Get your own gateway. Don't rent theirs.
this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2025
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You can buy cable modems cheap, too. No reason to use their crap at all.
"cheap" is a relative term.
Nobody should be buying a DOCSIS 3.0 modem these days. They are obsolete and for some reason still being sold.
A decent DOCSIS 3.1 modem is at least $200. A Next Gen like S34 is at least $220. At least at the big blue big box store. And then you have to get your own wifi.
(However, that big blue store also will give you a 15% discount on any networking purchase if you recycle an old network device...I traded in an old modem but you should be able to find a switch or router at a thrift store and still come out ahead)
It pays for itself pretty quick (by not paying rental fees), but that doesn't necessarily make it cheap.
I absolutely prefer using my own equipment, and do...but it's also worth mentioning that in many markets, Xfinity removed data caps if you have a rented modem.
If a DOCSIS 3.0 modem still can't be saturated by the tier of internet someone is paying for, what advantage would 3.1 have?
Not buying another modem when the ISP quietly upgrades the CMTS and makes more speed available in your neighborhood.
If your provider has implemented it (Comcast is the only one i know of in north america) then Active Queue Management is a huge quality of life improvement that you won't know you were missing unless you already had a router that implements queue management. https://www.cablelabs.com/blog/how-docsis-3-1-reduces-latency-with-active-queue-management
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I used docsis 3.0 and it worked just fine. So why not?
Because docsis 3.0 standard is nearly 20 years old at this point and 3.1 is significantly faster. Docsis 3.1 is only 15, but 4 (which is still 8 years old) probably isn't supported by your ISP yet. But the speed difference is quite noticeable. 3.0 will theoretically do 1gbps down, and 100-200 up, but 3.1 could do 10 down and 1gbps up. In the age of symmetrical fiber internet those upload speeds are dire. 3.1 realistically gets you a symmetrical gig connection.
Ah, so 3.0 is fine if your internet still sucks. Got it.
Exactly. So it's great for xfinity
Xfinity likely wouldn't allow you to use it at this point. They've been pushing people toward 3.1 for a while now, and won't register a new 3.0 modem.
I have a 3.1 modem but my ISP only has 3.0 speeds as far as I can tell. 1000/100 is their highest plan so the extra doesn't really do anything.
My modem is 32x8 and I can see in the UI that only 4 of the 8 upload channels are actually bonded to reach that 100, which is half of the 200 that 3.0 can theoretically do.
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I wouldn't trust them to not randomly enable WiFi, but you can also use their modem but disable any built in WiFi on it & still use your own router. ISPs continue to try to bundle their modem & router, which gives them complete access to your home network. Some lucky people have found fiber providers that let them use their own SFP.
Can you use your own modem? I thought you had to use theirs?
Yes, look on their website for compatible models, there’s a handful of affordable ones, many which perform better on higher tier connections too. Been using my own modems with Comcast for 25 years.
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In Europe that used to be the case, but that changed not that long ago. Now providers are legally obligated to allow you to get your own modem
You need to use their modem quite often, but you don’t need to use their router. They’re usually “all in one” modem/router things these days, but they’re legally required to provide you with a modem in bridge mode if you ask — at that point, an Ethernet cable attached to their modem is effectively attached to the Internet, and you can put your own hardware inside (firewall, Wifi router, etc.).
While you need to connect to their IP gateway, you don’t need to use their DNS services or anything but their IP gateway service.
I use my own modem and my own router with XFinity.
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No you can use your own modem with xfinity.
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Well yeah. That’s what their tech does. And it’s why I have my ISP’s WiFi offering disabled and the antennas removed and run their router in bridged mode, hooked up to equipment I own that doesn’t call out to the Internet.
Doesn't matter for me, my neighbors use all that shit. There's enough latent rf for them to triangulate literally everything happening nearby.
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Faraday cage or bust.
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Didn't read the article, but it's possible to get a 3d map with wifi. They can probably see you.
There is no privacy or security.
They don't need a 3D map, and the researchers who have rendered a 3D map need a lot of specialized software and resources.
Xfinity doesn't need that. They only need to know when people are online, what they're looking at, and who/how many people are watching TV, and if there's indication of pets in the house. That gives them an advertising gold mine of data.
By default, WiFi Motion is set to detect even small amounts of movement in the motion-sensing areas, including motion caused by small pets.
holy shit lol
I remember when MIT had a paper on this around 2000
Oh boy, I can't wait for this new wave of paranoid customers claiming their wifi is watching them. Thanks, comcast.
I don't really understand how this works, so struggle to see any benefits (only drawbacks😐). It does make me thankful my provider is a small local company. Not the fastest, but probably no spying.
If you are interested I can try and find the article on it but a few years ago an article came out where they were able to use wifi signals with enough accuracy that they could see a password that you were typing on your keyboard!!
But basically they use the way the wifi signal bounce off things to make an image in much the same way that echo location works
Like - I’m excited about sensors that uses higher frequency versions of this for health monitoring. I think that’s a perfectly valid use. But also, in my use, I’d be installing it as an IoT device on a network I control, feeding data to services I own.
This use - where it’s opt in for now, until they figure out how to monetize selling how much time you spend in front of the TV, in the kitchen, bedroom, or bathroom (paired with ‘anonymized’ data about what you’re looking at online in each space) is creepy as fuck.
Is it really “opt in” or is the opt in only for them to give you the information that they collect? I haven’t read through any terms of service for it but my assumption is they are already selling that data
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It’s been around for almost 4 years. Don’t use rental modems.
Different context but the first time I heard about this it was touted as the future for VR
fucking Batman
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