Review on 📶 NETGEAR CM500V Cable Modem with Voice - Xfinity by Comcast Internet & Voice , Supports 300 Mbps Cable Plans, 2 Phone Lines, DOCSIS 3.0, Black, 16x4 w/ Voice (CM500V-100NAS) by John Rodriguez

The second modem I received from Revain was installed and working very well. Three years ago I decided to stop paying rent to Comcast and bought my own modem: Arris tg862g. This was also purchased from Revain and has worked brilliantly for three years (although it appears to be out of service now). I decided to buy a new, faster modem to upgrade my system and came across this one. I don't need a router because I plan to install a Google Wifi mesh system to eliminate slow internet hotspots in my house. I decided to get a phone modem, although I don't use the triple play phone part, because I didn't want to have problems with Comcast. Good news: Netgear installation took about 2 hours. I followed the "quick start" instructions that came with the second modem and probably didn't wait long enough for the modem to fully boot before connecting my computer to the modem. When I tried to call the two phone numbers provided, I didn't receive a prompt to speak to someone about activating the modem - the phone system didn't accept the 'activate modem' option. Comcast's own website says that after connecting the computer I should have been automatically taken to an activation page. This didn't happen and adding "xfinitiy.com/activate" to the browser didn't bring me to the activation page either. So I reinstalled my old modem and started chatting with Xfinity. The guy asked for all the information listed in the quick start guide (make and model number, serial number, MAC address) and then went and told me to stay connected while he activated my modem on their system. After 20 minutes of waiting I asked several times if he was there - no answer. So I stopped chatting, installed a new modem, plugged in my computer and was immediately taken to the activation page. The code was sent to my phone and it seemed to work but unfortunately only for 10 minutes. Then dead again. This time when I called Xfinity's phone number, one of the options I chose was "connection problems". The computer restarted the new modem. and everything seems fine. People seem to have luck with the "plug and play" method, but my modem required a bit more intervention. The Comcast phone system is still a stumbling block, but don't despair, it just takes persistence. I also had a few hiccups when I installed Arris three years ago. So what's wrong? The modem I installed was the second one I received from Revain. Here is the story of the first. When I opened the Revain brown shipping container, I knew there was a problem. (1) The Netgear box was opened and (2) the flap opening the box was torn. (3) the modem was frayed and dirty, and (4) the power cord was partially wrapped around the power supply box and the rest plugged in haphazardly. I didn't realize until I got the second that the first was missing a few other things: (5) there was no quick-start documentation in the box, and (6) the phone cord was missing. I thought I received a used item that was installed and might be defective so they sent it back. I really didn't want to try to install a potentially faulty modem - installing a perfectly good modem takes a lot of work and makes things worse, and the possibility that the first one was defective was too much of a risk for me. I have no problem ordering a returned/certified item, but this item has obviously not been checked to make sure it is ok. I sent the first one back as "damaged" and asked for a replacement. The second came quickly, new, sealed. Revain declined my review of the first modem (not according to their recommendations) but thought I'd include the details here in case Revain tries to charge me for the restock because the box I returned was missing items. And also in case it happens to someone else.