Question Internet issues

[Pcnewb123]

Recently I have been having internet issues. I pay Xfinity for 400 mbps and have not been getting that despite being plugged directly into my router with an Ethernet cable. For years my internet speed has been fine but I did two speedtest on xfinitys own website and the first one done on noon of one day came up with 134.6 mbps. The second one I did today at 11:30ish at night came up with 134.3 mbps. I have been having this problem for about 2 weeks and at first I thought someone I pissed off in a videogame might have ddosed me but after hitting them up they said they didnt (not that they would have a way to get my IP anyways) so I am trying to figure out what the problem is. My router is only about 2 years old for context and the speed issue is a problem because it is causing me to lose points on online quizzes I do for my college classes (images not loading and getting dropped from the test multiple times causing me to lose time since once you start the timer is unable to be stopped) I am open to suggestions but after calling Xfinity they tried to say that the issue wasnt on their end because one time when I did the test the speed was about 400 mbps which is the speed I pay for.

 

[bill001g]

The problems you have with getting dropped is very different than the speed you get. Sometimes if you get a lot of data loss it can cause slower speedtest numbers but many times what happens is you get good results or the speedtest just fails.

Pretty standard troubleshooting.

With a cable modem get into the modem and look at the signal levels. The ISP should have already done this. The exact values depend a bit on the type of docsis but if you search you will easily find the tables you need. Also check the log and see if there is anything that stands out. You will always get some errors but if you get a lot in a very short period of time it indicates a issue in many cases.

Next try the standard ping test.

Open a cmd window and let a constant ping run to 8.8.8.8. If you see no loss then you have some other very strange issue.

If you see loss then run tracert 8.8.8.8. It will likely not show anything interesting because it does not run long enough. What you are doing is getting the routers in the path. You now want to open multiple cmd windows and run a constant ping to hop 1 (your router) and hop 2 (most times the first ISP router).
What you hope to see is no loss to hop 1 and loss to hop 2....you should also test to 8.8.8.8 at the same time just to be sure hop 2 has issues as the same time as the final hop. You at this point should be able to call the ISP and show them that there is loss in the connection coming to your house but you know your router and pc are not the cause because hop 1 is clear.

 

[Pcnewb123]

The problems you have with getting dropped is very different than the speed you get. Sometimes if you get a lot of data loss it can cause slower speedtest numbers but many times what happens is you get good results or the speedtest just fails.

Pretty standard troubleshooting.

With a cable modem get into the modem and look at the signal levels. The ISP should have already done this. The exact values depend a bit on the type of docsis but if you search you will easily find the tables you need. Also check the log and see if there is anything that stands out. You will always get some errors but if you get a lot in a very short period of time it indicates a issue in many cases.

Next try the standard ping test.

Open a cmd window and let a constant ping run to 8.8.8.8. If you see no loss then you have some other very strange issue.

If you see loss then run tracert 8.8.8.8. It will likely not show anything interesting because it does not run long enough. What you are doing is getting the routers in the path. You now want to open multiple cmd windows and run a constant ping to hop 1 (your router) and hop 2 (most times the first ISP router).
What you hope to see is no loss to hop 1 and loss to hop 2....you should also test to 8.8.8.8 at the same time just to be sure hop 2 has issues as the same time as the final hop. You at this point should be able to call the ISP and show them that there is loss in the connection coming to your house but you know your router and pc are not the cause because hop 1 is clear.

After talking with my ISP on the phone for a while they were able to upgrade me to a plan to that is 800 mbps. When they do that for a brief time my router will run at that speed according to speedtests but then will drop back down to the 90-200 mbps range. The only way to get it near the plan speed I am on is to reset it constantly by unplugging the power cord and plugging it back it but it never lasts. My current theory is that there is something wrong with the router or something wrong with the coaxial cord the router uses since I cannot think of any other explanation. I did the ping test you wanted in CMD with the command ping 8.8.8.8 -t and I will attach a screenshot of the results it just said "General Failure" over and over again I am not sure what this means. Here is a screenshot of the ping test results:

https://imgur.com/a/PkQcBhN

View: https://imgur.com/a/PkQcBhN

 

[bill001g]

The ISP should be able to see the signal levels. It dropping to a slower speed sometime means the router/modem is having issues communicating at a higher docsis level. Hard to say the details of what docsis levels are supported on what networks vary a great deal both between ISP and even within the same ISP in the same city because of different equipment being used. There should be messages in the log if it is having issue and dropping to lower encoding.

It can be a issue with the coax wires, you can see if it works better connected as close as possible to where the cable comes in. Although not likely simple to accomplish there likely is a coax splice on the side of the house where it comes in. You could disconnect the cable going into the house and hook a short coax cable to the modem. Be careful to put this back correctly these connectors are waterproof but need to be tight.

It could I guess also be the modem/router...which leads to your next issue. First I will assume the box you have connected to the coax is both a router and a modem? Most times it has wifi if it is also a router. If it is just a modem issues with network can cause strange ping problems.

Do you have another device you can test with, will make it simpler to determine if you should look at the end pc or the router/network/isp.

General failure most times is some issue with the cables or the pc. It could be the router if that is actually failing but not real likely. Most the solutions you will find if you search are written by people that have no clue. They talk about DNS but even the examples they show are using numeric IP addresses so DNS is not involved. This makes most their other suggestion suspect.

So I would first see if there is a newer driver for the ethernet port. Some of the 2.5g port have a history of buggy drivers and microsoft also load generic ones with their update sometimes. Try to get the driver directly from the chipset vendor website.
It could be DHCP but it is not likely. What you can do is put a static IP on the machine. A quick and dirty way to do this is do IPCONFIG /all. Then go into the IPv4 setting and put those values in. Not the best way since the router might give the same IP to another device but it will do for testing. Change it back to DHCP after you are done or assign a IP address that it outside the range of the normal router DHCP pool if you want to leave it static.

 

[Pcnewb123]

The ISP should be able to see the signal levels. It dropping to a slower speed sometime means the router/modem is having issues communicating at a higher docsis level. Hard to say the details of what docsis levels are supported on what networks vary a great deal both between ISP and even within the same ISP in the same city because of different equipment being used. There should be messages in the log if it is having issue and dropping to lower encoding.

It can be a issue with the coax wires, you can see if it works better connected as close as possible to where the cable comes in. Although not likely simple to accomplish there likely is a coax splice on the side of the house where it comes in. You could disconnect the cable going into the house and hook a short coax cable to the modem. Be careful to put this back correctly these connectors are waterproof but need to be tight.

It could I guess also be the modem/router...which leads to your next issue. First I will assume the box you have connected to the coax is both a router and a modem? Most times it has wifi if it is also a router. If it is just a modem issues with network can cause strange ping problems.

Do you have another device you can test with, will make it simpler to determine if you should look at the end pc or the router/network/isp.

General failure most times is some issue with the cables or the pc. It could be the router if that is actually failing but not real likely. Most the solutions you will find if you search are written by people that have no clue. They talk about DNS but even the examples they show are using numeric IP addresses so DNS is not involved. This makes most their other suggestion suspect.

So I would first see if there is a newer driver for the ethernet port. Some of the 2.5g port have a history of buggy drivers and microsoft also load generic ones with their update sometimes. Try to get the driver directly from the chipset vendor website.
It could be DHCP but it is not likely. What you can do is put a static IP on the machine. A quick and dirty way to do this is do IPCONFIG /all. Then go into the IPv4 setting and put those values in. Not the best way since the router might give the same IP to another device but it will do for testing. Change it back to DHCP after you are done or assign a IP address that it outside the range of the normal router DHCP pool if you want to leave it static.

I used a lan adapter to USB on my laptop and my speeds were much faster is it possible there is something wrong with the ethenet port on my computer? I know you said something about drivers but I have no idea how to update those could you link a tutorial?

 

[bill001g]

Maybe try the same USB adapter on the desktop and see what happens. That likely will be the "fix" if the port is defective. Bad ports are possible but are fairly rare.

I would search youtube and see if you can find videos on how to update drivers. You do not exactly the same hardware, all are done very similar. It is mostly just download the driver from either the motherboard maker or from the ethernet chipset vendor and then tell windows to install the file.

 

[Pcnewb123]

Maybe try the same USB adapter on the desktop and see what happens. That likely will be the "fix" if the port is defective. Bad ports are possible but are fairly rare.

I would search youtube and see if you can find videos on how to update drivers. You do not exactly the same hardware, all are done very similar. It is mostly just download the driver from either the motherboard maker or from the ethernet chipset vendor and then tell windows to install the file.

Got a new router and the issue persisted. Doesnt matter if I have it hooked up to usb with a lan adapter or just plain ethernet what is the maxiumum speed a coaxial cord can take? Is there one I can buy that can handle speeds of 800 mbps

 

[bill001g]

First what is your actual issue. Getting disconnected is a different problem than the connection working slow. You do not actually "need" 800 or even 400mbps for most application. Things like games use less than 1mbps. Maybe netflix at 4k uses 25mbps. As long as you have enough for the application having more will not make it run any better or faster. The only thing that uses large bandwidth is say a file download which most people at best do a couple times a day or week.

So does your laptop with the USB ethernet still get no disconnects and ok speed test.

This would mean you did not have to replace the router and the internet connection and the coax cable are fine the problem is in your main machine. Most coax cables can go well over 1gbit depending on equipment they are connected to.

To a point I am at a loss here to suggest what to try. Most people have no issues understanding what replacing a driver involves so I am not sure if you will be able to do a more advanced test. In any case the thing I normally recommend is to create a USB stick with a linux bootable image. This allows you to run your machine on a different OS without damaging your windows install. If it runs on this it means there is some issue with windows. If not it is likely a hardware issue.

 

[Pcnewb123]

First what is your actual issue. Getting disconnected is a different problem than the connection working slow. You do not actually "need" 800 or even 400mbps for most application. Things like games use less than 1mbps. Maybe netflix at 4k uses 25mbps. As long as you have enough for the application having more will not make it run any better or faster. The only thing that uses large bandwidth is say a file download which most people at best do a couple times a day or week.

So does your laptop with the USB ethernet still get no disconnects and ok speed test.

This would mean you did not have to replace the router and the internet connection and the coax cable are fine the problem is in your main machine. Most coax cables can go well over 1gbit depending on equipment they are connected to.

To a point I am at a loss here to suggest what to try. Most people have no issues understanding what replacing a driver involves so I am not sure if you will be able to do a more advanced test. In any case the thing I normally recommend is to create a USB stick with a linux bootable image. This allows you to run your machine on a different OS without damaging your windows install. If it runs on this it means there is some issue with windows. If not it is likely a hardware issue.

I was able to update the drivers but I would like a speed of 800 mbps because thats the plan I am paying Xfinity for so if they can't give me what I am paying for then thats frustrating. I don't think the issue is my "machine" (computer) because the issue persists on a desktop or a laptop via lan adapter. I updated windows 10 and the drivers so I can't imagine it is an OS system issue eithier but I suppose its possible. The total disconnects have seemingly stopped the issue now is getting me to a speed of 800mbps which is my current plan or even just 600 I'd be happy with instead of being stuck at 200. Here is a image of the driver information I can provide more information if needed but I would still like help if you are able to help me solve the issue

https://imgur.com/a/YK7se60

View: https://imgur.com/a/YK7se60

 

[bill001g]

It might not be the problem at all. That looks like a generic microsoft driver. So maybe search for intel driver support assistant. Make sure you only download it directly from intel site. This is a program that will scan for any intel things on your machine and give you the option to install new drivers.
Don't be temped to install anything other than the ethernet driver. You can install other stuff later if you get temped, prevents getting new problems and knowing what driver caused it.

 

[Pcnewb123]

It might not be the problem at all. That looks like a generic microsoft driver. So maybe search for intel driver support assistant. Make sure you only download it directly from intel site. This is a program that will scan for any intel things on your machine and give you the option to install new drivers.
Don't be temped to install anything other than the ethernet driver. You can install other stuff later if you get temped, prevents getting new problems and knowing what driver caused it.

I already installed that program to update the drivers you see in the image

https://imgur.com/a/CsmdcCP

View: https://imgur.com/a/CsmdcCP

 

[bill001g]

I was wrong that looks like the latest windows 10 driver for i225. Be nice if they wouldn't use different numbering it starts with 12.x.x.x for 1gbit and 2.x.x.x for windows 11.

It gets much more complex to find the problem.

Since you have another machine that works fine it means it has to be some software or setting on that machine.

Just some guessing. Try to disable IPv6 support in the nic settings.
Next look for any software that claims to favor gaming traffic or reduce latency. A common name is CFOSspeed. This type of software comes bundled with the bloatware you find with some motherboards or video cards.

You could also try a old line mode program called IPERF. This would allow you to test between the 2 machines in your house. It is a very basic program that pertty much only tests the network and the drivers it does not use disk and uses almost no cpu or memory. You should see 900+mbps in both directions.

You could I guess try to copy large files between machines in your house to see how fast that is. This is mostly to see if maybe it the browser causing issues.

 

[Pcnewb123]

I was wrong that looks like the latest windows 10 driver for i225. Be nice if they wouldn't use different numbering it starts with 12.x.x.x for 1gbit and 2.x.x.x for windows 11.

It gets much more complex to find the problem.

Since you have another machine that works fine it means it has to be some software or setting on that machine.

Just some guessing. Try to disable IPv6 support in the nic settings.
Next look for any software that claims to favor gaming traffic or reduce latency. A common name is CFOSspeed. This type of software comes bundled with the bloatware you find with some motherboards or video cards.

You could also try a old line mode program called IPERF. This would allow you to test between the 2 machines in your house. It is a very basic program that pertty much only tests the network and the drivers it does not use disk and uses almost no cpu or memory. You should see 900+mbps in both directions.

You could I guess try to copy large files between machines in your house to see how fast that is. This is mostly to see if maybe it the browser causing issues.

You said I have another machine that works fine but what I am telling you is that isn't true the problem persist no matter if I use my desktop or laptop. I don't have any bloatware I checked that and I also have been checking the resource monitor using the "network" tab to see if I have any network hogs running in the background and I don't. I tried switching to a fresh install of chrome instead of firefox to see if my speeds would be higher there but that doesn't seem to work eithier. Should I just nuke my OS and do a factory reset to see if that fixes the issue?

 

[bill001g]

I guess I read that wrong I though you said you got good speeds on a laptop with the same ethernet usb. Note USB adapters must be USB3 and plugged into USB3 ports to even attempt to get gigabit speeds.

So if it is multiple machines affected then a lot of the testing that has been done was in the wrong area. Still if you want you want to fully test the machine rather than reinstall windows just get a Linux usb boot image. These come with some version of chrome preinstalled and you can run speedtest. You are running completely from the USB stick so it does not affect the windows install.

Something being slow is much harder to fix than say data loss.

I would try the fairly standard network tests to start. Run tracert to 8.8.8.8. It will not likely show any issue the goal is to get the routers in the path.

You would now open 2 cmd windows and leave a constant ping to hop 1 (your router IP) and hop 2 (the first ISP router). Generally you are looking for loss that does not occur in hop 1 but happens in hop 2. The generally means there is nothing wrong with your equipment but there is some issue in the connection between your house and the first ISP node.

If both these are consistently good it is a much harder issue. Slow can be many thing from slow servers to network overload caused by other customers of the ISP.