Easy To Set Up

I bought this modem to replace my 6 year old Toshiba PCX1100U cable modem. It started to drop connections more and more frequently, probably due to it being a DOCSIS 1.1 device, while the network was already on DOCSIS 2.0.

This model is the Linksys BEFCMU10 Version 4 going on the Cox cable network. It's design matches my Linksys wireless router, and it was on sale at Target for $39, so I chose it instead of the Motorola Surfboard. The box also comes with a blue ethernet cable but not a USB cable.

It has a reset button on the back, along with an ethernet port and a USB port. Like one reviewer said, it's a USB 1.1 instead of 2.0, so the maximum bandwidth is 12MB/sec. This feature is useful if you don't have a router. There is no on/off switch like the Motorola Surboards. But if you need to reset the modem, you will need to unplug it anyway, so I don't find not having an on/off switch being much of a loss.

There are six lights on the front panel: one for power, one for downstream (DS), one for upstream (US), one for indicating online status (blinks until it syncs with the ISP server, then it stays steady), one for ethernet (blinks to indicate internet activity), and one that indicates a USB connection.

Setup is a snap with Cox cable internet. Hooked up the cable to the modem, then ethernet cable to my wireless router. Then I called Cox cable to give my Model Number and MAC address, and voila! Can't get any easier than that. An added bonus was that the technician said that the Linksys router was not only DOCSIS 2.0 certified, but it was certified up to DOCSIS 20! That pleased me immensely to know that if COX upgrades to a higher DOCSIS system, I'm covered and my cable modem will be able to take advantage of the increased speeds. However, the tech did say that you should replace your cable modem every 2-3 years anyway because that's the average lifespan of a cable modem. The modem itself doesn't produce any noticeable heat. But I wouldn't stack the Linksys wireless router on it, since that unit does produce heat. But some people do and don't have anything bad to say about it. Stacking your matching router on top of the modem can also save desk space.

I work in another city, so I regularly use yahoo messenger with webcam to chat with my family. Also hooked up to the router and modem is my son's X-Box and another desktop. Previously, the webcam image would stop or lag, as well as my son's X-Box online gaming. All that was solved by this cable modem.

I can honestly recommend this cable modem, especially if you have a Linksys wireless router, which helps with compatibility.