Ole Anderson
05-15-2014, 11:32 PM
I got an email from Comcast saying they wanted to update my modem in order to enable me to receive faster internet. I presumed that was if I wanted to pay for the faster service. Currently they have me bundled with telephone, digital TV with DVR, internet that has been testing at about 18 mbps and home security. I chose the self install option. They said delivery could be 4-6 weeks. A week later (today) it shows up at my door at no charge. Nicely boxed, it is an Arris TG862G/CT. Included were both long and a short coax cables with the nice finger friendly ends and a fancy Velcro cable wrap, an Ethernet cable, a splitter, cable straps for hooking the cable to a baseboard or wall, and a nice package of instructions and documentation. And the Arris is an all-in-one, meaning it had 4 Ethernet sockets, 2 telephone sockets, a coax cable connection, and it was also a wireless router. The only thing missing was the back-up battery needed in case power went out and you needed the phone. Up front they said you would need to purchase one if desired for $41. Well the battery out of my old modem fit so it got swapped in. And they said to just recycle the old modem, so now I have an extra, as well as a spare Cisco 2500 wireless router.
Good news is that I got it working and now I am getting 10 mbps up and 40 mbps down. Wow, I didn't expect that. The bad news was that I must have done something wrong trying to change the WiFi name and password that took at least 4 calls to Comcast, including 2 disconnects with no callback and probably 90 minutes or more on the phone to resolve the problem. He finally had to log into my computer and take control from my, obviously, incapable hands. Amazing how much better local support is than overseas as you cycle from one tech to another.
Good news is that I got it working and now I am getting 10 mbps up and 40 mbps down. Wow, I didn't expect that. The bad news was that I must have done something wrong trying to change the WiFi name and password that took at least 4 calls to Comcast, including 2 disconnects with no callback and probably 90 minutes or more on the phone to resolve the problem. He finally had to log into my computer and take control from my, obviously, incapable hands. Amazing how much better local support is than overseas as you cycle from one tech to another.