Internet issues - ZERO mbps UP speed !

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Thanks - that model is one of the recommended ones on TWC page for our plan.
If I buy my own for Internet, is the set up complex? I guess I will have to get TWC for setting it up?

If the signal levels are good, what could be causing (or caused - see below about latest speed test) all this, I wonder?

in Any case, I think getting the modem replaced is not bad at this point, as the current one IS really outdated and not DOCSIS 3.

IDK why but just did a speed test and DL and UL both back to what it was..
BUT evening time will tell - that is when the problems start, although problems lasted till THIS MORNING this time, which is not usually the case.
 
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Thanks - that model is one of the recommended ones on TWC page for our plan.
If I buy my own for Internet, is the set up complex? I guess I will have to get TWC for setting it up?

If the signal levels are good, what could be causing (or caused - see below about latest speed test) all this, I wonder?

in Any case, I think getting the modem replaced is not bad at this point, as the current one IS really outdated and not DOCSIS 3.

IDK why but just did a speed test and DL and UL both back to what it was..
BUT evening time will tell - that is when the problems start, although problems lasted till THIS MORNING this time, which is not usually the case.


It's easy
You buy the modem. You put a splitter, one goes to the MTA for the phone, the other goes to your modem
you get the Cable Mac (CMAC) off the new modem you bought, call TWC and tell them you bought your own modem. They will ask you for the MAC address, you give it to them. They add it, boom. It's pretty straightforward.
 
Thanks again -
However, one thing that scares me are all those reports of TWC throttling your speeds as soon as you buy your own, and blame it on your own modem, and keep doing this until you rent one from theirs. I really don't want to go through the nightmare i went through with Century Link (even using their DSL modem, and they were still throttling): phone calls everyday, and DL speeds 1/5th of what we were paying for.

TWC has been good so far, until the problems during the past 4-5 days.

I am VERY worried about that part - having to battle with them if they start throttling when not using their own modems.

I don't have PROOF of them doing this, but if you go to the amazon link that NickR provided for the Modem, there are hundreds of customers who experienced this war with TWC as soon as they got their own modem... and several reviewers stated they they had to give up, and rent TWCs again, EVEN WHEN knowing fully what TWC was doing. As soon as they started using TWC modems, their promised speeds magically re-appeared...

I just have to decide whether I should take a chance on this before going the route of my own modem. (I totally appreciate and know the value of this- I am just scared of consequences)

Wife and I were just talking about the home phone which we haven't used really in the last 2 yrs. (our TWC plan is just Turbo Internet and digital home phone, no TV). In worst case, i guess I can cancel the home phone, and just keep the cable internet service, to offset added cost of a new modem rental fee. (This doesn't mean I am against getting own modem - just an additional thought)

(FYI: DL and UL speeds are still holding steady at theoretical max levels - will check in the eve and update again)
 
update: TWC advanced support called again (following up from last night), and said they have refreshed the signals. (Speeds still remain OK), but they said they will replace modem with a DOCSIS 3 one.

I must say, considering it's a wk end and number of times they have called (twice just to follow up), and sending a tech out on Sunday to check the issue, I am a bit surprised/impressed at the TWC cust. service.
 
I can answer 100% definitively. They do NOT. Repeat: NOT. Throttle you when you use your own modem. Anyone who says so has no clue what they are talking about. PERIOD.


Edit:
Exhibit A
4032219622.png
 
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OK. Good to know that.
So now that they came and replaced the modem, I wonder if I can just buy it FROM TWC, instead of renting. I think they do have a buy option?

Tech came in and put in a SB6141 DOCSIS 3 modem.
Left the old one for telephone line.
Used a splitter.

Still not sure if the "night" problem resolved of course - must wait till nightfall to see what happens to UL speed. Tech left me his direct tel nr to call tonight after I check speed.
We both think upgrading the modem was good (furtue proof etc and the old one was outdated) but the night time drop in UP speed maybe something that might need further investigation. (IF it drops to zero - i am aware that it can drop SOME, but not that much at night/eve)

For now, this is wireLESS speed check and are the highest speeds I have ever measured, even for daytime. (theoretical is 20/2)

 


with my motorola 6121

They always throttle your upload and download with any modem... including theirs.

Thats the 50/5 plan and you usually get a 10% extra

If you continue to have problems its most likely a terribly overloaded node (network engineering issue) and nothing you can do about it. Until they split your node which is a major undertaking.
 
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I don;t think I will ever find out the truth about if TWC throttles on purpose or not...so much data on both sides...or at least allegations and comments against the allegations all over the net...

just curious: why do all TWC plans have such low UL speeds compared to DL speeds? Like 20/2 and 50/5 ?

My MIL has Comcast and although her DL is 15, UL is like 5 or 7
 
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
I don;t think I will ever find out the truth about if TWC throttles on purpose or not...so much data on both sides...or at least allegations and comments against the allegations all over the net...

just curious: why do all TWC plans have such low UL speeds compared to DL speeds? Like 20/2 and 50/5 ?

My MIL has Comcast and although her DL is 15, UL is like 5 or 7


You cannot purchase the modem from TWC. You can buy it on amazon, at best buy, etc. Time Warner just has terrible upload speeds compared to other providers. Not for any technical reason.
 
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
My MIL has Comcast and although her DL is 15, UL is like 5 or 7

AFAIK, Comcast does not have a 15 Mbps tier. Their nearest one would be 25 Mbps, which has a 5 Mbps upload speed.

But yeah, some providers just choose to restrict the upload speed more than others. I am currently on an 18 Mbps ATT plan which only has a 1.5 Mbps upload speed.
 
Yeah you're probably right...guess I was too fascinated with the 7 mbps UP speed I probably didn't look at the DL speed.
smile.gif
just guessed it might have been 15. (or perhaps i DID see it at 15, and she wasn't getting the "promised" speed of 25? )

Yeah we're fine with the UL speed really, but I always found it a bit curious that it was so low comp'd to DL.
 
Typically a symmetrical connection will always cost more than an asymmetrical one, this stems from the concept of having a limited number of channels or a limited range of frequencies that can be used. Since most of the traffic passed by an end user/home user is of the downstream variety, giving them more available bandwidth on that side of the connection makes sense.

This is still relevant for DOCSIS 3 (the use of bonded channels to increase bandwidth on both sides with the understanding that there is a limit in terms of available frequencies/channels) and VDSL2, which allows for rate splitting in either direction or a symmetrical split of whatever bandwidth is available. For example, my 25/5 connection can be split a variety of ways on the DSLAM, everything from 30/1 to 1/30 and a symmetrical ~15/15 with various rates in between.

And yet another factor is the fact that all consumer ISP's oversubscribe so there is a limited amount of available bandwidth for your node that you must share. Giving you a total overall bandwidth of 30Mbit for up and down for example on a 25/5 split, means they can fit more users on that node. Most people subscribing to the service don't care about upload (they aren't running servers or a seedbox) so having a limited upstream means little to nothing to them. And this reason is also why bandwidth on an inexpensive consumer plan is not guaranteed; it is a "best effort" service sold at a pricepoint with the understanding that the speeds which are advertised and that you are paying for are the theoretical maximums (though you are, as noted by Rand, often allocated a bit more than what is in your plan so that when you run a speed test you can get results that are slightly better than what is on your bill, giving you that warm and fuzzy feeling) and actual throughput, particularly in reference to time of day and network congestion, can vary greatly.

A symmetrical connection with guaranteed bandwidth is very expensive relative to a consumer or small business service providing comparable downstream bandwidth but fractional upstream or even a symmetrical best effort service. The infrastructure necessary to provide that requires it.
 
1at UPDATE after new modem:
Moment of truth, I guess?

This is about the time when things started to go crazy in the last few days (UL speed zero, DL either normal or half, etc)...

This is right now, 1st night with the new modem at the [censored]-out start time ....

So, it WAS the modem, after all? will cont. to monitor.

 
When my DSL modem went south I had similar issues including pages wouldn't load right or not load at all. I'm sure you cured your issue.
 
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