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Leopold_III's avatar
Leopold_III
New Contributor

10+ Year-old modem. What to do?

12-13 years ago Cox installed internet to our home. We are still using the same modem today: Scientific Atlanta DGI5120

We are paying for "Cox High Speed Internet Preferred" which says that we should be getting download speeds of up to 50 MBPS and upload speed of 5 MBPS.

I just ran the Cox internet test while sitting right next to the modem and got a maximum of 7.8 MBPS download speed and 4.9 MBPS upload speed.

I ran the test again in each room of the house and averaged 3-4 MBPS download speed.

Clearly I am not getting nearly what I'm paying for. Is the modem to blame? What should I do?

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  • AllenP's avatar
    AllenP
    Valued Contributor

    You may get up to 25Mbps wired directly to a DOCSIS 2 modem, not more than that.  DOCSIS 2 isn't capable of anywhere near Preferred speeds.  So yes, the modem needs replacement.  Check here for a list of Cox approved modems.

    I assume since you tested in each room of the house, you are using WiFi.  What router do you have?  That could be limiting you too.  Today, I would replace your hardware with a seperate DOCSIS 3 modem and dual band router with gigabit Ethernet ports and capable of wireless "ac".  ASUS and Netgear Nighthawk are good choices and TP-Link makes some good devices at a lower price point.

  • Tecknowhelp's avatar
    Tecknowhelp
    Valued Contributor II

    ::whistles low:: I didn't know people were still using DOCSIS 2.0 modems. 

    "Is the modem to blame?"

    Yes. 

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