Internet keeps dropping the connection. Why?
2So for the last month (new service a month ago, good by comcast) my internet keeps dropping (wireless signal 5 bars through out but ISP, internet and server keeps blinking in and out, sometimes just the later two - per mac diagnostics thing you get to via the wireless strength icon). Mostly just for a few seconds, although sometimes for several minutes at a time and then comes back on just to almost immediately go out again. When it starts doing this it can go on for hours. Slows way down too - the worst was 1.26 mbps, down, 0.06 up. (I have paid for 20 mbps). When working right I get 18-19 down, and around 3.0 up. Ping runs 50-100 typically. The graph of the signal looks like a roller coaster (using speedtest.net).
I have a surfboard modem and TP link router both less than two years old. Signal strength from the router is 5 bars. The internet folks have come out 4 times so far, replaced parts in the box outside the building (and finally took all the decaying leaves out of the box all their crap is in and for the first time put the front of the box back on), fiddled around outside doing who knows what, claimed my signal strength is better now than it was due to some change they made, claims around 80% load on the node. I checked and no one else on my channel… Basically saying it is me not them. I called the router people and found out which channels were the preferred ones and switched to one of those (router has both 5 and 2.4 Ghz and the 2.4 was on automatic, now both are on a fixed channel; I was having the problem regardless of which Ghz I used). Tried rebooting, etc.
I am at a loss what I need to ask them to do, what I can do… (and the answer is not going back to comcast as they kept going out for hours at a time, once for 8 days). My modem and router worked perfectly before the change and move (I now live in a different building and changed services when I moved). I’d blame the goat but unfortunately that is me, not to mention the goat doesn’t know how to fix this. LOL
- 5 comments, 19 replies
- Comment
Try logging into the modem at 192.168.100.1 and check the signal levels Tx, Rx, and SNR
@Ignorant Thanks I will do that.
@Ignorant So I just went there and don’t see signal levels Tx, Rx. That info isn’t given on any tab I can find. Not sure how to interpret SNR.
REMOVED BY REQUEST BY WOODHOUSE
This one is much longer that what I copied…
REMOVED BY REQUEST BY WOODHOUSE
Not sure if any of that is the same as what you are telling me to look at. Not sure how to interpret much of this.
@Ignorant I should also check this site when I am having problems. Right? Reading online I think, maybe??? the numbers are OK? And maybe the log is the company checking things (well except the 16th - the afternoon times on the 15th was when they were at the house; the morning of the 15th they were screwing around with something that affected me but were doing it for someone at least I was told had I tried my internet in the morning that day it would have been out for that reason).
@Kidsandliz
The Rx is your downstream signal listed under “Power” in the “Downstream Bonded Channels” section.
Tx is your upstream signal listed under “Power” in the “Upstream Bonded Channels” section.
As of the time of this screenshot all levels look good, but I would check them periodically to make sure there isn’t much fluctuation, and definitely check them when you are having the issue.
Downstream should be between -15 and +15 (between -10 and +10 even better)
Upstream should be between 45 and 55
SNR should be above 30
@Ignorant Thanks!
@Kidsandliz I’m not well-versed in the details of signalling used by DOCSIS modems, but the logged events indicate the modem has reset its interface several times in response to major signal loss (or noise) at various points in time.
The signal outages seem to affect both the return path from the cable headend to the modem (“SYNC Timing Synchronization failure”, “Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, but no Unicast Maintenance opportunities received”) and the transmit path from the modem (“Unicast Ranging Received Abort Response”), which are separate channels. The periodic ranging “heartbeat” is failing either because the response from the headend is lost or the headend doesn’t correctly receive the ranging request from your modem and sends back an abort.
This is worth looking at the wiring running from your cable jack and out of your house for.
To be clear, your cable signals seem healthy right now but they don’t appear to stay that way all the time. There is probably something flaking out in the wiring behind the coax jack that needs to be addressed by your cable company. (Also try swapping coax cables just in case it’s a bad cable, but that’s less likely to have an intermittent problem).
There’s nothing wrong with your router and Wi-Fi if all the outages are at the same time as the logged resets.
@trisk Thanks. As I had no problems like this where I lived before I was so pretty sure it is not my equipment. I have no clue how old the wiring is. Building is 1970 something so likely old wiring. I’ll try it in the other outlet to see if that makes a difference. Thanks for the suggestion.
@Kidsandliz I vote for changing all cables and power cords if you can. I swear there are electronic termites that nibble bits of metal. Also, get a magnifying glass and look at the coax jack pins.
@OldCatLady Thanks for the suggestion. The only “old” cord is the one from the box to the house at the incoming cord for this. The rest are new when they installed.
@Kidsandliz It’s possible one was new but defective. Swap them out, one by one, to see if it helps.
@OldCatLady ok. They custom cut the cable and then put the end pieces on them…
/giphy Russian hackers
@medz Hmm they will wonder why I have a goat living indoors then… just sayin’
@thumperchick @dave @woodhouse could you please remove the event log picture? I just realized it has my IP address in that. Thanks.
@Kidsandliz
@Kidsandliz Done! I removed both in a blind panic, so hopefully that’s what you wanted.
@woodhouse Thanks. I had only meant the second one, but since someone else told me the first one looked OK at the moment, that is ok. Of course internet was out completely for close to 2 hours this morning and just came back on. Sigh. Think though this time was more than me as they weren’t picking up the phone and then it would ring once and hang up (small, local internet company - I guess this is how they deal with phone overload when the calls are just going down the street so to speak and not to India or the Philippines).
@thumperchick @dave @woodhouse I don’t know much about this kind of stuff but reading more (someone had emailed me and said this was my IP address and not wise to have public) I think this is, rather, my mac address thus identifiable (that is if I have this right, which is not a given based on my lack of detailed knowledge about this kind of stuff) anywhere I post, to my computer. I still would appreciate it if you could remove that log image when you have a chance. Thanks.
@Kidsandliz I have heard of people using Google’s location services with wireless MAC addresses to look up locations. I think the ones you posted probably don’t belong to wireless interfaces, so you’re probably in the clear. Anyways, bumping for @thumperchick to take down the second image, or @dave, or @woodhouse.
Oh, they’re already gone. Whoops. Thought you guys were talking about different images, since the ones didn’t have IP addresses.
You’ve obviously pissed of the father of the internet-- Al Gore
@cranky1950 If that is the only person I have managed to piss off I am in luck. Somehow I doubt it though as my young adult daughter seems to be pissed off recently that I am both breathing and am failing to support her and her kids in the manner to which she’d like to become accustom. Sigh.
@Kidsandliz Oh you slug.