[SOLVED] Motorola MG8702 Working Normally - ISP Issue -Now It’s Not

flon_klar

Distinguished
Sep 16, 2011
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18,515
A strange thing happened today. About a month ago, I moved into a new house. I signed up with the local ISP, using my own brand-new MG8702 modem/router. The internet has been beautifully accessible- until yesterday.

Suddenly, my internet stalled. I looked over at the router, and sure enough, the “Internet” light was no longer lit. I power cycled it a couple times, with no effect. I went to my ISP’s website and tried to sign in to my account. It said my account was inactive. Weird.
I opened a chat with the ISP. They told me that I had contacted them and requested that my account be closed. No, I said, I did not. So they sent me from the Service Dept to Sales to reinstate my account.

The Sales Dept re-opened my account and told me that my internet service would be restored in 2-3 hours. 2-3 hours!, I exclaimed. Just turn it back on! No, we can’t do that, he said. Then I lost my connection. (My new house is somewhat rural and I have spotty cell service.)

So I waited. Six hours later, I still had no service. I opened a new chat with Service and explained he issue. He told me that my equipment hadn’t been activated yet. Jezuz. So I gave him my MAC ID and rebooted the router. The Power light was lit, as were the Wifi and 5MHz lights, and the Download Arrow was flashing, but no Internet. He pinged me. No change on my end, no response on his. This went on for another 45 minutes, with no progress. In the end, it was decided that my equipment was at fault, and we scheduled a service call- for Saturday. Aaagh!

Does anyone with Motorola experience see anything here that would indicate a sudden failure of my modem? In direct correlation to my ISP account mysteriously being closed? Or does it look more like some strange breakdown with my ISP? I’m frustrated out of my mind by this event, and I’d like to avoid an expensive service call if I can. Any thoughts by experts? Thanks.
 
Solution
This is why people hate just about all ISP. They must all hire mostly idiots. When you get a good tech it is surprising what they can see and fix.

Why the bill was canceled is hard to say. I know sometimes they get confused when the previous residents cancel their service and you add your new one.

There might be messages in the log that tell what the modem thinks is the problem. I don't know about your modem/router combo but normal modem will go through the first couple steps. You can watch the light pattern change. It will actually fully connect to the ISP equipment. It then attempt to do the last step and is not authorized. The ISP has to put the mac address into their database for it to be fully active. When I...
This is why people hate just about all ISP. They must all hire mostly idiots. When you get a good tech it is surprising what they can see and fix.

Why the bill was canceled is hard to say. I know sometimes they get confused when the previous residents cancel their service and you add your new one.

There might be messages in the log that tell what the modem thinks is the problem. I don't know about your modem/router combo but normal modem will go through the first couple steps. You can watch the light pattern change. It will actually fully connect to the ISP equipment. It then attempt to do the last step and is not authorized. The ISP has to put the mac address into their database for it to be fully active. When I changed out a modem and call the ISP they could actually see the new mac address on their network they even knew exactly what time I connected it. All they did was add the mac address to my account.

You should be able to actually see the channels signal levels and if they are locked even without the modem active. If this is not working it tends to be wiring problem but it could be a bad modem.
 
Solution

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
Who is your ISP?

Is your Motorola MG8702 on their list of supported routers?

Even though things worked well for a month it could be that some update or other change caused the connection loss.

Look in your modem/router's logs (if available and enabled) for any errors or events that may have been captured when connectivity was lost. I.e., the internet stalled.

There may be other relevant errors before and after that time.

All in all my guess is simply that someone mixed things up and closed your account vs the account of some other customer who cancelled. Or otherwise some error or typo (e.g.. MAC ID) likewise made a mess of things.

One thing to do is to go out and trace the incoming line from your ISP into your new house. Get a sense of where all the cables run and the rooms, jacks, etc. being serviced. Look for signs of damage, loose connections, kinked or pinched wires, nails or staples going through the wires, rodent chews, water, and corrosion.

For the most part those service techs are under a lot of pressure to get things working again. As soon as they are convinced that service is good/problem fixed they must leave. Yet you may discover afterwards that half of your network may still not work.

So take advantage of the "wait time" to sketch out your network, make a few notes, look for signs of damage, and otherwise prepare for the visit. Be sure to check/test all devices to ensure that they have network and internet connectivity. Before the tech leaves.
 

flon_klar

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Sep 16, 2011
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18,515
So my service appointment got moved up to today. Just as the service call window opened, I noticed that my router was showing a blue internet light. Woo-hoo! Obviously, there was no equipment issue, which is what the tech was going to look at when he arrived. I tried to cancel the call, but the guy on the phone at Spectrum argued against it, saying that an outage had been verified in my area, and it could go out again at any time (?). I said OK, whatever, send the guy out, I was just trying to save him a needless visit.

The tech showed up 15 minutes later. We had a nice chat at the door about how messed up big companies are, and then he started to leave. He was almost to his truck when his phone rang. It was his office, telling him that I had cancelled the service call, and they wanted to speak to me. They wanted me to verify the cancellation, but couldn’t reach me by phone, because, of course, I have crappy cell service at my house.

Thanks to those of you who responded with your thoughts on the issue.