Motorola MB8611 DOCSIS 3.1 Multi-Gig Cab

SUMMARY Quit working after less than four months. Tech support puts up so many roadblocks (like hours and hours on hold to get return approval) that make it extremely difficult or essentially impossible to get a replacement... They will wear you out and you will give up. MY STORY This review is for the MOTOROLA MB8600 DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modem, 6 Gbps Max Speed. I purchased the device new, on January 1. In the middle of the day on Tuesday, April 21, my internet connection stopped working. It had previously been working normally. But, a temporary modem problem can sometimes happen, I think that is not unusual for anybody, so I already knew what to do: 1. I unplugged the modem for a minute then plugged it back in. 2. I restarted my WiFi device. 3. I rebooted my computer. None of that solved the problem. So, I repeated all those steps. Those things would normally fix this type problem. So, next, I turned on my phone to act as a hot-spot so I could have internet connectivity, and I contacted my ISP, which is Comcast Xfinity. The technician spent more than an hour working with me. He ran remote diagnostics. He sent a reset signal to the modem. He had me tell him which lights were lit. He had me unplug the modem, and repeat the process. We repeated that process several times. Then, he had me plug my older modem, which is a NetGear modem, and he configured my account for that type modem. That worked immediately, and demonstrated my physical line is okay. Then, we unplugged the NetGear modem and plugged the Motorola modem back in and he reconfigured my account for the Motorola again, and as before, it did not work. At that point, the technician was confident the issue was isolated to the Motorola modem, and he recommended I return it to the manufacturer. This is where the story gets really sad... I called Motorola tech support. That resulted in, according to my phone log, 3 hours 13 minutes on hold. I started out as caller #17 in the queue, and after 3 hours, was caller #1 in the queue, and then... ... at the end of 3 hours and 13 minutes, a message was played that said something like "We have come to the end of our business day. Please leave a message...". I started to speak my name, and the Motorola phone system hung up on me. Three hours for a dial tone. Three hours spent for nothing. With Google, I found a web form on their website, and sent them a detailed email message. On Wednesday morning, I tried calling Motorola again. This call lasted 1 hour and 3 minutes, and I got hung up on again. So, now over 4 hours on hold with Motorola. Then, I got an email from Logan from Motorola tech support. He was responding to my submission to their onlie web form. He wanted me to plug the modem in, log into the modem via a browser, and take several screen snapshots. I did that and sent it to him. We had several emails back and forth. He raised an objection that my screen snapshots did not show the complete history. So, I installed a screen snapshot tool than can capture a full browser window, and repeated the process. The claim was made again that my screen snapshots were insufficient. I reset the modem using the paper clip pushed into the reset pinhole on the modem, and that truncated all the history. I then repeated the process, and took more screen snapshots. We spent several hours of back and forth emails. Finally, Logan stated "I am not able to isolate an issue based off the screenshots so I would be happy to move forward with a replacement for you." So, I thought, "Great!" But, now, here the story gets really sad.... He told me that, to get the replacement, I will have to call the support line. The same number I already spent four hours on. This reminds me of the days, back around 1995, when I tried to cancel my subscription to AOL (America Online). Their support line was IMPOSSIBLE to get a human. I even tried getting up a 3 AM to call. I finally had to get my credit card company involved. They told me they get calls like mine... all. day. long. Turns out, that was a strategic decision of AOL, to make it easy to subscribe, but impossible to cancel. I am now sitting on hold for the last half hour, and am now caller #15.