Will I notice a difference in speed?

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Airbrushkid

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I'm still using my Motorola SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 modem. It's about 7 years old I think. It's been a while. I am thinking of getting a new Motorola MB8600 DOCSIS 3.1 modem. Will I notice any difference in speed like down load speeds?

Thank you
 
GotNoRice

GotNoRice

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Airbrushkid said:
I'm still using my Motorola SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 modem. It's about 7 years old I think. It's been a while. I am thinking of getting a new Motorola MB8600 DOCSIS 3.1 modem.
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Forget the MB8600. "Motorola" modems are trash now.

For years Arris made the Surfboard line using the Motorola brand name under license. This made the "Motorola Surfboard" modems the go-to modems for years and gave them a well-earned reputation for rock-solid reliability. The SB6141, for example, was made by Arris. But then the license Arris had to use the Motorola brand name expired. The Motorola brand was Licensed to Zoom instead. These modems, such as the MB8600 series, are trash compared to the previous modems made by Arris. Zoom is milking the good reputation that Arris created by selling cheap modems using the Motorola name. Most people just think "That Motorola modem worked great for me in the past, I'll go ahead and get another one", not knowing that the company making the current Motorola modems (Zoom) has nothing to do with the company that made them previously (Arris). Arris sells modems under their own name now. If you want a good modem, buy an Arris. The Arris SB8200 is hard to beat IMO.

If you are getting the speeds that you are paying for then there is no reason to upgrade. If you see drops in speed during peak hours (or all hours) then upgrading to a newer modem that supports more downstream channels can help with that.
 
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Airbrushkid

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Never knew. As for cable speeds. I really don't know what I am suppose to be getting. For many years it was time warner. Now it is Spectrum (Charter). Spectrum sucks like the most of them. But it now feels slow as hell. They recently replace the cable to my house. Service kept dropping up to 10 times a day. I told them and they told me they had problems with service in my area. I complain and told they need to send someone. They did. He check the box on my house and said the there was a trap on the line that never got took off. And it was from it was analog days. Next he went up the pole. I stood there watching here and for a long time did nothing. He cut the cable line. He replaced the whole line to my house. Said the squirrels chewed the line. In the end new line and it works and doesn't drop service. But notice speeds dropped. I assume the modem because it was old. One big thing is when I use a VPN service drops. So I really don't know.

My router is old to and no more firmware updates. It's a Asus RT-N66U Dark Night.
 
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AgrFan

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I really don't know what I am suppose to be getting.
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Starting speed for Spectrum Internet is 300 Mbps. SB6141 can handle up to 343 Mbps. If you are paying for 500 Mbps or 1 Gbps you need a newer modem. Your speed tier should be indicated on your bill.
https://www.spectrum.com/internet/internet-speeds

My router is old to and no more firmware updates. It's a Asus RT-N66U Dark Night.
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Asus RT-N66U is a N router and only supports internet speeds up to 200 Mbps. It's time to upgrade. AC (Wi-Fi 5) or better.

You can check your speeds here --> https://www.speedtest.net/. Run the test with a cable connected to the router. I suspect your download speed is maxing out at 200 Mbps.
 
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Airbrushkid

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Their selling Wifi 6 now. And the only that I have that can use wifi is my iPhone 13 Pro Max. 2021 iPad Pro 12.9" wifi only.My computer is wired.
 
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AgrFan

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You should definitely look for a Wi-Fi 6 router. Asus RT-AX3000 is a good choice. Both Apple devices support the latest standards.

Airbrushkid said:
My computer is wired.
Click to expand...
Can you run the speed test and post the results here?
 
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Icecold

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Either something is way wrong or you're grandfathered in on some old package they no longer offer. Are you able to confirm what speed you're paying for from Spectrum?
 
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AgrFan

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Call Spectrum and ask them to check your speed tier. Your account may need to be updated for their 300 Mbps plan. I have Xfinity Performance Pro (300/10). No problems with speeds using their crappy gateway.

You'll need to upgrade your Asus RT-N66U router since it only supports up to 200 Mbps.
 
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AgrFan

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That doesn't look right. You should be seeing at least 300 Mbps. I'd call them right now.
 
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SamirD

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Airbrushkid said:
Never knew. As for cable speeds. I really don't know what I am suppose to be getting. For many years it was time warner. Now it is Spectrum (Charter). Spectrum sucks like the most of them. But it now feels slow as hell. They recently replace the cable to my house. Service kept dropping up to 10 times a day. I told them and they told me they had problems with service in my area. I complain and told they need to send someone. They did. He check the box on my house and said the there was a trap on the line that never got took off. And it was from it was analog days. Next he went up the pole. I stood there watching here and for a long time did nothing. He cut the cable line. He replaced the whole line to my house. Said the squirrels chewed the line. In the end new line and it works and doesn't drop service. But notice speeds dropped. I assume the modem because it was old. One big thing is when I use a VPN service drops. So I really don't know.

My router is old to and no more firmware updates. It's a Asus RT-N66U Dark Night.
Click to expand...
Find out what your speeds should be. If they were faster than they should have been before, you got lucky. If they are slower than they should be, check your isp modem list. If they got rid of your modem, could be the issue.

On all my Charter accounts, they don't charge me for the modem, so I just use theirs. Why get something if you don't need to?
 
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SamirD

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I would try a speed test connected directly to the modem. And use fast.com and dslreports.com/speedtest and post those if you can. I've found them to be the most accurate across different isps.
 
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AgrFan

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Airbrushkid said:
It cost me $74.99 a month. When the real Time Warner was here. It was $50.00 a month.
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Spectrum promotional rates are $49.99 for 300 Mbps, $69.99 for 500 Mbps and $89.99 for 1 Gbps for the first 12 months.
https://www.spectrum.com/internet

Looks like you should be getting 100 Mbps per this information.
https://www.connectcalifornia.com/internet-service/spectrum-pricing/after-12-months

The cost of Spectrum’s base internet-only plan, Spectrum Internet, starts at $49.99 per month and goes up 40% after the first 12 months, to a final “standard” rate of $69.99 (before equipment costs).

To summarize, the standard rate (final price) of each Spectrum internet-only plan, including the WiFi router fee, is:
  • Spectrum Internet (100 Mbps plan) standard rate: $74.99/mo.
  • Spectrum Internet Ultra (400 Mbps plan) standard rate: $99.99/mo.
  • Spectrum Internet GIG (1000 Mbps plan) standard rate: $129.99/mo.
So your saying I should be getting 300 mbps down load?
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I'm seeing posts from customers saying their speed increased from 100 Mbps to 300 Mbps recently. It's possible they haven't gotten to your area yet. I would definitely call them to verify this.

Run a speed test while connected directly to the modem. It's possible the router is the bottleneck.
 
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Airbrushkid

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AgrFan said:
Have you tried rebooting your modem? You should be getting at least 200 Mbps if your area has been upgraded.
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This year I must of rebooted the modem about 65 times with all the drops I got from them. When you get thru their computer voice and actually talk to a human. And then sir reboot. You tell you have many times. They don't know why. Then the service comes back on it's own. Like I said in a earlier post. After I bitched. They finally sent a tech and replace the cable.
 
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AgrFan

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Have you rebooted the modem after June 28th? If so, call them and ask them to troubleshoot why you are not getting higher speeds. You may be on a legacy plan that does not qualify for the new speeds. $75 is way too much for 25 Mbps service.

Run a speed test connected directly to the modem to confirm the router is not the bottleneck.

Check your address here --> https://www.spectrum.com/policies/rate-card
 
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Airbrushkid

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I'm connected straight to the modem. No router. Here we go - 23.39 download and 2.40 up load Download with router was 23.5 and up was 2.4

And I check the rates. From what say I should be getting 300 Mbps and 10 Mbps.

I check the my address and it says if i was a member before 3-14-2017 I should be getting the 300 Mbps.

I got to call today.
 
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Airbrushkid

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One more thing. First I'm old. That's out of the way. I talk to them about 2 months ago about a cheaper plan. I remember them saying no because I was grandfather in.
 
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Airbrushkid

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Thru the reading on that page they said that my area Service as of May 2022 would be what they quote.
 
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Airbrushkid

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Spectrum just checked and are saying it is my modem. It's a Motorola SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0. Their saying it only go's up to 120 Mbps.
 
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AgrFan

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Airbrushkid said:
Spectrum just checked and are saying it is my modem. It's a Motorola SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0. Their saying it only go's up to 120 Mbps.
Click to expand...
SB6141 supports up to 343 Mbps. Spectrum only allows them for speeds up to 100 Mbps. This may explain all of the disconnects you were experiencing. It sounds like they are increasing speeds for everyone and SB6141 modems are no longer allowed.

It's time for a new modem and router. To handle 300 Mbps you really don't need anything that fancy. It basically comes down to how much you want to spend.

If budget is not an issue, get a Arris SB8200 modem (D3.1) and a Asus RT-AC86U router.

For a budget setup get a Arris SB6183 modem (D3.0) and a Asus RT-AC66U router.

https://www.techradar.com/news/best-asus-router
 
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slavie

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Airbrushkid said:
Spectrum just checked and are saying it is my modem. It's a Motorola SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0. Their saying it only go's up to 120 Mbps.
Click to expand...
Spectrum basically told you to flip off because they couldn't be bothered to troubleshoot your problem. That modem is capable of 343mbps down, per specifications. You'll have to call again, unfortunately. Even if what they told you was true, then the 20 you're getting is a bit short of 120 they're claiming your modem is capable of as is.
If you feel like it, you can upgrade to ARRIS Touchstone TM1602A or ARRIS Surfboard SB6183, both 600+mbps capable and reasonably priced. You'll need to make sure that whatever modem you go with is supported by your provider though.
Upgrading to DOCCIS 3.1 modem would be expensive and pointless in your case, as you're not even maxing out your existing modem.

In my experience, the best way to fix internet problems is to switch providers. Do you have FIOS or anything else available in your area? Time to shop around.
 
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AgrFan

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Spectrum basically told you to flip off because they couldn't be bothered to troubleshoot your problem.
Click to expand...
Really ... maybe the fact they don't support SB6141 for speeds higher than 100 Mbps is why they won't troubleshoot?
https://www.spectrum.net/support/internet/compliant-modems-spectrum-network

Spectrum standard speeds are 300, 500 and 1gb. The OP is paying $74.99 for 25 Mbps. That's silly. He needs to upgrade his devices and negotiate a new price for 300 Mbps service. That would future proof him for quite some time. There's no need to switch providers and create more work for himself.
 
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Icecold

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I thought that modem model number looked familiar, it's the one I'm using right now with Spectrum with the following results(this PC is getting its network through a MOCA adapter too which could be slowing it down somewhat)-

1657549462574.png


1657549520374.png


They had to have changed that support list somewhat recently - when I bought the SB6141 I had checked their support list and it was supported for higher tiers.
 
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Airbrushkid

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slavie said:
Spectrum basically told you to flip off because they couldn't be bothered to troubleshoot your problem. That modem is capable of 343mbps down, per specifications. You'll have to call again, unfortunately. Even if what they told you was true, then the 20 you're getting is a bit short of 120 they're claiming your modem is capable of as is.
If you feel like it, you can upgrade to ARRIS Touchstone TM1602A or ARRIS Surfboard SB6183, both 600+mbps capable and reasonably priced. You'll need to make sure that whatever modem you go with is supported by your provider though.
Upgrading to DOCCIS 3.1 modem would be expensive and pointless in your case, as you're not even maxing out your existing modem.

In my experience, the best way to fix internet problems is to switch providers. Do you have FIOS or anything else available in your area? Time to shop around.
Click to expand...

Well There is Verison. And they can go to hell. I wish they go out!!!!! Years ago I had them for DSL. Allowed them to take $100.00 for the bill. One my bank calls me to let me know Verison took $1200.00 out of my account. The bank and I had a 3 way call with them. They treated me and person from bank like shit! I got a lawyer and got my money back from Verison and turned around a gave it to the lawyer. Then bank turned around and tried to charge me $255.00. I told them where to put that and got blacklisted. About 5 years I was remove from the list. I have never dealt with a bank again.

So there is only Spectrum and Verison.. I could go waste $600.00 for Skylink. Nope never.
 
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