WASHINGTON — If you’re a Comcast customer in Virginia, D.C. or Maryland, and your Internet tier is either Blast! or Performance Pro, reboot your modem. Your internet connection speed just got faster.
Comcast says that’s all you have to do to upgrade your download speeds by 33 percent.
The free upgrade, for new and existing customers, boosts Performance Pro’s top download speed from 75 Mbps to 100 Mbps or better, and the top speed for the Blast! tier from 150 Mbps to 200 Mbps or more. Aside from the modem reboot, Comcast says most of its Xfinity bundles customers with those speed tiers are automatically upgraded.
Does it work?
Download speeds vary widely, depending on time of day and network demand, and online speed testing sites might be dodgy, but I tested my own Xfinity Blast! speed both before and after restarting my home modem.
Using Xfinity’s own site, I clocked in at an average of 177 Mbps before the reboot, 233 Mbps after. Results on a brand-new MacBook Pro and an older desktop were identical.
I also tested on Speedtest.net, (which is also provided by OOKA) and got similar results.
Comcast says it has increased its internet speeds 17 times in the last 15 years.
Comcast will notify customers who may need to upgrade their modems to get the faster speed. That applies to both customers with a Comcast-leased modem or ones the customer owns — though if you own it, you might have to buy a new one.
If you haven’t gotten Comcast’s customer email yet, the steps to upgrade are simple:
- Shut down your computer and unplug your modem;
- Wait 10 seconds, then plug your modem back in;
- Wait another 30 seconds, then turn your computer back on.
