ARRIS® Surfboard® SB6183 Cable Modem, White

I purchased this modem to avoid the $8 per month modem rental fee that Time Warner Cable (TWC) charges. Although I am retaining my Turbo plan, which is only 20Mbps upload and 2Mbps download (no laughter please!), this modem sells for only about $50 more than the low-end modems. At $8 per month, I will recoup this money in half a year and need not worry about future upgrades for a long time. FYI, my TWC phone and Internet service seem to work just fine. Internet speed tests remain the same.

PROS
* Works with Time Warner Cable’s Turbo 20/2 plan and my Asus RT-AC68P router.
* Recommended by TWC for speeds up to 300Mbps.
* Currently, it is probably the most popular high-speed cable modem.

CONS
* No phone port …but that’s not a problem for TWC customers (you split your connection to your old TWC modem and your new SB6183 modem; however, if your pay for TWC’s phone service then TWC will no longer bill you $8/month for using their TWC modem).
* Warm… It requires 8-watts of power; I assume that future versions will reduce excess power that is converted into heat?
* Extremely bright, especially in the dark… Think of a night light bulb. One reviewer said that the modem lights-up like a disco ball. The unit is full of holes all around its top and sides (probably to dissipate excess heat). Unfortunately, the front panel’s LEDs, which are already bright, don’t seem to be sealed. That lets light shine through the modem’s holes. I keep the modem in a separate room (surrounded by several objects a few inches from it), but it’s bright enough that my wife commented about it without being prompted.

INSTALLATION
1. I purchased this modem [$125.95], a pack of three 1.5 feet Cable Matters CL2 In-Wall (CM) Quad Shielded RG6 Coaxial Patch cables [$7.99; Model Number: 701005-White-1.5×3] and a 2-Way Monster Standard RF Splitter for CATV Signals MKII [$7.95; Model Number: SS2RF MKII].
2. I attached two of the new 1.5-foot cables to the two outputs of my splitter.
3. I removed the cable from my TWC modem and attached that end of the cable to the input of my splitter.
4. I attached one of the cables from the splitter’s output to my TWC modem and the other cable to my new SB6183 modem.
5. I verified that my phone and Internet were still working.
6. I attached one end of an Ethernet cable (included) to the SB6183 cable modem and the other end to my laptop.
7. I plugged the SB6183 modem into an electrical outlet and waited for all LEDs to light-up (the middle ones appeared blue, indicating a DOCSIS 3.0 connection).
8. I started a web browser, but it was unable to display any web pages (that was expected).
9. After finding my MAC ID (it’s on the instruction booklet that comes with the modem; it’s also on the modem, but that’s not as convenient), I called Time Warner Cable (1-800-892-4357) to activate my modem. After a few minutes, my laptop had an internet connection. My call with TWC was now complete.
10. For my Wi-Fi devices to work correctly, I had to update my Asus router (you could probably access yours through http://192.168.1.1/ with my new modem’s MAC ID, but you will probably need your router’s ID and password).

Everything is fine with a product. Looks nice, i chose white color.
That is all i can tell. I did not use it, due to service provider refuse adding it to their network. Reason? No idea. Even though i checked specs with them before purchasing it, they declined this specific model.

I purchased this modem in 2018 and here we are in 2024, it is finally starting to see some diminished performance. Overall it is still functioning but with noticeable degradation in download speed with some minor connection issues here and there. I work from home so will replace as I can’t afford any connectivity issues.

Prior to this I have not had any issues with the modem. It has performed well with speeds consistent with those purchased from my provider Spectrum. The original install was simple and I’ve never needed technical support as the modem has never had issues.

I have a great Wifi router, and I would recommend this modem for anyone who is looking for a modem-only setup for direct connect or to pair with Wifi at 400GB speeds or lower. The price was great and longevity/performance exceeded my expectations for the price point.

The router works great and easy to install. My ISP uses Arris so I wanted to stay compatible without paying a monthly rental fee.

I was tired of renting my modems from the cable companies. So based on previous experience I decided to purchase this modem. I have previously worked for a major cable company in their high speed data division. Essentially going to customers and troubleshooting their internet connection problems (not the telephone tech support but a real person who could root cause a connection issue and resolve it for you). So I figure I know a little something about cable modems. Arris used to be a company with somewhat mediocre modems. Along with the Thomson RCA brand. There’s been a lot of merging and aquisitions with the modems and Motorola used to make the best modems with the “shark fin series”. Well peeps this is essentially a Motorola modem and delivers the performance that I expected for one of their modems. I have had zero issues since installing this modem. Installation was simple with the usual connections and a quick call to the cable company with the MAC address, Two minutes later surfing away like a champ. We use Ooma for our telephone service along with 3 Roku’s on the go and two Android Media boxes and this keeps up with the stream seamlessly. Of course being Docsis compliant you can always go and remove the bandwidth cap if you want to (don’t condone this but it’s possible) to increase your bandwidth if you wanted to by running a script. In a couple of months this modem will have paid for itself comparing to rental costs from the cable company. 100% reliable, emits a good consistent upstream signal which is what is needed to make your internet happy. The cable company sends you a downstream signal which is your incoming data. The cable company is responsible for the signal strength heading your way. Your modem does have some tolerance in terms of how low the signal can go before connection fails but largely if it gets that low then the cable company should be fixing it for you anyway. The upstream is where it really counts and think of it like this, your modem transmits a signal to the cable company (they refer to it as upstream or return). The cable company and their servers are most likely miles away from where you live and your little modem sends out this little signal and between you and your cable company location it passes through a series of amplifiers that increase your signal strength in order to reach the hubs. As long as you have the signal strength to make it to them you’re good to go. This modem never saw any fluctuation in the db readings on the upstream so I know that if there is an upstream issue then it is most likely owned by CC and not my modem. I have seen sporadic readings on other modems but nothing yet with this unassuming little box. The lights can be a little bright so if they bother you that much just put some tape over them. I bought this modem for it’s performance not its aesthetics, I don’t care what lights are on as long as I have a signal and everybody is doing what they want on the internet be it streaming, news or whatever.

Good value a great buy and stellar performance.