Zoom 8x4 Cable Modem, 343 Mbps DOCSIS 3.0, Model 5345, Certified by Comcast XFINITY, Charter Spectrum, Time Warner Cable and Other Service Providers

After a couple of years of intermittent internet outages on Comcast -- outages that Comcast could never quite explain -- I finally settled on swapping out my previous cable modem for this unit, and the outages are now merely a historical footnote. Originally, I had purchased and implemented a Arris 6141 Surfboard modem on my Comcast service link, for hosting their 200/10 Mbps high-speed internet service. I originally chose the Arris as I knew they were a Motorola spin-off, and I generally trust Moto's products. I now stand corrected.A key thing to note about the Arris Surfboard 6141 and the Zoom 8X4 modem is that they are both QAM modulation modems that employ multiple channels (communication paths over a single wire, not TV channels). A standard cable modem service will employ 1-4 channels, which can effectively limit throughput over the service (for high-speed internet service). My rule of thumb, for what it is worth, is that if your internet service is less than 50 Mbps (down), then a 1-4 channel modem will probably work fine. However, when you get into the higher-speed services, you will want to setup as many channels as possible so that the data is carried simultaneously over as many channels as possible -- this makes for much more efficient communication, and the modem won't act as a bottleneck that artificially limits throughput.The Arris modem provided spotty connectivity over the two years I had it installed. At first, I thought it was simply crummy Comcast service, but in working repeatedly with Comcast Tier 3 techs, we weren't able to nail down a root cause for the spotty service. Occasionally, Comcast's configuration database showed my modem as setup for a 100 Mbps service (and not the 200 Mbps that I was paying for), but that was it. However, I learned to break the service on demand by stressing out the Arris: I simply ran, repeatedly, a set of speed tests (using Comcast's SpeedTest web site), and after 3-4 tests, the Arris would hang and would require a reset. Apparently, the Arris has either a configuration issue with Comcast's service, or there is a firmware/hardware fault in the Arris that causes it to hang when presented with large amounts of traffic.In the end, I decided to test the theory that the Arris was faulty, and I purchased this modem, the Zoom 8X4 unit. The key reason I got this unit was that it provided a maximum of eight channels (like the Arris), so it would handle the large amounts of traffic that I would throw at it on a daily basis. Installation was drop-dead simple: Simply pull out the old Arris, connect the Zoom, and call Comcast to setup the new modem. Everything took less than five minutes, no hassles.I am thrilled to report that the Zoom modem has been operating flawlessly for the past week and simply will not die, even though I'm throwing maximum traffic at it with a constant barrage of speed tests. It will likely take a few more weeks to ultimately declare victory, but, so far, the Zoom has been doing its job without a single hitch; I simply cannot get it to hang like the Arris. As mentioned before, I expect that there is either a hardware or firmware problem with the Arris, despite the firmware being managed to current via Comcast, so I'll be disposing of it ASAP as it simply doesn't do what it says it can.Final note: Don't let the Zoom's price (about half that of the Arris) fool you. This is a solid, quality product from a Boston-based company, and given my experience, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase it again. The lower price is just icing on the cake.

The Comcast modem/router I was renting was not working well. I live in a kind of smallish two bedroom apartment and the Comcast wifi router was not sending a signal to my bedrooms at all. I called Comcast and was told that they didn't have a better moden then what I already had, and got the feeling they were telling me that was the best I could do. I tried a range extender and that helped, but I decided to ditch the Comcast modem rental and buy my own modem and wifi router. I read a lot of reviews here on amazon and decided to go with buying a separate moden and router rather than a combo device. I chose this one based on reviews and price. It truly could not be easier to set this up. I followed the directions and when I brought up a web browser it went directly to the activation page I followed the steps there was up and running with no issues at all, I then set up the wifi router (TP-Link 450 wifi router) I didn't have a lot of money to spend so I went with the n450 over the newer ac models. Like I said befor my place is on the smallish side one level so I felt that the n450 would work fine and it does. I get a good strong wifi signal in all areas of my home now. If you have a large home with a second story or basement or want to use devices out side you might want to go with the newer ac routers, but I was looking for a simple and inexpensive set up and this was so simple to get both the modem and wifi router running and they cost me less than 80.00$ For both. So happy to give Comcast their equipment back.

Wasn't sure what to expect from this mystery brand, but they won me over on all counts.Right off the bat, I mistakenly hooked it up to the hot end of a passive PoE adapter. No problems months later, so that's an endorsement in action.I loved how it's built like an Oldsmobile. Boxy corners, simple color scheme; none of that wavy form factor non-sense that means you can't set anything on top of anything else. I point this out to people and it really resonates.The admin panel is no non-sense and sufficiently detailed. Unlike your common Motorola Surfboard, page loads are responsive even when it's working on WAN connectivity. On this point, especially, I've always wondered why cable modems all seem to be so flaky, and it turns out they don't.They say the 8 upstream channels improves multi-user consistency, and I don't have proof of that, but I'll believe it. It may even be overkill, but we run computers, phones, and smart TVs simultaneously without so much as a hiccup (at least when Comcast isn't having it's monthly issues).ISPs want to gaslight you and tell you it's your equipment. With other equipment it's hard to tell for sure. It's comforting to really to put that question to rest with simple consistent equipment.From what I can tell Zoom is an underdog company who put simplicity, quality, price, and reliability ahead of marketing flair. That's worth a glowing endorsement in my book.Highly recommended.