Any Advantage to a DOCSIS 3.1 modem for mid-level speed connections

[mk313]

I have Spectrum for my service provider & they just upper our speed to 300 Mbps down. My old modem wasn't compatible with the service, so I upgraded modems & am pretty happy with the new modem (Motorola MB7621). I got it because it says it's listed as compatible with up to 500 Mbps service (or something like that with Spectrum) and they seem to be increasing our download speed by 100 Mb every couple of years so a higher end modem seemed like overkill.

The one thing I am wondering is, is there any advantage to getting a DOCSIS 3.1 modem (this one is 3.0)? I don't understand enough about them to know if there is an advantage if I don't have a higher speed connection. I'm not sure if there is some benefit like a more reliable connection or something like that.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Juicy Box]

If you are not going for higher speeds, and your current model is adequate, I wouldn't bother spending money for a DOCSIS 3.1 modem.

If your ISP is anything like my ISP, you may get emails saying that your DOCSIS 3.0 modem is old, obsolete, outdated, will be unsupported in the future, etc., but as long as they still support them, no point in getting something else.

Actually, there could actually be more issues when getting the newer DOCSIS standard.

I remember when I replaced my flawless, but aging DOCSIS 2.0 modem with a (then) modern DOCSIS 3.0 modem, I started having connection drops a few times a day for about one minute each. After doing research, looking at signal strength, and then talking to the modem support tech, I figured out that I most likely had a damaged cable line that was causing the connection drops.

The ISP came out and found the damaged part of the cable, and ended up running a new line.

The thing is, I never had issues with the DOCSIS 2.0 modem, which made me think that there was something wrong with my new DOCSIS 3.0 modem.

But, talking to the modem tech support, they said that the DOCSIS 3.0 standard had a lot less signal tolerance than the DOCSIS 2.0 standard, which is why the old modem worked perfectly, and the new one drop constantly.

I think DOCSIS 3.1 might be more sensitive than the 3.0, but cannot say for sure.

When I bought my current home a year ago, I went back to using cable again because it was my only option. I had Fiber the last few years prior at a really great price ($35 a month for 200MBps), and was not happy to downgrade my upload speed to a tiny fraction of what I had before for double the price.

With the new house, I decided to upgrade my modem to a DOCSIS 3.1 instead of using my now old DOCSIS 3.0 that I had for years. I am not sure if it the new house's lines, or the lines in my area, or maybe the DOCSIS 3.1 modem, but I have dropped connections every few days. Usually early in the morning like 1am or 2am, but sometimes during the day too.

I am wondering if the lower tolerances of the DOCSIS 3.1 modem, combined with other factors such as old lines is causing the drop outs.

 

[mk313]

Thank you for the reply. In that case, I'll just stick with the modem I have.

 

[Weaselboy]

Thank you for the reply. In that case, I'll just stick with the modem I have.

I agree with Juicy Box, you likely won't see a benefit from a DOCSIS 3.1 modem, but Spectrum will give you one free, so I so no reason not to take it.

 

[mk313]

I agree with Juicy Box, you likely won't see a benefit from a DOCSIS 3.1 modem, but Spectrum will give you one free, so I so no reason not to take it.

Thanks. I actually did get the free modem from spectrum but it didn’t work for me. I couldn’t get a stable connection and my speed jumped all over the place. After that, I tried a Motorola modem and the issue resolved itself.