Internet issues - ZERO mbps UP speed !

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Fayetteville, NC
We have TWC Turbo level connection (15-20 MBPS theoretical).

Normally during daytime we get around theoretical max 20-21 MBPS even over wifi.

Lately in the evening DL speeds have been around 7-10 MBPS but I didn't think much of it, as it's normal to drop speeds when more people are at home, holidays, again more people staying home etc etc.
The UL speed has always remained steady at 2.5 MBPS though. (I know it's low for theoretical UL speed but it has always remained stable, even when DL speed dropped)

However today, not only did the DL drop to about 6-7 MBPS but the upload speed went to ZERO !!!

I tested with multiple laptops, wired direct to modem and via wifi and using different browsers and different speed tests. (ookla and TWC's own, which I think is ookla based anyway)


Finally called TWC support and the base level support guy said he "refreshed" the signal etc, and the UL speed did go up to 2.25 which is acceptable, but this remained like that only for about 10 minutes. Then it went down to 0 or 0.01 MBPS... sometimes the UL speed test would not even run, kept connecting and then gave me a "FAILED UL test" message

They transferred me to Advanced Level tech support and they had me unhook the coax cable to the Modem (Motorola surfboard) and disconnect the power to it for a minute or so and then reconnect. This fixed the problem mostly...
DL went up to about 16-17 which is normal for that time of day and upload went up to about 2.3 MBPS, which was fine.

This also lasted only about 20 min and while I was still on the phone with tech support the UL went down AGAIN to zero / test failed, etc.
He finally made an appoinment for someone to come in and check things out on (for Sunday morning).

Now it's about 1:00 am and normally at this time we get MAX DL and UL speeds (21 / 2.5)
I just did a speed test and ping is 21 ms, DL is 16 (low for this time) and UPLOAD .... yep FAILED again. Not even a result. (sometimes it would take forever and would say 0.00 MBPS).
Even though DL speed says 16 MBPS, it does NOT behave as if it was that speed. It behaves as if it was MUCH slower. Some website would not even render correctly at all. (speed test page would load as if it was an MS DOS screen, but most websites load ok, but slow, nowhere NEAR as 16 MBPS fast)

Any clue as to what's happening? why would only the UL speed be badly affected? (DL is affected too, but not as bad as UL speed).

IDK what to do especially if the tech comes in and everything's back to normal at that time on a Sunday morning. I have saved screenshots etc, just in case.

What could cause such internet behavior? Nothing has changed in our HW.

I am going to unscrew the coax again tonight and unplug the modem, until i get up in the morning, just to make sure I do it for a longer period of time. (don't some of those modems have a battery back up?)

Any feedback/ideas are appreciated. Really frustrated about this right now
frown.gif
 
Could you router be going bad? Inconsistent service, dropping connection are problems I have gotten in the past that was only solved by a new WiFi router.
 
Bad router would be my guess. Even if it behaves when the tech is there, show him the screenshots and ask for the router to be replaced. Most techs are pretty reasonable.
 
Could be what Nate said and the router is going bad. We used to have a cable modem and the that sounds like some of the symptoms. Might look into getting that replaced.


Cheers
Bo
 
Guys
Wireless Router can't be the issue:

All the problems I described occur with laptops connected DIRECTLY with Ethernet cable to the cable MODEM.
( without using the router )

In other words, the issues persist whether it's hard wired OR via wifi
Also, the connection never completely dropped; not even once.

I noticed there's a small reset button on the back of the modem...
Idk if i should try that...
 
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my cable router was producing similar speeds with comcast cable. I was getting 2 mbps down/0.75 mbps upload The comcast tech upgraded my cable router from DOCIS 2.0 to DOCIS 3.0. speeds are 20 mbps down/10 mpbs up now and very happy.
 
What model surfboard modem? If it's strictly just a modem, there is no harm in resetting the modem.

I'd be interested to hear what your upstream and downstream power levels are, which you should be able to see by going to http://192.168.100.1 in your internet browser. If you do go there, I'm also curious to know what firmware version your surfboard modem is using.

The modem could be going bad as well, but it's hard to say right now.
 
Originally Posted By: sxg6
What model surfboard modem? If it's strictly just a modem, there is no harm in resetting the modem.

I'd be interested to hear what your upstream and downstream power levels are, which you should be able to see by going to http://192.168.100.1 in your internet browser. If you do go there, I'm also curious to know what firmware version your surfboard modem is using.

The modem could be going bad as well, but it's hard to say right now.


I also agree with this. Typically if your signal levels are OOS the tech on the phone will comment on it and suggest a troublecall, so it's probably fine. But post it anyway, it won't hurt.
 
I agree and forgot to mention that. It's unlikely that the signal levels are the problem since TWC should have noticed if there was a problem, but like Nick said I'm curious to see what they are. I also agree with Nick in that things are pointing towards a bad modem at this point, if no other changes had been made before this happened.
 
Your cable modem is dieing... I've got TWC (roadrunner). Cheap [censored] modems that cost me $5/month. I'm arguing with TWC on a regular basis. Time to buy my own modem.
 
Originally Posted By: sxg6
What model surfboard modem? If it's strictly just a modem, there is no harm in resetting the modem.

I'd be interested to hear what your upstream and downstream power levels are, which you should be able to see by going to http://192.168.100.1 in your internet browser. If you do go there, I'm also curious to know what firmware version your surfboard modem is using.

The modem could be going bad as well, but it's hard to say right now.


Update: reconnected coax, plugged in power to Modem:
DL is great at 20, UL still ZERO or not detectable / fail.
2nd test yields 0.15 MB upload
frown.gif


MODEM model is: Surfboard SBV5220
Is this a model i can safely reset? and if I reset it will i have trouble getting back online?

I went to http://192.168.100.1 but it's asking me for a login username and PW ...
IDK what these credentials are. Probably some TWC credentials?
Wonder if I can get it from TWC..
 
OK I was able to login to the modem: but can't upload any pics to photobucket of the screen shots I took, so I copy/pasted everything on the SIGNAL tab:

DOWNSTREAM

Frequency 603000000 Hz
Signal to Noise Ratio 37 dB
Downstream Modulation QAM256
Network Access Control Object ON
Power Level 0 dBmV
The Downstream Power Level reading is a snapshot taken at the time this page was requested. Please Reload/Refresh this Page for a new reading

UPSTREAM
Value
Channel ID 1
Frequency 19400000 Hz
Ranging Service ID 7563
Symbol Rate 2.560 Msym/s
Power Level 31 dBmV
Upstream Modulation [3] QPSK
[2] 16QAM

Signal Stats Value
Total Unerrored Codewords 181008935
Total Correctable Codewords 2
Total Uncorrectable Codewords 0

FIRMWARE etc info: on HELP TAB:

Model Name: SBV5220
Firmware Version: 1.2.6-SCM-05

Vendor Name: Motorola
MTA Firmware name: SBV5220-SIP-1.2.6-SCM-05-SHTW
Boot Version: 8.2
Hardware Version: 1
BCMA Software Version: 01.10
MIB Version: II
GUI Version: 1.0
VxWorks Version: 5.4
Serial Number: 138458626520036301014013
Firmware Build Time: Sep 14 2012 23:15:00
 
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OK
more updates:

It seems that you guys are on the right track.
This modem is not even recommended for our plan by TWC !!!
(Turbo needs DOCSIS 3 and this is NOT one of those. Also this model is certified as END OF LIFE by Motorola...

you can see all that here:
http://165.237.62.28/nynj/support/topic.ashx/buy+or+lease+your+modem

Chatted with tech support again and they will replace modem with a DOCSIS 3 modem tomorrow.

(UL speed has crawled to 1 MBPS - still horrendous for this time of day)
 
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I just had problems with my service. While I was streaming netflix and on my laptop at the same time I would lose internet connection. Reset everything and it would work for a little while but then it would happen over and over. Took the modem down to Brighthouse.....they gave me a new one and everything is great now.
 
what I am now wondering about is:
we have cable internet and digital home phone, and the current SBV5220 modem has coax AND a regular phone jack on the back.
It's one of those that can do both cable internet AND phone...

but none of the DOCSIS 3 modems from TWC has a phone jack on the back...

How is the new modem going to be connected? will they have to use a splitter? I hope they know of this issue and will bring a DOCSIS modem model that can do both...
(Perhaps there are other models that can do both, IDK)
 
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
what I am now wondering about is:
we have cable internet and digital home phone, and the current SBV5220 modem has coax AND a regular phone jack on the back.
It's one of those that can do both cable internet AND phone...

but none of the DOCSIS 3 modems from TWC has a phone jack on the back...

How is the new modem going to be connected? will they have to use a splitter? I hope they know of this issue and will bring a DOCSIS modem model that can do both...
(Perhaps there are other models that can do both, IDK)


You will be fine. Time warner does not ALLOW you to use your own MTA for phone. This is why their website does not list any that have a phone jack on them. There are plenty of DOCSIS 3 E-MTAs out there. My guess is it will probably be one of the new Arris TM722 or 822 modems. Also your signal levels are as close to perfect as you can get so it's definitely not that.
 
Also, your modem rental fee is about to go up to $8/mo. I strongly suggest purchasing one of these. You can keep your new modem that you get from TWC for your home phone, but you won't pay the rental fee if you use your own modem for the internet.

This will save you $8/mo starting this year, which means it will pay for itself in less than a year.
http://www.amazon.com/ARRIS-Motorola-Sur...keywords=sb6141
 
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