Forum Discussion

JM12's avatar
JM12
New Contributor II
8 months ago

Motorola MB8611 connection drops frequently

Hello All,

I've been using a Motorola MB8611 cable modem for about 6 months. It's been very reliable and hardly ever drops the connection. Over the past week my modem is rebooting a few times a day. Today it's been rebooting every 20 min. I made a call to Cox to check out the line. I asked the agent in tech support about outages. I was told there were no outages in my area.

About two weeks ago Cox did an upgrade in my area. I'm wondering if that has something to do with it? Could a version of firmware been downloaded to the modem and now it's not compatible? I'm not able to view the firmware. I can't seem to connect to the modem. My modem is connected to a WiFi router. By the way, this is my modem. I did confirm that it works with Cox before purchasing. Cox activated it without issues.

Any thoughts? suggestions?

Thank in advance.

  • JM12's avatar
    JM12
    7 months ago

    My issue with the Motorola modem ended up being the cable signal into my home was too strong and for some reason there were 2 splitters in the box where the cable goes into my home. Cox did a recent upgrade in my neighborhood. Post upgrade my modem began rebooting a few times a day until about 2 weeks post upgrade when it was rebooting every 20 min. After Cox service adjust the signal and removed the splitters the signal coming into the home was good and not more reboots to date.

    Good to know about the password on the Motorola with a 15 character limit. Shame on them for not documenting this in the instructions when installing the modem. 

     

  • LatitiaS's avatar
    LatitiaS
    Moderator
    8 months ago

    Hi JM12,

     

    I am sorry to learn of your connection troubles and I would like to take a closer look at your signal to the home.  Please if you would reach out to us  on Twitter at CoxHelp, visit us on Facebook, or at cox.help@cox.com with your account details.  Thanks! 

     

    Cox Support Forums Moderator
     

    • JM12's avatar
      JM12
      New Contributor II
      8 months ago

      Hello, thanks for reply. I do have a Cox tech coming out this afternoon to check the line and the cable in the home. I'm starting to think that it may be the modem I've read a lot of issues with the Motorola MB8611. Rebooting multiple times an hour being one of them. Since yesterday 5:30am, the modem has been rebooting approximately every 20 minutes. 

      Hopefully the Cox Tech can troubleshoot the line. I'll let you know the outcome.

      Thanks.

      • ChrisJ2's avatar
        ChrisJ2
        Moderator
        8 months ago

        You're welcome. Let us know if there's anything we can do and thank you for your patience. 

  • Darkatt's avatar
    Darkatt
    Honored Contributor
    8 months ago

    Just a reminder, your Motorola MB8611, ISN'T a Motorola, it's a ZOOM Modem. Some years back ARRIS purchased Motorola Mobility, and all it's intellectual property, and first leased, the sold the NAME Motorola, to Zoom. If you are looking for the REAL Motorola equipment, look no further than the Arris Surfboard line of modems. 

    The MB8611 is known to have issues, and while it may run well initially, once you start having problems, it's best used as a paperweight. 

    Additionally, my sources tell me, Motorola, (Zoom), no longer provides telephone support, and provide support over email only. Not the best solution if you ask me, since if the unit isn't working, then neither is your internet.  Per their web site - motorola-network@custhelp.com is how you get support. 

    Further info, (old article) - https://arris.my.salesforce-sites.com/consumers/articles/General_FAQs/Motorola-Zoom-ARRIS-Branding-Name#:~:text=No%2C%20Zoom%20simply%20acquired%20the,reside%20under%20the%20ARRIS%20brand.

    At the end of the article is a phone number for Zoom/Motorola, I do not know if it still works for support. 

     

  • gmacg05's avatar
    gmacg05
    New Contributor
    7 months ago

    I installed this modem in Sept 2023 hooked up to a ASUS mesh wifi system. . Everything worked fine. Today I started experiencing similar symptoms. Multiple re-boot of the modem produced the same result - connectivity for around 5 min, then drop. Connecting to the modem required changing the default username and psswd. I eventually managed to figure out there's a 15 character limit on the passwd, although there's no mention of this. Despite having made no changes to the home network, the error log showed some issues with the signal strength being out of range. I ended up doing a hard reset on the modem and for now, it seems to be working. 

    • JM12's avatar
      JM12
      New Contributor II
      7 months ago

      My issue with the Motorola modem ended up being the cable signal into my home was too strong and for some reason there were 2 splitters in the box where the cable goes into my home. Cox did a recent upgrade in my neighborhood. Post upgrade my modem began rebooting a few times a day until about 2 weeks post upgrade when it was rebooting every 20 min. After Cox service adjust the signal and removed the splitters the signal coming into the home was good and not more reboots to date.

      Good to know about the password on the Motorola with a 15 character limit. Shame on them for not documenting this in the instructions when installing the modem. 

       

      • gmacg05's avatar
        gmacg05
        New Contributor
        7 months ago

        Thanks. Since I posted, my modem has rebooted several times. I will check the log to see if signal strength (too high or low) was the recorded issue. If so, I may have to ask for a service visit to check signal strength and adjust accordingly.

  • Anesti33's avatar
    Anesti33
    Contributor
    7 months ago

    Why go to all that trouble of attempting to properly configure third-party CPE with no guarantees it'll work now or in 2027?

    I suggest that you promptly disconnect and recycle your modem and consumer-grade router. They're the source of your troubles, and no consumer can adequately secure third-party equipment against threats such as botnets, rogue DNS services, pirate media servers, or worse.

    Cox Panoramic WiFi offers you the peace of mind that can only be gained with guaranteed compatibility and ease of management. Let Cox's experts do the firmware upgrades and security patches on their own dine. You should also enjoy a complimentary equipment upgrade every few years to stay current. 

    Cox Panoramic WiFi saved my network from disaster, and continually protects me and my router/modem/WiFi network. The mobile app is top-notch and provides the most-needed features to manage and oversee a family's home network. Kudos to Cox Sales and Support for making it a reality.

  • JM12's avatar
    JM12
    New Contributor II
    7 months ago

    I don't agree with your suggestion. You forgot to mention the additional COX charge per month for the modem/router. Those of us who are tech savvy prefer to configure our routers and only get COX involved when its really necessary and save the additional $$ into our pockets. 

    By the way my issue had nothing to do with the modem or router. It was that the ISP signal was too strong going into my home. Once it was adjusted, issue resolved.