Need Tier 2 Support – S33 Modem Provisioning Error (Upload Stuck at 5 Mbps)

Hello, this is my first time posting here. I’m a long-time Xfinity customer (10+ years in the same location) and until now I’ve had consistently excellent service. I work with large files daily, so both download and upload performance are critical.

Recently, after a home remodel, I needed to relocate my office to an area where neither WiFi nor Ethernet reached. I visited an Xfinity store for guidance and was advised to use Extended Pods. I was also told my plan would be discounted. The only requirement I stressed was that I needed to maintain separate SSIDs (specifically 2.4 GHz for IoT), and I was assured this would work.

After installing the Pods, my SSIDs were automatically combined, and I learned that Xfinity Pods require a unified network. That part was my misunderstanding, so we returned them.

At this point, since I believed I had been using my own equipment for years, I discovered we had actually been paying for the Xfinity gateway all along. Wanting better coverage and more flexibility, we purchased our own equipment:

• Arris Surfboard S33 (DOCSIS 3.1, Hardware v3)

• TP-Link BE9300 Router

This is where the problems began.

The Issue: S33 Will Not Provision Correctly

We attempted provisioning the modem six times. Each time:

• Download speeds ranged from 300–500 Mbps

• Upload remained capped at ~5 Mbps

We spent 5 hours on chat, then two more hours the next day, and one hour on the phone, and kept receiving the same scripted explanation:

“The S33 is not compatible with high upload speeds and you must use an Xfinity modem.”

This conflicted with both Xfinity’s own approved device list and the FCC requirement to support customer-owned DOCSIS 3.1 modems on tiers up to 2 Gbps. I repeatedly asked to be transferred to Tier 2 for manual bootfile correction, but the agents refused and instead promoted Xfinity Mobile.

Eventually, after pressing for escalation, Loyalty routed us to a highly knowledgeable Tier 2 technician in India. He immediately identified the issue:

Xfinity’s system is detecting our S33 v3 as DOCSIS 3.0 instead of DOCSIS 3.1.

This would explain:

• Failed provisioning attempts

• Incorrect bootfile assignment

• Upload capped at legacy 5 Mbps

He confirmed the modem is valid, opened a case, and gave us a ticket number (CR236254821). He said the backend team needed to fix the database mismatch and would call us back within 24 hours.

Unfortunately, it has now been two days with no follow-up.

After rebooting the modem today, performance became worse:

• Download: 125 Mbps

• Upload: 5 Mbps

We attempted to contact support again to check the case status, but the conversation repeatedly redirected toward Xfinity Mobile instead of addressing the ticket.

What We Need

I’m simply looking for:

1. A Tier 2 or higher technician who can correct the provisioning/bootfile issue.

2. Confirmation whether the S33 (Hardware v3) is fully supported for both downstream and upstream on our plan.

3. Proper activation of DOCSIS 3.1 upload channels (OFDMA).

We are loyal customers, and our goal is not to complain—just to get the equipment properly recognized and provisioned so we can return to work.

Any help from an Xfinity employee or someone familiar with this provisioning mismatch would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.