Sep 10, 2005

Upgrading Comcast Cable Modem

My old DOCSIS 1.0 cable modem can't keep up with the new high speeds on Comcast, so I decide to upgrade to a DOCSIS 2.0 modem. I chose the D-Link DCM-202. Compared to my old modem, it is super fast. I'm getting download speeds of well beyond 5 megabits per second (compared with a little more than 4 mbps on a good day with the old modem).

D-Link DCM-202 Cable Modem

There is one caveat with the DCM-202: It requires a firmware upgrade in order to work with Comcast. For a technical person, the upgrade process was a hassle, but not impossible. However, I have no idea how a regular person could ever successfully upgrade the firmware.

Especially when the instructions are wrong.

Here are some critical additions to the incomplete firmware upgrade instructions:

• Before upgrading, connect the cable modem directly to a WinXP computer via the ethernet cable (not USB). Do not connect it to a router.
• Per the instructions, change your TCP/IP settings to the recommended fixed IP address 192.168.100.2. In addition, you must set that same address to be your Default gateway (as shown). Thanks to a poster on dslreports.com for finding that.
• 
• The username and password for the modem is not admin, hitron after the upgrade. It is actually still dlink, dlink.
• After power-cycling and resetting the modem, Comcast will force you to visit a Comcast registration page. Download the registration program, run it, and follow the instructions. Have your cable bill handy for your account number. Eventually, the registration program will ask if you are installing a new modem or upgrading an old one. Be sure to choose "upgrade".

Is the process worthwhile? Absolutely, if you want to get every byte that you are paying for.

post time: 01:20 | category: /general | comments |

Legacy Comments

Thank you for this very helpful information. I had deduced that the instructions on the D-Link site were wrong for installing firmware, since I followed them to the letter, and it didn't work. But I had absolutely no idea what else to do to make it work!

Thanks Again,
Bruce

Update. The firmware flash DID work after setting the default gateway on my old Win98 box, and my username/password DID change to admin/hitron after resetting the cable modem per the original instructions in the PDF from the D-Link web site for my DCM-202.

In addition, the new firmware did most definitely seem to help my issues. I had been fighting this slow speed/loss of connection issue ever since we replaced the cable modem after the lightning strike took out the old one. Before the firmware upgrade, I ran a continuous ping and was losing some 15% of my data over a ten minute period.

Since the upgrade, I ran a test at dslreports.com/stest, and it now reports 1520 kbps down/351 up (which I figure is a lot better than losing 15% of my data!)

Later,
Bruce