Motorola Cable Modems Comparison

1. Best Cable Modem
2. Motorola Cable Modem Drivers

16x4 Cable Modem plus AC1600 Dual Band Wi-Fi® with DFS The Motorola Model MG7540 cable modem with built-in router supports modem speeds up to 686 Mbps. With its high speed and IPv4 and IPv6 networking support, this is a product designed and built for use today and for years to come. Best Cable Modem 2019 - Basic, High-Speed, DOCSIS 3.1 Reviews. We spent over 20 hours testing ten cable modems, each less expensive than the annual rental fees from your internet service provider. The Motorola MB7621 is our pick as the best overall cable modem for its practical balance of price, performance and ease of use. Its 24 downstream.

Best Cable Modem

• My old modem wasn't slow, but I was shocked to see such a difference when loading websites, youtube, etc. Well worth the buy! I would almost compare this to the difference that the SSD made in computers over old standard hard drives.
• Comcast recently upgraded their network to DOCSIS 3.1 in the Southwest Washington state area so I replaced my old Arris DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem with this one and immediately noticed a download speed increase to around 200 Mbps from around 120 Mbps!
• Model is on the approved Comcast/Xfinity equipment list and works great. Compatible with their higher tier speeds at DOCSIS 3.1. No complaints with the product, as it's performed flawlessly during the first week.
• Easily and quickly setup between my Xfinity cable and TP-Link WiFi router. Went to the Xfinity activate link as described in the documentation and was up and running in a minute or so. My download and upload speeds are about 10% faster now without any change in my plan. Nice!!
• I'm guessing the 3.1 firmware still is in beta. This modem will lose it's downstream connection for no apparent reason. Hopefully the manufacturer will find out what's causing this and work with Comcast to fix the issue.

• Ok it has taken 3 days of Comcast phone calls to get this to work. However it now works. Had to pay more to run the 3.1. But it is what it is. This is very fast. I have 352MB download and 45MB upload.
• I LOOOVE THIS little Beast! Moved to a house and my friend had the slowest package from COX. I decided to upgrade to Ultimate package, bought this guy, and now my Internet speed is 350-380 down, 32 up (I know COX says up to 300, so seeing more than 350 down makes me even happier).
• Was able to activate with WOW! easily though a quick phone call to their customer service line. Consistently exceeds the 500 Mbps down and 50 Mbps I am paying for.
• Great modem for 1gigabit service comcast. for self install call rep to get the modem provision and bootfile for correct speed.
• From Cons, I think it becomes quite Hot, but I keep it separately on the shelf where air flow is quite good, so I hope this heating isn't an issue at all.

Motorola Cable Modem Drivers

• Supports bonded (two ethernet cables) connection to ISP if you are lucky enough to actually have Gigabit internet service. One LAN connection only supports up to 960 Mbps or so speeds, so bonded is a plus.
• 4 LAN ports if you want a direct connection (e.g. if your router doesn't support bonded ethernet– most don't– then you can directly connect to your modem with 4 available ports).
• Comes with power cable, ethernet cable, velcro tie for cables, and a wrench to tighten the coax cable.
• It comes with 4 ethernet ports that can be linked together to get up to 4gps of data throughput when cable operator will provide them.
• Only one port can be used. The rest are for bridging signals once that functionality is available from ISP. You can only use one of the four Ethernet ports on the rear

• It has 2 Gigabit ports for 2 separate networks (Global IP's) and can utilize link aggregation.
• The dual LAN ports on the back are cool, but only useful if your provider allows you to use the second one--sadly, Comcast Xfinity does not.
• I chose this one for the two ports in the back.
• Very easy to setup and get working. This was purchased because we needed two ports, both of them are gigabit and DOCSIS 3.1 means that we are set for future speed increases.
• Great cable modem..fast.. as described, there are 2 LAN ports on the back.

• With this modem, I have DOCSIS 3.1, 8x downstream channels and most importantly, AQM. AQM (Active Queue Management) is needed for high bandwidth connections such as Cable Modem connections.
• The modem itself is very durable feeling. Setup was a very easy. I'm actual obtaining equal if not better speeds than my previous Netgear model. So definitely a modem I would purchase again.
• Runs great, uses Broadcom chipset. Small. Reasonably priced. 32x8. Modem admin name is changeable. Can do up to 4 bound ethernet ports for 4gpbs if you can afford it.
• LEDs are not bright, and only the ethernet one blinks occasionally. Comes with a wrench for tightening coaxial heads.
• Just that they advertise this to work really easily with XFINITY. At least that was my impression. I still had to contact XFINITY to get this modem set up. Was about an hour total online chat with them.
• Instructions say to go to xfinity.com/internetsetup but it doesn't load, you actually want /activate. Before realizing this, I tried to activate remotely from my xfinity account and it said activated, but it wasn't.

• Works easily on Comcast, dual Ethernet, removed my Bufferbloat issues
• I have had a little over an hour of downtime since I put it in, and that was a scheduled network maintenance outageDownstream is connected 24ch plus an extra 3.1 channel via docsis3.1, upstream 4ch is still 3.0
• Upgraded old modem using DOCSIS 3.0, with 4 channels to SB8200. Speed doubled at least. No problems found.
• Expensive, new so may still have outstanding CMTS connection issues (but not for me)
• Even though it is DOCSYS 3.1 and the description says it works with Xfinity Gigabit, it doesn't. Only 250MB and below.

Best Cable Modem 2019 - Basic, High-Speed, DOCSIS 3.1 Reviews

We spent over 20 hours testing ten cable modems, each less expensive than the annual rental fees from your internet service provider. The Motorola MB7621 is our pick as the best overall cable modem for its practical balance of price, performance and ease of use. Its 24 downstream and eight upstream channels handle the fastest internet speeds available. If you're subscribed to internet speeds lower than 300 Mbps, we also liked the budget-friendly Netgear CM500 and the compact and convenient Motorola MB7420.

Motorola MB7621

The Motorola MB7621 is a great modem for any home network. With 24 downstream and eight upstream channels, it has the capacity to handle the fastest internet speeds.

Netgear CM500

The Netgear CM500 modem has great network performance, a great price and can handle demanding activities like streaming and gaming without costing a fortune.

Motorola MB7420

The Motorola MB7420 is a tiny modem that takes up less space but still keeps you connected to the internet.

Best Overall

Motorola MB7621

In our tests, the Motorola MB7621 managed to keep five devices running four simultaneous bandwidth-heavy applications with ease.

We found most of the modems we evaluated are very similar, but the Motorola MB7621 stood out. Its great performance, sleek yet practical design, labeled ports, powerful user interface, power button, helpful instructions and included accessories make it an extremely easy-to-use and effective device. Its 24 downstream channels can easily handle HD streaming, and its eight upstream channels give you access to the necessary speeds for gaming and cloud computing. The MB7621 has max speeds of up to 1000 Mbps, but it’s rated for internet packages advertising speeds up to 650 Mbps. We tested it on Xfinity's 400 Mbps package, and it worked perfectly. It also has a power button, a feature missing on many modems we tested, and some useful accessories like a coaxial connection wrench, Ethernet cable and a hook-and-loop cord strap.
Aside from its robust specs and ease of use, the MB7621 is a good investment because it can cost less than renting a modem from your ISP after just nine months, and its warranty protects it against manufacturer defect for two years. It also has lightning and power surge protection and a well-ventilated exterior to protect against overheating.

Best Value

Netgear CM500

The Netgear CM500 is a DOCSIS 3.0 standard modem with 16 downstream channels and four upstream channels for max speeds up to 680 Mbps.

It performed well in our tests running four simultaneous bandwidth-hogging applications, including 4K Netflix streaming and three large video game file downloads. Though we tested it using Xfinity's 400 Mbps speed tier, we recommend the CM500 for packages advertising speeds up to 300 Mbps, just to give yourself a little room since modems rarely perform up to theoretical max speeds.
The CM500 isn't necessarily a top-of-the-line product, but it’s still a great value. Not only is it less expensive than renting a modem from your ISP, it's less expensive than many of the similar modems we tested, yet it works just as well. It's also supported by more ISPs than several of the products we researched. Besides value, the main difference between the CM500 and our favorite modems is the lack of a physical power button, which necessitates plugging and unplugging the modem when you want to turn it on or off. It's an inelegant solution, but it works.
The CM500 is a sleek device with a slim, shiny black exterior which gets a little dirty from smudges and dust. It also is not as well ventilated as other models, so it tends to run a few degrees warmer. Still, it’s a good modem that serves your internet access needs.

Best Compact Modem

Motorola MB7420

The Motorola MB 7420’s compact form, performance and easy-to-use functionality make it a great modem for households that don't need the absolute fastest speeds.

In our tests, it performed well on a network using up to 400 Mbps cable internet connection. If your internet plan advertises speeds up to 300Mbps or higher, a modem with more upstream and downstream channels gives you more room to maneuver.
Though most cable modems are very similar, the MB 7420 offers a few distinct features that make it easier to use than other models we tested. For one, it has a physical power button. It's a small, useful element that many modems omit, but plugging and unplugging a modem to turn it on and off again is an unwieldy process. A power button is convenient, especially since this modem is so small and light, as messing with the cords can cause it to fall off balance. The Motorola's web interface, where you reset the device or access its information, is one of the easiest to navigate and the most powerful of the user interfaces, and it includes a nice selection of advanced options as well as the basics. Additionally, the modem comes with two small but useful accessories, a wrench for tightening the coaxial connection and a hook-and-loop cord strap.

Best Color Options

Arris Surfboard SB6183

Unlike most cable modems, the Arris Surfboard 6183 comes in two colors, so you can choose an option that best fits your style.

Other than the black or white color options, the SB6183 is a standard DOCSIS 3.0 modem. It has 16 downstream and four upstream channels and is up to the task of keeping your busy network connected to the internet. It performed as well as expected in our hands-on tests. One feature we found particularly useful is its color-coded status LEDs. Its uplink and downlink icons glow different colors based on the connection quality instead of simply showing that it’s connected. Every other modem we tested included a LAN indicator on its forward-facing status panel. An Ethernet port status light replaced the LAN indicator on the SB6183, which isn’t as easily accessible for diagnostics.

Best Design

Asus CM-16

As far as networking equipment goes, the Asus CM-16 is a good-looking device. Its compact form and subtly patterned side panels make it sleek enough to fit in with your décor but subdued enough to not stand out.

It’s a DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem with 16 upstream and four downstream channels, making it capable of handling download speeds up to 686 Mbps and upstream up to 131 Mbps. In our tests, it easily handled multiple simultaneous connections on our testing facility’s 400 Mbps internet service. The only hiccup in the CM-16’s evaluation was the outdated web user interface. Though it works, it looks like it was created decades ago and isn’t quite as user-friendly as other interfaces we encountered. Even so, the ASUS CM-16 is a good modem that can save you money compared to renting from your ISP.

Why Trust Us

We put in over 20 hours of testing and research to ensure our cable modem recommendations are both useful and well-informed. Top Ten Reviews has evaluated modems and other home networking equipment for eight years, and our team of tech geeks is well versed in home networking. We combined our expertise, hours of research and hands-on testing to form our judgments, weighing performance, relative value and ease of use to find the best modems that strike the perfect balance between the most important aspects.

How We Tested

We assessed all the modems on the market and narrowed the selection down to the top ten products that cost less than renting a modem from your ISP for a year. We set up these products into our lab, hooked them up to our network and ran some hands-on tests. Our internet service is through Comcast Xfinity and has advertised speeds up to 400 Mbps, though in our testing process, we never saw speeds that slow. Once connected to our Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR500, we hooked up an Xbox One, PlayStation 4, a gaming PC, a Dell XPS 13 laptop and a Microsoft Surface. On the gaming devices, we downloaded three large game files (Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Assassin’s Creed: Origins and Bioshock Infinite). We streamed Netflix in 4K from the Dell and used the Surface to monitor the network. Through testing, we found that every modem we tested performed exactly as it should, so you’re safe buying any of them.

Since all the modems passed our tests, most of our ranking evaluations relied on price and features. We preferred modems with physical power buttons as opposed to modems that you have to unplug to turn off. We scored modems higher if the online interface was easy to find and use. We also preferred smaller, well-ventilated devices.

Replacing your rented equipment seems daunting if you’re unfamiliar with home networking setups. We consulted with Philip Michas, owner of Tech Authority in Salt Lake City, UT, who recommends making the investment, explaining, “Modems are relatively inexpensive to purchase. Most manufacturers are vendor compliant, meaning that they are ‘endorsed by big-box ISP’s. Over the course of time with a rental, you rent it for more than you can purchase it for.” Windows 7 32 bit memory support.

Comcast Xfinity charges an $11 monthly rental fee, but all the modems we recommend here pay for themselves in less than a year. It’s worth the investment not only to save you money, but to protect your network against ISP shenanigans like Xfinity’s public Wi-Fi program or even data leaks, like the one that Comcast addressed in May 2018. We put together this simple buying guide to help you find the best option for your network.

Compatibility
All the modems we tested are specifically for cable internet, like that provided by Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum and Cox. There are also DSL, fiber and satellite internet services, which won’t work with these products. Beyond finding the right type of modem for your type of internet, you need to make sure you purchase a modem that is supported by your ISP. All the products on our review are supported by most of the major cable internet companies, including the three mentioned previously, but it’s always safe to double check. Most companies have an easily accessible list of supported equipment.

Performance
Consider your current internet plan and whether you may want to upgrade in the next year or so, then choose your modem accordingly. Along with the list of modem compatibility, your ISP probably includes which modems it recommends for each plan tier. If you subscribe to speeds less than 300 Mbps, any of these work great.

Cable modems are classified according to DOCSIS standards and the number of upstream and downstream channels available for data traffic. DOCSIS stands for 'data over cable service interface specification.' It is the protocol that allows you to get internet via coaxial cable. Current DOCSIS standards are 3.0 and 3.1. The latter is slightly newer and a better investment for a high-tech, high-speed household, but 3.0 works for most users.

Downstream and upstream channels are represented like 16 x 4 or 24 x 8. The first number represents the downstream channels, which correlates to the amount of information the modem can receive from the ISP. The second number, upstream channels, correlates to the amount of data you can send to your ISP at any given time. More channels means more data modulating/demodulating capabilities, though network speeds are more reliant on your internet subscription.

While our tests showed each of the modems performing admirably on speeds up to 400 Mbps, we recommend going with a 24 x 8 modem such as the Motorola MB7621 if you have an internet plan advertising speeds of 300 Mbps or higher. Faster modems give you more room to expand as new services roll out, since modems can seldom perform at their advertised max speeds.

Value
We recommend purchasing a modem that costs less than the rental fees for its warranty term. If you buy a modem with a 1-year warranty, it should cost less than a year’s worth of rental fees. All the modems we tested cost less than a year’s rent on an Xfinity modem, and many have two-year warranties. Generally, a modem should cost less than $120 at most.

If a 16 x 4 modem serves you perfectly now, but you may want to upgrade your internet package to the next level within a few years, it's worth the extra money to future-proof your purchase. Having extra speed capabilities won't negatively affect your network in any way and may even make it more efficient.

Design
Home networking equipment is designed to look more functional than elegant, but some design features help you optimally use your cable modem. For one, a physical power button is a nice feature. Only a few of the modems we tested have a power button, and without one, you must unplug the device to power it off. Plugging and unplugging works, of course, but it can add frustration to the already bothersome network troubleshooting process, especially if your setup area has unorganized wires.

If you’re short on space, a smaller modem or a modem and router combination device is a good option, though they still require breathing room to prevent overheating. Ventilation is always an important design feature to consider. Devices that are well ventilated on the sides, top and bottom run cooler than ones that aren’t, which can affect your modem's longevity and the operation of other equipment in the same area. Most of the modems we tested have a large foot, which prevents you from placing anything right up against them. This also helps stabilize the modems, as their vertical positions and power, Ethernet and coaxial connections make some of the devices easy to knock over.

Modems vs. Routers

The devices most ISPs supply to renting customers are modem and router combination devices, so replacing your rented equipment does necessitate replacing both devices. The modem is the first point of contact between your home network and the internet. It takes the cable input signal and modulates/demodulates it into a standard Ethernet connection that your router or computer plugs into.

If you want Wi-Fi or to connect multiple devices to the internet, you also need a router, which handles all the communications between your home network and the internet. You need both to create an effective and secure home network. You can buy combo devices, but we recommend each device unless you’re really pressed for space. Separate devices have the advantage of being more flexible when it comes to upgrades, and if one piece breaks, you don’t have to replace the whole system.