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Comment by slt2021 | Hacker News Reader

slt2021

they only have some level of control over DOCSIS modem. if you install the cheapest/simplest DOCSIS modem, and connect it to your own wireless access point that is NOT controlled by Comcast - they wont know anything.

They will only see traffic coming from 1 local IP - of your wireless AP

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Hmm. Not much of this is true.

They provide a modem / router combination device at even their cheapest tier.

That device can leverage this technology, and the technology isn’t reliant on traffic.

They can gather plenty, and can provide it to third parties without our knowledge or consent.

Hmm. That misses the broader reality.

What you're missing, is that you are allowed to use your own modem. You can purchase an Arris Surfboard, and use that.

They still have control of that modem, but can gather no downstream data. That the devices are not distributed by Comcast personally is not relevant to you being able to do this.

The people who do this will be a vanishingly small minority. It's not as easy to set up one's own modem as it is their own router, IME. And even then, going with your own router is rare.

> It's not as easy to set up one's own modem as it is their own router, IME.

I mean, I suppose it's got the additional step of calling Comcast and giving them the MAC of your modem, but IIRC that's all I had to do after buying one on their approved list. Been at least 7-8 years since I had them, though.

You can plug-and-play with a consumer "router", but even then you need to know the difference between WAN and LAN sides. So the extra effort seems minimal.

Most people don't know how to set up either one. I know when the fiber techs came to my house to set me up they were greatly impressed at my (fairly basic; I don't do this for a living) networking knowledge.

You don't usually have to call any more, there's a captive portal provisioning process. It's not totally reliable and sometimes you might give up after a few tries and call instead.

You also get better rates if you use their equipment.

Surely that is not true? I thought rental fees were common with using the vendor equipment (something like $10/month). It is a frequently listed as a cost cutting measure to buy your own modem rather than rent from The ISP. A modem is $100-200, so you should be net positive after a year on the investment.

docsis modem costs $30, wireless AP costs another $50, add repeaters if you want.

I have been using my setup for 9 years and never paid a dime in rent of equipment.

the setup is plug-n-play / one youtube video away

I guess you don’t want the fastest speed or no data cap. We easily surpass the 1TB cap with 4K streaming and WFH video calls.

I use Cox and get their fastest speed (2.5Gbps) with the option for unlimited data if I wanted it, and I'm using my own equipment.

Similarly, never seen limitations on speed or allotment if using owned equipment. The ISP will give a big scary message about how support will be unable to help you if things go wrong, but that’s the extent of it.

No longer true last time I went in to renegotiate my service plan, I got a better monthly rate and higher bandwidth using their gear. I had previously used my own modem and router.

Huh. At least there is now a carrot to get you to mule for their public WiFi offering.

What are you talking about? Modems are incredibly simple to set up. You buy it, log into your account on another network or call the ISP, enter your modem's mac address...and that's it. You have to type in the mac or read it off over the phone. There's nothing on device to set up, it's much easier than a router.

I'd definitely appreciate if you know any resources on this. I don't recall the details, since it's been seven years since I last tried, but I remember hitting friction I couldn't get past.

Why an Arris Surfboard specifically? Just checked their website and the ratings are not good?

Edit: thanks for the downvote! The few I clicked on their website have weak ratings but they are rated much better on Amazon.

Historically the surfboard has been the go to option for Comcast. I can’t say what the current best option is, but if you purchased your own modem in the previous decade chances are you bought a surfboard. IIRC Comcast has a page of third party modems that are compatible.

Back when I used Comcast ten years ago, that was the one that I had that I used with them. I mentioned it because I'm 100% certain it can be used. There are a million others too.

Your described option is not the broader reality.

Most people use the hardware that is provided with the service by default. Last time I checked, there's not even an additional rental fee.

Sure, but you still can use your own hardware if you choose to. And that's all that the original comment you replied to was saying. If you choose to use your own hardware, then Comcast won't have control over it and cannot do this wifi motion detection.

Of course, most people won't do this, but that's besides the point.

> they only have some level of control over DOCSIS modem

they typically issue a modem / router combination unit, and they can control the router and its radios.

Yes, but you can replace that with your own unit they don't have control over.

…and most people don’t. it’s an additional expense, additional work, and frankly not worth the headache for like 80%+ of users.

I used to work in this space, and have first-hand knowledge about the prevalence of third party modems with a sample set of over 100k people. What’s your experience?

Nobody is arguing against that. I fully agree that most people don't. The point was only that you can.

Maybe not everywhere, sure, only in America.

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/list-of-approved-ca...

I can't believe I'm defending Comcast on the internet but here I am, I guess between them and you I'm siding with the entity currently being less of an ass to me?

Idk what you’re even defending with that article, but that’s your cross to bear.

Mimicking my speech pattern then trying to say I’m being the ass is not going to hold up, however.

Elsewhere I posted that I used to work in this space and have first-hand knowledge that the majority of people do not use third party modems. That is a fact.

Just because people can go out and purchase a new modem and then additional wifi gear, doesn’t mean that they do or even should to shield themselves from the potential privacy violations happening here.

I said you were being the ass because you called me a "shillbot".

You edited your comment to delete that, so I'll also retract my calling you an ass.

I agree with basically everything else you said.

appreciate you and sorry for hitting you with some crossfire that was intended for Comcast and Comcast only

I did that, and then a few years later they no longer supported that version. I gave up and used the provided modem.... guess I could put it in a faraday cage to prevent the WiFi from being enabled...

Or just cut the power trace to the wifi chipset.

or ground the antenna, or put the thing in a cage. The cables (which must escape the cage) will make the cage less effective but I imagine it would be enough.

DOCSIS protocol hasn't changed, 3.0 modems are still being supported, just like a decade ago

Well, I had a DOCSIS 3.0 modem I used with Spectrum (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016PE1X5K), and now it no longer works. You can see it isn’t on their compatible list anymore: https://www.spectrum.net/support/internet/compliant-modems-c...

You can’t get top speed or unlimited data with your own modem.

Not sure about Comcast, but I have no issues with Cox. I'm getting 2.5Gbps with my own equipment (Ubiquiti UCI, which is $$$, but other cheaper modems also work).

>They provide a modem / router combination device at even their cheapest tier.

you can bring your own modem & AP

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