Motorola Surfboard SB5101 Cable Modem by Motorola
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List Price: Our Price: $46.95 You Save: $23.04 (33%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $22.50 (click here) Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Motorola Surfboard SB5101 Cable Modem
Digital camera Review: Can't beat the price - and it's a quality model
Summary: 5 Stars
For those looking to sign up for Cable high speed internet, this is for you. Won't work for DSL. In my area (California) the going rate for a modem lease from the cable company is $3/month. If you're on a one year contract, it'll make sense to lease it from them, since it's easier to have them replace it than you. For a two year contact, things flip around, especially if you got this with free shipping. Mind you, its not a big difference...
Pros: Inexpensive (compared to buying it at stores like Target and Best Buy). Reliable. Both Network (wired) and USB ports, although I have never used the USB side of the modem.
Cons: Nothing specific. Maybe it could look a little more sleek/modern.
Overall: If you're getting Cable internet with a two year contract, get it. With a one year contract, get it only if you like having your own hardware.
Digital camera Review: Caution: No phone jack.
Summary: 3 Stars
My cable company Cox communications tech support recommended this modem so I wouldn't need to rent one from them. However it had no phone jack to plug in my modular phone cord, like on the rental. Oops!Digital camera Review: Challenges
Summary: 4 Stars
When Comcast raised the lease rate for our cable modem, we decided to buy one of our own. This one was reasonably priced (used), and was on Comcast's list of approved models. It is a DOCIS 2.0 model. There are rumors that Comcast will soon provide DOCIS 3.0 service...if you have a DOCIS 3.0 modem. But I decided that the possibility of wanting the newer standard later was not worth the large difference in price now. (DOCIS 2.0 modems will continue to work once DOCIS 3.0 service starts, just not at the higher speed.)
No documentation came with the SB5101, though it's easily available online.
Installation went fairly smoothly. Just pay attention, as I did not, when Comcast's self-install instructions tell you to connect your computer directly to the modem -- connecting though a connected router and/or WLAN does not work!
Like a previous reviewer, we had been having problems with our leased modem latching up and needing to be reset, sometimes almost daily. Also like the previous reviewer, the SB5101 did not completely solve this problem -- but it did improve it quite a bit. The daily ritual of resetting the modem is now more like a weekly one.
The most-annoying part of the process was waiting in an absurdly-long line at the Comcast office to return the leased modem. (That said, the people at our local office always provide good service, once you get to see them.)
Payback on the purchase price will take 4-5 months -- which we thought reasonable.
Our family is satisfied with this product.
Digital camera Review: Cheaper and Just As Good
Summary: 5 Stars
I tried a more expensive Linksys before the Motorola, and so far I've found no difference performance-wise. The only advantage of the Linksys was its' smaller size, but for me--with all the other devices and wiring--that didn't matter.Digital camera Review: Check compatibility with your level of service
Summary: 5 Stars
This isn't a review; it's a small piece of advice. When replacing your rented cable modem with a purchased cable modem, make sure the new device you are buying is not only compatible with your cable company but ALSO compatible with the level of service you plan to have.
Our service provider is Comcast and we recently recieved notice that modem rental fees would increase. My wife and I thought, hmm, we could replace the rental modem with one we buy and, with the eventual savings, upgrade to the next fastest speed of broadband (in our case, a service with up to 20mbps download called Blast!). That way, we would have a much faster Internet connection for a net increase of about three bucks a month.
I saw this modem on Comcast's list of compatible modems. It was my own fault that I did not read carefully enough to realize that this modem is compatible with Comcast "Performance" (what we have now) but NOT compatible with the faster Comcast "Blast!".
The most unfortunate part of the tale is that when I called Comcast to switch over the modems, I told the service rep that I would be switching to my own modem AND upgrading to Blast!. The service rep confirmed the price increase of Blast! with me and verified my account information. Then, I was lead through a number of steps to disable the old modem and install the new modem. Fine, not too bad, about ten minutes of work.
When the new modem was all installed, I said, "Great, so, how long before we see the difference with Blast!. To which the rep responded, "Oh, you can't have Blast! with this modem, you need a modem with DOCSIS 3.0".
[sigh]
Lesson learned. Read the compatibility information carefully. When you call your cable rep to switch over the new modem, clearly ask if the model modem you are installing is compatible with the service you want BEFORE going through all the steps of installation.
By the way, I gave this product full stars because the rental unit we had is practically identical to this model (we had the Motorola SB5100) and that performed flawlessly for the entire time we used it.
Cheers.