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WiderMouthOpen

Esteemed Contributor III

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Tuesday, December 20th, 2022

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Wifi 6E Panoramic gateway.

Just noticed a new gateway on the list of approved modems. The new Technicolor CGM4981 AKA the XB8. It's been on Comcast for a while. Looks like the CGM4331 but with Wi-Fi 6E instead of Wi-Fi 6. See here for internal photos. Seems you can only get one if you have 2Gbps service but can anyone confirm? Anyone seeing these in the wild?

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2 years ago

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Bruce

Honored Contributor III

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3 years ago

I certainly cannot confirm but my takeaway is if you rent a Pano, you could get one.  I don't feel you'd need to justify with Cox to get one but if you have 6 GHz devices, I'd demand this rental.

This model has a DOCSIS flavor so you wouldn't need a 2 Gig plan because the Cox infrastructure for DOCSIS can't support 2 Gbps.  You could probably get the DOCSIS with any plan.

Did you see the WPS button?  WPS is supposed to make your life easier; however, not only had the manufacturer put the button on the back to make life difficult, but also combined it with the factory-reset feature.

Moreover, to make your life even more difficult, its got the longest press-and-hold time I've ever seen for a factory reset at 1 minute.  Good, lord.  Could you imagine if someone was knocking at your door at the 30-second mark?

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WiderMouthOpen

Esteemed Contributor III

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I'd demand this rental

Well I have seen customers here with Essentials being given the Arris TG1682 or the TG2472 so I think service has some effect on what gateway you get. What you can get from haggle with the Cox store rep. is between you and the store rep. It probably depends on what is available and how many.

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3 years ago

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Bruce

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I wouldn't even haggle.  If I'm renting the Panoramic and have 6 GHz cards in my devices, I'd say rent me this model.  If not, then I'd be done renting and get my own router.  If I'm renting, Cox isn't telling me what I can or cannot rent.

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3 years ago

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WiderMouthOpen

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If not, then I'd be done renting and get my own router.

The problem is unless you have fiber, you need a modem AND a router, which adds up to a moderate investment. Granted, I think it is worth it and would always suggest your own modem and router, but some prefer the support from Cox. With that said, they also have added more stand alone routers that they have tested. See below. Maybe they will offer some kind of support in the future for them. I like the ET12 personally and may get 2 for my house.

Router Brand
and Model		 Description / WiFi WAN Interface LAN Interface
Netgear Orbi RBK963 WiFi6e Mesh System 10Gbps 2.5Gbps
Asus ET12 WiFi6e Mesh System 2.5Gbps 2.5Gbps
Asus GT-AXE16000 WiFi6e Router 10Gbps 10Gbps
Asus GT-AX6000 WiFi6 Router 2.5Gbps 2.5Gbps
TP-LINK AXE300 WiFi6e Router 10Gbps 10Gbps

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3 years ago

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Bruce

Honored Contributor III

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There are a few things to consider.

  • If you have landline service, Cox will freely issue the modem
  • More administrative control with purchased routers vs. Panoramic
  • Estimated forecast of monthly rental fees vs. "moderate investment"
  • Renting used, reissued and returned-for-a-reason gear
  • The only "support" is to exchange rentals, so time(s) invested to exchange rentals
  • Free to use MoCA!

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3 years ago

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WiderMouthOpen

Esteemed Contributor III

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The only "support" is to exchange rentals, so time(s) invested to exchange rentals

While I agree support is limited, I don't think it is fair to say it is non existence. With the advanced options in the cloud and the gateway having remote support options, there is a lot they could do and see if they wanted to. Maybe they reserve that level of support for Cox complete care?

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3 years ago

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Darkatt

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3 years ago

5ghz has ½ the range of 2.4 ghz. 6ghz, has even LESS range. If the WiFi alliance was smart, they would use the 900 MHZ range. 

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WiderMouthOpen

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5ghz has ½ the range of 2.4 ghz

1/2 the range but greater speed. It's a trade off.

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3 years ago

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Darkatt

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It doesn't in and of itself have greater speed. The increased speed comes from combining multiple channels at the same time. Bit for bit, 5ghz channels moves the same amount of data as a 2.4 ghz channels of the same width. 

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3 years ago

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WiderMouthOpen

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Interesting. Never thought about it that way.

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3 years ago

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Bruce

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Theoretically...but you need to consider the bits.  2.4 GHz is a crowded spectrum so the bits could be "bad bits," meaning re-transmitted bits.  Also, most 2.4 cards can't negotiate wider channels.  5 GHz cards can.

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3 years ago

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BarryPG

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2 years ago

I have the Technicolor CGM4981 Panoramic modem/router combo from Cox. A local Cox retail store gave it to me about 6 months ago when I was having problems with an Orbi modem/router combo that continually kept disconnecting from the internet.

I understand that the CGM4981 model I have runs wifi 6, not wifi 6E. I called the Cox retail store that gave me the modem/router yesterday (9/20/2023)  to ask if they have an upgraded model that runs wifi 6E and they said they don't have any such device, and that they don't know when one may be released. 

I was curious if anyone here knows if that store was correct and that Cox has no current plans to release a new Wi-Fi 6E version of their panoramic router/modem combo. I'm interested in possibly upgrading as I might be adding a Wi-Fi 6e device.

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