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Modem Woes
@embarqhsd.net

Modem Woes

Anon

[DSL] Second 660r doing same thing. Please help. :(

I have had DSL for about 4 years or so. It came with the Embarq 660r modem. That ran great til about 4 months ago. Consistent, 3mb service.

Then, I'd notice that while playing MW2, my game would randomly lag out and the xbox would freeze. I found that if I reset the xbox and router, I could log back in and play for 3 hours, or maybe 10 minutes. Very random. This went on for a couple of weeks until finally, I had no internet at all. If I powered the unit up, it would just keep rebooting on its own.

I borrowed a modem from someone and was able to get back online and play/browse without issue. I then searched around for a replacement 660 on ebay. Got a used one shipped to the house for about 5 bucks. Got a Zyxel with Earthlink f/w on it. Found the most recent f/w from zyxel and set it up to work with embarq(now centurylink). It worked well until last night. It started doing the exact same thing the last one did(lagging out of games/freezing the xbox/and no pc browsing)

All the appropriate lights are on, but there is no internet connectivity. I rebooted it 3 times last night in an hour. The last time I lagged out of a game, I just left it alone. I came back this morning and tried and it works just fine. I didn't touch anything from last night til today. The problem straightened out on its own somehow.

Please advise. Thanks!

billaustin
they call me Mr. Bill
MVM
join:2001-10-13
North Las Vegas, NV

billaustin

MVM

Do you have a separate router? If so, put the modem in bridge mode and it should help. If not, think about getting one. The router in the 660 is known for it's issues with the large number of open connections generated by on-line gaming.
bones200
Premium Member
join:2008-07-11
Randleman, NC

1 edit

bones200 to Modem Woes

Premium Member

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Second that on the 660r. You didn't mention what router you have.
Get a router to go behind the 660R....Follow instructions on how to bridge the 660R. The main one is to RELEASE the ip BEFORE the router will see it. It can take as little as 2 min and as long as 10min to reset.
Your speed should increase. The you can DMZ your game system to play even better.
REMEMBER once you bridge the 660R, the internet light will NOT light up!!!! You should still have Power-DSL-Ethernet lights only.

exxtacypilot
Premium Member
join:2004-07-16
Fort Cobb, OK

exxtacypilot to Modem Woes

Premium Member

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Most of the following was posted in the Embarq forum last year.

The 660R includes its own firewall/router, which has been known to have issues for some LAN configurations. If you have your own router/firewall, you can use these instructions to bridge the Embarq 660 series modem, and use your router for the firewall.

Connect your PC direct to the 660 modem, and obtain via DHCP or set the PC IP address, to a 192.168.2.x subnet like 192.168.2.2.

1. Open Internet Explorer and type 192.168.2.1 in the address bar.
2. Type in the default password 1234 and click Login. Click Ignore if prompted to change the password.
3. Click on Diagnostic listed under the Maintenance menu.
4. Select the Network Layer option and click the Release button.
5. Click the button labeled Change to bridge Mode.

Once the modem has completed the change, a message stating "Current operating mode is bridge mode" will appear on the screen and you can exit the set up/browser.

Once you have finished that, power off your DSL modem, and power off your router. Then power on your modem, and wait for the DSL light to stay lit, and then connect and power on your router. By doing it this way, you're making sure the router pulls an IP and you should be able to get online.

The modem internet light will no longer work in bridge mode...this is normal.

Step 4 is the important step, if you do not release the IP BEFORE bridging the modem, then the router may have to wait until the lease expires to pull a new IP. If you followed the above directions and still can't get online, log in to your router and see what IP it's pulling. It should no longer be a 192.168.2.x IP but it should be a public IP address. If it is not, then release and renew from the router's webgui and you should pull an IP and get online.

Now you can configure the router port forwarding or DMZ for your game or network service.

Modem Woes
@embarqhsd.net

Modem Woes to Modem Woes

Anon

to Modem Woes
I forgot to mention that both modems were in bridge mode. I've had several routers. I'm currently using a Linksys wireless B(backup) as my Belkin G-MIMO router lasted less than a year before deciding to quit.

You're right about the Internet light. It's the DSL light rather. The internet light is indeed not lit.

I took the previous modem apart to look for obvious damage(busted caps, etc) but saw nothing out of the ordinary- to my untrained eyes.

Thanks for all the help but it's still a mystery at this point.
Viventis
join:2008-05-18
Hickory, NC

Viventis to Modem Woes

Member

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If this has been a problem with two different modems, you have to consider the possibility that you are losing sync due to noise spikes on your line. This started at my house about a month ago. Tech support now believes that it is due to a degraded burried line that is now causing issues when water pools.

If your router can test for downstream noise margin, run the test repeatedly to see if you are getting large variances in your downstream noise margin. Mine was going from a best of 18db all the way into negative numbers (which usually precedes loss of sync).

If your modem has no test available in its menu, unbridge the 660r. The ip of the modem is 192.168.2.1. The standard password is 1234. Hit ignore til you get to the main menu. Under diagnostics/dsl line you will see a test for line noise.
serpterion
join:2008-06-25
Hagerstown, MD

serpterion to Modem Woes

Member

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I would un-complicate this situation. Start by removing extra network devices. Remove your router, plug the XBox directly into the modem and give it a whirl. If it improves, the routers would be at fault, if not, then there is something more. When you time out in MW2, take a look at your modem and check to see if the DSL light is still solid or if it is blinking (lost sync). If it's still solid, you didn't lose internet connection.

Also, are you connecting wirelessly to your XBox or via Ethernet? Also, I wouldn't trust a used modem from eBay. It might have problems that the seller didn't inform you about. You could have purchased a lemon right off the batter's plate on that one. Also, when you're having these issues, call up and ask the rep to log into the DSLAM and check the Signal Levels to see if they're out of spec if so, there could be a line issue which needs to be repaired.

If you're still losing connection connected to the modem and the modem is loosing sync, I would reccommend a truck roll to have them clean the lines up. If you have a filtered home, ask for a splitter at the NID so they can segregate your DSL service to just one Jack in your home.

Modem Woes
@104.xx.110

Modem Woes to Modem Woes

Anon

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It hasn't messed up since I made the post. But it went through this before. Then it increasingly started to fail. I'll try to remember to check the light when I lag out again.

I always use a wired connection. I didn't expect much when I bought it. But it was only a few bucks. Cheaper than a new one and a quick replacement for the time being. Remember, it has worked flawlessly for a couple of months now so if it had something wrong with it when he sold it, I would have seen it immediately(right?).

I checked my router and it doesn't have any options to test for noise. I'll have to unbridge the modem one day when it's jacking up on me and check things out. I'll keep this post updated when it happens again. Thanks.

PS. For some reason, I am only able to access dslreports.com now via proxy??? Any ideas why?