Re: Linksys cable modem questions
- From: "Warren" <wholzem@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 16:08:27 -0700
Mark Klebanoff wrote:
>I bought Comcast's upgrade from 4 to 6 MB in Montgomery County MD, but
> noticed that not only was I not getting 6 MB, I wasn't even getting 4,
> as determined by multiple test sites (bandwidthplace, testmy.net,
> speakeasy.net and others). When I went to the 192.168.100.1 page my
> several year old Linksys BEFCMU10, version2 was recorded as a DOCSIS
> 1.0 device, with firmware 1.07.
>
> First read I got back from Linksys support was that the modem could
> not be upgraded and I'd need to buy a new one to get 6MB download. So
> I bought a version 3, and now I can get better speeds, (usually around
> 4.8, with 6.0-6.5 when I hook my PC directly to the modem instead of
> the Linksys befsr41 router). However, I was wondering if I got the
> right answer from Linksys-- while I still have time to return the new
> modem for credit. I called Linksys again, and this time the tech
> support person said that Comcast has more recent firmware than 1.07
> and should be able to push upgrade my version 2 to the DOCSIS 1.1
> standard. When I called Comcast tech support they knew nothing about
> it.
>
> So what's going on-- was the old modem the reason I couldn't get even
> 4 MB? Does it matter if the modem is DOCSIS 1.0 or 1.1, and can that
> modem be upgraded by Comcast?
When you power-cycle the modem, it will get a new config file. If it needs a
firmware update, Comcast will automatically push it to you. If Linksys says
there's a later version of the firmware than what you have, that's
irrelevant. Comcast will use the version that they feel is best for their
system. A customer service tech at whatever outsourcer Linksys is using does
not know the Comcast network better than the Comcast engineers who decide
which version to use. All the Linksys CSR knows is that there is a version
with a different number that's higher, and it is dated later. The Comcast
customer service rep isn't an engineer, either. They may or may not even
know that firmware is pushed out to your modem. They certainly don't have
the knowledge to decide what version is better, nor would they ever be given
the authority to mess with the network like that.
Perhaps the later version does update the modem to DOCSIS 1.1, but it's
unlikely that's the only change. So just because one aspect seems to be
better, we don't know what else was involved, or why Comcast isn't using
that version. All we know is that they're not using the version, and your
old modem has limitations that prevent it from performing as well as what's
available to you.
Perhaps some day Linksys will release a new firmware for the version 2 that
meets whatever requirement Comcast has that the current latest firmware
isn't, and that firmware will be pushed out to the version 2's still in
service. Perhaps Linksys has moved on, and won't be updating the old model
anymore. Perhaps they'll come out with another update that still doesn't
meet Comcast's requirements. None of these things are something that
customer service reps would know about, and even if you did happen to speak
to one who has the level of technical expertise (yet is still in a job
paying less than half what people with that expertise make), they can't
accurately speculate what everyone who's involved will or won't do, and if
anything will change or when.
In other words, you know the new modem solves your problem. You're gambling
if you keep the old modem hoping that other people's efforts will combine,
and combine in a timely fashion, to come up with a different solution -- and
who knows if that solution will really be a solution!
Sell your old modem on eBay to someone who doesn't know, doesn't care, or
has a cable company that won't be upgrading their service as promptly as
Comcast updated yours.
--
Warren H.
==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Have an outdoor project? Get a Black & Decker power tool::
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker/
.
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- From: Mark Klebanoff
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