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Personally owned modem - anything I should do ahead of time before installing?
I plan to switch from a rented cable modem to one of the approved third party devices. Is there anything I should do ahead of time to make the switch go smoothly? From most accounts I've read it looks like I should be able to just hook up the new modem and go through activation again. A small few do seem to have had problems, though. Is there any reason to give Xfinity a call before the switch to have them set anything up with regard to the new device? I want to avoid downtime as much as possible, and certainly don't want to end up dead in the water for any length of time. I work using this connection.
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EG
Expert
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111.4K Messages
4 years ago
No. There is nothing to do in advance. When you get it, just connect it to the coax line and power it up. Let it fully sync up with the system, and check that the front panel indicator lights are steadily lit.
Then connect a computer to it and open up a browser. You *may* see their *Walled Garden* modem self registration page. If so, follow the screen prompts. Have your mobile telephone number, your Xfinity username and password, or the account number and telephone number associated with your Comcast account handy.
If not, try calling 1-855-652-3446. That is their device activation line.
If that doesn't work for you, you can call 1-800-comcast and tell a rep that you would like to have a new modem provisioned for service. Have the RF / CM / HFC MAC address and the serial number of it handy when you call.
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processordev
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6 Messages
4 years ago
Weird. On the list of posts it shows this has one response/comment (well, two now with this one) but there's no actual response there.
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processordev
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6 Messages
4 years ago
Following up with a couple of notes on how things went, in case others read this in the future.
1. I had to call the support number, as the automatic activation via the network wouldn't do it. Talking with the rep I think it's not really possible to move to a new personally owned modem from a rented one via the automated activation tools (web, phone or app). That must be done by a service rep, at least for my area. Getting to a rep had the usual difficulties in getting through the automated phones menus without getting sent off into the weeds. They try *really* hard not to talk to you. Keep hunting around, and you'll find a way to talk to someone eventually :). Expect the whole process to take around 30 minutes, maybe more if you have voice lines (see 2).
2. Make sure before you hang up with the rep that you check your voice lines, if applicable. I almost hung up before I realized they weren't set up. This is an extra provisioning step for the rep that takes around 5 minutes to do.
3. Joy of joys, this process actually solved a long running issue I've had with not being able to set up advanced call forwarding (configuration interfaces in both the web site and app didn't work at all). Prior, I'd spent at least 2-3 hours on the phone with the front end people and advanced support, and could never get it to work, despite resets of my numbers/account, etc. I had given up and just figured it couldn't be made to work. I don't know how common this problem is, but there are quite a few folks that have posted about this with no solution and similar support experiences. After they configured the MTA nodes in the new modem - Viola!, advanced call forwarding is now configurable. :) Xfinity folks that are reading this...take note!
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EG
Expert
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111.4K Messages
4 years ago
Thanks for posting back with that info ! Now closing your topic.
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