this, confirm with the tech before they leave that it was a Comcast issue -- and you're not going to be paying for the tech visit. And hope you get a persistent tech who won't give up.
perfect replacement for comcast Xfinity modem
Easiest install I have experienced. Merely connected it to the cable line and powered it up. My PC instantly opened the Xfinity website and I merely entered my Comcast username and password. Within a few minutes, I was back on line. DONE! My download speed went from 250 mbs to 295! One thing, it makes it so much easier reconnecting all peripherals (computers, iPad, Nest, etc) if you use the same name and password of your previous Wi-Fi network.
Best thing was when I returned my previous modem to Comcast. While waiting in line, I overheard the teller saying to another customer that current modem rentals are $11 and will be going up to $13 on January 1 (Bonus!!! I will more quickly make a return on my new modem). Then, when i got to the front to return my modem, the teller scans it and asks me where is my new modem so they can register it. I told them its already connected and working including the phone line. She starts telling me that without registering it, once they remove my current modem, I will lose all connectivity in the house as the new modem is not yet registered. I assure them its been working fine for the past 5 days yet they continue to ask if i want to proceed with returning their modem, which I do. They give me a receipt and a paper with instructions to call Comcast to register the modem when it stops working. Once i got home, the modem is still working PERFECTLY without need to call and register it. Quite obvious to me that Comcast wants to steal every cent from their customers including from renting equipment, going as far as trying to scare me into keeping their modem and paying them for it.
YOU STILL HAVE TO CALL COMCAST!!
I bought this because Comcast increased their monthly rental fee from $11 to $13 as of 1/1/2019. I always had a gateway unit (modem & router in one unit). I know most techies said to buy a separate modem & router. However, I never had a problem with the gateway unit and I didn’t want to have 2 pieces of equipment in the house(my personal choice). We also don’t do any gaming or things like that. I also have the triple play package with Comcast (internet, cable & phone). I could care less about the landline but it’s cheaper to have the triple play.
SET UP - it says it’s an easy set up and takes about 15 minutes. That’s true HOWEVER there is NO way getting around not calling Comcast!!! You can’t just switch the cables and phone line and click a few buttons. You HAVE to call Comcast so they can register the unit and connect everything on their end BOTH internet and phone line. You can NOT do that without calling them no matter what these reviews say. I called early in the morning 7:30am because I didn’t want to be on hold forever like you usually are when calling Comcast. I was fortunate and got two women (one for internet and one for phone) who knew what they were doing and made the process super easy. I was dreading having to call Comcast!! When you call, press the prompt for internet service first. Get that set up. HOWEVER, after that’s done check your landline. You won’t have a dial tone. Tell the Comcast agent you don’t have a dial tone because the internet person does not know this and figures they are done. They need to connect you to another agent who handles the phone connection.
CHANGING WiFi name - After you have everything connected and are done with Comcast, it’s super easy to change the names of your networks if you want to do that. I am no techie but I didn’t want the network names to be what comes with the Motorola unit. I was apprehensive at first thinking it would be a process and another hour of my time. On page 6 of the Motorola instruction booklet you will find the instructions. It took all of 2 minutes to change the network names. HOWEVER, when you do this, you will have to log back in to your internet on all your devices AGAIN and provide the password. No big deal but just be aware that changing the network name kicks you off and you need to sign back in
Overall, I am really pleased with the unit and getting it connected. I just want people to know YOU HAVE TO CALL COMCAST TO COMPLETE THIS PROCESS, REGISTER THE DEVICE AND GET CONNECTED(internet and phone). Good luck.
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