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Death of 2 Cable Modems
2 dead modems - R.I.P

Late last month there was a huge thunder storm. Howling winds, crashing rain and lots of lightning. It would have been a wonderful night for a deep sleep, but somewhere in the middle of the night, the electricity to my entire house tripped. I knew cause my UPS started beeping. I woke up to shut down my computer and ensure that the windows are properly shut. My parents also awoke from the commotion and brought electricity back to the house.

As clam was restored back in the morning, I discovered that my Motorola SBG1000i modem (all in one modem, wireless and router) didn't seem to connect online. Damn the lightning! But I was consoled thinking I still have the ORIGINAL Motorola SB4200 1st Gen Surfboard modem somewhere in the cupboard. It still looked good as new and I kept it for a faithful day like this. Similarly, upon plugging on the device, nothing worked. There was a signal, but I couldn't get online.

I called Starhub who did a remote test and confirmed that my Internet line was still good and arranged an appointment to get a technician down to check the line.

It turned out that indeed both modems lost their battle, one from extreme bad weather and the other from natural old age (or neglect). A replacement modem (SB5101i) cost me $99 and I finally picked up a Cisco Linksys N Unltra Range Plus (WRT160N) series Wireless Router at the Comex Fair for $99 (original retail at $149). The Linksys UFO design look good with my other black gadgets.

All in all, the bad thunderstorm cost me $198 plus a couple of anxiety attacks. The good news is - both the modem and router are now on my UPS. I should have known better from the start. Still my Motorola has served me well for the past 4 - 5 years. I have little to complain.

2 comments:

  1. That same thunderstorm killed - rather, mauled - our hard disk. We bought two $90 Belkin surge protectors as a result for our electronic items. It comes with warranty. You might want to consider that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's like a joke, but I have a APC UPS for my computer, and the one most vulnerable thing I did not hook up was the modem!!! Then came the lightning strike. All the important device are on the UPS now. Yupe, I know about the Belkin insurance warranty. I always wonder how the company make money...

    ReplyDelete

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