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

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.

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!

The Motorola B12 is an inexpensive way to fully utilize and take advantage of the internet services that you are paying for and to get rid of those pesky monthly modem rental fees. So, let’s dive right into what the Motorola B12 has to offer. Setup: The setup process can vary depending on your service provider, some may require you to call in and others, such as mine, which is Xfinity, allowed to activate the modem through the app. I simply disconnected my other modem, connected this one instead and went through the activation process through the Xfinity app. The modem took about 10 minutes to come online, and I was ready to go. Features: This is a multi-gig modem, meaning it can support speeds up to 2.5 Gbps down and up to 766 up, but I only get up to 2.3 down and 300 up, which was easily achieved. The modem features one 2.5 Gbps port your normal internet coaxial connection. It measures about 5.2 inches tall, 5.7 inches in length, 4 inches wide and weighs less than a pound, so it won’t take up much space and will blend in anywhere in your home. This modem will allow you to take advantage of the speeds that you are paying for and save money in the long run by saving you money on the modem rental fees. I would highly recommend that if you are in the market for a modem, to give the Motorola B12 a chance. You wont be disappointed.