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Motorola SB5100 cable modem - is it really dead?

I have been using this cable modem for about a year now. We lost our Internet access last Friday. This is our own modem (not rented from Comcast).

There is a light at the front of the device labeled "Online" which is currently staying off. According to the manual, that means "IP registration is unsuccessful."

Called Comcast twice (different reps) and both the times they said that they are not able to access (see) the modem and that the device has failed. My options are either to buy a new modem or rent one from them at $3 per month.

Power, Receive, and Send lights are on. Is there any way to ensure that the modem has really failed (without relying on what Comcast people are saying)?

Thank you very much for your time.

Reply to
skarkada
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This is why I lease modems. Either way, it's their friggin problem. No fingerpointing.

If online doesn't light, there's something keeping it from talking with the head end. The ultimate reason may or may not be the modem. If you own your modem, you'd be rolling the dice to have them come out onsite and check the connection. If the issue ends up being your modem, then you're out a truck roll charge. If it is their connection, there's no charge, but you're out some heartache.

That $3 lease fee starts looking pretty insignificant before long. Think of it as "enhanced service and peace of mind fee so if shit don't work, their truck is coming to your house to find out why.

That said, if you have a neighbor with the same service, ask to borrow their cable modem for 15 minutes. That should tell you if it's wiring of the modem.

Reply to
Todd H.

On 09/30/2008 09:43 AM, snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com sent:

When you say they are on - are they always on solid or flashing? Do any of the other lights flash in any manner. I suppose Comcast had you remove power from the SB5100 for some period of time and then power it up again? Visually, did anything change?

Is there any way to ensure

Do you know how, and have you logged into the SB5100, from your computer, to see its diagnostics and logs? Is a small TV available and can you try disconnecting the cable from the SB5100 and connecting to the TV?

Please let us know.

Best wishes to you.

Reply to
1PW
*-* On Tue, 30 Sep 2008, at 18:25:12 -0700, *-* In Article aLOdnaX3S5fnTH_VnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com, *-* 1PW wrote *-* About Re: Motorola SB5100 cable modem - is it really dead?

Incidentally, are you aware that Comcast is dropping Usenet service as of October 25?

That modem comes with a two-year warranty, so if it has failed contact Motorola for repair or replacement.

It uses the 192.168.100.1 IP address that is (more-or-less) standard for cable modems.

Ken Whiton

FIDO: 1:132/152 InterNet: snipped-for-privacy@surfglobal.net.INVAL (remove the obvious to reply)

Reply to
Ken Whiton

I rented a cable modem from Comcast store. According to the lady at the desk, all was already setup and I just had to replace my existing modem with this rented one. I took it home, and replaced my current modem. Still the same issue - no Internet access.

I called their support. This time, they did some elaborate tests, pushed some files/data to the modem and eventually made it work. Now we have Internet access via cable modem. However, my wireless router isn't working now. I guess I'll have to change some settings (to accommodate for the new modem).

I am still not sure if the old modem had really gone bad. I completely agree with Todd H.'s approach and stick with Comcast's modem. I have a free cable modem to give away for someone in Houston area with spare time.

Thank you all for the time you have taken trying to resolve the modem problem.

Reply to
skarkada

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