Motorola Surfboard SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem

I decided to upgrade my entire network once my Cisco modem started glitching out. The Motorola SB6141 looked to be the best on the market at the time so I added it onto my network and paired it with the new NetGear “NightHawk” R7000. Setup was quick and easy through Comcast with only one call.

Note to buyers: the black ones are for non-consumers/businesses so they’re all used pretty much, but mine came with all accessories and had no sign of use. I believe the firmware shipouts have been fixed or Comcast auto-updated my firmware without my knowledge since mine was black and came with 1.0.6.10 instead of the bugged 1.0.6.3 firmware. The bugged firmware most likely caused a lot of returns which is why they’re able to sell these to consumers.

Testing out the speeds I was able to crank out about 60mbps on what is supposed to be a 50mbps connection after configuring things (I have a super strong signal coming from my isp, just enough so that it doesn’t cause connections issues.) So far after a few months there have been no dropouts or slow down like with my old Cisco modem. Everything I download maxes out speeds and is finished within seconds if under 1GB.

The modem is open-sourced, but the configuration page (if you can call it that) leaves something to be desired. On mine I can’t change the modem specific settings, it just gives me what its set to. On my old Cisco I could change quite a bit concerning signals and such. I’m assuming there’s another device to be paired with it that enables the changing of settings. So to be safe I’d reset to factory defaults (the only thing it allows) in-case someone was able to access settings and changed things.

Overall a great top of the line modem, built to handle everything except Google’s insane fiberwire connection. Right now I’d say it’s king of the hill for those without Google.

First of all, I would suggest to read the “The most helpful critical review” by “permutations” before making a purchase decision of this modem. It’s for your own sake. I bought mine before reading it. So far I’ve been lucky, but two weeks is too short a time to be certain, and your experience could be largely different. Additionally, my review also includes context referring to permutations’s review.

As of this review, I’ve owned my OEM 6141 modem for about two weeks. It’s been running well and stably after a Comcast technician came.
On my modem’s Help page (to access yours, go to 192.168.100.1), copyright is from 2000-2011, so the modem is likely manufactured sometime in 2011. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean my modem had ever been used.

After some Google search, I believe it is true that you wouldn’t be able to buy black version of 6141 from large retailers. On the other hand though, it is quite common for small online retailers to sell new OEM items. How they are able to acquire modems that are supposedly sold to and only distributed by ISPs, I don’t know, but to claim all black modems are used is not exactly fair, either. Anyhow, “buying OEMs” itself runs the risk of not having extended warranty and having higher risk to frauds in the first place, with the benefits of lower prices. It is a trade-off and risk any OEM buyer has to take. In short, do it at your own risk. Caveat emptor.

Oh, my modem does have the latest firmware (version 1.0.6.10) and Firmware Build Time: Oct 29 2012 18:07:13. Since my ISP is Comcast, I couldn’t tell whether my modem was used or Comcast has updated its firmware. I believe it is likely the later, since Comcast technician asked for the modem’s box, which has modem’s spec info -mac address, serial number, etc- on it, and did something with it in his tech van for a long while when visiting my house.

Now more about the tech visit.
The reason I scheduled an appointment is because my connection was behaving badly. I don’t know if its behavior fitted the definition of modem flapping, but the connection was disconnecting and reconnecting for at least 2 to 3 times per hour and having frequent ping spikes (webpages would suddenly had long halts and then resume loading), and the downstream speed was way below what my service claims but the upstream speed was always good. To be more precise, one of my three downstream channels had higher noise (31~32 SNR ratio) compared with the other two.

The reason I heavily question whether it was flapping or not is because the above connection issues only happened half of the day, always between roughly 9pm to 9am. For the other half of the days, I was able to get advertised speed and had stable connection. Due to this peculiar behavior, I asked for a tech visit – after two useless Comcast online chat assistance, however.

And, yes, after the tech took out a filter, which I had no idea what it was for, attached to the cable running to my house in the green cable box on the street curb, the peculiar issue has stopped since then. Now I have eight downstream channels with very good signals compared to 2+1bad I previously had.

So, I might had been lucky not to read permutation’s review prior to calling the tech. Otherwise I might had returned my OEM 6141 and still be stuck with the connection issue even now (*Whatever the tech did with my modem box didn’t solve the issue). In short, my point is, if any connection issue happens with using this modem model, don’t hastily assume your modem is bad right away. It might not be the culprit. Trouble shooting your connection carefully.

Because, frankly, used ≠ bad; OEM ≠ bad. My previous modem 6121 was used for more than 5 years without any issue. Motorola has been a trustworthy brand. Being OEMs doesn’t change that — only abusive usage would.

——-Update——-
Below is from modem’s status page:
Current Time and Date, Jul 01 2013 21:55:35
System Up Time: 13 days 13h:26m:6s
It’s been up and running without any disconnection or slowdown for nearly two weeks.

——Recommended Troubleshooting Steps——
1. If it is already known that your ISP provider does not update customer-owned, non-leased modem firmware. Avoid this modem.
2. If you have connection problem using this modem, first check the modem’s firmware version. If “Firmware Name” on 192.168.100.1’s “Help” page is older than SB_KOMODO-1.0.6.10-SCM00-NOSH. Contact your ISP to request a firmware update before deciding to return modem.
3. If the firmware version is 1.0.6.10 or newer and the connection issue persists, request a tech visit to check cable routing problem.
– In my case, a filter inside Comcast’s cable collection box on street curb was affecting connection signals.
– The removed filter started to affect my connection only until I upgraded my service from Performance (25Mbps/5Mbps) to Blast (50Mbps/10Mbps). At first I thought my connection was unstable due to the older modem incapable of handling 50Mbps downstream. Which, of course, turned out not to be the case.
4. If both 2 and 3 fail to fix connection issue and you did not have issue using prior modem(s), it is likely the modem is faulty. Return for refund or exchange.