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Forum Discussion
CM600 firmware not upgraded by Time Warner Cable
I wanted to upgrade the existing firmware (V1.01.05) of my cable modem (CM600). Netgear website says that for Time Warner Cable (TWC) I should have V1.01.12 and that I cannot upgrade manually. I h...
TonyinCNY wrote:As stated in the above comments, there is no one to contact at Netgear to get your modem firmware updated. They just don't do it. The sell these pieces of crap that quickly become obsolete AND NEVER INFORM THE CUSTOMER ABOUT THE INABILITY TO KEEP THE FIRMWARE UP TO DATE.
This has nothing to do with Netgear; it has everything to do with poor support from the ISP.
No cable modem is customer upgradable.
Example, tuesday morning at 8:58AM I emailed Cox saying can you please upgrade my modem to V1.01.12 from V1.01.06 and it was DONE at 9:16AM - so 18 minute turn around? I just feel like blaming Netgear for your ISP's poor support is misguided.
When my television breaks, I don't blame the cable company. I blame the TV manufacturer. When my car breaks, I don't blame the road or the car wash or the gas station. I blame the car manufacturer. The MANUFACTURER created and designed this product - this modem. The MOST LOGICAL place to go for firmware upgrading for ANY electronic product IS BACK TO THE MANUFACTURER. Stop trying to pass the buck and absolve yourselves from blame by saying that some third party has to update the firmware. THEY ONLY AUTHORIZE THE USE OF THE MODEM. They have nothing to do with its' design or function.
DOCSIS certification is an engineering standard that makes sure that an electronic device will be compatible with another company's electronics system. NETGEAR created and designed this CM600 modem AND PUT IN THE INITIAL FIRMWARE PROGRAM. Therefore, they should be able to UPGRADE THEIR OWN PRODUCT when an ISP is unwilling or unable to do so.
When folks don't get the proper service they need from an auto dealership, THEY GO TO THE MANUFACTURER to complain. Then, the manufacturer brings pressure to bear on the dealership to get the work done or the manufacturer finds another way to get the job done for the product owner.
NETGEAR just wants to sell modems which soon become obsolete and outdated and then wash their hands of the matter. NETGEAR accepts NO RESPONSIBILITY for keeping a customer's product operating at peak performance. THAT IS LOUSY CUSTOMER SERVICE and the reason why I and those who read these posts will never buy another NETGEAR product and will continue to give them one star ratings to warn others.
TonyinCNY wrote:DOCSIS certification is an engineering standard that makes sure that an electronic device will be compatible with another company's electronics system.
Yes, and part of that standard includes software update prodecure. Since the cable co controls firmware updates, they can test firmware for any compatibility issues prior to pushing it out so make sure there is no harm to the network:
https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4639#section-3.2.1
What make/model modem do you recommend?
TonyinCNY wrote:NETGEAR just wants to sell modems which soon become obsolete and outdated and then wash their hands of the matter. NETGEAR accepts NO RESPONSIBILITY for keeping a customer's product operating at peak performance.
I bought a CM600 a few days ago from Amazon as TWC-Spectrum was installing cable service. It must be an obselete product because the Firmware is v1.01.05 not v1.01.12 as on the approved list for cable modems and the up to date Firmware. The Quick Start guide is dated November 2015 which shows this must be an end of life product since neither Netgear or TWC-Spectrum will up date the Firmware to the latest v1.01.12 version. In addition, the CM600 ethernet led continually flashes green, and when downloading a file the modem starts fast and then about half way through stops with intermitent bursts of a few hundred KB of data, then nearly a minute later it resumes at full speed. TWC-Spectrum denies that their system is programmed to interrup a download stream.
If Netgear will not provide me the software to upgrade the Firmware to v1.01.12 via the ethernet port in a week, I will have to return the CM600 to Amazon as an obselete and defective product for a refund.
sokalski wrote:If Netgear will not provide me the software to upgrade the Firmware to v1.01.12 via the ethernet port in a week, I will have to return the CM600 to Amazon as an obselete and defective product for a refund.
They're not going to, might as well return it now.
What modem do you plan on buying that won't have this problem? It doesn't seem Time Warner/Charter updates customer owned modems.
The CM600 is probably the best DOCSIS 3.0 modem available - its the only one with a Broadcom chipset that does 24 downstream channels - great if you neighborhood's node is congested. Do yourself a favor and search for 'intel puma 6' to avoid purchasing any modems that use that chipset. Your only alternatives are to get a modem with a 16 downstream channel broadcom chipset, or move to an expensive DOCSIS 3.1 modem. Since those are very new, I wouldn't get one with an ISP that doesn't update firmware. I'm sure they have firmware bugs too.
I am also suspicious that your problems are firmware related. What are your signal levels (upstream/downstream) and correctable/uncorrectable codeword stats? May be easiest to post a screenshot of the modem admin page.
Since Charter/Spectrum doesn't have a modem rental fee, why not just use their modem and not worry about firmware updates?
