CAX80 won't work at all on WOW Internet; firmware update ruined it

My final update:

I re-reviewed ISP prices in my area. WOW is by far and away the best I can get for the monthly price. Nothing else compares at all. Staying with WOW is the intelligent decision.

I then bought a CAX30 at Best Buy (which, for all intents and purposes, is the model that is just a step down from the CAX80, and you'll see that if you do a side-by-side specs comparison.) The CAX30 supports 1GB speed, which is the plan I have, and it has all the functionality that I will need for a proper modem/router combo unit in my household.

I activated it with WOW a couple of hours ago, and I haven't had any issues to speak of in this very small sample time. I am getting the speeds that I should. I am surfing websites and streaming videos like normal. I guess the fact that it booted right up and worked right away was amazing to me in itself, after all the issues I was having with the CAX80. I will need more of a sample size to confidently say this, but the CAX30 is likely my final solution.

As I previously said, based on everything I have experienced, and based on others' experiences, I am convinced that WOW has done some sort of update to its system in the second half of November 2021 that somehow suddenly "bricked" the CAX80. But my patience in continuing to push the issue with WOW had worn very thin, because multi-hour calls were just draining, and you never could seem to talk to someone physically in the United States. There is definitely a disconnect between what WOW has done and what info the overseas call center has.

As for my CAX80 unit, and another CAX80 unit that Netgear sent me under warranty for free with nothing expected in return (don't ask me how that happened; it just did), in the next couple of days, I will be putting them up for sale on eBay. In doing so, I'll explain nothing is wrong with the units, but it was this ordeal with WOW, and that prospective buyers that have WOW should probably avoid this unit as it's confirmed not compatible right now, and may never be compatible ever again for all we know.

I am also operating under the idea that I will be losing money on this entire situation due to having to buy a different model unit, even with the fact I have two CAX80s to sell. I will try to speak to WOW customer service on the billing side to try and get an account credit for my troubles, given the amount of times I have called them.

I hope my thread has helped some of you find comfort and realize other people are going through the same thing. Whether some of you follow my lead in buying a different model unit, or decide to switch ISPs, or decide to continue the campaign to get WOW to understand, I wish you the best of luck. And I may keep up on this thread for a while until the activity simply dies down and it isn't posted in for weeks. Maybe I'll add a supportive comment or two, who knows? Otherwise, consider this the end of my active involvement in the issue, as hopefully, the CAX30 does not repeat history and I don't ever encounter my CAX80 issues ever again.