Xfinity modem cost

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I am paying $14 per month to rent a modem from Comcast. It offers two features 1. voice activate for TV and if it breaks, I can exchange it. BEST BUY has several units that might offer some long term savings but, prices vary from $75 upwards. Can anyone offer some advice based on their experience with second party modems? Thank you so much for any help. Ed Hayes
 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MA5U1FW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought one for the church camp I have setup WIFI at. Comcast gave me a list of supported modems and this was on it.

I wanted a plain modem, no voice or WIFI. We have Ubiquity products for WIFI.

But we also have a Comcast modem/VOIP box that brings in the voice. Its another box connected to the coax cable. No data. That we pay the $14 or so monthly rental fee for. They will not let us buy our own box for voice.

I actually do not think we saved anything by buying our own cable modem for data. It was explained to me that you pay a certain fee for rental. It does not change if you have a modem for voip and another for data or just a modem for voip. However we wanted one without WIFI that we could have a spare for and swap in the spare with only a call to Comcast. We cannot wait for a Comcast service call if the cable modem fails.
 
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I refuse to pay Comcast a penny more than I have too. My modem is good for up to 300mbps, which is fine since I'm on 100Mbps. Think I paid $100 or $120 for it 6 years ago? But no issues with it at all. $168 a year to rent theirs would have cost me $1,008 over that 6 years.
 
Well I'm kind of a fan of Arris but any on Comcast's list will do. The key is whether you have voice or not. If you don't have voice, there are a lot more choices, if you have voice, you need to get one that supports voice otherwise it won't work.

Oh yeah, just checked, paid almost $200 for mine about 4 years ago.

Not sure when they went to $14 month, back then it was about $10 a month so I've probably saved over $300+ by having my own.

Plus the nice thing is when you have your own modem, they don't enable the Xfinity hotspot so strangers can use your bandwidth for free.
 
When you rent from comcast they make a public wifi out of your house, and at your expense, and don't pay you rent to operate out of your house, let that sink in..
 
Originally Posted by hunter2929
When you rent from comcast they make a public wifi out of your house, and at your expense, and don't pay you rent to operate out of your house, let that sink in..


I saw that in the news but if they do then one should see those networks when you use a tool to list out all the nearby WIFI.
 
Depends on your location, you might need to get a DOCSIS 3.1 modem because they are starting to grandfather the DOCSIS 3.0 modem already. Definitely don't pay $14 a month renting. Also make sure you don't pay more for those integrated wifi modem, you are usually better off keeping them separate so it is easier to upgrade or replace in the future.
 
I bought a Netgear about three years ago, It paid for itself in 10 months so if it breaks it's still better than renting. Can buy a replacement faster than going to Comcast. They don't seem to break too fast. Added Ooma to that for $5/mo.
I get on others hotspots when I can. Another good deal is Xfinity Mobile for 12-13/mo with 1 gig data. I just got it. Can run off your hotspot with that too.
laugh.gif
 
I've had my own Arris modem for Brighthouse/Spectrum for years. Saved a bunch of money before Brighthouse turned into Spectrum and now include the modem free, I think. I'm still using mine. Having a separate router is superior to the all in one stuff they probably have locked down and with few features. And you don't have public wifi coming out of your equipment as others have pointed out.
 
Arris used to be Motorola , and was the largest maker of cable modems for a long time. Unless you have Gigabit service, just get the basic model and add your own wifi access points. It costs around $70.

https://smile.amazon.com/ARRIS-SURFboard-SB6183-Docsis-Packaging/dp/B00MA5U1FW/ref=sxin_1_ac_d_pm?ac_md=1-0-VW5kZXIgJDEwMA%3D%3D-ac_d_pm&cv_ct_cx=arris+cable+modem&keywords=arris+cable+modem&pd_rd_i=B00MA5U1FW&pd_rd_r=3f7271e8-ca14-4f8c-9351-28bf57230385&pd_rd_w=8EbdT&pd_rd_wg=gmaEV&pf_rd_p=0e223c60-bcf8-4663-98f3-da892fbd4372&pf_rd_r=R4WA0RDQH7K86W93ZDFB&psc=1&qid=1581375162&sr=1-1-22d05c05-1231-4126-b7c4-3e7a9c0027d0

The midrange model is good if you might want to upgrade in the near future $85:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B016PE1X5K/ref=emc_b_5_t
 
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I use the Motorola Model MT7711 for my phone and internet through Comcast. Works great.
 
Originally Posted by Eddie
I am paying $14 per month to rent a modem from Comcast. It offers two features 1. voice activate for TV and if it breaks, I can exchange it. BEST BUY has several units that might offer some long term savings but, prices vary from $75 upwards. Can anyone offer some advice basted on their experience with second party modems? Thank you so much for any help. Ed Hayes


We just added Comcast landline phone (not cellular) so I had to get a new one that supported VOIP.

I just bought one of these for $76 (regular $157) because it was on the approved list by Comcast.
Arris SBV3202

It replaced an Arris SB8200 that I previously bought for $112 (regular $169).
Arris SB8200

Three points I'll make:

1. I got both modems at great prices by using Amazon Warehouse (their scratch n dent / returns / closeout part of their website). If you haven't been there, you can find great deals. I replaced my daughter's front rotors for $7 each shipped to my door.

2. Try to determine the number of download/upload channels any prospective modems have. You should be looking for 32/8. Older models may only have 24/6, 24/4, or even 16/4.

3.Get DOCSIS 3.1 if possible. It is replacing 3.0 as the new standard. My previous SB8200 is 3.1, capable of 10 GIG (!) download speeds. My new phone line model is only 3.0 so it is limited to 400 Meg speeds. Since I only pay for 200 Meg speeds, that is fine for the moment.
 
I've owned my own modem for years and wouldn't rent unless I had to, and two cases in my current location that would require it are if I switched to Fioptics as they use a different type of modem than cable internet does, and second, if I had VOIP based telephone service which I don't.

Otherwise, I always get a standalone modem with a separate wifi router.

You need to consider what ISP speed tier you have and what the likelihood is that the speed will go up within the servicable life of the modem. It makes sense to pay a bit more for a higher speed than you currently need, but not so much to pay an excessive amount for "maybe" some day you'll need more because modems don't last forever and faster models get cheaper as the years go by.

Decide how much your voice activate for tv (whatever that is, lol) is worth to you. I don't know what that is, but a friend of mine does have VOIP telephone that shows calls on the TV and that, if I already had VOIP tele, would seem nice because then I could avoid going to see if a call was just a robocaller.

Short answer: If the modem you're considering does everything you need of a modem, definitely own rather than rent.
 
What is your download speed and do you have Comcast Phone?

As said, if no phone, any approved cable modem (DOCSIS 3.0 minimum, but really should get 3.1 for future proofing) will work, just make sure to match your speed with number of channels (more channels = faster speeds).
Do not get a combo modem/router. You get more features if you buy separate (but does cost a little more, but worth it).

I have had my Motorola SB6141 (a DOCSIS 3.0 8x4 channel modem) since 2014. Max speed is a theoretical 340 Mbps, but real world is more like 200-250. Fine for me since I only have a 65 Mbps plan (normally get 75).
Recently bought a Motorola MB7220 for my mom (also a 3.0 8x4), and works great for her 100 Mbps plan (consistently gets 120 down).

If you have phone, you need to get one with that option, will cost a little more, but usually pays for itself in less than a year.

I have had Comcast since ~2004 (was initially Time Warner but Comcast took over) and aside from the first 2 months, I have had my own modem (I think they charged $5 at that time).
Probably spent $200 in the past 16 years on 3 different modems.
First one I bought was a Linksys PAP2v2 (vonage/modem combo device), it died and I bought a Linksys C100 modem (DOCSIS 2.0), it was working when Comcast made me upgrade due to IVP6/DOCSIS 3.0.
 
Originally Posted by hunter2929
When you rent from comcast they make a public wifi out of your house, and at your expense, and don't pay you rent to operate out of your house, let that sink in..


Best feature of xfinity when I leave home.

I used neighbors xfinity WiFi hotspot when visiting our ski home where I have a repeater setup. Handy also for kids when out and about and at grandparents beach house where they have no internet. A $30 travel router repeats xfinity WiFi into home at 15-25Mbps.
 
Hey Eddie
The voice activation for you tv - assuming you mean the x1 voice remote - has nothing to do with your modem. You can use any comparable internet only modem and still have your voice remote work.

PM me if you have questions

Source - running a Docsis 3.0 non voice modem and voice remotes on all tvs
 
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