Motorola - B12 32 x 8 DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modem - Black

Works well with spectrum cable. Easy to setup no frills simple modem.

Very easy to install, it took about 15minutes. It looks great setting on the shelf and has remained connected and strong for about 2weeks now.

The Motorola B12 is the smallest modem I’ve ever seen—its design resembles more of a Bluetooth speaker than a traditional modem. It features a sleek and simple with no buttons (aside from reset), a single Ethernet port and an indicator light at the base. Setup was simple and straightforward. I was replacing an old modem that had given me countless issues for the past 3 years, so I was prepared for potential complications. However, activation was as simple as calling my internet provider and reading off the MAC address for them to send a signal. Please keep in mind, this modem requires a separate router. In my case, I paired it with an Asus ZenWiFi system, and to my surprise, the router immediately recognized the new modem and established a connection within two minutes of plugging it in. I tried to access the modem’s internal settings via direct connection using the desktop, but I was unable to log in using the default IP address. I'm sure I could figure out a workarounds, but since my internet was working as expected, I left the settings untouched. The cable technician was impressed by the signal strength, especially when compared to my previous modem. Overall, I’m extremely happy with the Motorola B12, mainly due to the ease of use and compact size.

The Motorola B12 modem was easy to setup through my xfinity app. I struggled with the Motorola app. It kept saying this model is not supported in the app. Strange because in the instructions it says you can use the app. Fortunately, I connected through Xfinity. I have 1.2gb service and this modem is capable of 2.5gb service. Make sure you have at least 1gb in order to use this modem. Less service than 1gb will cause slower response. This information was provided by Motorola. The modem has been flawless. I find there have been 'no signal drops' in the week I've owned the modem. There is zero lag. The modem immediately connected with my mesh routers and together there has been no issues. No conflicts. This modem supports all the current standards with DOCSIS 3.1 Connectivity is great with all my devices, phone, tv, and computer. The modem is small in size and doesn't have the traditional bank of upload, download, power, connectivity lights of other modems. It has 1 singular dot of light when on. During setup there is a set of blinking sequences of that one light that mean different things. Personally, I like this small footprint. This modem will save you a lot of money versus renting from your cable provider. It is insane to me why anyone would rent their modem from the cable provider in this day and age. The app needs work, but in reality if you have one of the big cable companies you can setup the new modem through them. Motorola needs to do a better job on the app. It is far from a deal breaker though. Frankly, it is just an annoyance. I think Motorola has an excellent modem here. The modem is backed by a one year warranty.

Thinking about bringing your own modem? You’re making the right call. Why pay your internet provider several extra dollars per month to lease a device you can get for about as much as a year’s worth of lease fees? Cable modems have been ubiquitous for most of America’s broadband internet services, and they’re readily available at Best Buy. Motorola, creators of the original and iconic “SURFboard” modems, are still in the game and are now offering devices supporting the latest DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem service. The SURFboard name may have been sold, and the Motorola B12 may not look like anything more than a bluetooth speaker, but it’s able to keep up with the fastest cable internet plans on offer today. A disclaimer: while most Internet Service Provider (ISP) plans allow you to bring your own modem, some may dictate what types of devices can and cannot be connected to their lines, and your plan may require you to use a provider’s gateway as opposed to bringing your own. Check your ISP’s support pages or contact their customer service prior to purchasing a modem. - Unboxing and Setup With little more than a quickstart guide and requisite power and ethernet cables, the Motorola B12 is a no-frills affair. As an Xfinity (Comcast) customer, I utilized the Xfinity app to register the modem (and deactivate my prior 32 x 8 DOCSIS 3.0 modem registration) with their service prior to connecting. The entire installation process was then very straightforward - I simply connected the coax line from the street into the new modem, connected my router via the 2.5G ethernet jack, and plugged the B12 into power. After finishing its handshake connection with Xfinity, the modem immediately downloaded and installed a firmware update, then rebooted to finish installation and connection. The entire process took about 10 to 15 minutes, and once online it acted exactly like my prior modem; that is to say - pretty seamlessly. - Performance With a 32 x 8 DOCSIS 3.1 connection, you can connect to your cable internet provider (if conditions and your plan allow) at speeds up to 10Gbps, but with only a 2.5Gbps ethernet jack on the modem and no other connection options, you will be limited to 2.5Gbps - not a major issue considering no cable provider, to my knowledge, offers a plan faster than 2Gbps today, and networking equipment capable of handling 10Gbps is still firmly outside the realm of consumer-grade networking hardware. With a 1-gigabit plan I was not expecting to see a noticeable increase in performance, but after moving to the new modem I found I was more consistently hitting 1000mbps down where I used to see 800-850 during higher-traffic hours. In hindsight, this was a bandwidth limitation of 32 x 8 DOCSIS 3.0… Besides speed, the biggest change in my internet was the latency and judder (variability in latency) of my connection - I saw my ping in competitive PC games improve from 75-100ms down to 65-80, with what seemed to be far fewer instances of warping and stuttering in my teammates and opponents. Websites also seem to load quicker, likely through the quicker DNS resolution occurring across the board with a lower-latency, more responsive modem. Small improvements across the board make for a snappier internet experience, after all. - User Interface & Motosync App This is the only area I can knock the modem itself for, and it’s a real nitpick if I ever had one. My previous modem had multiple indicator lights that corresponded to each of its functions, but the B12 has a single multicolor LED that only indicates different statuses by pulsing at slow speed, pulsing at fast speed, or as a static light. The back of the quickstart guide contains a chart deciphering what each of the colors and animations mean; I decided to leave this under the modem in case I ever need to debug. Would’ve been nice to see more straightforward options. There is also the Motosync app, available on Google Play and the Apple App Store, and it is yet another application that requires a separate account to use - a huge miss for data privacy. The app purports to let you control and manage your devices, the B12 included, through the phone interface to presumably monitor and control your home network. Unfortunately I could not get the app to find my modem, so what further functionality this enables is beyond my knowledge. - Bottom Line It’s a modem, and it works flawlessly. What more is there to say? Despite the annoyance of the status indicator, the B12 is a solid device delivering stable internet and the best speeds your cable ISP can provide. At an MSRP of $199.99, it’s competitive with most entry-level DOCSIS 3.1 modems, and if you’re already running a nice router of your own, you can’t go wrong with the Motorola B12. Recommended!