cypherstream Another person was getting 100 up on their S33 but had a newer firmware.
Newer as in what version? It is believed that Arris has firmware newer than what some operators have selected based on the Arris testing submissions for that operator (and most operators push what was tested unless there is a new testing).
It is also possible it is related to the HW version. I seem to recall the S33 was reported to have (at least) two different hardware variants, and while, in theory, all should work equivalently, it is possible that only certain HW versions (with their latest FW versions) work (or happen to work).
I guess you could plug it into an active Comcast line and let it soak a few days to get a FW update…
It should update (to whatever Comcast has for their latest supported firmware) as soon as it powers up and starts the various early provisioning steps (unless the modem has been explicitly blocked for other reasons like lack of service payment).
Of course Comcast’s latest FW for the S33 may not be the Arris’s latest firmware for the S33, so the new firmware level after updating may by lower.
On the old DSLR people posted the latest S33 and S34 firmware versions on Comcast. I did not keep that list (I don’t know if anyone else did).
otherwise there’s no way to update it with our ISP.
I would consider that short sighted (and that is being kind) by their network engineering staff, given some FW updates addressed CVEs. But, their network, their rules.