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First post, hope I’m putting this in the right place.

TLDR: Xfinity activation bricked a previously activated SB8200, and their tech support told me to contact Arris for a "configuration file".

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I've used a self-owned SB8200 with my Xfinity plan for 3 years, but after upgrading to the gigabit plan, Xfinity began sending me email notices that my equipment isn't capable of fully utilizing my plan.

So, I bought a recommended Arris S33, swapped out the SB8200, and had the S33  activated and running in minutes. I put the SB8200 back in a box for storage, feeling it would be handy to keep around if the S33 failed in the future.

Although the S33 performs just as well, if not better, it is much hotter than the SB8200. So much so, that I decided to return it to Amazon and reinstall the SB8200. (I don't like hot electronics, but that's just me....)

BIG MISTAKE.....

Upon swapping the S33 out for the old SB8200, I found that Xfinity's system wasn't providing any internet service (even though the front LED lights were working, showing internet connection and the normal colors for my plan). Tho' the  SB8200 and S33 are now both listed as "my equipment" in my Xfinity account, I thought it strange the SB8200 would no longer work (or be recognized?).

I decided to go through the activation process with the SB8200, but no change. Probably BIG MISTAKE NUMBER TWO. Still no internet, and my wifi router cryptically reported that DHCP IP service from my ISP (Xfinity) was "not working properly".

Giving up, I called Xfinity, wrestled with the Bot, and eventually spoke with a tech, who told me he would take a look and reboot the modem from his end.

Reboot went okay, but no change: Router continued to report no DHCP-furnished IP from Xfinity. On hearing that, the tech gave me the Arris tech support phone number and said I would have to contact Arris and get a configuration file for the SB8200, as there was nothing more Xfinity could do. His explanation was that perhaps the Xfinity system thought my Arris modems were both the same model (S33).

Wow, this is hard to believe, but it sounds to me like Xfinity just bricked my SB8200.

I reluctantly re-installed the S33, but again was forced to go through activation, which fortunately worked (again). I've put the S33 on top of a small fan to keep it cool, though even with that, my temp gun shows it at around 35 C on the upper half of the case.

Does Arris even provide a configuration file? Is it something I can apply to the SB8200 myself?  And is it likely that a properly "reconfigured" SB8200 will work again?  Or is it a bad idea to even have two Arris modems registered with Xfinity in the first place?

 

Thank you for the brief explanation. In this case having two units registered with your service provider will not affect your connection because you will be using only one unit connected to Coax line for internet but if you have confirmed with your ISP that this will affect the modem connectivity you can remove one device from the ISP and use the one which is compatible with your speed plan.

Every Arris unit will have its own software or firmware which can be also considered as a Configuration file so there is no manual update or changes can be done on any modem and there is no option called configuration file on the Arris units.

To work on your issue further could you please help us with your current speed plan

Hi, thanks for your reply. As mentioned initially, I upgraded to the 1 gigabit plan (1000 mbits down/ 20 up).The new SB8200 worked fine with that plan. I did not experience any problems using it.

 

Meant “the old” SB8200 worked fine. The new S33 also works well and allows the fully provisioned speed (around 1.2 gigabits), but it measures over 40 C on the casing, which is significantly warmer than the SB8200. I worry that the S33 will have a short life. My SB8200 had been just fine for 3 years. It is still listed on Xfinity’s site asa recommended modem.

If you felt too hot to touch the modem S33, I suggest you to visit www.arris.com/consumersupport for further assistance.

It is not too hot to the touch, but 40 C on one side and 45 C on the other, which is far warmer than the SB8200 (which never really measured over 30 C). Hot electronics wear out sooner. The S33 will probably be going back to Amazon. Since Xfinity somehow ruined my SB8200, I purchased another cable modem (not Arris brand) as a replacement. When it arrives, I will probably change the S33 out and send it back.

However, this thread is/was about Xfinity’s response regarding my issue with the SB8200. As I suspected (and you confirmed), there is no “configuration file”. That was just the hopeless Xfinity tech’s excuse to get me off the customer support line. Of course, I am not surprised, but still find it ridiculous that Xfinity’s system would not or could not fully re-activate my SB8200.Incidentally, a couple of days ago, I logged into my Xfinity account and noticed that the SB8200 had been removed from the list of “my devices”. That list only includes the S33 now.

I feel as though Xfinity damaged my SB8200, though I have no way to confirm that. Anyway, thank you for your responses. I consider your first response to have answered my concerns, and will mark it as such.

I like the low wattage of the SB8200 and its very similar to my old SB6141,  I bought one on Ebay that had been used after WOW misdiagnosed an upload speed issue as needing Docsis 3.2 compatibility.

There is a reset button in the back of the SB8200 that is supposed to restore the default gateway login and settings.  You do this with the coax cable disconnected but with the power plugged in.  After holding the button about 20 seconds the two blue network lights and the red connection light at the very bottom briefly blink and go dark. You should be reset at that point but my SB8200 did not start the blinking network connection lights?

I thought it would be very simple to just connect an ethernet cable to my PC after the reset.  Then opening a browser with 192.168.100.1 address you should bring up the gateway where you can log in as Admin with the last 8 digits of the SB8200 serial number.

Unfortunately the SB8200 I bought would not even connect to the gateway via ethernet after the reset?

My ISP WOW said they were getting a “walled garden” signal when they probed from their end?

So I’m wondering whether this is an SB8200 hardware failure that I bought or what you seem to be suggesting. 

 

Maybe an expert will weigh in as to whether an ISP can actually brick an SB8200 remotely so that a hard reset will not even let you log in as Admin?

   

 

Rather than start a new subject and since this hasn’t been marked as resolved I would also like to know why my SB8200 modem would not reset properly either?

In my case the blue network lights stay dark and don’t flash after the hard reset as they should according to the official instructions.

That means the hard reset did not fully reset the firmware to factory condition.

I’m also unable to connect via 192.198.100.1.

 

Could be a hardware failure that is covered by the 2 year warranty?

 

Also could be an undocumented feature the ISP’s could use to freeze a modem for account non payment.  In that case it would be kind of expensive for Arris to RMA every device that was bricked for ISP account abuse.

 

There are static gateway settings under Windows network properties that might allow access to the gateway login?

 

Arris engineering is superb they even included a JTAG TAP on the board of the SB8200. An engineer could flash the firmware with that if there isn’t any chip damage. 

 

But we need to know if the hard reset either always returns theSAB8200 modem to factory condition or there is actually a risk of firmware compromise so that it can’t be reset via the hard reset “button”?

 

 

 

 

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