Just Upgraded...Slow UP Speed

ARAMP1

I've been with xFinity for several years. I've been using my own Arris S33 modem since 2021.

I was on the "Gigabit Extra" plan which was 1200 Mbps down and 35 Mbps up since purchasing the S33 (since it has a 2.5Gbps port). Today I decided to upgrade to the "Gigabit X2" plan which is supposed to be 2000 Mbps down and 300 Mbps up. Well, the down speed is good, but my up speed remains the same.

I've restarted the modem several times. I've plugged directly into the modem (bypassing my pfSense router just incase). I'm not sure what else I can do.

Any ideas?

Ultibeam

ARAMP1 S33 is not a mid-split approved modem. The list is here: https://broadbandbulletin.com/d/773-mid-split-enabled-device-list-has-been-updated-081524

CommunityMember

Ultibeam S33 is not a mid-split approved modem. The list is here:

From reports from the previous DSLR, sometimes it makes sense to rent a modem from Comcast (putting it in bridge mode) to first validate that the location properly supports mid-split speeds (as Comcast is far far far more likely to work to fix things when you are using their modem rather than having your COAM be blamed for the issues) and only after the rental modem works consider (should you wish) purchasing a newer supported COAM.

cypherstream

Yup sorry Comcast won’t approve the S33 to utilize the OFDMA channel so it’s handicap by the lack of bandwidth.

CommunityMember

cypherstream Yup sorry Comcast won’t approve the S33 to utilize the OFDMA channel so it’s handicap by the lack of bandwidth.

It would appear that Vantiva (the current owner of the modem line) has not chosen to submit the S33, or the SB8200 (with newer firmware) to the required testing for approval. Instead they prefer their (possible) future customers to purchase a newer modem (the S34), because, well, $$$$. Only when Vantiva submits (and passes) the testing would Comcast approve the modem. One should ask Vantiva why they have not submitted the request to Kyrio (the testing lab). The most likely reason is money (it is always about the money).

cypherstream

CommunityMember This is correct. The only way to get an S33 or SB8200 to use OFDMA is to use it with another provider like Cox or Service Electric Cablevision.

Even then there are firmware intricacies that some smaller or private operators don't support or update. For example, I have Service Electric Cablevision and my SB8200 does fine about 105mbps upload with OFDMA. But when they first enabled PMA, I could tell because stability took a nosedive and in the logs were constant messages with the OFDMA channel changing profiles. They had a lot of truck rolls for instability, so they tweaked the PMA a bit and now it seems pretty good. The other thing is that I've seen people with S33's on SECV either get OFDMA or not. It seems it depends what firmware came out of the box when they bought the S33. If they are lucky and it has a firmware with OFDMA enabled, they can get 100+mbps speeds upload. If not they are capped around 50-70ish mbps until a truck rolls and replaces the modem with the CM9200 (MSO version of the S33 in a darker case). SECV will not no matter how you ask, update the firmware on customer owned modems. Instead any plan that has 100+ mbps upload they offer a free modem, the CM9200.

So yeah, OFDMA is sketchy and if a provider doesn't keep up on the firmware you are stuck with whatever bugs came from the factory. Comcast's approach doesn't seem consumer friendly on the surface but when you multiple the customer base by the millions of deployed modems, I can see why they want to play it safe so they can create a good experience for end users. They just have too many users who will talk to friends, family, online forums, social media, calling in, reddit, etc.. when they have bad service. They tried to get away from that negative customer service image by branding the service "Xfinity" in the 2000's.

Its my opinion that the modem should be included on any package where the upload speed requires OFMDA to maintained advertised speed. Its the wifi portion that the customer should pay for. That's how SECV does it. Modem free, but if you want their wifi a two-plume pod setup is $9.99 a month, and extra pods are $4.99 a pod if you need pod#3+. This is no different than a FTTH provider requiring their Optical network unit for access.

CommunityMember

cypherstream Its my opinion that the modem should be included on any package where the upload speed requires OFMDA to maintained advertised speed.

It is not an unreasonable approach (as you state, others do that), but that just means that there will be no discount for COAMs, and everyone, whether they use the operators device or have their own modem, will be paying the rental price in their fees (you don't fantasize a provider does not include the cost of providing service, including the modem, in the price of the service, do you?). While there are reasons to choose to use a COAM, when the operator modem is "free" (to you), COAM usage shrinks (all my clients in L-TWC areas moved to the "free" (to them) Charter modem when they changed their plans and could no longer get a discount and saw no reasons to spend money for a new modem to take advantage of the higher speeds). With the D4.0 rollout Comcast may be moving to include the modem in the base fee for X-Class service, as D4.0 FDX COAMs are going to have nearly zero availability (as all the chips for quite some time are already spoken for, even if a modem manufacturer was interested (Netgear has suggested they are interested) and has determined that there is a positive ROI for a D4.0 COAM (that is still an unknown, and may very well be influenced by whether Comcast includes the modem in the base fee)). Comcast already has their (award winning design!) XD4 standalone D4.0 FDX modem, and we shall see if they continue to offer it as a cheaper option for those that don't want Comcast's gateway/WiFi XB10 (although, for Comcast, just standardizing on the XB10 for manufacturing/inventory/deployment/management may be cheaper in the long run as the majority of their customers use Comcast's gateway/WiFi; only the very few (that are vocal here, but don't have the numbers for a company to make major decisions based upon, want their own equipment)).

Interesting times are ahead.

cypherstream

CommunityMember
I can offer a comparison how my cable operator works based on first year monthly pricing.
$39.96 - 250/25 mbps - $4.95 for a rental or bring your own modem.
$55.96 - 500/50 mbos - $4.95 for a rental or bring your own modem.
$71.96 - 1000/100 mbps - CM9200 modem is free, or you can still bring your own modem.
$91.96 - 2000/200 mbps - CM9200 is free and required. You cannot bring your own modem. You are only out signal level pages.
No matter what customer owned or rental modem, thats only one hardwired device. So this would require the customer to either provide their own router or rent the Plume system. The latest plume consists of the Zyxel AX11000 Wifi 6E gateway and one plume pod for $9.95 a month. Additional plume pods are $7.95 a month. This is the same setup in areas they deployed FTTH. Except all plans 250/250 through 2000/2000 the Nokia ONU is free.

What if Comcast decided similarly, any tier higher than 100mbps up got you the modem, but if you wanted Wi-Fi add an extra $ fee to it. Maybe the customer just wants a connection, but they have their own Wi-Fi system (Unifi, Orbi, Google, Asus, Firewalla, Juniper Mist Retail Plume, etc...). Many customers don't care about the modem. Heck probably the upper 95% don't know a thing about modems and just want it to work.

I think it's interesting times ahead indeed. Like fiber providers I still think the ISP is to give you ethernet handoff. Be that from a modem or an ONU, doesn't matter. Just that handoff to either plug into your own router / wifi system, or a leased system that the ISP can upsell and make money on the "easy" solution. This would ensure the ONU or Modem is 100% in spec, tested, updated and ready to go on the providers' network.