how bad are these results for a cable modem? what should i do to fix it?

Meggie · Post by **Meggie** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 1:32 pm

188 kbps down (~0.19 Mbps, 23 KB/s) ↓
789 kbps up (~0.79 Mbps, 96 KB/s) ↑
Details:

250 KB downloaded in 10.869 seconds
100 KB uploaded in 1.038 seconds
Speed @ 4% of the average for ct.comcast.net
4 times faster than 56k dialup

Sava700 · Post by **Sava700** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 4:06 pm

umm... what modem do you have? Can you post the signal/power levels? ALso post a test from say http://www.speedtest.net

Something obviously doesn't look right at all but at this point with that data you've posted I can't tell what is causing the slow down even on Comcraps worst package!

Post a TCP Analyzer results too...

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 7:54 pm

I'll put money on a coax splitter between your NID (line into the house) and your modem.

Leatherneck · Post by **Leatherneck** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:35 pm

That's crap by any standards. Who is your provider? If it is Comcast I can do a diagnostic test to see if anything is glaring.

Meggie · Post by **Meggie** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:57 pm

Leatherneck wrote:That's crap by any standards. Who is your provider? If it is Comcast I can do a diagnostic test to see if anything is glaring.

comcast :-\ its been like this for at least a few days. tried restarting the modem and router with the same issue. making watching streaming netflix so slow.

Meggie · Post by **Meggie** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 10:26 pm

i feel like im back to my dial-up days.. everything takes so long to load

Sava700 · Post by **Sava700** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 11:08 pm

Meggie wrote:comcast :-\ its been like this for at least a few days. tried restarting the modem and router with the same issue. making watching streaming netflix so slow.

had alot of rain or weird weather? May be a line issue with water inside or something along those lines. I'd be calling them tomorrow and have someone sent out asap! Its like buying a loaf of bread and only getting 1 pc for the whole price.

Leatherneck · Post by **Leatherneck** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 8:08 am

sent you a PM...

Roody · Post by **Roody** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 9:51 am

YeOldeStonecat wrote:I'll put money on a coax splitter between your NID (line into the house) and your modem.

This.

Meggie · Post by **Meggie** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 2:22 pm

YeOldeStonecat wrote:I'll put money on a coax splitter between your NID (line into the house) and your modem.

called comcast, they did the basic things, had me restart everything etc. Tried to make it sound like it was my fault "have you ever deteted your cookies?".

End result they are sending out a tech next week. if it is this coax splitter, is it my fault or theirs? so i know whose paying for it..

Sava700 · Post by **Sava700** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 3:11 pm

Meggie wrote:called comcast, they did the basic things, had me restart everything etc. Tried to make it sound like it was my fault "have you ever deteted your cookies?".

End result they are sending out a tech next week. if it is this coax splitter, is it my fault or theirs? so i know whose paying for it..

you said it just started recently.. so unless you stuck a splitter inline or someone was sneaking into your house and put it there then I don't believe that's the case. If one is already inline and failed or something then that's rare and they will prob just replace it and just charge you the service call fee which is typical.

But I'm thinking something is wrong with the line at some point...depending on the weather it may be in the drop from the house to the pole or from pole to the amp..water damage or anything could have done it. Lines split..water leaks in and boom issues but Comcast like so many others refuse to accept it till you keep on bugging the piss out of them.

Unholy · Post by **Unholy** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 3:55 pm

Meggie wrote:if it is this coax splitter, is it my fault or theirs? so i know whose paying for it..

You could move the modem and try the coax before the splitter to see if that's the problem.

Leatherneck · Post by **Leatherneck** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 5:02 pm

Are you behind a router? I had a cheap Linksys take a dump and my speeds/performance went with it. New router fixed it in my case, but you could have a list of problems like mentioned. Hopefully there will be no charge if you didn't cause any problem. Do you happen to have the insurance they offer?

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 5:51 pm

Meggie wrote:called comcast, they did the basic things, had me restart everything etc. Tried to make it sound like it was my fault "have you ever deteted your cookies?".

End result they are sending out a tech next week. if it is this coax splitter, is it my fault or theirs? so i know whose paying for it..

The tech will usually replace it. It's one of the most common causes of irregular/poor performance I come across...especially if the splitter is located outside, or in a basement. They can suddenly fail, or they can slowly fail and cause problems..and then the problem goes away, comes back, goes away. It's a chea

p part, approx 20 bucks for 1/2 decent ones, and there are cheaper ones also. You can even pick them up yourself at Radio Shack.

Your modem should be located behind the first splitter...so you have line into house..into a 1 to 2 splitter. Modem off of one leg, and a coax line going to another splitter which leads to all your TVs. You don't want your modem behind 2x splitters..you want it out front behind the first one.

Cheap part that's one of the most common causes of a big drop in performance I run across.

Also yes your router can fail, and cause these symptoms. Several things you can try here....try giving it a factory reset to defaults..and then set it up again. Also try updating the firmware. Lastly..you can try plugging your PC right into the modem...power off modem, connect PC to it instead of router..power cycle the modem, reboot your PC..run some online tests. Any better? Do this quickly, ensure that your firewall is enabled on your PC..you don't want it connected directly to the internet without a hardware firewall (router) between it and the internet for long. If it's much better...but you put it back behind your router...and it's slow again..then it could be your router is dying.

Sometimes just even unscrewing your coax lines from the splitter...and then spinning them back on..and tightening them..will fix your issue.

Meggie · Post by **Meggie** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 3:09 pm

Ok, back online finally.

soon after I posted, the internet stopped working all together, another call to comcast didnt help it either. The first scheduled appointment, the comcast guy didnt show up. Oh but its ok, cuz they gave us a whopping 20 dollar credit for missing the appointment... 3 hours of waiting, 20 bucks?

then the next day when they rescheduled they gave us a 3 hour window 9-11. my husband ran outside to walk the dog at like 9:03, came inside and saw that he had a missed call and a voicemail that said that because he did not answer the phone, he will have to call comcast and reschedule. Another lengthy phonecall with comcast resulted in them coming a couple hours later.

ultimately it was a couple things apparently. I didnt realize this but we rent a modem from comcast, and they just keep charging you the same amount year after year for it until it breaks, which is what happened. The comcast tech said that in his 3 years of working he hadnt seen one that old. (we have only been living here for 3 years, and only got it about 3 years ago). He replaced the modem and I think he replaced a splitter too. End result: the internet is fast when it works. but its gone off on us a few times since. So frustrating because we already feel like we are getting boned by the high cost of cable and internet, when customer service sucks it makes ya wonder if its really worth it.

Sava700 · Post by **Sava700** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:19 pm

Meggie wrote:Ok, back online finally.

soon after I posted, the internet stopped working all together, another call to comcast didnt help it either. The first scheduled appointment, the comcast guy didnt show up. Oh but its ok, cuz they gave us a whopping 20 dollar credit for missing the appointment... 3 hours of waiting, 20 bucks?

then the next day when they rescheduled they gave us a 3 hour window 9-11. my husband ran outside to walk the dog at like 9:03, came inside and saw that he had a missed call and a voicemail that said that because he did not answer the phone, he will have to call comcast and reschedule. Another lengthy phonecall with comcast resulted in them coming a couple hours later.

ultimately it was a couple things apparently. I didnt realize this but we rent a modem from comcast, and they just keep charging you the same amount year after year for it until it breaks, which is what happened. The comcast tech said that in his 3 years of working he hadnt seen one that old. (we have only been living here for 3 years, and only got it about 3 years ago). He replaced the modem and I think he replaced a splitter too. End result: the internet is fast when it works. but its gone off on us a few times since. So frustrating because we already feel like we are getting boned by the high cost of cable and internet, when customer service sucks it makes ya wonder if its really worth it.

Doesn't surprise me one bit.. Comcast is just horrible here lately on service. Friend of mine had a hookup for today for internet well he has sat being installed Saturday but with wires already run to it. Out of being pure lazy the Comcast tech spliced his sat cables instead of running his own so now all that has to be redone for the Sat guy Saturday.

If its still going out there is still a issue and you need to keep calling.. demand a manager, get them to do a promo rate for a year cause of all the hassle. But bbove all don't stop calling till a solution is done for your issue of it going out. As for the modem... give that thing back to them and just buy you a new SB6120... they are around $70 now and the leasing fee alone will be paid up in less than a year cause that's an extra $7/month for a modem that hardly ever and I mean EVER goes bad.

Post by **Philip** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 6:43 pm

I just ended up buying my own DOCSIS 3 modem (Motorola SB6120) from Best Buy and using it instead of the Arris ones that Comcast lets you rent for $7/month.

Leatherneck · Post by **Leatherneck** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 6:51 pm

Service does indeed vary from place to place. Some systems won't tolerate much and others seem to get away with it. I see the way they scrutinize the numbers and it boggles my mind that so many folks get lousy service.
Sorry you are having crappy service.

TonyT · Post by **TonyT** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 6:53 pm

Open a browser and enter 192.168.100.1 and it should take you to the modem interface. Post the signal levels. (transmit & receive)

Meggie · Post by **Meggie** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:03 pm

i went there, and theres no transmit/signal levels.. am i missing a step?

just:
Cable Modem : DOCSIS 1.0/1.1/2.0/3.0 Compliant
MAC Address :
Serial Number :
Boot Code Version : 6.1.1c
Software Version : 3.10.1309
Hardware Version : 1.47.3
CA Key : Installed

Post by **Philip** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:42 pm

What Brand/Model is your modem ? You should be able to view different pages in its browser interface, there should be a page with signal levels (Power Level, Signal to Noise Ratio)..

Leatherneck · Post by **Leatherneck** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:44 pm

Meggie wrote:i went there, and theres no transmit/signal levels.. am i missing a step?

just:
Cable Modem : DOCSIS 1.0/1.1/2.0/3.0 Compliant
MAC Address :
Serial Number :
Boot Code Version : 6.1.1c
Software Version : 3.10.1309
Hardware Version : 1.47.3
CA Key : Installed

There should be m0ore info available. Are there any tabs to go through? You might get a status screen something like below..

Sava700 · Post by **Sava700** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 8:01 pm

Philip wrote:I just ended up buying my own DOCSIS 3 modem (Motorola SB6120) from Best Buy and using it instead of the Arris ones that Comcast lets you rent for $7/month.

Yes exactly what I did.. Newegg had them the other day for $74 with free shipping..it varys but its around that price so good deal and best modem on their network.

TonyT · Post by **TonyT** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:56 am

The signals are in range. I would have the ISP put a meter on the line and test levels. You notice any "checkered" frames when watching TV?