ZOOM DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem and Wireless-N Router (5352-00-00)

EDIT: STILL GOING STRONG (PURCHASED 10/2/2013: (my original review is below) My old Linksys WRT54GS finally died after maybe 8 years of faithful service so I bought this one. Here are my simple observations: 1. The Cox online automatic setup does not work. I got a Cox technician on the phone and within 15 minutes was up and running. The Zoom 5352 is on their approved list. 2. This is a combined modem/wifi. I really like it for that reason. Really, in this day and age I'm surprised this isn't yet the norm. It looks nice too. 3. Range is very good. HD Netflix streaming to the living room and far master bedroom is no problem at all. Buffer load times are faster now. 4. My upload speed more than doubled from 5mbs to 12mbs using this new/updated modem. It probably could go faster but this is the service tier I pay for. I get 30+ download speed and 15ms ping here. Now for some negatives: 5. The power cord is 5' or less. It can be too short if you have it on a bookshelf. I had to put my battery UPS on a pedestal in order to reach the shelf the modem is on. What a stupid thing to cheap out on. That extra few feet of cord length is very useful if you need it. 6. The biggest negative for me is DNS configurability. If you use an alternate DNS server like Google DNS or OpenDNS...this modem/router will NOT work. I researched this issue, found no solution. If you've never heard of OpenDNS - check it out. It's a great way to filter out all the porn/adult web sites automatically that you don't want your 6 yr old getting into. Another advantage can be better speeds and incredible reliability with no downtime. 7. The firmware cannot be flashed. If you're a DD-WRT fan forget it. I never bothered flashing my old router but some folks love to tinker. Install tip: Have the S/N and CM MAC # ready when you call the ISP for the install. No need to flip the unit over - there is an identical sticker right on the box. I give this unit 5 stars for doing it's mission and 4 stars for overall configurability.

When Time Warner Cable announced they were upping their equipment rental fees, I immediately started searching for a compatible replacement. I wanted a combination wireless router and cable modem because it's simply easier to deal with a single piece of equipment. The Zoom was decently well reviewed, as well as priced right, so I decided to give it a try. I've been very happy with this purchase over the last 6 months or so. My connection is excellent and fairly stable. About once a week I will have to restart the modem to reestablish a connection, but I have had that problem with every device I've ever used with Time Warner. The administrative menus for the Zoom are well laid out and full featured. You can manipulate just about every aspect of your connection. Port forwarding is easy to set up, as are static IP addresses. It is a simple matter to switch your wireless channel, and the UI page will actually tell you if a particular channel is experiencing lots of interference. Overall this is a good device for a good price, it does its job and it actually looks really good sitting on a shelf, no ugly electronics here. A solid buy. --------------- EDIT: I'm amending my original 5 star review and knocking off a star for the following reason: This router does not have any settings for DNS server. By default your DNS settings come from your ISP, but most routers will allow you to set a new DNS location (such as 8.8.8.8 for the Google DNS server). This router does not allow you to do that, it has no DNS settings, so you have to adjust DNS on each individual device if you want to. If you wonder why that's important, an example: A few months ago, Time Warner (at least in my local area) began using their DNS servers to redirect traffic to their own proprietary web pages the first time you used a particular device. So when you'd open your browser and expect to see your home page (for most people this is google or MSN) instead you would be greeted by a Time Warner page filled with notices and advertisements. On a computer or tablet that is annoying, but for a device like a nest thermostat or a smartTV that redirection actually breaks the device. Using a third party DNS would fix the problem, but this router does not allow that very simple and standard behavior, so I instead had to spend a couple hours on the line with Time Warner asking them to stop that redirection.