- Mar 27, 2015
- 2
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- 4,510
Let me start off by telling you where I’ve arrived followed by how I got there. My question to any expert that happens to have the spare time and patience to read this is (thank you in advance): am I headed in the correct direction?
Where I’ve arrived: Replacing the existing RG-59 coaxial cable in my condo with RG-6 from the ISP trunk line to my modem.
How I got there: I moved into a new condo in October 2014 and I’ve been having internet disconnects since. I’ve contacted my ISP numerous times about the issue and through three technician visits and numerous phone calls, we think we’ve narrowed it down.
My network is generally described as:
1. One cable modem: models described below
2. One wireless router: Netgear WNDR3400V2
3. Two Windows 8.1 PCs, custom built (wired, CAT5)
4. One Windows 7 laptop (wifi, 2.5 ghz)
5. One Microsoft Surface 3 tablet (wifi, 5 ghz)
6. One Apple iPad (wifi, 2.5 ghz)
7. Two Samsung Galaxy S4 phones (wifi, 5 ghz)
8. One LG Google smart TV (wifi, 5 ghz)
9. One HP printer (wifi, 2.5 ghz)
Initial call and first technician visit:
I called about a constant dropping connection. The phone operator asked me to unplug the modem and router, and reboot the modem then router. I played along, knowing that wasn’t the issue. When I tested it and it dropped again, I informed the operator. They “reauthorized” my modem. Same issue. They finally sent a technician.
The technician looked at the cable modem, Cisco brand (sorry, don’t have the model name), and assumed this was the problem. He replaced it with an Ubee brand modem and activated it. When he saw the new modem working, he left.
Second call and second technician visit:
I called once again as the new Ubee modem did not seem to solve the issue. The connection continued to drop, and the Ubee modem seemed more sensitive to the drops. It would reboot more frequently than my previous Cisco modem, and it had a longer reboot sequence (60 seconds). I explained all of this to the phone operator and they asked me to remove the router out of the equation and connect the modem directly into my computer. As much as I hated the thought of doing this, I complied. The operator wanted me to maintain this connection for 24 hours while they monitor it. No surprise, the connection continued to drop.
With the Ubee modem, it seemed to drop every 10 minutes. With the Cisco modem, it seemed to drop every 20 to 30 minutes. Following the monitoring, I called my ISP once more and let the operator know that removing the router from the equation did not solve the problem. They agreed after looking at their data. I also insisted they reactivate the Cisco modem as the Ubee modem appeared to perform poorly. They sent out a technician to investigate further.
This new technician seemed to be more knowledgeable than the first. He disconnected the modem and tested the signal strength of the RG-59 line. He noted that there was a lot of noise, and showed me the noise on a scrolling signal strength vs. time graph. It looked bad. He tested the rest of the lines in the condo, and they looked bad too. His conclusion was that the RG-59 had to be replaced, with newer RG-6. He happened to own a side business and offered to do it for me at cost. I asked him for a guarantee that it would fix the dropping problem, and he said without a doubt it would fix the problem. He seemed convincing, but I’m a skeptic. His plan involved installing new cable on the exterior of the building, which is not allowed by my HOA.
The technician also recommended getting rid of my modems and purchasing a Motorola Surfboard. He believed this to be the best on the market, and it would save me in rental fees. I took his advice and purchased the SB6121 from a local store. I called my ISP and had this modem activated.
Third call and third technician visit:
I called my ISP and had the new Motorola SB6121 modem activated. Same as the Cisco before, continues to drop every 20 to 30 minutes. I asked them to send another technician and test the trunk line to check that there isn’t a bigger problem outside of my condo. I let them know I contacted an electrician and was quoted $500 to replace the RG-59 in my condo with RG-6. The phone operator said that if they find something wrong with the trunk line during the inspection, they’ll take care of it. However, if they didn’t, they’ll charge me for the technician’s time. Frustrated with this service, I went to the local office and complained. They sent their senior technician out (at no cost) and he convinced me that if there was something wrong with the trunk line, they would be receiving complaints regularly. The conclusion was that I’m the only one in the building with an issue, and that there is likely bad splices, too many splices, or rats that chewed through my cable. He recommended I proceed with the RG-59 replacement.
Other information:
My bandwidth is generally 50 MBps and above. The only ISP options in my area are: cable, DSL or dish. DSL is not an option for me as the bandwidth is limited to 6 MBps. Dish is not an option as the connection is metered and you are limited to X amount of bytes each month. The RG-59 in my condo is stapled throughout the walls, and there is no easy way to replace it without cutting drywall. The condo was built in 1985.
Thanks for making it this far, and considering my problem. I greatly appreciate your time and advice. Please let me know if there is any other information I need to provide.
Where I’ve arrived: Replacing the existing RG-59 coaxial cable in my condo with RG-6 from the ISP trunk line to my modem.
How I got there: I moved into a new condo in October 2014 and I’ve been having internet disconnects since. I’ve contacted my ISP numerous times about the issue and through three technician visits and numerous phone calls, we think we’ve narrowed it down.
My network is generally described as:
1. One cable modem: models described below
2. One wireless router: Netgear WNDR3400V2
3. Two Windows 8.1 PCs, custom built (wired, CAT5)
4. One Windows 7 laptop (wifi, 2.5 ghz)
5. One Microsoft Surface 3 tablet (wifi, 5 ghz)
6. One Apple iPad (wifi, 2.5 ghz)
7. Two Samsung Galaxy S4 phones (wifi, 5 ghz)
8. One LG Google smart TV (wifi, 5 ghz)
9. One HP printer (wifi, 2.5 ghz)
Initial call and first technician visit:
I called about a constant dropping connection. The phone operator asked me to unplug the modem and router, and reboot the modem then router. I played along, knowing that wasn’t the issue. When I tested it and it dropped again, I informed the operator. They “reauthorized” my modem. Same issue. They finally sent a technician.
The technician looked at the cable modem, Cisco brand (sorry, don’t have the model name), and assumed this was the problem. He replaced it with an Ubee brand modem and activated it. When he saw the new modem working, he left.
Second call and second technician visit:
I called once again as the new Ubee modem did not seem to solve the issue. The connection continued to drop, and the Ubee modem seemed more sensitive to the drops. It would reboot more frequently than my previous Cisco modem, and it had a longer reboot sequence (60 seconds). I explained all of this to the phone operator and they asked me to remove the router out of the equation and connect the modem directly into my computer. As much as I hated the thought of doing this, I complied. The operator wanted me to maintain this connection for 24 hours while they monitor it. No surprise, the connection continued to drop.
With the Ubee modem, it seemed to drop every 10 minutes. With the Cisco modem, it seemed to drop every 20 to 30 minutes. Following the monitoring, I called my ISP once more and let the operator know that removing the router from the equation did not solve the problem. They agreed after looking at their data. I also insisted they reactivate the Cisco modem as the Ubee modem appeared to perform poorly. They sent out a technician to investigate further.
This new technician seemed to be more knowledgeable than the first. He disconnected the modem and tested the signal strength of the RG-59 line. He noted that there was a lot of noise, and showed me the noise on a scrolling signal strength vs. time graph. It looked bad. He tested the rest of the lines in the condo, and they looked bad too. His conclusion was that the RG-59 had to be replaced, with newer RG-6. He happened to own a side business and offered to do it for me at cost. I asked him for a guarantee that it would fix the dropping problem, and he said without a doubt it would fix the problem. He seemed convincing, but I’m a skeptic. His plan involved installing new cable on the exterior of the building, which is not allowed by my HOA.
The technician also recommended getting rid of my modems and purchasing a Motorola Surfboard. He believed this to be the best on the market, and it would save me in rental fees. I took his advice and purchased the SB6121 from a local store. I called my ISP and had this modem activated.
Third call and third technician visit:
I called my ISP and had the new Motorola SB6121 modem activated. Same as the Cisco before, continues to drop every 20 to 30 minutes. I asked them to send another technician and test the trunk line to check that there isn’t a bigger problem outside of my condo. I let them know I contacted an electrician and was quoted $500 to replace the RG-59 in my condo with RG-6. The phone operator said that if they find something wrong with the trunk line during the inspection, they’ll take care of it. However, if they didn’t, they’ll charge me for the technician’s time. Frustrated with this service, I went to the local office and complained. They sent their senior technician out (at no cost) and he convinced me that if there was something wrong with the trunk line, they would be receiving complaints regularly. The conclusion was that I’m the only one in the building with an issue, and that there is likely bad splices, too many splices, or rats that chewed through my cable. He recommended I proceed with the RG-59 replacement.
Other information:
My bandwidth is generally 50 MBps and above. The only ISP options in my area are: cable, DSL or dish. DSL is not an option for me as the bandwidth is limited to 6 MBps. Dish is not an option as the connection is metered and you are limited to X amount of bytes each month. The RG-59 in my condo is stapled throughout the walls, and there is no easy way to replace it without cutting drywall. The condo was built in 1985.
Thanks for making it this far, and considering my problem. I greatly appreciate your time and advice. Please let me know if there is any other information I need to provide.
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