Customer Reviews

Best Data Products CMX110 Smart One High Speed Broadband Cable Modem

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I had my cable jack installed and ready for over a month while waiting for the local preferred-provider to get a new shipment of modems. I got disgusted, ordered this one from Amazon and couldn't be more pleased. I took it out of the box, plugged in the power supply, screwed on the coaxial cable (not provided) and attached the ethernet cable (provided) and was live in 60 seconds! I went to DSLReports.com, tweaked my connection and then ran their speed test utility, with perfect results.

I recently purchased my Best Data CMX110 cable modem, and it works fine. In my area, I was the first customer to switch over to their OWN modem after Excite@home terminated ATT Broadband, so it was a little bit of a hassle to get it registered to ATT's new cable internet service. I did have a tech support question to ask Best Data, and although it was a long distance number, it was answered by a real person after only a few minutes wait, a very pleasant surprise. By the way, there is a typo error on ATT Broadband's list of "approved" cable modems. It shows the Best Data CMZ110 instead of the current model CMX110. Be assured, this modem works fine; Best Data never made a CMZ anything, so be aware, ATT may give you a hassle that the CMX110 is not approved. They've been advised by me and by Best Data that their information is incorrect, but so far have not updated their list. The exact model number is actually not critical, but the MAC address is (located on the bottom of the modem) and must be given to your ISP, along with the serial # before it will work.

Cable Modems are basically a commodity item now that the DOCSIS standard has completely consumed the known broadband world; so, I can't say this modem has any special features that you wouldn't find in any of the other 100 models of DOCSIS cable modems. But I *can* say that this is absolutely the best value you'll find on the market today. It is fast, accurate, and simple to install. The CD that accompanies is has a very useful HTML-based troubleshooting guide that helps you understand any problems you may be having with your installation.

The only problem I had was that after installation the modem could not acquire block sync. with my cable provider's network (the "CABLE" light kept blinking slowly rather than staying lit). After several hours of work with my ISP's technical team, and even a visit from the cable company, I was still unable to get it to work. I had it packed up and ready to send back to Amazon when someone from my ISP call me to let me know that they had figured out what was wrong. It turns out that there is a RESET SWITCH inside the modem, which must be activated after power is applied and the self test is complete. After activating the reset switch, the coax cable can be attached and block sync. will be acquired immediately. I tried it and it worked perfectly the first time.

The gotcha is that the reset switch must be activated by pushing an unbend paperclip into the center of the coax connector on the back of the modem, where the "stinger" portion of the coax cable would go. Once inserted, just keep pushing in until you feel it "click" and that is the reset switch. I wouldn't have believed it unless I had done it myself to get it to work.

Overall, this is a great cable modem. I've been using it for about a week now and am loving the speed and reliability!

I've bought this to replace my old Surfboard modem and get rid of monthly rental fee. The modem worked as advertised, it connects on average in 5 seconds compared to my old one which took a few minutes. One unexpected improvement was also speed increase. I've been told by my cable company that the cable lines where I live tend to be noisier than average, resulting in poor pings and transfer rates, its pretty much gone now that I am using this modem.

Best Data also has an excellent prompt tech support via email, which I thought I needed when my cable provider failed to add my MAC address to their system.

My Cox @home cable connection was installed in 1998, and I've been leasing the same modem (Motorola) since then. I decided to ditch that monthly lease fee and try this Best modem. Man, you better be sitting down: My connection was really good to begin with. DSLreports speed test showed me at 2.1Mb/sec down, 190kb/sec up. And I was downloading a Red Hat Linux 7.2 image from an FTP site and getting about 2Mb/sec. After that completed, I installed the new modem, called @home and had them set the new MAC and I was off. I nearly fell out of my chair when I checked the speed on DSLreports using this new modem. 3.32Mb/sec down and 286kb/sec up!!!!!!!! I downloaded the second Red Hat 7.2 disk at 2.8Mb/sec! All Hail Best Data Products! I know these results can't be typical, but maybe others out there using the first generation Motorola cable modems will experience similar gains. Later.

The Best Data CMX-110 cable modem is the best value available if you decide to own rather than rent a modem. It worked perfectly the first time it was connected to my AT&T internet broadband service with speed that exceeded my expectations. With a price of $84 after the rebate, it will pay for itself in just over 8 months. Set-up is a "no-brainer".

This cable modem is much faster and fights internet slowdowns much better then my Toshiba PCX1100U, which I stopped using after the "Worm" attacked the internet 2 weeks ago. My Toshiba started slowing down my connection a lot(Toshiba is possibly the most famous cable modem provider out there)and the Data button was always blinking due to the slow down. And it was almost a year old and I use the internet a lot for my website. I recieved this 4 days ago, and I am impressed. The worm is still out there but it doesnt have much effect on this. I previously hadnt heard of Best Data Products, but now I am extremely impressed. Buy this modem if the one your cable company provides is having problems. Or ask your company if they can provide these as a replacement.Very good modem, a must buy for speed junkies.

I previously reviewed this modem, giving it 5 stars because it was so easy to set up and initially it worked fine. Well, I spoke too soon. About 3 weeks after installing it started losing cable connectivity, exhibiting a classic "warmup" problem: it would work fine for about 20 minutes after powerup, but then quit.

Just to be sure, I had AT&T come out to check the cable. The technician thought perhaps it was an interference problem (I live near some broadcast towers), tried cleaning up the connections, etc., but to no avail. Eventually he replaced the Best Data modem with a Surfboard 4100 (which he says works in the harshest environments). The Surfboard has been working fine ever since.

Luckily my Best Data modem died within 30 days so Amazon very graciously refunded my money (what a great company!). It's a good thing, too, because, without paying $7 (=3 weeks of modem lease from AT&T), I could not get any support at all from Best Data (nobody answers phone or email).

I'm going to go back to leasing from AT&T. A Surfboard costs about [item price], which is too long to amortize, and it's just not worth the hassle if something goes wrong.

It's about time the prices of cable modems came down. It's also about time I stopped paying $10.00 dollars a month rental fee to the cable company. Excellent buy.

I ordered this modem after reading all the great reviews and thought I would add my two cents. The modem is a breez to set up! I did have to call the At&t and run through a simple process but it worked great after that. They did hit me with a modem swap charge of 9.99 which figures. The modem appears to be even faster than my Surfboard modem from At&t. FYI: It does have a large AC/DC converter plug in case you are short plug space. All in all a great buy for the $$ and fully At&t/Excite compatible!!