Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat modem, future-ready
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2015
Netgear Superfan. It's still working great. I consistently get at or even slightly above my supposed maximum speed on my plan. Probably the closest thing I can think of to a complaint is that you can't access the modem configuration through the Netgear Genie app on your phone, but have to do it through your web browser instead (see below). I'm now disappointed that I don't have a faster plan so I can really push my new modem to (or at least near) its limits. With TWC, they only use 8/4 channels, even though the modem has 16/4, but the other 8 channels don't even show up on the configuration page when I'm connected to them.
Original review from 2/23/15: Have only been using it for a couple hours, but, so far, it's been great.
I recently called to complain about my service with TWC (billing issues, then getting the run around on the online chat while trying to deal with the billing issues), so they upgraded my service tier. As it turned out, my old modem couldn't handle the new speed (at least as they had it configured--my understanding is that DOCSIS 2.0 can handle up to 30 Mbps, though they said I could only get up to ~15 Mbps with a DOCSIS 2.0 modem).
I was told I'd need a DOCSIS 3.0 modem to fully take advantage of my new service package, so I looked online and decided on this one based on the fact that it has 16 channel bonding for downloads and 4 for uploads (16/4), whereas most other similar ones only had 8/4 or even only 4/4. 16/4 gives this modem a theoretical limit of 680 Mbps, compared to 343 or 172 Mbps for the 8/4 or 4/4, respectively. My plan is nowhere near the maximum this modem can supposedly handle, so I can't speak to that, but performing speed tests after connecting and activating the new modem, I'm getting ~32 Mbps now. Basically, I bought this to be future-ready. TWC in Cleveland only uses 8 down channels, but if I move, or TWC upgrades its equipment, I'll be ready for it. I had wanted DOCSIS 3.1, since that standard already exists, but I couldn't find any modems that used it, and this one is brand-new (I pre-ordered it). My DOCSIS 2.0 modem (SB5100) is like 11 years old, so I didn't figure this one would be obsolete anytime soon.
The online web configuration is pretty basic, though it looks better than my old Motorola Surfboard 5100's did. Same IP address (192.168.100.1), and default username and password are "admin" and "password." I found that to be a very easy way to get the MAC address to give to TWC, rather than getting up and looking on the underside of the modem in the other room. I was a little worried that the documentation in the packaging specifically referred to Comcast and Xfinity, worrying that it wouldn't work on TWC (it's not currently on their approved list of modems, though I imagine it soon will be, since it works with no problems). It turns out I was worried for nothing.
Some other people on here have commented about how easy it was to connect, but that's to be expected. It's a cable modem. There are only three connections you need to make, and that it is even able to make: power from the wall, coaxial cable from the wall, and ethernet to either your computer or router. It's exactly what you'd expect. Two of them just push in, and the coaxial cable obviously gets twisted on.
