Product ReviewsMotorola SURFboard SB5120 (505788-006-00) 38.91 Mbps

Motorola SURFboard SB5120 (505788-006-00) 38.91 Mbps Cable Modem

The product came in a timely manner and I received everything that was pictured. Set up was easy and the product works perfectly! Thanks!

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: 0cFDaS-hRPO@Del...

Cable Modem

Great deal but it would not work on our cable co.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: yourrealdealz

"OMG! Supper Fast Modem!"

Motorola SURFboard SB5120 offers plenty of speed and added protection for your high-speed pipeline.

The SB5120 is easy to install. It offers both USB and Ethernet connections (and comes with the cables for both) and you can also use it as a bridge between your system and an Ethernet LAN, hooking the USB cable to your system and the Ethernet cable to a router.

The modem stands upright to save desktop space, with the front panel illuminated by LED indicator lights to let you know that it's connected to your system

This modem has a stand-by switch on the top that can be pressed to easily disconnect the modem from the computer, thereby protecting it from the rest of the web when not in use. When you return, simply press the button again to reconnect it to the system.

Pros: USB or Ethernet, standby switch, Excellent Modem
Cons: NoneRead full review...

Great unit - if you don't pay retail

The standby button on top of the unit is extremely convenient. For home use, this feature should be standard.

Modem footprint is a bit on the large size, but not bulky. Power consumption, as evidenced by heat given off, appears to be nice and low. Display lights are informative and easy to interpret at a glance.

Can't vouch for the faster connect speeds, as I'm on a 1.5 Mbps plan. However, Speakeasy consistently reports speeds slighly greater than 1.5, and general surfing is quite acceptable. No problems with hangs or choppiness on YouTube. Upload speeds seem a bit on the slow side, but not enough to really gripe about.

Installation couldn't have been easier. Connected the cables, was routed to Charter's registration page, and was online within five minutes. This was a new modem, however - you may have some additional steps if your modem has been registered previously. The Charter guy told me all you need is the modem's MAC address in order to register.

After a couple weeks of steady use, no problems at all to report. Looks like a winner if reliability continues. For decent performance on a budget, I'd recommend checking this unit out.

Side Rant: Seems to me that, considering the monthly cost of ISP service, DSL/Cable modems should be included at no cost. Wouldn't be so bad if a particular modem could be used universally with all ISP's - but we all know that's not so.

Anybody need a box of functional, but useless, modems? To eBay I will go...

Update 10/3/10: Been using this modem with a faster 8 Mbps connection for about 6 months now. I don't do any online gaming, but everything else web-related really screams at this speed. No negatives to report since the last review. It's reliable and unobtrusive, can't ask for much more. At current prices, this is a real bargain.Read full review...

It works fine

Nothing to dislike, it works. It's fast. This is now my 4th cable modem in about 11 years, it seems they have all started to fail after so many years. My last one (A DLink DBDCM202) was just as fast, but it failed after about 4 years of use just like all of them have. They start to drop connections and I would have to go re-boot the cable modem. It would get so bad, I had to reboot the modems at least once a day. When it was happening up to 2 times a day, I HAD IT! That was time to buy a Brand New modem! I haven't been using this one now for long, but my original old SURFboard SB4200 only lasted about 4 years as well.

It should be noted that I use my cable modem 24hrs a day around the clock, I never turn them off and I work from home so they get very heavy use, especially since 2007 what with all the TV & Movie content coming right off the Internet now (Netflix Watch Instantly etc.)Read full review...

I recommend this modem. Good way to save money.

I purchased this modem after my cable company told me I would be getting an 'upgraded' modem. I was told I would be getting a modem with built in wi-fi but all I got was a newer model of the same modem I already had. i thought to myself ,'If I wasn't going to see any improvement in perfrmance, why continue to pay the rental fee'. This modem was an excellent way to save the $7 per month fee from the cable company. This modem will pay for itself within 3 months. It took about 10-15 minutes of time for my service to configure this modem for my service. Once complete I had to purchase a new router because my old router wouldn't work. (an expense I wasn't expecting) Over all, I recommend this modem for anyone who is looking for an easy way to reduce their cable bill.Read full review...

Motorola SURFboard SB5120 Cable Modem

I've used one of these for past 2 years and no problems. Great cable modem. Recently got another for a backup, just in case, but no evidence I'll ever need it. It's that good. Fits great between my two midtowers, easily seen LED's, and easy to use Standby button. USB and LAN port connections, easy setup. You won't go wrong with this one for any DOCSIS cable system.Read full review...

Bells and whistles not included...

Have been renting a similar unit for 6 months, bought this to offset my cable company's unreasonable new rental fees. Modem is very basic but enables high speed connection and is the same unit the cable company provides. Other units can be tweaked, but this unit has the set up parameters locked, may not be a big deal. Unit has been running 24/7 for several weeks without any issues.Read full review...

Cheaper than rent

Comcast Cable was charging $5.00 a month rental for one of these and was raising the rate to $7.00 so I decided to buy one. Walmart has them for a little over $60.00 but even at that it would be paid for in 9 months.
The modem works well, is easy to hook up and requires no maintenance. The only improvements I'd like to see are an on/off switch and a more stable base. Once in a while (usually due to Comcast service interruptions,) the modem needs to be unplugged and then plugged in again; a switch would be easier. And as far as the base is concerned, with two sizeable cables and power supply wire pulling the back of this lightweight modem it tends to want to tilt. I'd prefer it to lay flat but that's because my other equipment does. It takes less space standing.
Overall I'd recommend this modem for anyone on cable but check with your service supplier first to make sure it's compatable with their system.Read full review...

Excellent product. Works as advertised, and saves $ on monthly fees.

I purchased the Motorola SURFboard SB5120 for my mother-in-law, who had just signed up for cable broadband with Charter Cable. This is the exact same model being used by Charter in her area, so I knew this unit would work. Charter was going to charge her a monthly fee, which would have cost more over the course of a year than this refurb unit cost to purchase outright. Even though this is a refurb, it is in brand new condition.

I installed the modem in place of the Charter modem, and then brought up a browser window. I was immediately re-directed to the Charter install process. Essentially, all I had to do was enter the MAC address of the refurb SB5120, and everything worked as expected. There have been no issues with this unit.

I cannot compare this cable modem to others since I have not had cable broadband for several years.Read full review...

Motorola SURFboard SB5120 Cable Modem

I, like most others was renting a modem from the cable company. Well one day I decided to do the math and realized that at $3 a month I could have purchased 2 new & 4 to 6 used of these over the last 4 years I've had the service. Not only that but the Motorola Surfboard is a sleek looking and speedy little device. After plugging it in and connecting up to the service I now get speeds in the 400 to 600 Mb/s range with spikes of up to 15Mb depending on the server I'm hitting and the time of day. Plus the on board configuration pages are simple and easy to read & understand.Read full review...

Your cable company may be overcharging.

When Time Warner Cable notified me that they were going to start charging a modem rental fee, I decided to buy my own. The Motorola SB5120 was the modem that I replaced theirs with. It has worked great. I would recommend to anybody that is being charged a fee for their modem to consider purchasing this. I am not a "technical geek" and was able to figure out how to install it. It comes with an installation CD. Other than plugging in the power cord, internet input cable and the computers internet cable, the only other thing you will need to do is call your cable provider. You will need to give them the number printed on the modem (mac ID number). This will pay for itself by eliminating that monthly modem charge. After that it's money in your pocket every month. Kind of a no brainer.Read full review...