• How can I contact Comcast?
• How can I document troubles with my service?
• How do I check my IP lease time?
• How do I choose a good splitter?
• Where Can I receive additional Comcast Support.
• My cable modem's signal is OK, but I'm still having problems. What can I do?
• My connection is down. What can I do?
• Why am I seeing so much packet loss in my provider's network?
• Why do websites take forever to connect, but then load quickly?
• Why is my IP lease down to 1 hour?

Comcast's "Contact Us" links:

1) Ask Comcast
# Interactive Q&A tool. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

2) Live Chat
# Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

3) Ask the Comcast Community
# Post your question and get answers from fellow Comcast customers and moderators. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

4) E-mail Us
# We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com
# If you did not find what you need through Live Chat or Ask Comcast, send them an e-mail & they will respond within 24 hours.

5) Phone
* Call 1-800-COMCAST (1-800-266-2278).
* Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

6) Feedback: E-mail Rick

Additional Resources

# Twitter:
https://twitter.com/comcastcares
https://twitter.com/ComcastBill

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by Scott edited by sortofageek
last modified: 2009-03-29 13:44:53

The more information you have, the better off you are for helping to determine the nature and possible cause of your problem. Here is a list of information that can be very useful to a cable technician out on a trouble call:

1) Dates and times your service was 'down' or 'very slow' and related information such as the weather and outside temperature, if the problem seems to coincide with heavy wind, rain, heat or any other weather condition. If your cable service comes through underground lines, it can also be useful to know if there have been any changes in your neighborhood with landscaping, other utilities, road work, new development, etc.

2) Some questions that are useful to know the answers to are:

• How did your original install go?
• How long ago were you installed?
• Did the installer run a brand new line just for your cable modem?
• Have you changed the coaxial cable to your cable modem in any way? (Have you added a splitter, extension, changed the outlet location, etc.?)
• Were there any changes in your TV service since your cable modem installation?
• Have you noticed any problems with your pictures on any of your TVs?
• Have you installed any internet, firewall, or network related software/devices since your cable modem installation?

3.A) If you are experiencing high ping times and/or packet loss, it is recommended to have the following documentation: A ping test to your service provider's default gateway, and a trace route to any internet web site. The ping test described below is an excellent indicator of how your -local- lines and service are doing.

3.B) To run a ping test, first determine the IP address of your default gateway. On windows PCs, this is done by typing 'winipcfg' or 'ipconfig' at a command prompt. Then follow it with the command:

ping #.#.#.# -n 250

(where the series of #.#.#.# is a representation of the numbers of your default gateway). If your average ping time after running 250 pings is less than 30ms, you don't have a problem in this regard. If your average ping time is higher than 30ms or your packet loss is greater than 2%, be sure to note the information in section 1) above.

3.C) To run a trace route on Windows PCs, open a command prompt and type:

tracert www.sitename.com

(where the www.sitename.com part is a representation of any internet site). If you notice timeouts or very high ping times (see above for indications of high ping times) en route to the web site, contact your service provider to find out if they have jurisdiction over the suspect server. If they do, your information could be used to aid technicians in diagnosing a problem. If it isn't one of your service provider's servers, there is nothing that they can do for you. If you get a message something like "Unable to resolve..." then either: the site simply doesn't exist/is currently down, or your TCP/IP configuration, NIC, and/or operating system may have some configuration problems.

*This FAQ is based on user knowledge from a volunteer core of BroadbandReports' members. This FAQ in no way constitutes official information from Comcast or any of its affiliates.

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by Kylemaul edited by Johkal
last modified: 2008-11-01 14:45:54

Directions are OS specific.

•In Windows 9x, go to Start | Run, and type winipcfg. You should see the relevant information when 'PPP adapter' is selected in the dropdown box.

•In Windows 2000, open a Command Prompt (Start | Programs | Accessories). Type ipconfig /all and review the information listed under the network adapter connected to your modem.

•In Windows XP, go to Start | Run and type cmd to open a command prompt window. Type ipconfig /all and review the information listed under the network adapter connected to your modem.

•In Vista & Windows 7, go to Start | Search and type cmd to open a command prompt window. Type ipconfig /all and review the information listed under the network adapter connected to your modem.

*All; be advised that if you are using a home networking router, you will see the LAN lease length that is being provided by the router's built in DHCP server and not the WAN lease length being provided by Comcast's DHCP server. To see the WAN lease length, you can either connect a computer directly to the modem (you need to powercycle / reset the modem) and then issue that command or and / or in many router's you can see this info somewhere in its User Interface pages.

*This FAQ is based on user knowledge from a volunteer core of BroadbandReports' members. This FAQ in no way constitutes official information from Comcast or any of its affiliates.

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by madylarian edited by Johkal
last modified: 2013-04-20 08:51:26

You will likely gain some good tips from this topic or this one.

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by sortofageek
last modified: 2011-03-02 15:02:50

FAQ Content: If you have been unable to resolve your Comcast problem after exhausting all traditional methods of support. Please visit the help and support page for additional escalation assistance.

»customer.comcast.com/help-and-support

This FAQ is based on user knowledge from a volunteer core of BroadbandReports' members. This FAQ in no way constitutes official information from Comcast or any of its affiliates.

Please do not post your complaint as feedback to the FAQs here. Do not post your personal identification info here. This site is not owned by Comcast. To contact Comcast, use the info provided above.

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by sortofageek edited by cabana
last modified: 2013-05-23 18:48:13

For those who appear to have acceptable signal to their cable modems, but still have problems, here are some further recommendations:

1) First, try this (order is important):
1.A) Ensure that your TCP/IP settings match Comcast's recommendations.
1.B) (Optional but highly recommended) Uninstall (just disabling them doesn't always work) all installed software firewalls.
1.C) Shut down your PC.
1.D) Connect the cable modem directly to the PC. (Not though a firewall, hub, router, switch, etc.)
1.D.1) Unplug (from power) all 2.4GHz wireless equipment within 25 feet of your cable modem. In certain circumstances, these devices will create interference that the cable modem will try to interpret as signal.
1.E) Reset your cable modem. (Sometimes there is a reset button or hole, sometimes it is simply a matter of unplugging the cable modem from your power outlet, waiting about 2 minutes, and plugging it back in.)
1.F) Wait for your cable modem to regain block sync.
1.G) After the cable modem has regained block sync, boot your PC back up.
1.H.1) (For users of Windows 98 to Windows Millenium) --NOTE-- Be -very- careful what you do in msconfig, as it has an extremely high danger potential. As a last resort with Windows 98, 98SE, and Windows Millenium (ME), you can try running 'msconfig' from a 'Run...' prompt and unchecking the 'Startup Items' check box followed by a reboot. Be aware that doing this will very likely disable any anti-virus software and/or firewall software you have installed. --NOTE-- Be -very- careful what you do in msconfig, as it has an extremely high danger potential.
1.H.2) (For users of Macintosh OSes prior to OSX) A similar option (once again a last resort) for Macintoshes running Mac OSes prior to OSX is to open the 'Extension Manager' control panel and select the 'Base' set from the pulldown menu at the top of the window.

Problem gone? Great! You saved yourself hold times, waiting for a service call, paying a trouble call fee, etc.

2) Next, if you have another PC, try connecting the modem directly to it. If your problems go away, guess what? Your original PC needs some configuration help. Try following the suggestions given elsewhere in the Comcast FAQs. This is redundant, but repeat this step if you have any more PCs that you can try.

*This FAQ is based on user knowledge from a volunteer core of BroadbandReports' members. This FAQ in no way constitutes official information from Comcast or any of its affiliates.

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by Kylemaul edited by Johkal
last modified: 2008-11-01 14:48:15

First, reboot your modem and computer (and router if applicable). Test your connection.

Attempt to restore your network connectivity by releasing and renewing your IP address:

• In Windows 9x: go to Start | Run, and type winipcfg. Click the Release All button, then click Renew All.
  
  
• In Windows 2000: open a Command Prompt (Start | Programs | Accessories). Type ipconfig /release and then ipconfig /renew.
  
  
• In Windows XP: go to Start | Run and type cmd to open a command prompt window. Type ipconfig /release and then ipconfig /renew.
  
  
• In Vista: The only way to release the ip address at the command prompt is with admin access.
  From the Start Menu, enter cmd in the Search box, then press "Enter".
  Click "cmd" in list. Command Prompt displays.
  To view your IP address, at the command prompt, enter ipconfig, and then press "Enter".
  To release your IP address, at the command prompt, enter ipconfig/release, and then press "Enter".
  To renew your IP address, at the command prompt, enter ipconfig/renew, and then press "Enter".
  Click X to close the Command window.
  All steps complete.
  
  Test your connection.
  

If that fails, you will have to call comcast (1-800-COMCAST), and they will be able to help you.

*This FAQ is based on user knowledge from a volunteer core of BroadbandReports' members. This FAQ in no way constitutes official information from Comcast or any of its affiliates.

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by File Quit edited by Johkal
last modified: 2008-11-01 14:48:45

Please see the FAQ in our Site Tools Forum.

*This FAQ is based on user knowledge from a volunteer core of BroadbandReports' members. This FAQ in no way constitutes official information from Comcast or any of its affiliates.

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by sortofageek edited by Johkal
last modified: 2008-11-01 14:49:32

This is usually the result of faulty or overloaded DNS servers.

DNS servers provide the ability to translate alphanumeric internet addresses (ie. www.broadbandreports.com) into numeric addresses (ie. 209.123.109.175) so that they can be located across the Internet.

By default, Comcast automatically assigns you three DNS servers when your cable modem first connects to the Comcast network on power-up. Many users find their Comcast assigned DNS servers behave erratically and chose to manually configure their own.

If you would like to manually configure DNS servers, please refer to this FAQ topic for instructions on how to change your DNS server settings.

*This FAQ is based on user knowledge from a volunteer core of BroadbandReports' members. This FAQ in no way constitutes official information from Comcast or any of its affiliates.

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by draven edited by Johkal
last modified: 2008-11-02 09:10:37

This is usually done just before work is performed on the network and is normal procedure. It may necessitate occasional ipconfig release/renew actions to maintain connectivity during this time.

*This FAQ is based on user knowledge from a volunteer core of BroadbandReports' members. This FAQ in no way constitutes official information from Comcast or any of its affiliates.

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by madylarian edited by Johkal
last modified: 2008-11-01 14:49:19