Upgrade to XB6 from XB3 or not?

[WindsurfMaui]

Comcast sent me an email yesterday saying they gave me a speed increase (which they did months ago) and I needed a new device to take advantage of these increase speeds. I'm in the signature tier and was boosted from 400 to 600. My modem is the 3941T and using the Ookla module speed test I get 600 during the day and 640+ late at night hardwired to my computers. My cellphones over 5Mhz connection get 100 but that is limited by my phone. My new Samsung Galaxy Tab A Tablet with OS 9 (Pie) gets 223. So do I need to upgrade to the XB6?

I like the 3941T because it gives me 4 hardwired ports. I currently use 2 and if I need another it is there while the XB6 only has 2 hardwired ports. (I guess I could use a switch in an emergency if I needed to hook up another computer.)  I also get 16 wifi connections of which I am using 7 now. I assume the XB6 allows the same number or more.

So what are the pluses and minuses of switching over to the XB6? Anyone wish they didn't upgrade to the XB6? Thanks for the help. 

[CCAndrew]

The gateway that you have isn’t rated for the faster speeds(regardless of what your Speedtest says), that’s why the swap is necessary. If you don’t want it, don’t swap it.

[WindsurfMaui]

Thanks for the reply. I don't understand what "rated" means. I was told the 3961T can handle 700Mbps. How will upgrading improve my performance? Any downsides to the XB6? Some of the lines in my apartment building are earlier Comcast cable would they have to be upgraded to get the XB6 to work properly? I was told by Comcast if I wanted Gig speed I would need a tech come in and balance my lines and unfortunately the landlord isn't interested in pulling new lines in the building so I don't want to upgrade past what the current lines can handle. Any suggestions?

[CCAndrew]

For techs, rated is what equipment customers are supposed to receive depending on speed plans. If you want faster speeds, swap it. If you’re good with what you have, don’t swap. Everybody will have different opinions based on their needs/wants, for you the number of ports available. Everything (speeds) is based on codes, if your cable is getting you a solid network presently, there shouldn’t be any reason Gig service won’t work(until you try). Balancing doesn’t necessarily mean replacing cables.

[EG]

Hmmm. Says here 700 ???

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/broadband-gateways-userguides

[WindsurfMaui]

But you don't think the XB6 will have problems with 10 year old Comast wiring in my apartment building?

[CCAndrew]

Impossible to say but if your XB3 doesn’t have issues why would the XB6.

[CCAndrew]

Hmmm. Says here 700 ???

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/broadband-gateways-userguides
_________
@EG
That’s true but we (as techs) were told we HAD to use XB6 for anything 400 or over. Different markets have different tiers, we only had a 250, a 400 and Gig tier.

[WindsurfMaui]

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@CCAndrew wrote:
Impossible to say but if your XB3 doesn’t have issues why would the XB6.

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It has been my experience when I upgrade equipment it often means the new equipment needs everything else in the system to be upgraded to work properly. New equipment is more demanding. 

[WindsurfMaui]

When my last 2 year contract was up I went with the Signature tier rather than Gig speed tier because I didn't think the wiring in the apartment building would handle Gig speed and I didn't want a hassle with the landlord. Then Comcast gave us a speed bump from 400 to 600 and everything seems to be working so I thought I lucked out I got the bump without upgrading the modem.

I'm looking through other threads on the XB6 and I see others having trouble with thinks like Panasonic phone connections (which I have) etc so I guess I need to do more reading.

[EG]

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@CCAndrew wrote:

Hmmm. Says here 700 ???

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/broadband-gateways-userguides
_________
@EG
That’s true but we (as techs) were told we HAD to use XB6 for anything 400 or over. Different markets have different tiers, we only had a 250, a 400 and Gig tier.

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Understood Andrew. And I have heard that mentioned elsewhere in the past as well. The device does offer 24 bonded downstream channels, so it is technically capable of 700. Approx. around 912 actually.

[EG]

@WindsurfMaui 

If you can get 600 with the current coax cabling, you'll get it with an XB6 too.

[WindsurfMaui]

Let's have a laugh.

So I read other threads about XB6 issues and finally decided that I probably won't have a problem if I upgrade to the XB6. So I go to the email sent by Comcast to see what they would have me do to upgrade. I click on the button about upgrading and it takes me to a page that says "I have the latest equipment" with a cute little green check mark at the top of the screen. So I guess I could get the XB6 if I wanted it but now Comcast isn't recommending that I need to upgrade. So why send me the email? They know what my equipment I use. Are they confused? I certainly am.

[darkangelic]

For the WiFi performance alone, the XB6 is a far better choice than the XB3. The XB6 has 8x8:8 Integrated Dual Band Concurrent 5GHz 802.11 ac Wave2 radios. 

It only has two Ethernet ports, but that's easily remedied with an inexpensive ethernet switch. 

[jlavaseur]

I Have the Xb6 and my wiring is easy 10 years old and i get 925 Mps +  on the gigabit plan hardwired in, on wifi i get roughy 600 Mps with the Xb6 about 20 feet away, i am limited by my older devices hardware, so far no problems with the Xb6, what i did was tell them i wanted to try the Xb6, they shipped me one, i self installed it and tryed it out, this way i still had my old modem and could make a choice with one i would send back
Edit, also doing it this way, when I got a new triple play that included gigabit internet, I didn’t have to pay the 70 dollars to have a tech come out since I already had the Xb6 modem

[WindsurfMaui]

I upgraded to the XB6 and here is some feedback.

Picked up an XB6 at local Xfinity store and that was the easy part.

I followed directions and hooked it up  and then logged in via wifi using the login/password on the bottom of the XB6. I would have preferred to use my hardwired computer and the instructions that came with the XB6 said I could use the computer but I guess not if it was hardwired since neither computer had access. In any event, I used the xFi app and went through the activation steps. I guess I didn't go all the way through because the house phone didn't work. I tried rebooting both the XB6 and the phone base but that didn't work. But the hardwired computers got access so I logged in on the computer. I logged into the my Xfinity account and it told me the activation wasn't done and took me to the web version of the xFi platform and finished the activation. Then the house phone worked.

Next I opened the 10.0.0.1 utility page and changed the password. Then went to the WiFi modules and added in all my WiFi devices. then came the problems. I wanted to modify the SSID for both the 2.4 & 5 frequencies as well as the password for each.  I didn't want to go with the same SSID and password for both frequencies. I know it says I will get better service but I want to stay logged into the faster frequency and not drop down to the slower frequency if I can help it. but that was the problem I couldn't get the change in the SSID or the passwords to take  in the 10.0.0.1 utility. I have done it many times before in the old modem but it just wouldn't take in the XB6. But then I used the xFi website on my computer and it took the changes in a second. Not sure why the utility wouldn't take the SSID changes.

So the results are too early to tell. All my hardwired computers are showing the same speed 625 as they did with the old 3941T. My phones and tablets are also getting the same speeds as with the old modem. That isn't a complaint I'm fairly happy with the speeds but  I assume the new XB6 gives me more growth for the future than the old modem..

[RobertWy]

Which tier are you being billed for?

https://www.dslreports.com/faq/15643

[EG]

FWIW Robert Wy and all readers, The speeds shown at that site have not been updated in a year and a half. Some things have changed and some tiers have been added since then.

[WindsurfMaui]

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@RobertWy wrote:

Which tier are you being billed for?

https://www.dslreports.com/faq/15643

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I'm in the Signature tier which started out at 400Mbps but was recently given a free speed bump to 600. I get between 575 and 640 when testing with Ookla with my hardwired computer. I went to the signature tier after Comcast changed their tier names and my old 2 year contract expired. I was in the Preferred HD plus tier or whatever it was called that was one tier below Premier tier. In that old tier I was supposed to get 250Mbps but Ookla showed it at 285-300 on most tests.

[WindsurfMaui]

One other small issue. The old 3941T modem never felt hot to the touch. The XB6 seems to generate some heat. Not an excessive amount but noticeable.

[WindsurfMaui]

One last small issue. The XB6 is so light compared to the older modems that when you place it up high on top of a piece of furniture to get the best WiFi signal in your home the weight of the cables, particularly the Cat cables for any hard wired computers are so heavy they pull the XB6 over. In order to get it to stand up I had to tape the front of the base to the furniture. I guess this is a good thing b/c if the XB6 is ever pulled off the furniture it is too light to harm anyone it might hit.