D-Link Consumer Docsis 3 Usb Cable Modem

Decided to buy a modem instead of renting one and this was on the approved list of cable modems from my provider. The unit is nice and compact compared to the one I was using from the cable company. I also like that there are no flashing lights only solid green LED that let you know the unit is on and connected. Getting up and running took a bit of effort not because of the unit but the customer service rep I had to call to get it registered kept mixing up the numbers and kept asking me for another S/N since it wasn't accepting it. Turns out they had to input it was a retail modem and not a company modem. Did a speed test and this modem gave me faster download speeds and webpages pop up quicker which is a nice bonus since both the old modem and this one are both Docsis 3.0. I can't say as to the longevity of the unit since I just got it but I am happy with my purchase and would buy again. Update...Two years later and still going strong. Solid connection. Speed is at the top of the range with my provider (Cox). The number of times I had to reset the unit I can count on one hand. I see the price has dropped. I would buy again if I ever needed to replace the current one.

now not in use because wanted rj11to coxial convertor

So far it works great. I've had it for three days. When I did a speed test I actually got an insane speed compared to my cable modem from Time Warner I'm sure they will adjust that though. I was barely getting 30 megabytes per second and it went 50+ each time I tested it on the first day. I noticed a theme though. I do wonder if Time Warner Cable sends out some little signal to make these not work after a while. The common theme here, and it doesn't matter the brand, everyone who does complain about their modem is that it does not work after some time. It is ironic that when you get a cable modem usually from the cable provider you can end up with a cable modem for years until they upgrade and you never really have issues with the modem itself I mean. Maybe once in a while. But my experience has been pretty smooth over the years at home using the modem provided by the cable company. If this one goes out in 3 to 4 months or within the year, I can't help but think that the cable company does something to ruin them. It's not in their best interest for you to save monthly especially when they have millions of subscribers. Anyways I got the SquareTrade warranty on it so we'll see how it goes. I could just be crazy, but at the same time there is that glaring fact, no matter the brand, so it's worth noting. Also why only ones they approve of? If a manufacturer makes a modem and its FCC compliant and can handle the cable internet as stated, you should be able to use whatever modem you want just like an oil filter aftermarket or an air filter aftermarket in your vehicle. As long as it's built to code it should be perfectly fine. They shouldn't dictate which ones you should be able to use as long as it does what it claims. So is TW an evil and greedy cable company that makes billions a year profit (like Verizon) and wants you to pay that modem fee, or are some simply having an innocent mishap with their cable modem? We'll see.

All I had to do was plug it in and it started working (after a while). Instructions are simple and there's no configuration software or web page to fiddle with. I took off one star because even though it's not needed for setting up, the manual (and online docs) don't provide the default user name and password for accessing this device's web setup, and that info isn't online anywhere either. But just in case you want it anyway, here it is (thanks to Harold Kirby): user name=admin, password=password. And the web address is 192.168.100.1 As the manual mentions, I did call my provider (Comcast) and give them the MAC address (which is on a label on the bottom), but I'm not sure it was necessary - the Comcast rep I spoke to seemed somewhat clueless, and even after they had the MAC address, it took about ten minutes for the modem to begin working properly - at first no matter what web site I tried, I would always end up at a Comcast activation page (which didn't work when I followed its instructions). It's also worth mentioning that my 4 year old Linksys wifi router running DD-WRT wasn't very happy with this modem; it had been working fine with the old Motorola modem, but once I switched to this new D-Link, the Linksys router got slow and unreliable. Since it was time to upgrade anyway, rather than going crazy fiddling with settings, I swapped the old Linksys for a new dual-band Asus router and that solved the issues.

But modems usually aren't very sexy, are they? I am not an expert on them, but this seems to be doing the job perfectly well. I bought it to save money on my cable bill - it is listed as one of the acceptable devices by Time Warner Cable - and I also prefer to own, rather than rent, basic technology like modems. At least when I made the purchase, it cost a little less than the Motorolas did (they seem to be the more popular brand). I do notice that the price of these devices has gone up in the last couple of years. So far, the performance has been fine, but it was good with my old RCA modem also.