DNS issue, Charter internet down

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MONKEYMAN

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I was able to find a post on my cell phone indicating it was nationwide DNS issue. A temp fix was to change DNS address in router to Googles 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4. which worked well.

My question is long term what do you recommend? Charter upgraded to Spectrum. Speeds increased to 100 Mbps up from 50. Like clockwork on weekends it tends to slow down to crawl. Up to this point a reboot of modem and router brought back proper speed.

Today was different. No connection despite repeated reboots. I am wondering if I should permantely set DNS to something that is more stable. Should I change DNS address, keep what I have, or set it back to automatically get from ISP?

The last one does not seem the best choice. What say you?
 
I'd noticed the same thing over here on the other side of the river. I'd just leave it on Google's DNS.
 
What router do you have? Most routers allow you to set multiple DNS addresses, so that you can use both an ISP-provided DNS as well as Google DNS in case the former fails.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
What router do you have? Most routers allow you to set multiple DNS addresses, so that you can use both an ISP-provided DNS as well as Google DNS in case the former fails.


Netgear WNDR3700v2. As Sargent Schultz would say "I know nothing".

Just tell me how or point me in the right direction. Thanks!
 
Changed to Open DNS.

I was able to get router login info off back of router then guess what needed to be changed. Thanks for all the help.
 
Originally Posted By: michaelluscher
Charter Cable?

Were you issued a DOCSIS 3.0 modem?

That would help with consistent speeds if its in your area


Yes, with upgrade Charter gave me a Cisco modem that says it is DOCIS 3.O EMTA
 
Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
I was able to find a post on my cell phone indicating it was nationwide DNS issue. A temp fix was to change DNS address in router to Googles 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4. which worked well.

My question is long term what do you recommend? Charter upgraded to Spectrum. Speeds increased to 100 Mbps up from 50. Like clockwork on weekends it tends to slow down to crawl. Up to this point a reboot of modem and router brought back proper speed.

Today was different. No connection despite repeated reboots. I am wondering if I should permantely set DNS to something that is more stable. Should I change DNS address, keep what I have, or set it back to automatically get from ISP?

The last one does not seem the best choice. What say you?


I have a 100 Mbps connection from Charter. I get the rated speeds 24/7 and have been very happy with Charter's internet service for several years.

But tonight, as a lot of people know, Charter's internet service is down. As you noted, it is a problem with their DNS so I switched to Google's DNS address and all is fine now.

As to your question, I don't think it matters what DNS you use on a regular basis. Until tonight Charter's has always been stable and fast for me so I think they have a denial of service attack going on. Eventually it will be back to normal. I guess the lesson learned here is that if Charter's DNS isn't working just switch to Googles or OpenDNS. But as far as your speed I don't think that you will notice any difference between the different DNS addresses.

ETA: The problem you are having with your speed slowing down which is being fixed by a router reboot has nothing to do with Charter's DNS. It is your router. Some router's just need to be rebooted on a regular basis to maintain good performance. Others can go for months without rebooting....
 
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Charter is working perfectly fine now, I used to live RIGHT across charter internet building, I once had a downtime for 1 minute, other then that for 10 years it never ever let me down...

now I live a little farther away, its works great 99% of times, once every other day I have to reset both modem & router, other then today I have not had issues with them.

I did live in chicago for 8 months, had comcast over there, not only was it like 50+ dollars, IT WAS HORRIBLE HORRIBLE, always disconnecting and SLOW, REALLY SLOW.
 
I had the EXACT same thing happen to me yesterday afternoon!

Did the 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 and it's been SUPER FAST ever since!
 
I think I will stay with Open DNS for now. I think slow speeds are more than router. They just started advertising the 100 Mbps recently. I was not able to get the increased speeds at first with the new modem. It seems the infrastructure was not quit ready for what they promised. Now I am noticing the rated speed more consistently.

It was the same with the digital cable in February. Neighbor got rid of Charter since it stopped working.

Had the same problem with AT&T with DSL. It took a little time to get the proper equipment in place on their end before I could get the rated speeds. Internet was buggy and became rock solid after they got everything in place.
 
Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
I think I will stay with Open DNS for now. I think slow speeds are more than router. They just started advertising the 100 Mbps recently. I was not able to get the increased speeds at first with the new modem. It seems the infrastructure was not quit ready for what they promised. Now I am noticing the rated speed more consistently.

It was the same with the digital cable in February. Neighbor got rid of Charter since it stopped working.

Had the same problem with AT&T with DSL. It took a little time to get the proper equipment in place on their end before I could get the rated speeds. Internet was buggy and became rock solid after they got everything in place.


Yes, there are many factors that can come into play when we talk about speed. But if rebooting your router instantly speeds things up, than the router is to blame. The best way to test your connection speed is to bypass the router completely by connecting your modem directly to your PC. If you see a speed increase then you can safely say that your router is slowing things down some. I've went thru several routers over the years and some work quite a bit better than others.

I switched to Google's DNS when Charters went down this weekend. Speed tests show the same speeds as before. All a DNS server does is translate the www addresses to their actual IP addresses. Once that translation is done your speed will all depend upon your internet provider's infrastructure and your hardware.

So a different DNS server may be slightly faster than another, but I've never seen any noticeable difference. If one wants to test different DNS servers for speed there are benchmark programs available like this one...

https://www.grc.com/dns/benchmark.htm
 
So it looks like Charter is getting their infrastructure in order. If I were to replace router in future, what do you recommend? My main criteria is having an external wifi button. I rarely use Wifi.
 
Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
So it looks like Charter is getting their infrastructure in order. If I were to replace router in future, what do you recommend? My main criteria is having an external wifi button. I rarely use Wifi.



ASUS makes some highly regarded routers and I'm very happy with mine. Some of the ASUS models also have the external wifi button you are looking for. I know the RT-AC68U has one.

I have a RT-N66U but it doesn't have a wifi on/off button.
 
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