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Anita Peterson
@sympatico.ca

Anita Peterson

Anon

My Sympatico service keeps disconnecting!

Hi there,

I have this issue with my Sympatico service, which keeps dropping, forcing me to go through the motions of rebooting the router, etc., sometimes several times in one hour.

Let me give a bit of background: I have a D-link 604 router, with three computers connected through it. The router has been functional since 2002, when I was still a Rogers hi-Speed user in Ottawa.

After moving to Gatineau, where Rogers is no longer offered, I got the DSL service from Bell. And I got the 5200 DSL modem, a year ago, after the previous modem died on me.

Now, the problem is, sometimes the connection works for several days before dropping, other times (like tonight) it dies four or five times in 30 minutes. Every time I have to go through the notions: unplug the router and the modem, restart the modem, wait until the light is green on "DSL", then replug the router, launch IE, browse a bit, make sure it works... etc. Sometimes - touch wood! - it works for a couple of days until I have to restart everything, again.

Every time I call about service interruptions, Bell tries to convince me that I have to completely disconnect the router and connect my machine directly to the DSL modem... a couple of times I did, only to realize, after futzing with my machine and my settings for about 40 minutes, that there were timeouts in my area!

I am downloading a lot of stuff via BT (Azureus), and I'm also using Skype quite extensively.

Can you guys enlighten me?

Is my setup at fault, or is Bell just trying to cover its a$$ for random service interruptions? What are my options here?

mordin
42 inches of 1080p
Premium Member
join:2005-05-28
Moncton, NB

mordin

Premium Member

When you lose the connection does the DSL/sync light on the modem go out? You can try rebooting the modem or the router separately to see which one is losing the connection.

Lilan
@sympatico.ca

Lilan to Anita Peterson

Anon

to Anita Peterson
Can you capture and show us your DSL Stats? with the SNR Attenuation and Sync etc... So we can understand what might be a possible reason.

I'm not sure which revision of 5200 you have. But try using the following link to unlock your 5200 to get the stats if they arent showing up already.

»Unlocking your Speedstream 5200 E242

Technically speaking, if your DSL light goes off... it should just resync as soon as line becomes stable. You dont have to reboot your router etc.

I think you have manual connect for the modem. So when it disconnects it doesnt reconnect again. You can change the option after unlocking the modem.

Just when your internet stops working. Ping your router or access another computer over the network so to be sure if the router is working. Alternatively, you can access the modem at »192.168.2.1 and check the status of the internet connection. If it is active or down.

read through the Sympatico FAQ if you need more help with 5200 in the forum links at the top.
Canoraa
join:2005-12-23
Toronto, ON

Canoraa

Member

I have exactly the same problem , I also download heavely BT and emule are running 24/7 . a couple of days ago I decieded to connect my machine directly to the modem , now it is better and when the line dropps the machine just reconnect automatically(cause I set the connection to recconnect whenever the line dropps) , it is better but less secure !!!!
default1
join:2005-11-15
Saint John, NB

default1

Member

Most home routers stop responding when too much information is going through at once or heavily. This can usually be resolved by limiting that computer's bandwidth. This method can be tested by just rebooting router and/or testing others computers connectivity when one computer cuts out.

joeblow3
join:2000-12-27
h0h0h0

joeblow3

Member

said by default1:

Most home routers stop responding when too much information is going through at once or heavily. This can usually be resolved by limiting that computer's bandwidth. This method can be tested by just rebooting router and/or testing others computers connectivity when one computer cuts out.
umm..I have two dlink routers (524 & 614+) and I easily pull 10 meg through it (ISP cogeco 10down/1upn) so it's not that he is pushing too much bandwidth across his "home" router. Misleading information. And how would you suggest he limit each computer's bandwidth?

I agree with previous posts. Check the synch light first.
Good Luck
Bill

micron06
Premium Member
join:2003-11-19
Kingston

1 edit

micron06 to Anita Peterson

Premium Member

to Anita Peterson
In reply to default1:

Its not a bw issue that causes the router to reboot or hang. Its the fact that many BT programs open too many threads/TCP connection in the router and overwhelms the routers memory and after some time causes it to reboot or hang when its out of resources. Rebooting the router flushes & free's up the routers memory.

Usually the high end home routers can handle those large TCP connection with no problems. I experienced similar problems with Netgear 624 version and after replacing with the Linksys 54G V1 ( has more memory) fixed the problem.

Quick soln: limit the max connection in the BT client to 200 or less..usually 300 or more causes many routers to go nuts.

Personally, i hate BT and ppl need to learn other ways to download such as Usenet etc. I am glad many ISP are throttling BT traffic as its getting ridiculous ( causing lots of network congestion), but that's another story and i don't want a debate starting on this fact.