[KeriVit]

Lately, I am having to power down all the connections and unplug them all the time- just to get a decent connection. That seems to help but I can never get the same thing to happen twice. I don't where it's happening.

I plug in the ethernet directly to the modem and sometimes that works, sometimes not.

Comcast swears all is well... everytime I call, things work out fine.

What's the best way to figure out where this problem lies...?

I have a 17" PB with Airport Extreme
Airport Base Station
Asante Router
Motorola Cable Modem

Even right now- I can submit this. Maybe even IM- but it's not finding my mail or can't load a page like msnbc. The dsl speed test worked... results were slow to come up but I'm getting 330 up and 384 down.

[KeriVit]

Even right now- I can submit this. Maybe even IM- but it's not finding my mail or can't load a page like msnbc. The dsl speed test worked... results were slow to come up but I'm getting 330 up and 384 down.

Scratch that- it took forever to post. Now 225 down, 97 up. What gives?



ok- now fast again... still no mail though.

[ManOfSteal]

Comcast, did somebody say Comcast?

[Gankdawg]

Try CenturyTel. Then you will know what sucks.

[OwlBoy]

Originally Posted by KeriVit

Even right now- I can submit this. Maybe even IM- but it's not finding my mail or can't load a page like msnbc. The dsl speed test worked... results were slow to come up but I'm getting 330 up and 384 down.

Scratch that- it took forever to post. Now 225 down, 97 up. What gives?



ok- now fast again... still no mail though.

I have the SAME problems.

I have no clue what causes it, at first I thought it was my router, but that was changed.

I do NOT have these problems when browsing on my brothers PC...

Any clues people?

-Owl

[zerostar]

What are your signal levels on the modem? go to: http://192.168.100.1/ and click on signal.

Also might wanna try the comcast forums at dslreports.com?

We have Adelphia right now at 6000/768 and with the bankruptcy our area will be going to Comcast, does comcast offer the 6000/768 package? I think this is the top level package BTW.

[ism]

Check the Apple Discussion pages (Networking section, search for 'Voyager' or 'Router'). Nearly everyone with a router is having problems. I had to turn off DHCP on the router, assign manual IP address and ENTER THE DNS SERVER ADDRESSES IN THE TCP/IP TAB (not shouting just for emphasis) in System Preferences. Until I did this my internet connection was dead. Off course this wasn't necessary in Panther

[paul w]

I had a problem like this for a while with my cable. Turned out some part (a connector thingy outside) had just worn out, and the guy replaced it and BINGO. This is after several techs came and said no problem. Thing is nobody was actually testing the signal strength, which was quite low. Anyway, why you're not having a Comcast tech to come by and test your signal is beyond me.

What did I learn about this? Switch to adsl. Never had the slightest slowdown in two years since.

[nforcer]

Comcast = Communism. Don't let the Big Red C hold you down.

[Scifience]

Speakeasy is your friend. Not one second of un-scheduled downtime in the entire time I've been with them. I used to get one to two outages a week on cable, both with Adelphia and a local company.

Added bonus? Running servers is allowed, they officially support OS X and Unix (as in, have techs that are trained to deal with them), and do no outsourcing. Everyone you talk to is in Seattle, Washington, USA.

[zerostar]

Looking at Speakeasy's packages I see:

1.5/384 $49.95/mo
1.5/768 $79.95/mo
6.0/768 $99.95/mo

I am getting the 6.0/768 (Capped at 7.5/850) for under $60/month with Adelphia.

It is just too pricey for me to justify as I have had almost zero problem with my cable. I can get great private hosting for the extra I would pay for the 6MB tier.

[KeriVit]

I will keep trying... couldn't even get back on last night... directly connected or not, so I gave up in frustration. Regarding DSL options- they are NOT options where I live. Comcast is my only choice. But I have to say- it was been fine for 3+ years until now. Sure intermittent outages occasionally- but I can't get anything done now.

Will check some of the other advice too.

[zerostar]

Originally Posted by KeriVit

I will keep trying... couldn't even get back on last night... directly connected or not, so I gave up in frustration. Regarding DSL options- they are NOT options where I live. Comcast is my only choice. But I have to say- it was been fine for 3+ years until now. Sure intermittent outages occasionally- but I can't get anything done now.

Will check some of the other advice too.

If you check the signals we can see if they are in range of if you need a tech called out.

[Scifience]

Originally Posted by zerostar

Looking at Speakeasy's packages I see:

1.5/384 $49.95/mo
1.5/768 $79.95/mo
6.0/768 $99.95/mo

I am getting the 6.0/768 (Capped at 7.5/850) for under $60/month with Adelphia.

It is just too pricey for me to justify as I have had almost zero problem with my cable. I can get great private hosting for the extra I would pay for the 6MB tier.

Speakeasy is definitely much more expensive than cable service. But you get perks like static IPs (my plan has 8), the saftey of not having an ISP that will turn over your name to the *AA at the drop of a hat, etc.

Cable = Cheaper, Speakeasy = Better - different people will choose different options, there's nothing particularly wrong with cable, but for someone like me who needs an ultra-reliable connection, the price premium is worth it.

[zerostar]

Originally Posted by Scifience

But you get perks like static IPs (my plan has 8)

This is a nice perk, but most cable providers offer static IP and server support for around the same price as the 6MB plan will cost you, Adelphia calls this premier business plan, and even offers a guaranteed service level.

Originally Posted by Scifience

the saftey of not having an ISP that will turn over your name to the *AA at the drop of a hat, etc.

I don't see how this is a real plus, why would the RIAA be after you unless you are involved in illegal activity? Plus I know Adelphia sends you a written warning before handing over information. if the *AA wants your info Speakeasy WILL give it to them.

Cable = Cheaper, Speakeasy = Better

Thats a pretty general statement, 'better' is very subjective. as I said 5+ years of Adelphia cable and almost zero downtime that wasn't expected.

[Scifience]

Originally Posted by zerostar

This is a nice perk, but most cable providers offer static IP and server support for around the same price as the 6MB plan will cost you, Adelphia calls this premier business plan, and even offers a guaranteed service level.

Cable isn't guaranteed bandwidth; it is shared with other subscribers. DSL is a direct line from your location to your telco's CO. Business DSL plans have a SLA also.

I don't see how this is a real plus, why would the RIAA be after you unless you are involved in illegal activity? Plus I know Adelphia sends you a written warning before handing over information. if the *AA wants your info Speakeasy WILL give it to them.

They will get it, but they will have to file in court rather than just ask.

Thats a pretty general statement, 'better' is very subjective. as I said 5+ years of Adelphia cable and almost zero downtime that wasn't expected.

I'm glad you've been lucky with Adelphia; my connection with them was down for at least a few minutes a day. I'm not sure about Adelphia, but many cable companies, such as the OP's Comcast, have invisible bandwidth caps on their "unlimited" residential service. That's another thing you'll never find with DSL.

[JustAnOl'Broad]

Sorry to hear that KV; especially with your SO overseas;
crappy timing.
I have absolutely no advice; unless I move, it's dial-up for me.
Hope all is going well otherwise.
P~

[zerostar]

Originally Posted by Scifience

but many cable companies, such as the OP's Comcast, have invisible bandwidth caps on their "unlimited" residential service. That's another thing you'll never find with DSL.

This is one thing I am not looking forward to with the transition to comcast, I can only hope the verizon fiber deployment is on time.

Right now adelphia has no limit and a 5GB limit on giganews per month.

[KeriVit]

Originally Posted by JustAnOl'Broad

Sorry to hear that KV; especially with your SO overseas;
crappy timing.
I have absolutely no advice; unless I move, it's dial-up for me.
Hope all is going well otherwise.
P~

Thanks P- you get my point then. Will have to keep trying..

[OwlBoy]

Are my reading normal? I don't know what is normal for any of these readings.

-Owl

[zerostar]

Your signals look good, how long have your problems been going on for?

--------
Q: What kind of signal levels do I want on my cable modem? (#3412)
A: Downstream Power:
You generally want between -12db and +12db. Most modems are rated from -15 to +15. Anything less or more than that and you may have quality issues.

I personally prefer to not have less than -7db. If you want to raise your signal level a bit, check my troubleshooting and splitter section.

Downstream SNR:
This number is best over 30, but you may not have any problems with down to 25. Anything less and you will probably have slow transfers, dropped connections, etc.


Upstream Power:
The lower this number is, the better. If it is above 55, you may want to see if you can reconfigure your splitters. Anything above 57 is not good and should be fixed ASAP. (This is getting pretty close to not being able to connect.)

Upstream SNR:
Anything above 29 is considered good. The higher this number is, the better. If this number is below 25 and 29, you have a minute amount of noise leaking in somewhere. If it's anything less than 25, you want to get it fixed as you may have a lot of packet loss or slow transfer rates.

[spacefreak]

Originally Posted by KeriVit

Lately, I am having to power down all the connections and unplug them all the time- just to get a decent connection. That seems to help but I can never get the same thing to happen twice. I don't where it's happening.

I plug in the ethernet directly to the modem and sometimes that works, sometimes not.

Comcast swears all is well... everytime I call, things work out fine.

I had similar problems... was fine for years, then all of a sudden my internet was sporadic. After a few days, I remembered that I had installed via Software Update a security update.

I found some other people who also had problems after the security patch, though others said they noticed no difference.

The one thing I did do that seemed to make my conection more stable was to replace a splitter and change around my coaxial cable connection order. Prior, I had the cable going through 2 splitters before going to my modem (which was fine for years). Now I have the cable-to-the-modem only going through one splitter which is connected to my main cable line coming in from the street.

I still get some sporadic behavior, but it is much more occasional than before I redid my splitter setup.

[KeriVit]

Originally Posted by spacefreak

I had similar problems... was fine for years, then all of a sudden my internet was sporadic. After a few days, I remembered that I had installed via Software Update a security update.

I found some other people who also had problems after the security patch, though others said they noticed no difference.

The one thing I did do that seemed to make my conection more stable was to replace a splitter and change around my coaxial cable connection order. Prior, I had the cable going through 2 splitters before going to my modem (which was fine for years). Now I have the cable-to-the-modem only going through one splitter which is connected to my main cable line coming in from the street.

I still get some sporadic behavior, but it is much more occasional than before I redid my splitter setup.

hmmmm.... ok.
good at the moment- but...?