Review on ARRIS SURFboard SB6190 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem, Compatible with Cox, Spectrum, Xfinity & others (Black) by Daniel Ogbebor

Update 8/31/2021: Purchased June 2019, useless until late June early July 2021 The speed of raising and lowering changed from stable to reliable for what I'm paying for to completely unpredictable. Sometimes transfer speeds were in the single digits, sometimes close to what I'm paying for, and everything in between. Never predictable and a problem for work from home, streaming services and regular PC/phone use. After hours of troubleshooting that included checking the router connected, updating and resetting my router software, using other devices to test the service, changing cables and connections. Looking for software and firmware updates for this and other connected devices, everything pointed to this modem being the culprit. Or maybe the power supply to the modem. I've also been working on troubleshooting with Spectrum and hopefully found a firmware or software fix. Firmware and software are unfortunately only updated by Spectrum, probably similar with other providers. They said everything was fine on their side and offered to send a technician to my house to diagnose. I declined and replaced that modem with an Arris SB8200. I needed a quick fix and I took the plunge. After setting up a new modem (another Arris product, SB8200) the problem was resolved. I am now seeing services that match or exceed what i pay for More importantly, performance is consistent. No matter what time of day or night, after replacing the SB6190 with the SB8200, the service has been impeccable. As others have pointed out, the SB6190 uses a supposedly buggy PUMA chipset. The SB8200 doesn't. This is a known issue that has led to at least one class action lawsuit and left a trail of angry customers. I've always used the 6190 in a well ventilated area and even left an AC Infinity S4 multi-fan fan nearby blowing at low speed as a precaution. The only thing I know of that I haven't ruled out is the power supply to the 6190. It's entirely possible that the problems with the 6190 are power related. May be. Let's see, how the SB8200 fares over time, but for now it's working very well and is stable. Even if a miracle happens and gigabit internet becomes available in my area at an attractive price, the SB8200 would be a better fit. I don't know if newer versions of Arris' SB6190 have been updated with a different chipset. If not, then my experience with the SB6190 has been disappointing. Before buying, I definitely recommend doing some homework. First Review: This replaces the SB6121 which has been running since late June 2013. During this time there were no problems. I only replaced it after realizing my service level was too high for the SB6121. The SB6121 is an older model and cannot take full advantage of the 200Mbps service I have. The top speed of the SB6121 is around 125 Mbit/s. The 6121 was fully capable of maintaining the speed I had when I bought it. I am ashamed that I did not know that the Spectrum has gradually increased the rate of decline over time and that I am paying for a service that my modem can no longer support. On the other hand, nowhere on the Spectrum website do they clearly post the up and down rates. At least not what I can find. Maybe buried in the fine print. You have to call them to find out. Even when I log into my account, I can't find any published service levels. Spectrum seems to shy away from releasing the figures. After installing this and running some speed tests, I'm now seeing peak and very consistent download speeds of 200-230 Mbit/s (update 06/03/2021: more like 120-150 these days). .Perhaps the explosive growth in my area has overwhelmed the Spectrum can support. Or maybe Spectrum just does it because they get away with it most of the time.) No change in download speed which Spectrum (not this modem) fixes at around 10-15Mbps. Going from 6121 to 6190 was easy. Write down your MAC address, which is on the box and on the modem. Install the modem in the desired location, connect the power supply, and then prepare the coaxial cable, Ethernet cable, and power cord for connection to the modem. Call Spectrum once everything has been delivered. They guide you through the setup, which in my case only lasted about 5 minutes. Just no more than ten minutes after they picked up the phone. If you connect your modem to a router or directly to a computer with a regular Ethernet cable, there's no harm in swapping out for a new Category 6 or 7 cable and it's inexpensive. The SB6190 has a top speed of 1.4 Gbps (announced). So if your service offers higher speeds, this modem is not for you. For the rest of us, a great modem. It's getting hot, but so is the SB6121 it replaces. Time will tell if I get the same long-term reliability as the SB6121. I will update if there are problems. Until then happy customer. if there are problems. Until then happy customer. if there are problems.