RBR40 won't connect to new Netgear cable modem on Comcast/Xfinity

[NateW]

I have an RBR40 Orbi Mesa router and satellite.  My Arris modem died and I got a new Netgear CM1050V cable modem for Comcast/Xfinity because I use voice and I wanted DOCSIS 3.1.  I got the modem all setup and Comcast has a new online reprovisioning service that didn't even require me to enter the MAC addr or anything.  Pretty sweet we finally have progress after all these years.  So I connect the modem to my laptop to do the online provisioning and the internet starts working etc after a bit.  I then connect it to my Orbi router and I could not get it to work even after connecting to the Orbi web service and try a bunch of tricks.  I'm a software engineer and I know how to test networks.  So I go online and (not using my Orbi because I couldn't get it to get an IP assigned to it unlike my laptop) and search for solutions.  Several people post to use the Orbi app.  I hadn't tried that yet because I was using the more comprehensive webservice UI.  I go to the app and in the upper left menu I select "New Setup" which is didn't want to do as I didn't want it to overwrite all my settings.  But after everything else failed, I figured I'd try it out.  It has some basic turn off modem and turn back on and make sure it's connected steps.  But finally, that was the trick that got my Orbi to recognize the new Netgear modem.

I post this for people running into this problem and the steps I followed.  Netgear - you guys own Orbi, please fix the firmware to detect new modems and auto connect to them.  IT'S BAD when Comcast does a better job than you to auto connect new hardware.  Please fix your firmware and make it easy for us to connect to new modems without having to do a "New Setup".  If my laptop can connect easily to the new modem directly, then your router should be able to do the same.

[NateW · Accepted solution]

Hi @plemans,

Thank you for the response, but my post has the solution within the body of what I posted.  My post was an FYI to anyone having issues like me.  I did this because I had already done all the steps you outline and that didn't work.  Nothing was working.  It was only until I went to the Orbi app on my mobile device to do a "New Setup" which seems like it would wipe out all your settings which is not what I wanted to do.  But I did the "New Setup" anyway and that was the ONLY solution that worked to fix Orbi's connection to my new Netgear modem.  I posted here because Netgear owns Orbi and they should have Orbi fix their firmware to make it easier to connect new modems, especially Netgear ones. 🙂

[plemans]

do you mean you have the CM1150v? you put the cm1050v

One thing that many miss is that the cm1150v has 4x ports on it. But for users on xfinity, only 1 port is usable (2 if your router has port aggregation) if you're on a consumer line. 

Business class can have more or if you pay comcast for more you can use the other ports. But for the average user, only 1 port is usable because xfinity only allows 1 public ip address. 

So try this. 

power off the modem and router. disconnect all devices and the coax from the modem and router.

reconnect the coax to the modem and power it on. give it several minutes to fully boot. 

Then connect port 1 on the cm1150v to the wan port on orbi. 

boot up the orbi. give it several minutes to fully boot. 

Then try setup. 

[NateW · Accepted solution]

Hi @plemans,

Thank you for the response, but my post has the solution within the body of what I posted.  My post was an FYI to anyone having issues like me.  I did this because I had already done all the steps you outline and that didn't work.  Nothing was working.  It was only until I went to the Orbi app on my mobile device to do a "New Setup" which seems like it would wipe out all your settings which is not what I wanted to do.  But I did the "New Setup" anyway and that was the ONLY solution that worked to fix Orbi's connection to my new Netgear modem.  I posted here because Netgear owns Orbi and they should have Orbi fix their firmware to make it easier to connect new modems, especially Netgear ones. 🙂

[NateW]

Yes, my bad.  I purchased the CM1150V modem, not the CM1050V.