Some of you may be looking to buy a new router. Use caution if you are considering the Motorola SBG6580. There appears to be issues with the firmware that various ISP’s push to this modem making many of its features useless.
The router/cable modem/wireless access point is a nice idea. One box for all three. A great idea for those trying to reduce desk space clutter. As far as I can tell there is nothing wrong with the router as it ships with its current firmware. The SBG6580 lets you get into some obscure settings through its web based interface. Most of these are settings that I will never tweak and that a tech guy/gal might enjoy.
Port forwarding and triggering is something I would like to use. This is where the issues start for this modem on the Cox Internet System.
The firewall on this modem can be set to “Off, Low, Medium and High.” The “Medium” and “High” setting block most ports and provide a list of “Unblocked” ports. Blocked ports can be “Unblocked” no matter what the firewall setting, by using port forwarding or triggering. The low and off setting on this firewall do not block any ports.
With the firewall set on “Medium” and “High” I created a rule in port triggering for the port 26000 to be unblocked if network traffic was detected. See below:
The port remained blocked according to port scans. The application also did not respond or connect via this port. Various configurations were changed to see if this was a minor bug including adding the local IP and changing protocol to “TCP” only. Nothing worked.
Port forwarding behaved in the same manner. External ports from various IP’s were not forwarded to internal IP’s.
I started my journey on resolving this issue with Google. It became obvious that I was not the only one experiencing this problem. Most of the posts were for Comcast ISP. Individuals on that network had the EXACT problem. Other posts were from gamming forums where the root cause of the problem never was discovered.
I talked with Motorola. They advise the modem is shipped with a very basic firmware. The ISP is responsible for further updates to the modem to make it compatible with the particular network its attached to. This is the point the features of this modem may become broke. Because the device is a DOCSIS device Motorola is prohibited from offering firmware updates to the customer. Unlike your stand alone router/wireless access point you can’t manipulate the router with the latest firmware or hack it to death with a 3rd party solution. THIS IS IMPORTANT AND MAY JUSTIFY STAYING AWAY FROM THIS MODEM ALL TOGETHER.
I then reached out to Cox Communications. They seemed oblivious to the problem in the Omaha area. A Tier 2 tech advised there were two other modem’s available from Cisco (DPC3825) and Netgear (CG3000D) that offered the same functionality I was trying to achieve with the Motorola device. I had just returned a Cisco router for dying in two months. My previous Netgear router before that lasted a year (no hacks on either). Reading reviews the Motorola appears most favored in performance.
I am still in the process of dealing with Cox. I have an email to a tech. She and I will be conferring. My hope is Cox acknowledges the problem through their own testing and then efforts to resolve the issue with a firmware update. The current firmware on this modem is: 3.5.8.4-GA-00-505-NOSH
Seeing as the latest focus of this blog is the ADT Pulse security system a quick note on how this modem interfaces with the Ihub. I have placed the ADT Pulse Ihub in the DMZ. With the firewall on high it continues to function. I am not sure what ports the Ihub uses. I used to have this information and will effort to find it again. If I do I will post in the comments section of this blog entry.
Stay tuned.
Filed under: Blogroll, General, Technology Tagged: Cable Modem, Cox Communications, DPC3825, Internet Service, ISP, LAN, Motorola, Netgear CG3000D, SBG6580
