更快的信息交换系统（如以太网）的普及和可用性使得零调制解调器电缆的使用不再常见。在现代系统中，这种电缆仍可用于内核模式开发，因为它允许用户使用最少的设备驱动程序和代码（仅一个串行驱动程序，主要由两个FIFO缓冲区和一个中断服务程序（英语：Interrupt service routine）组成）来远程调试内核。用于Linux的KGDB、用于BSD的ddb，以及用于Windows的WinDbg或KD都可以用于远程调试系统。这也可以提供一个串行控制台，内核调试器在内核混乱的情况下可能被丢弃，这种情况下，本地监视器和键盘也可能不再可用（GUI保留这些资源，并且在丢弃调试器的紧急情况下不会释放它们）。
Another context where these cables can be useful is when administering "headless" devices providing a serial administration console (i.e. managed switches, rackmount server units, and various embedded systems). An example of embedded systems that widely use null modems for remote monitoring include RTUs, device controllers, and smart sensing devices. These devices tend to reside in close proximity and lend themselves to short run serial communication through protocols such as DNP3, Modbus, and other IEC variants. The Electric, Oil, Gas, and Water Utilities are slow to respond to newer networking technologies which may be due to large investments in capital equipment that has useful service life measured in decades. Serial ports and null modem cables are still widely used in these industries with Ethernet just slowly becoming a widely available option.
The only way the flow control signal would reach the other device is if the opposite device checked for a Carrier Detect (CD) signal (at pin 1 on a DE-9 cable and pin 8 on a DB-25 cable). As a result only specially designed software could make use of this partial handshaking. Software flow control still worked with this cable.
