Intermittent Connection Issue

[Causener]

So I've been having some serious connection issues the past few weeks. When I first got internet at this location it was fine for several months, but a few weeks back it started going downhill. My connection will completely drop for several seconds. The "Online" light on the modem doesn't go out but internet access is still lost. Now this can happen several times an hour all night, or a few times throughout the day, or it could not happen at all for a day or two. My computer is connected directly to the modem and in the same room. I've tried checking the signals while the connection is down (modem light is still on) but no change really. Pinging to the default gateway remains the same as well. The disconnections usually last anywhere between 5 seconds to 2 minutes with most of them being around 45 seconds.

I've contacted Brighthouse and they've sent people to fix it numerous times but nothing really changes. So far they've replaced the modem, updated the firmware, replaced my ethernet cable, undid and tightened the coax connections inside and outside, played with some modem settings, etc. but nothing fixed the issue. The first guy did find a coax on a splitter that lead to nothing, but removing it didn't solve anything. I doubt they even believe there's an issue because the techs keep saying the signal is fine and that their records show my modem isn't going offline. I'm at a complete loss at this point and they're the only well-known cable provider in my area.. Hopefully you guys can provide some insight? Please and thank you in advance.

I've attached some pictures from the modem. I've tried showing the techs the event log but they don't seem to know anything about it or care. Also ignore the DHCP renew! If I'm missing any information you need please just ask

.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

If they can't interpret the log, maybe you can ... http://www.howtogeek.com/240575/how...ms-diagnostic-page-when-something-goes-wrong/

I had a similar situation years ago - took 4 months to work up to a 3rd level tech (an EE, guy knew his stuff) - there was a crack in insulation of a feed wire at the box on the pole...tested 'good' except in moderate to heavy rain...I had to make a journal to catch that. Pleasant persistence is your best bet - just explain the problem and ask for more help, describe the attempts to correct, provide data indicating the failures. If you really feel exhausted by your efforts, try a well documented letter and direct it to Office of the Chief Executive. Keep copies for use with agencies like FCC if inadequate response.

 

[Causener]

I've tried googling around a bit for some of the errors but they seem incredibly open ended. The frustrating part is that every single person they send does the exact same things and says to see how it goes.. Every time I ask them to escalate the issue they say they'll send X person but he doesn't seem to know any more than the last guy. I havn't even got to talk to the maintenance people that supposedly checked the lines between my home and the poles because they show up 6 hours late. If it keeps up I may just have to take your advice and try to contact someone higher up myself.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Intermittent is the hardest to solve. Keep careful record, look for patterns - mine was the weather - yours might be time of day - or running the dishwasher..

 

[Causener]

Intermittent is the hardest to solve. Keep careful record, look for patterns - mine was the weather - yours might be time of day - or running the dishwasher..

It does seem to happen more at night, for example I woke up at 11pm and it was disconnecting non stop until about 10am, but I also work nightshift so I'm usually on at night. I'll try to keep on eye on it.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Prepare for a time when it collapses (phone#, etc) and call for a line test as it is flipping off. If you can see it failing and they can't, that might mean something (like a bad network card on your end).

 

[Causener]

Prepare for a time when it collapses (phone#, etc) and call for a line test as it is flipping off. If you can see it failing and they can't, that might mean something (like a bad network card on your end).

The major issue is that the disconnects are short, the longest one was like 2 minutes max and that's very rare. Usually they're between 7-40 seconds :/

 

[DelJo63]

Pick your most frequent website and get the domain name portion of the url.

launch a command prompt and in it enter

• pathping domain.name >myPathPing.txt
• let it run - - it frequently takes ~300 seconds

then open it with NOTEPAD myPathPing.txt , copy all the data and paste it into your reply

 

[Causener]

Pick your most frequent website and get the domain name portion of the url.

launch a command prompt and in it enter

• pathping domain.name >myPathPing.txt
• let it run - - it frequently takes ~300 seconds

then open it with NOTEPAD myPathPing.txt , copy all the data and paste it into your reply

I did what you suggested but for whatever reason I cannot find the .txt file it saved. I redid it without saving to a file and these are the results:

[LEFT]

Spoiler

C:\WINDOWS\system32>pathping reddit.com

Tracing route to reddit.com [198.41.208.139]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
0 Causener [192.168.0.2]
1 192.168.0.1
2 10.199.0.1
3 ten0-0-1-1-tamp81-ser1.bhn.net [72.31.92.84]
4 ten0-0-0-9-5.tamp20-car1.bhn.net [72.31.236.100]
5 hun0-0-0-5-tamp20-cbr1.bhn.net [72.31.3.51]
6 10.bu-ether15.tamsflde20w-bcr00.tbone.rr.com [66.109.6.96]
7 0.ae0.pr0.mia00.tbone.rr.com [66.109.1.89]
8 mai-b1-link.telia.net [62.115.40.145]
9 cloudflare-ic-301666-mai-b1.c.telia.net [80.239.160.174]
10 198.41.208.139

Computing statistics for 250 seconds...
Source to Here This Node/Link
Hop RTT Lost/Sent = Pct Lost/Sent = Pct Address
0 Causener [192.168.0.2]
0/ 100 = 0% |
1 4ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 192.168.0.1
0/ 100 = 0% |
2 --- 100/ 100 =100% 100/ 100 =100% 10.199.0.1
0/ 100 = 0% |
3 14ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% ten0-0-1-1-tamp81-ser1.bhn.net [72.31.92.84]
0/ 100 = 0% |
4 18ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% ten0-0-0-9-5.tamp20-car1.bhn.net [72.31.236.100]
0/ 100 = 0% |
5 17ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% hun0-0-0-5-tamp20-cbr1.bhn.net [72.31.3.51]
0/ 100 = 0% |
6 23ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 10.bu-ether15.tamsflde20w-bcr00.tbone.rr.com [66.109.6.96]
0/ 100 = 0% |
7 24ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 0.ae0.pr0.mia00.tbone.rr.com [66.109.1.89]
0/ 100 = 0% |
8 25ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% mai-b1-link.telia.net [62.115.40.145]
0/ 100 = 0% |
9 27ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% cloudflare-ic-301666-mai-b1.c.telia.net [80.239.160.174]
0/ 100 = 0% |
10 22ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 198.41.208.139

Trace complete.

[/LEFT]

 

[DelJo63]

I did what you suggested but for whatever reason I cannot find the .txt file it saved. I redid it without saving to a file and these are the results:
[LEFT]
C:\WINDOWS\system32>pathping reddit.com
Tracing route to reddit.com [198.41.208.139][/LEFT]
Computing statistics for 250 seconds...
[LEFT] Source to Here This Node/Link
Hop RTT Lost/Sent = Pct Lost/Sent = Pct Address
0 Causener [192.168.0.2]
0/ 100 = 0% |
1 4ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 192.168.0.1
0/ 100 = 0% |
2 --- 100/ 100 =100% 100/ 100 =100% 10.199.0.1
0/ 100 = 0% |
3 14ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% ten0-0-1-1-tamp81-ser1.bhn.net [72.31.92.84]
0/ 100 = 0% |
4 18ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% ten0-0-0-9-5.tamp20-car1.bhn.net [72.31.236.100]
0/ 100 = 0% |
5 17ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% hun0-0-0-5-tamp20-cbr1.bhn.net [72.31.3.51]
0/ 100 = 0% |
6 23ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 10.bu-ether15.tamsflde20w-bcr00.tbone.rr.com [66.109.6.96]
0/ 100 = 0% |
7 24ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 0.ae0.pr0.mia00.tbone.rr.com [66.109.1.89]
0/ 100 = 0% |
8 25ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% mai-b1-link.telia.net [62.115.40.145]
0/ 100 = 0% |
9 27ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% cloudflare-ic-301666-mai-b1.c.telia.net [80.239.160.174]
0/ 100 = 0% |
10 22ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 198.41.208.139
[/LEFT]
Trace complete.

Fine. Notice all the 0/100 = 0%. You have no losses in the entire path from you to reddit, but this is during a normal condition. Next time you have issues, try it again.

(1)192.168.0.2 is the pc and (2)192.168.0.1 is your router, (3)10.199.0.1 is your ISP gateway.
When it fails, question is where?
working backwards, failures at
(4) and above is 'the internet' and we can't address that reliability
(3) says the ISP is down
(2) says your router is in trouble
(1) says you've disconnected from the router

 

[Causener]

Fine. Notice all the 0/100 = 0%. You have no losses in the entire path from you to reddit, but this is during a normal condition. Next time you have issues, try it again.

(1)192.168.0.2 is the pc and (2)192.168.0.1 is your router, (3)10.199.0.1 is your ISP gateway.
When it fails, question is where?
working backwards, failures at
(4) and above is 'the internet' and we can't address that reliability
(3) says the ISP is down
(2) says your router is in trouble
(1) says you've disconnected from the router

I don't think it can be 1 or 2 because I can ping the modem fine during the drops. I'll try #3 next time it acts up.

 

[DelJo63]

You've stated:

• My computer is connected directly to the modem and in the same room.
• 
  
• So far they've replaced the modem,
  
• updated the firmware,
  
• replaced my ethernet cable,
  
• undid and tightened the coax connections inside and outside,
  
• played with some modem settings, etc. but nothing fixed the issue.

the firmware was the critical item. if you can log into it, change the MTU to 1492 to stop packet reassembly.
otherwise, we'll have to set it on the pc adaptor itself.

?? do you game and is that active when it fails ??
?? Your version of Windows
?? your AV products
?? are you running with the firewall
?? do you login using the admin or a UAC account

 

[Causener]

You've stated:

• My computer is connected directly to the modem and in the same room.
• 
  
• So far they've replaced the modem,
  
• updated the firmware,
  
• replaced my ethernet cable,
  
• undid and tightened the coax connections inside and outside,
  
• played with some modem settings, etc. but nothing fixed the issue.

the firmware was the critical item. if you can log into it, change the MTU to 1492 to stop packet reassembly.
otherwise, we'll have to set it on the pc adaptor itself.

?? do you game and is that active when it fails ??
?? Your version of Windows
?? your AV products
?? are you running with the firewall
?? do you login using the admin or a UAC account

Where do I find the MTU option? I found some things like Beacon Interval, DTIM Interval, RTS Threshold, and Fragment Threshold but not MTU/Maximum Transmission Unit.

I do play games but the disconnects occur even when the computer is just sitting at the desktop with nothing major open. Windows 10 Home. I don't use any AV programs, Windows Defender is disabled. The Modem's firewall is off, Window's is on. My account is the only one on the computer and it's administrator. I have a tech visiting with the next hour or two so if you happen to see this and have any suggestions on what I should ask him about let me know.

 

[DelJo63]

Where do I find the MTU option? I found some things like Beacon Interval, DTIM Interval, RTS Threshold, and Fragment Threshold but not MTU/Maximum Transmission Unit.

The MTU is associated with the WAN side of the modem. Those are WiFi settings. I'll show you this for guidance: http://www.home-network-help.com/wireless-network-performance.html

I don't use any AV programs, Windows Defender is disabled. The Modem's firewall is off, Window's is on. My account is the only one on the computer and it's administrator.

You do live dangerously don't you, but that's an entirely different subject

 

[Causener]

The MTU is associated with the WAN side of the modem. Those are WiFi settings. I'll show you this for guidance: http://www.home-network-help.com/wireless-network-performance.html You do live dangerously don't you, but that's an entirely different subject

I have virtually no options under WAN except DHCP and the IP, Subnet, and Gateway addresses. Is it something I might not have access to as a normal user? I did have a tech visit today and he replaced the cable between the box outside and my modem (something the other techs wouldn't do because it wasn't "necessary" even though the cable had obviously seen better days) and he said it boosted the signal a bit. Hopefully it's done but he said he'd start looking beyond the box if the issue arises again.

But think about it, now AV programs can't cause any inadvertent problems! Though with a recent Windows 10 update it keeps asking me to enable Windows Defender every time I boot, talk about annoying.

 

[DelJo63]

If you can log into the device, you have full control. Poke about carefully.
here's mine


Meanwhile take a look at those wifi settings

 

[Causener]

It's an Arris modem provided by my ISP. I've checked all the sections I can access but nothing called MTU or anything that looks similar. There is one section called "Advanced" under HSD but it's locked by a password of the day type thing. Would the WiFi settings have any effect on the ethernet connection?

 

[DelJo63]

I'm wondering if the wifi itself is at fault, ergo the reference above. Get the tech to set the MTU for you

 

[Causener]

So the issue is still persisting after he replaced the cable.

Whenever it goes down I can still ping the default gateway no problem. I tried performing a pathping while it was down, here's that.

Spoiler

C:\WINDOWS\system32>pathping reddit.com

Tracing route to reddit.com [198.41.208.141]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
0 Causener [192.168.0.2]
1 192.168.0.1
2 10.199.0.1
3 * * ten0-0-1-1-tamp81-ser2.bhn.net [72.31.92.86]
4 ten0-0-0-9-6.tamp20-car2.bhn.net [72.31.118.30]
5 hun0-3-0-7.tamp20-cbr1.bhn.net [72.31.3.140]
6 10.bu-ether15.tamsflde20w-bcr00.tbone.rr.com [66.109.6.96]
7 0.ae0.pr0.mia00.tbone.rr.com [66.109.1.89]
8 * * *
Computing statistics for 175 seconds...
Source to Here This Node/Link
Hop RTT Lost/Sent = Pct Lost/Sent = Pct Address
0 Causener [192.168.0.2]
0/ 100 = 0% |
1 2ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 192.168.0.1
1/ 100 = 1% |
2 --- 100/ 100 =100% 99/ 100 = 99% 10.199.0.1
0/ 100 = 0% |
3 17ms 3/ 100 = 3% 2/ 100 = 2% ten0-0-1-1-tamp81-ser2.bhn.net [72.31.92.86]
0/ 100 = 0% |
4 17ms 5/ 100 = 5% 4/ 100 = 4% ten0-0-0-9-6.tamp20-car2.bhn.net [72.31.118.30]
0/ 100 = 0% |
5 20ms 1/ 100 = 1% 0/ 100 = 0% hun0-3-0-7.tamp20-cbr1.bhn.net [72.31.3.140]
0/ 100 = 0% |
6 24ms 1/ 100 = 1% 0/ 100 = 0% 10.bu-ether15.tamsflde20w-bcr00.tbone.rr.com [66.109.6.96]
0/ 100 = 0% |
7 26ms 1/ 100 = 1% 0/ 100 = 0% 0.ae0.pr0.mia00.tbone.rr.com [66.109.1.89]

Trace complete.

I noticed the 100/100 for 10.199.0.1 and I've tried pinging it while the connection is both on and dropped but it's always "Request has timed out."

 

[DelJo63]

Yep, node 2 is the isp connection to your router. The 99/100 is showing dropped packets IN THAT HOST, not the line to it. Show this to the tech.

 

[Causener]

So it seems like the issue was fixed but it's strange. Another tech came out and said a lot of the fittings were loose and what not, but the issue still persisted. Two days later I was hit with another failed Windows Update due to me messing around in the registry too much, and I finally decided to just reinstall Windows and start from scratch.

The results? No DCs for a few days now, and my FEC look far more appropriate as seen below. It's either quite a coincidence or something within my Windows was causing these disconnects. Whatever it was seems to be gone and that's all that matters I guess. Thank you for your assistance!