Question for Comcast/Xfinity user who owns their own modem

Roon Software Discussion ROCK
1

Hi. Having DNS issues with my ROCK setup on my NUC8i5BEK that I’m working with Roon technical support in a different thread.

My question for a Comcast/Xfinity user who owns their own cable modem is which model do you have, and have you been able to set up your own primary and secondary DNS addresses for the modem to point to? When I call Xfinity customer service, it takes forever to get to someone, then the folks who answer obviously don’t get asked this very often as they are not particularly helpful. Roon tech support is asking me to point the cable modem to 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) and/or Google (8.8.8.8) but the rented cable modem will not allow changes from 75.75.75.75 (Comcast) and Comcast DNS servers are apparently known to be an issue for some Roon users.

Bottom line: Looking for confirmation a purchased modem will give me the flexibility to set this myself and how it’s worked out for you. Thanks.

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I have my cable modem in bridge mode.I use a unifi dream machine which gives me the option of to assign dns adresses such as google or cloudfare

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I have had Xfinity with my own purchased modem. And currently have COX with purchased modem. In neither case can I assign DNS addresess in the modem. However, in both cases, I can assign DNS addresses in my owned router that I connect to the modem.

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Hi @Outlaw, I had not heard of the UniFi Dream Machine but it looks interesting. Are you happy with it? Any particular features that caused you to select it? Do you think at $299 it would be a better option with the Comcast-owned router or should I just buy a $299 cable modem and have full control of the modem itself? I’m guessing the security features fo the Dream Machine might be the reason to use. Am I correct?

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Hi @garym. That’s useful info and I have to confess I’m not a DNS expert. What you describe is consistent what @Outlaw said about how he sets up his UniFi Dream Machine. Thank you both. I assume you have no issues with Roon connectivity. I keep losing connection to my ROCK and it’s very frustrating.

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No issues. I have google (8.8.8.8) as primary and secondary (8.8.4.4) DNS addresses. But to be honest, I never had issues when I just allowed the router to use the COMCAST or COX cable standard DNS. To be clear, I’ve not used Roon on my past Comcast/XFinity setup. Don’t have that anymore.

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don’t get confused by modems, routers, and modem/router combos. These are 3 different things. Also, I’m never a fan of using the provider “rented” unit if I have a choice.

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I switched out my Comcast Modem about a year ago with this one. https://www.surfboard.com/products/cable-modems/sb8200/ WAY faster and much more stable.

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I use the provider modem/router which is in bridge mode so it only acts a modem.Then I use the unifi dream machine which is a router which gives me a ton of flexibility in settings including DNS…I use Roon Rock and never had a issue since using the dream machine.There are a ton of great routers out there.

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I use a Motorola mb8600. My setup is a bit peculiar because I had Xfiniti issues for a while after I moved to that house and ended up getting a DSL backup line and using an Ubiquiti Edgerouter I had already in a dual-homed, load-balancing configuration. In general, I like Ubiquiti gear (both the older stuff and the more recent UniFi and consumer-level AmpliFi) but at least the pro stuff requires some configuration. The Motorola modem just sits there and does its thing.

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I have a Netgear CM600 that I bought the day I got Comcast / Xfinity. Never once gave me a whit of trouble. Not the highest DOCSIS, but I don’t buy the highest tier and have no need to. It’s even more of a doorstop (meaning it just functions) than virtually any other piece of hardware in my environment. (Like @Fernando_Pereira I use Unifi, and it’s rock solid reliable but I do have to manage it and update it from time to time). The cable modem I just ignore.