Tips for setting up a home network on your cable modem in East Campus housing.
1. Make sure you are using a modern modem and router. The campus currently recommends: An Arris 6141 cable modem is recommended and available locally at Best Buy. If using a separate router should be: “dual band,” and can operate both on 2.4gHz and 5.8gHz bands. For an "All in One" modem with built in wifi router, the Arris SGB10 is a good choice. We do not support Netgear brand modems.
2. We do not recommend using cable modems provided by other service providers such as Comcast or AT&T. These are often proprietary and do not work well on our system.
3. Place the router in a central area, not impeded by furniture or obstructions, in a place easily accessible throughout the house.
4. Secure your router with a password, so that other people do not connect to it and drain your bandwidth. For more information on how to do this, see the manual that came with your wireless router.
5. Make sure that you do not have too many devices connected to the router at the same time using a lot of bandwidth. For example, if you intend to use Zoom, limit online gaming and Netflix watching of other household members during that time period.
6. Make sure the computers and other devices intended for teleconferencing are modern and have fast wireless cards. Older computers and devices might simply not be fast enough to connect reliably to certain services such as Zoom. For best performance wifi cards should use at least 5ghz speed.
7. If you are using your personal computer to access secure campus resources such as M/J/S drives, OAS, etc., please download and install VPN. For more information please visit the CSUMB GlobalProtect VPN page. For platform specific VPN help:
8. Make sure your devices have the latest updates and that you are using up-to-date virus protection software. If you need virus protection software for your personal computer, please visit our Free & Discounted Software page for information on how to get Sophos Virus Protection Software.
9. If you experience problems with your modem or router, cycling the power on these devices can sometimes help. Remove the power adapter from your router and modem and wait ten seconds before plugging the devices back in.
10. Avoid the use of long cables and cords, and splitters in your residence. If you must use a splitter, make sure it is one provided by the cable company or of good quality to avoid signal quality issues. If you are using a splitter or long cord and experience issues, remove the splitter or cord and see if that fixes the connectivity issue.
If you continue to experience issues with your cable modem, please submit an East Campus cable modem service ticket.