Internet Issues/Modem Issues?

Deformation

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Jul 5, 2014
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For the year or so, I have been having internet issues every few months. Either complete Modem dropouts ( it would randomly restart itsself ) or Ping pushing the thousands. But recently ive tried delving a bit deeper into the issue as dealing with my ISP's support is about as wonderful as 'wackin it' with sand paper.

So, ill start simple with how im noticing there is an issue.

Whenever watching TV off my Personal Desktop, the Roku or my wifes Laptop, every few hours (randomly - No set time interval between them) the modem will randomly drop internet. No light changes on the modem its self but will lose net, then 30-45 seconds later figure its self out and things start working again. 1 Device is hardwired using Cat5e ethernet, the other two are using wireless.

The second way i notice issues that any game I play will randomly desync. Such as league of Legends. I will be walking down lane then things will start teleporting. No full disconnects but it almost feels like packet loss.

So, On the topic of packet loss i decided to do a little digging. During this digging i noticed i was NOT getting any packet drops. Atleast none registering as a lost packet. Below i will post an image of some of the tests ran.
http://imgur.com/a/3yDqe

Image 1: Is a picture of me pinging my modem directly. Keep in mind this is hardwired. If i recall shouldnt my MS be under 2 with no devices between myself and the modem? I could be wrong. Either way theres still large fluctuations. Some reaching nearly 70ms at times.(none of those times shown in the image)

Image 2: Picture pinging Googles DNS (8.8.8.8) with a semi stable average of about 45 or so, Then random jumps to 100+ This number has well reached into the 400-500s and comes and goes whenever is so choose. But it does tend to occur atleast once every 45-60 seconds. and sometimes back to back.

Image 3: Picture of WINMTR hopping to 8.8.8.8. This is showing no packet loss, and a decent average of 40ish. But also showing the random spikes that are occuring within the 'worst' category.

Image 4: This is another ping test to show the random spikes, But done to an alternate location, actually done to my ISP's location. Showing another 112ms jump.

Now for the nitty gritty,

Make/Model: Home built Pc, Mobo is a asus Z170A
Router is an Arris model DG1670A Firmware version 9.1.103J4
ISP: Time Warner Cable
Number of devices: 4 (1 Desktop hardwired, 2 phones, 1 Roku )
NAS/Servers: None being used, Though i do run a TeamSpeak server application on my desktop. (never more than 6 users on at once)
Modem has Wifi built in, Is password locked with difficult password.
LAN Via RJ45 Port from motherboard (Asus Z170A)
Modem Event Logs:
DOCSIS(CM) Events

Date Time Event ID Event Level Description
6/2/2016 2:27 82000200 3 No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 84000700 5 RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 82000200 3 No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 84000500 3 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 84000700 5 RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 84000500 3 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 84000700 5 RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 82000200 3 No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 84000700 5 RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 84000500 3 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 84000700 5 RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 84000500 3 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 84000700 5 RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 82000200 3 No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 84000700 5 RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 82000200 3 No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 84000500 3 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Loss of Sync;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 84000700 5 RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 82000200 3 No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
6/2/2016 2:27 84000700 5 RCS Partial Service;CM-MAC=14:ab:f0:d3:f7:02;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:8c:ba:63;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;



Any help/Guidance/Ideas, Anything will be appreciated. If any additional logs or whatever please just ask.



**** Update ****
I have reached out to TWC (my ISP) at midnight last night. I ran through their very basic troubleshooting yielded no changes. Except they noticed every few minutes they would completely lose connection to my modem and it would become unresponsive. The entry level agent stated that since this has happened again. He wanted to kick chat over to their "Advanced Support" team to resolve it.

After the Agent failed to transfer me correctly. I waited in line again to speak with them. The same agent this time told me they are no longer available and that I will need to wait 1 hour, come back and he will directly transfer me. He provided his direct link so i don't have to go through any of that again. So i waited 1 hour to come back and i used the Direct link.

The direct link provided just brought me back to support. Where another agent wouldn't just directly transfer me to the previous agent or to Advanced Support without troubleshooting. I ran through the entire troubleshooting process again. He agreed and said he would transfer this to Advanced Support. But it appears they are offline and will not be online for another 30 minutes.

I came back 30 minutes later. This time getting the 2nd agent i spoke with that told me to wait 30 minutes. He then tells me right away that they are not back yet, please wait another 30 minutes to 1 hour. I waited another 1 hour and came back getting a 3rd agent that i haven't spoken with. This time I convince them to simply kick me straight through to Advanced Support.

Agent 3 got back to me telling me that they are currently not Online and he is unsure when they are Online. He advised me to allow him to setup a call-back order for the team. I had him schedule the callback for (3PM CST). He confirmed the schedule was set for 3PM CST Today 06/02/16.

3Pm rolls around, 3:30... 4 and 4:30. I finally contact support again. This time Agent#5 said he will schedule the call-back for right now and will stay connected with me until they call. I receive the call 2 minutes later. So i began speaking with a lady from "Advanced Support"

The lady begins telling me that she is unable to see my modem and that when it does show it, It is viewed as "offline". The lady had me unplug the Co-axle cable from the modem and from the wall. wait 30 seconds. Plug them both back in, and reset the modem and restart my computer. While i am following those instructions I mention that the previous technician that physically came to my home said my "Signal was too strong" so he added an Uncapped 8-way splitter to the line directly after the wall, then connected 1 port for the 8-way to the modem. I had done some research stating that the Upstream Power dBmV for this modem should be around 35 to 45 and that mine is showing up as 52 to 56.

The "Advanced Support" agent said "What speeds are you expecting to get? You have a 5 'Megabyte' Upload speed so if I am getting 52mbps then its working better than it should." Then during more troubleshooting the Advanced Support agent stated repeatedly that I am losing connection, or that it is not functioning correctly.

Then the Advanced Support tech tells me that they will be putting a monitor on my modem for 3 to 7 days. That after that time I will receive a phone call to schedule an appointment for a technician to come and assist. That the phone call will come 1 to 3 days after the monitoring is complete.

I responded back with, " Why cant we schedule one now? That way it can get resolved a bit sooner as the internet is getting progressively worse and im now dropping packets" She responded back with, " I would love too but they will throw out the Request if the monitoring hasn't been completed yet." Then begins to continue telling me that my modem keeps rebooting. Then quickly says her goodbyes to get off the phone call.

So i stopped for a second to think about this. Ive had this issue for a few days now. Ive now burned an entire day getting ran around by support trying to get me in touch with "Advanced Support" For this lady to not know the difference between 5 Megabits and 5 Megabytes then to top it off with getting lectured about my Upload speed when I asked by Upstream power level safe zone. To then be told that i have to wait a week before i will randomly receive a phone call to then schedule a technician to wait another week for him to arrive to fix my issue. Which usually consists of just replacing my modem as they leave telling me they have no idea if that is gonna solve anything but its the best they can do.

This has prompted me to look up other ISP's in the area, which there are two. Which is a Satellite Only company offering 5mbps down/1 Up or my current ISP that doesn't what they are doing. So i am so confused as what to do at this point. My internet drops connection every minute or so. Its nearly completely unusable and my ISP wont even bother to solve the issue. I am honestly getting to the point of wanting to move just to not have to use Time Warner Cable.
Also updated an image. http://imgur.com/2aJSnlk Where i am now dropping packets.
 
Solution
You can use Task Manager and Performance Monitor to observe changes in your system during the 3 day duration.

See if memory space declines or some other processes start runnng the background. Anything consuming some system resource - especially network related.

You might also try loading up your system early on with as many applications as viable running. Keep an eye on the ping while doing that. You may find that one or more apps cause the ping to increase more quickly and thus noticable.

In gerneral, I would surmise some memory leak or resource consumption that is not being "released" when the app is stopped. Some software bug therein or combination of circumstances that cause that to happen. When you reboot - all starts...
"Every few months"? Some seasonal thing - temperature,wind, rain related perhaps? Sun hitting a certain area where the wires run.... Seasonal neighbors.

Do you have access to the Router's logs?

I would start with a careful inspection of as much of the wiring as you can. Look for worn insulation, rodent chews, kinks, smashes, corrorsion, water drips. Check all splitters.

Replace any cables you safely can reach and change. Replace with a known working cable.

Check the logs for errors and warnings.

The key is finding the droppout/disconnect pattern.

And also continue to call your ISP. Have them run checks especially when the problem is prevalent. Hopefully you will "get through" to a support person who knows what he or she is doing. Or is willing to get someone knowledgeable sent out.

Take notes during each call, date, time, who you spoke with, each transfer, and so forth. Be sure to agree to any customer satisfaction survey after the fact and do it. But be fair and honest. Remember those folks really have very little control/training/and support. And if they could they would truly be more than happy to help solve your problem. Makes their life easier - no one likes customers yelling at them.

You have the tools to see the problem. The more difficult part is to methodically and carefully narrow down the possible reasons.

Just have to grind through it all.
 


Yeah, every 1-2 months it starts freaking out. As for seasonal, I am in Nebraska. Between the Rain, Lightning, 100+ degree temps, Snow, Ice and tornado's. Thats usually within a 12 hour time span anyway. No seasonal Neighbors. Nothin.

As for Router logs, I have already posted them in the first spoiler.

The router logs make zero sense to me. Which is why they are posted here so even if i found a pattern. I wouldnt know what they ment and its pretty clear support from my ISP wouldn't either.

As for continuing to call my ISP, but you can only unplug your modem, wait 30 seconds, plug it back and wait for it to reset before you lose your mind.

As someone that has not only worked customer service and tech support for many years. You have to understand I am not yelling at these people. I am more than courteous, respectful and happy to recycle every bit of stuff i have already done myself with no arguing. The part that tilts me is when i get told i have to wait 2+ weeks just to have decent internet and am told to "just deal with it.". Thats not what i pay them every month for. Thats not what my contract with them states.
 
Thanks.

Did not recognize the white text block in the first image as the log(s) from the modem router.

What I was looking for are the logs and test screens that show connectivity losses, reconnects, error codes etc. Plus signal strengths, Signal to Noise ratios, etc..

Is this the manual for your router?

http://setuprouter.com/router/arris/dg1670/manual-1708.pdf

Glad to hear you that you know about and understand customer service: so many people do not as I am sure you also know....

And if there is no competition for your ISP then things are even worse. We have a family member that has been in that situation. A grant program has allowed a new ISP start up in that area. Things "internet" have gotten better for everyone.

Back to to the problem:

Try a few sites other than 8.8.8.8 - Google also has 8.8.4.4. (Someone just told me that they have 4.4.4.4 but I have not checked that.)

Take a close look at and swap out any splitters in your coax cabling. Make sure that the Arris is as far upstream as possible within your home's cable plant. Especially check any exterior splitters. I have made it a habit of coaxing a spare or two from our ISP techs when on site. Splitters do not last long.

It could be just traffic bottlenecking somewhere due to schools, industry, some packet re-routing because of downed power or communication lines.

And lots of posters seem to experience slow downs and lagging while gaming. Could be traffic, throttling by the ISP, even other game players cheating.

Not much help I know so just keep calling and following up on that "2+ weeks" part. In the meantime, keep testing and documenting the problem.


 


In the screenshot, i also tried TWC.com which is my ISP's website, as well as the 8.8.8.8. Numbers change by about 5-10ms up or down based on location but the same spikes. Most of my TraceRT's tend to lead south towards texas so for due diligence i pinged a friend of mine north of me so it would run along a different set of hops with the same result. Which would make me think that the issue is either close to the home amung the (i think 4?) hops that were the same on both.

But this does also raise the question again i set in on my initial post. Why am i pinging 20 - 100 MS just to my own modem at times. Please do keep in mind i have tested on multiple hardwired machines, using different hard-wires and different ports on the modem. Such as i just Sent/Revived 200 packets to (192.168.0.1) with 0% Loss, Best 5MS, Worst 137ms, Average 36ms. Seems insane with being Hardwired via Cat5e.

The only splitter i know of us the 8-way directly after it leaves my wall. I have tried removing that. It lowered my Upstream power Dmbv to 38 from 52-56. But issue is still present.

As for bottlenecking, It is occuring at all hours, ( i am typically doing my work around Midnight to 5am) but i have been awake at all times and this issue is present. Also keep in mind that this isnt just 'laggy games' this is webpages, MS to servers unrelated to game, inability to stream, inability to watch TV (Hulu/netflix). I have requested information regarding a throttling and have been assured there is no throttling on my line.

As for the first Spoiler, That is the only "logs" my modem provides but i can post images of my status's. http://puu.sh/pfGqX/dcb1ea5d17.png
This image is with the 8-Way off currently, which dramatically reduced my Upstream power.

Will be posting soon with it reconnected. Tech should be arriving any minute.
 
Thanks.

On your status page, Interface parameters, LAN Port 2 is at 100 Mbps, LAN Port 3 is at 1000 Mbps - is that as expected? What computer or device is connected LAN Port 2?

Will check on the ping speeds (20 -100 ms) question.

Perhaps trying pathping will provide some additional insight....


 



For some reason it decided you were the "best Solution" which is a button i never hit. Weird.

Port 2 is my ROKU, 100mbps should be fine. I am unsure if the Roku could go higher.

http://puu.sh/pfJiQ/0440e2c08f.png is the Pathping to www.TWC.com

 
Solution button - no problem. Moderators can reverse that.

Information regarding DOCSIS T errors:

http://volpefirm.com/docsis_timout_descriptions/

(May be of help when discussing the problem(s) with the technician.)

As for the 23 ms shown by pathping - no immediate answer.

I would certainly try some additional ethernet cables: Cat5e (what you have now) or Cat 6.

Make sure that the motherboard's ethernet adapter is configured to match the Arris. Speed and duplex for example. Set the values versus "auto".

Take as many other devices (e.g. Roku) offline as you can while testing the ping speeds. Add devices back one by one to see if one particular device causes a re-occurrence.

That 8 way splitter: "uncapped" meaning open connections - no terminators (versus a dust cap)?

Please update after the technician leaves. We can go from there as warranted....

 


The tech has just left, He looked at some of my evidence and information had and started running some times from the line just inside my place. He wasnt showing any packet loss but noticed something weird that i also have been noticing.

When sending each packet, they would Hang. Example being that when the packets were sent out, usually one a second. You could tell that randomly, it would stick on X packet number, hang for a few seconds. then catch its self back up with no loss. Which is something i was seeing very similar when using WINMTR. He was also seeing huge spike ups outside of the normal 10-20ms range. (few hit 300 when i average 30-40). He decided to check some lines in my walls that are going to the main boxes. We were actually unable to find the mainbox for my apartment to make sure the lines were fine so i started doing some looking around outside to see if it was attached to a wall outside. We were still unable to locate the mainbox but what we did notice is that there is a brand new wired box out there with new cables and is prepped and ready to be routed through the walls.

The tech is purely speculating but due to a few new boxes out there that are not connected at the moment that the shotty wiring ( which was so old he needed to go to his van for a special set of tools) is bad and in process of being replaced and fixed. Its late enough in the day that the head of that department that would have that information is currently gone for the weekend.

He called someone ( unsure who ) and was discussing the random packet lockups and speed ups. They said there may be an issue but it shouldn't be causing any problems. He said that it seems to coincide with my issues ive been having and that its showing up on multiple devices and even his testing equipment so he thinks there is something too it and he will do some research into it. He gave me his personal card to call him back next Wednesday ( he is off work after my job until next Tuesday) and he should have some information as to the timeline of the wiring replacement and hopefully some more information regarding the packet lag.

So for the time being, i have no network changes and im still getting crap connections. But potentially some ideas as to why.

The 8way splitter uncapped meaning, its just a metal block with what appears to be 7 other metal exposed ports. like i could directly plug my cable into one of those instead without removing anything. I always thought they were suppose to be capped to prevent noise.
 
Spoke with my Landlord about the new wiring...

He stated the new wiring was for the otherside of the complex and there is no intention of working on this side as the lines are still in working order. He has had issues with other techs coming down here and messing with stuff and he actually said the box for my floor is in a locked closet so the tech couldnt have even checked the lines down there.

He will call the supervisor that he normally deals with to come down with another tech, and Myself, the Landlord a tech, and the supervisor will be on site to resolve whatever the issue may be in about 2 weeks (2 weeks... *facepalm*) because my Landlord is currently not in town.
 
Thank you for the update.

Hopefully the repairs/upgrades via the new wired boxes will fix things.

As for the splitter, I also have the understanding that the unused ports should be capped with a terminator and not just a "cap".

Ref:

http://forums.solidsignal.com/showthread.php/1936-TIP-Terminate-those-unused-ports!

Not aware of any workarounds or other "advances" that would negate the need for capping.
 



My Landlord came around and went through the box where my internet connects and seen some loose wires and tightened them up. Also removed a splitter. This lowered my average pings by about 15 which is quite nice, dropping me to upper 20's lower 30's. also seemed to remove most of my spikes. But i am now noticing a gradual increase in ping to my modem still as i was before.

But ive sorta studied it a bit more. The longer my PC is on and connected to the modem the higher my ping continually gets at a semi-slow pace. 3 days will move my ping up from 5 to 30, and progressively higher as it goes. For me to lower my ping again, all i need to do is reboot my PC and everything resets back to low.

Anyone have any ideas for that?
 
You can use Task Manager and Performance Monitor to observe changes in your system during the 3 day duration.

See if memory space declines or some other processes start runnng the background. Anything consuming some system resource - especially network related.

You might also try loading up your system early on with as many applications as viable running. Keep an eye on the ping while doing that. You may find that one or more apps cause the ping to increase more quickly and thus noticable.

In gerneral, I would surmise some memory leak or resource consumption that is not being "released" when the app is stopped. Some software bug therein or combination of circumstances that cause that to happen. When you reboot - all starts anew.

Pretty much a matter of more testing and looking for cause/effect relationships. If the culprit can be identified then hopefully there is a patch or configuration that will fix the problem.
 
Solution