Will replacing my old cable modem with a new one improve internet speed?

Question

It's very old (7-9 years old)(It's a Com21 DOXPort). All the heating for all these years makes me think it is slowing down my internet. Will my internet speed increase if I replace it with a new model?

I have Road Runner Online Standard and my current internet speed based on a speed test is:

Download Speed: 2776 kbps (347 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 976 kbps (122 KB/sec transfer rate)

Answer 1

Probably not.  There have been some improvements in technology, but most of those involve your "head end" (the box your cable modem and everybody else's cable modem in your area talks to) being able to carry more bandwidth, etc.  Cable Modem is slower than 10MB/sec ethernet, so even if you have a faster LAN connection on the new cable modem, it isn't going to buy you any speed.

Answer 2

That's a pretty poor transfer rate, to be honest, but the modem might not be it. I've got an eight year old surfboard that ocassionally resets if I get too many peers on my IP from P2P. It also performed rather slow. Still resets, but I'm now pulling down nearly 10MBps, my state's Comcast average, now that Comcast upgraded my town to compete with FIOS. If you want a new one, just ask your cable office, though; I think they'll agree you're pretty due by now for an equipment upgrade.

If you want to see how you stack up against your state's media RoadRunner speed, go to speedtest.net. It'll tell you, and if that lowly figure you cite is the average, your modem's fine. Your upload speed is actually quite good, by the way.

Answer 3

Several things to check--Reset the modem, check the connections and cables, and also have the cable company tell you what your signal strength is. Sometimes your provider's hub or tap is not throwing enough signal strength to your house (especially if you live in an area that has either had a lot of new building going on or just a lot of new people sharing the bandwidth.) Unlike DSL, cable internet slows down the more people are online. Both because of bandwidth and signal strength. If it is signal strength, the cable company has to fix it.

Answer 4

i would think because it  might not support higher speeds but chack with you cable company before you spend money for nuffin

Answer 5

well it wont matter whether u change ur modem or not the speed will be same and is dependent on the network traffic

Answer 6

buying a new one would make it go faster