Theoryshare Cable Modem Modification Guide

Version 8.4
Written By Monkeywrencher

Disclaimer:
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE
FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA,
OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON
ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY,
OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
FAQs Read First:
1. What cable modem models can be modified?
While other models may be uncapped Theoryshare supports only the Motorola Surfboard
SB3100 - SB5100 Models excluding VOIP models and the SB4220. The SB4100 and
SB4200 can easily be modifed using netbooting with the uncap kit. The SB3100 can also
be modified through software but its more difficult. The SB5100 can be modified but you
must solder an adapter to the modem motherboard in order to change the firmware or
perform any modifications. More details can be found in the Theoryshare forums
reguarding the 5100 and a modification kit is available here:
http://www.theoryshare.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/
product_id,13/category_id,1/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,26/ A new
section has been added to this kit with instructions for the modification of the SB5100.
2. Is this process illegal?
Generally, modifying a device that you purchased is not illegal, or using our devices on a
network that you own or have permission, is not illegal. There are many restrictions to
doing so, and every country is different. Theoryshare takes no responsibilty for user
actions.
3. Can I steal service with your products/software?
While under certain circumstances products sold or distributed through Theoryshare may
be used to steal service, Theoryshare does not condone cable theft and no support will be
given to any user wishing to steal service.
4. I am having trouble with this process is there a easier way to uncap my connection?
Yes. If you are having problems with this process you can purchase a pre-modified
modem from Theoryshare which is ready out of the box or you may sent your surfboard
into be modified. Pre-Modified modems will work on any Docsis network. You can visit
the store here:
http://www.theoryshare.com/component/option,com_virtuemart/page,shop.browse/catego
ry_id,1/Itemid,26/

5.I am having trouble with this process but I would like to continue, but need support.
Visit our free support forums at http://www.theoryshare.com

Preamble:
Basically the point of this process is to increase the speed of your cable modem using
modified firmware or by using a special program to change the config file your modem
boots with. The prior is the preferred method, both methods will work only on Motorola
Surfboard cable modems SB4200 and earlier. Firmware modification is compatible with
SB4100 and SB4200 modems. Firmware modification is also possible on the SB5100
however it requires you make a special cable which you solder to the modem's
motherboard. Alternatively a upgrade kit made by Theoryshare with all of the needed
components is available here:
http://www.theoryshare.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/
product_id,13/category_id,1/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,26/ The
schematics for this cable can be found in the forums at http://www.theoryshare.com if
you generally have problems with computers or you just want a easy way to get uncapped
visit the Theoryshare store:
http://www.theoryshare.com/component/option,com_virtuemart/page,shop.browse/catego
ry_id,1/Itemid,26/ Pre-modified modems start at just $45
Below is a description written by one user about uncapping, premods and what
modification its all about:

What is Cable Modem Modification, Uncapping, and What are Premods

Tell me More

Written by Shifter

Improving your speed is a definite given. Right now, I'm subscribed to the 4000/384, but
I sniffed out a config file with speeds of 8800/1000. That's what I'm running at right
now. There are lots of hard to find configs out there, but a 3rd party sniffer or the built in
sniffer can find them if you let it go for awhile. Depending on your isp, you could sniff
out 16000/2000. It all comes down to what the isp has to offer. Some people are lucky
enough to still be able to get their modem to bypass the tftp server and take a modified
config file from a spoofed server set up on their system. That is very rare today, but
those that can do it are able to set their upload/download to custom values.

As far as getting caught, your isp has ways of finding out who's using their bandwidth,
but it costs more money and takes time to do so. In most cases, and because you are not
disrupting the network, it's not worth their time/money. Plus, you are flying under the
radar.

In the few, public cases that individuals have been caught, they were totally abusing the
bandwidth. Like leaving Bit Torrent or other file sharing programs running at full speed
indefinitely. Red flags will fly if an unknown source is downloading several TeraBytes a
month as well as uploading countless Gigabytes. Not to mention the server type, FTP
setups that were being utilized. The entire situation was ugly.

Cable internet is a shared connection. Killing the bandwidth causes problems for
other users on the node.

I've yet to read a post from someone here at Theoryshare regarding their isp watching
them or sending out any letters. That's because we go about our internet business as
usual. These people, myself included, enjoy the faster speeds and use close to the same
amount of bandwidth as before. It's not planned or anything. I just continue with my
normal activities.

My speeds are just faster.

Currently, the Surfboard series modems (SB3100 - SB4200) are able to be uncapped
without any need of cables. Just download the Uncapping Kit and follow the steps.
That's it.

The SB5100 took quite some time to exploit. Finally, this year, it became an option. In
order to uncap the SB5100, you will need a blackcat cable. This cable will need to be
soldered on to specific points inside the modem. You will then need the flash software to
get it going.

Written by Shifter

For more information, help and updates, visit http://www.theoryshare.com if you do not
have a Surfboard Modem, or find this process is too hard for you to complete; pre-
modified modems are for sale at http://www.theoryshare.com which include the modem
pre-modified with firmware and support. Also support forums FAQs and P2P support are
available.
Before Continuing Read the Following:
Some things to know before using this guide – Make sure you understand these:
1. This process is real and can increase the speeds you get from your cable service.
2. This guide may not work with all modems it is currently only known to work with
surfboard modems but may work with others.
3. No matter how much you uncap you can be caught JUST AS EASILY use at your own
risk.
4. Don't be disappointed if this does not work for you certain configurations with your
modem or isp may prevent you from properly performing this process yourself.
5. We CANNOT help you if you do NOT have a Surfboard modem.
6. Finally please read through all of the documentation before asking me or anyone else
for support thank you.
7. Every Step must be followed exactly as stated, in exact order. Deviation will
result in FAILURE.

There are 2 good ways to Uncap the first is to use hacked firmware the second is using
DHCP Force. Both methods will work on Surfboard 3100/4100/4200 cable modems but
DHCP force has been reported to work on many modems despite it was designed only for
Motorolas so if this doesn't work it probably can't be done with your modem.

Uncapping With Hacked Firmware MOTOROLA

SB410X/SB4200 ONLY IF YOU HAVE A SB5100/5101 USE
THE SB5100/5101 SECTION BELOW
If you have not read all the information prior to this please do so now. If you ignore
this warning you will most likely have problems when you continue.
FIRST THIS WILL ONLY WORK WITH SUFBOARD SB4100,SB4101, and SB4200
Modems. It will not work with any other modems. For the SB3100 you must use the
Alternate method for loading firmware. IF YOU ARE ON A EURODOCSIS SYSTEM
THIS PROCESS WILL WORK WITH ONLY THE 3100, 4200 AND YOU WILL
NEED TO FOLLOW STEP 4B.
If you have trouble with this process help/support forums are available at
http://www.theoryshare.com

STEP 1:
Go to your modem config page http://192.168.100.1 and reset all defaults then unplug
your modem from power and coax. DO NOT REBOOT YOUR MODEM only reset all
defaults it will not take as long as it says.
STEP 2 :
Go to network settings in control panel and change your network settings.
Change your network settings to the following:
IP ADDRESS: 192.168.100.10
SUBNET: 255.255.255.0
GATEWAY: 192.168.100.1
DNS: Leave blank
Once finished Disable then Enable your network interface.

STEP 3:
Open NetBoot and verify the boxes 'Enable FTP Server', “Reset Modem Before Booting”
and “Auto IP” are checked. Now plug your modem in to POWER ONLY. Then after
about 1 minute, press boot over network. Your modem should reset then begin a power
up DO NOT reset your modem this may take a minute or two. Once Netboot shows that
the FTP Client has been disconnected your modem is finished net booting and you may
go on to the next step. DO NOT CLOSE SBRIDER

PICTURES BELOW

Before Net Boot

After Successful Net Boot

STEP 4:
After your modem has been net booted return to your cable modem config page
http://192.168.100.1 and go to the hack tab. Scroll down to “Upgrade Firmware” Proceed
to upgrade your firmware with the firmware corresponding to your cable modem in the
Firmware folder. Fiberware firmware is for advanced users only and is not recommended
for general use. At this point your modem will begin upgrading DO NOT unplug your
modem or change pages on your browser until your modem reboots this in rare cases may
take up to 5 minutes. Once your modem has rebooted return to the config page and verify
that the firmware has been updated by seeing if the hack tab is available. If so you may
plug your modem back into coax and go on at this stage the firmware is permanently
loaded and no further action is required to make it stay on the modem.
Once this upgrade is finished you may change your IP back to normal and you can access
the internet and the hacked firmware.
Step 4B: EURO DOCSIS WORK AROUND: -NEW
If you are on a Euro Docsis System you need to follow this step otherwise proceed to step
5.
Step 1: Open a command line (Start  run  cmd.exe) or open your favorite
telnet client. At the command line type: telnet 192.168.100.1
Step 2:
Stop the scanning task, type BroadcomDebugMode(1); and hit enter.
Step 3:
Create an instance of the CmApi (which has your config in it):
pCmApi=Instance__5CmApi() and then get a copy of your config:
pCfg=GetCmConfig(pCmApi);
 Step 4:
Change the Frequency plan by running SetFreqPlanType(pCmApi,0x1);

*Note, the flag at the end of this command sets the scan table:
Scan North
Europe China Japan
Table America

Flag 0x0 0x1 0x2 0x3

Step 5:
With the instance of your modified class, save it to the Cable modem using this
command: SetCmConfig(pCmApi,pCfg);
Step 6:
Reboot the modem and go to: http://192.168.100.1/configdata.html
If you did everything right (and the shell did not crash) it should be changed. If the shell
did crash, unplug the modem for 30 seconds and try it again

STEP 5:
All Cable Modems use config files that control your modem’s speed, importance and a
few other parameters. Each time your modem boots it automatically downloads a config
file chosen by your isp. To uncap you must identify a config file which has faster speeds
than the one you are currently using.
The Hackware firmware that you have just loaded includes a config file sniffer under the
sniffer tab. At this point the easiest route to take is to leave the modem on for a few hours
then check back to see if your config list has been updated. Often config names are quite
obvious as to what speed they will give you because of their name. If the config file
names you have are not easy to understand you may have to try a few. If the configs do
not have anything in common and there are a large number of them you are on a dynamic
config system and perform a method known as mac cloning visit
http://www.theoryshare.com for more details. If you find a config you want to try simply
go back to the hack page and enter the name of the config you want to load and save the
change. Reboot the modem and look at the max download/upload speed listed in the hack
page this tells you how fast the config is if you do not know.

If you have Trouble Finding Configs or Simply want to find more use the method below:

Open the SNMPCfg Admin Program locate the ip address range near the bottom. Then
for the first # in the range put your hfc ip address listed in the DHCP Force Application.
For the second value put a address considerably higher but no to much higher. EX.
10.142.1.213 --> 10.142.255.255 is a reasonable value. 10.142.1.213 -->
255.255.255.255 is not. Play around with this application to find a range that will best
suit you. After the info has been entered use the mass get function to retrieve the config
names. Then press the + next to the names to get a ip address list. Put one of the
addresses from each config into the step 1 program to find out which config is the fastest
in many cases this is not necessary however because the configs are named like
BANNED.cm, BRONZE.cm, GOLD.cm, PLATINUM.cm in which case knowing which
is the fastest does not require a technical solution.
If the configs do not list you will need to retrieve your current config an explanation for
this can be found in the archive this was distributed in.
After you have retrieved the config open it with Config Edit and locate your community
string. It should be a line something like this
snmp_mib_object 1.3.6.1.3.83.1.2.1.4.2 = string "YHaPLFR8";
Enter this string into SNMPCfg to find the config names. After you have found the config
names. You can set you modem to download it when it boots using the config boot
command. If your isp uses dynamic configs (each modem gets a unique config) you will
need to use the following oids Download: 1.3.6.1.2.1.10.127.1.1.3.1.5.1 or Upload:
1.3.6.1.2.1.10.127.1.1.3.1.3.1 in SNMPcfg then once you find a faster modem find its
mac address and clone it. This is not difficult and there are many 3rd party programs that
can help you with this. Refer to the firmware command list for all functions.
Note that the SB3100 uses a different hacked firmware than the SB4XXX Series all of its
functions can be accessed by going to http://192.168.100.1/tcniso.html this same
firmware can be used on the SB4XXX series but it is not recommended. You can find the
4XXX images and many others here: http://thescentoflove.com/test

Alternate Update Method:

Open CMfirm for CM address go to http://192.168.100.1 and then to addresses. Use your
HFC ip address. Leave community string alone for firmware server enter your public ip
address. For firmware file select the correct update file for your modem this will be a
.hex.bin.
If the update will not go through it is because of 1 of 2 things either your firmware
version is higher than SB3100-3.2.15-SCM00-NOSHELL for the SB3100 or
SB4200/4100-0.4.4.2-SCM01-NOSH for the 4100/4200.
The other is that you must discover your read/write community string. Follow the config
file retrival tutorial and open the config. Inside the config look for a item like this:
snmp_mib_object 1.3.6.1.3.83.1.2.1.4.2 = string "YHaPLFR8";
in this case YhaPLFR8 is the community string. Once this is done run the firmware
update.
If this method still does not work because you have a high firmware version like 4.4.2 or
3.1.17 then use the 2 modem downgrade method you can use either 2 of your own
modems or you can get a person locally on the same isp to help you.
Once the new firmware is loaded on the modem you will need to tell your modem to boot
a faster config file.
Uncapping using DHCP Force
Step By Step
1. Find the MAC Address of your cable modem this is usually found on a sticker on the
cable modem or in the documentation which came with it. Open the DHCP force
application put the modem's mac address and use the discover function. Then write
down the values that are provided in the boxes. Another useful place to modem
information for surfboard is the modem's web page which can be found at
http://192.168.100.1 While other modems may have similar web pages I do not know
how to locate them.
2. Open the SNMPCfg Admin Program locate the ip address range near the bottom. Then
for the first # in the range put your hfc ip address listed in the DHCP Force
Application. For the second value put a address considerably higher but no to much
higher. EX. 10.142.1.213 --> 10.142.255.255 is a reasonable value. 10.142.1.213 -->
255.255.255.255 is not. Play around with this application to find a range that will best
suit you. After the info has been entered use the mass get function to retrieve the
config names. Then press the + next to the names to get a ip address list. Put one of the
addresses from each config into the step 1 program to find out which config is the
fastest in many cases this is not necessary however because the configs are named like
BANNED.cm, BRONZE.cm, GOLD.cm, PLATINUM.cm in which case knowing
which is the fastest does not require a technical solution. If the configs do not list you
will need to retrieve your current config an explanation for this can be found in the
archive this was distributed in. After you have retrieved the config open it with Config
Edit and locate your community string. Enter this string into SNMPCfg to find the
config names and then later also modify this parameter in DHCP Force.
3. Open the DHCP Force Application, before you can try to uncap you must first disable
the media sense option. This can be found under the DHCP menu. Once media sense
is disabled you will most likely have to restart your computer. After your computer is
restarted open the DHCP Force application again enter your modem's MAC Address
and use the discover function. This time after the discover finishes change the config
file name to the name of the faster config you found using SNMPCfg admin. Click the
start button in DHCP Force then reboot your cable modem. The easiest way to do this
is to unplug it and then plug it back in. Wait until the modem is fully booted up then
stop the DHCP Force and try to get online. Do not reboot your modem again however
because this will set your modem back to its original settings. If all went well you
should be on at a faster speed now.
SB5100 Modification
1. In order to modify your SB5100 you must first build a JTAG Cable to solder to
your modem. Schematics for this cable are shown below:

2. Install the flashing software from the SB5100 folder on your computer.
3. Connect the blackcat cable you have built to your modem's motherboard. In order
to do this you must solder a 10 pin DIP header to your modem's JTAG interface,
on a SB5100 there is only 1 possible location for this header to be placed. If you
see 14 holes do not attempt this modification you have a SB5120. If you have had
trouble building the cable, you can purchase a kit here:
http://www.theoryshare.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.f
lypage/product_id,13/category_id,1/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Ite
mid,26/
4. Install the flashing software from the SB5100 folder on your computer, in order to
use this software you must also have installed Microsoft .net framework.
5. Install firmware, to do this follow the instructions in the readme file inside the
firmware version of your choice. 1.06 RC4 is the recommended firmware,
because of its known stability, if you need docsis 2.0 compatibility you must use
X2.
6. Follow the 5100 guide listed here:
http://www.theoryshare.com/content/view/23/30/
 SB5101 Modification
Newly available firmware now makes modification of the SB5101 possible, to learn this
modification download the seperate SB5101 kit from http://www.theoryshare.com

If you need help visit the free support forums at: http://www.theoryshare.com
Also at Theoryshare you will find pre-modified modems for sale if you do not have a
surfboard 4100/4200 and a flashing service if you have trouble or are unable to flash your
modem.
You can contact us at admin@theoryshare.com
If this guide has been helpful to you please consider purchasing a product from
Theoryshare to help keep the website running and to make it better.

Thanks for the Fibercoax Group and the TCNISO for software used in this kit. Hackware
firmware written by Kuyza, SB5100 Firmware written by FERCSA