dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
2869
ceiu
join:2012-08-15
united state

ceiu

Member

[HSI] Ultra100 + SB6121 (political) issues

I used Charter throughout all of college and, in my last year, upgraded to the ultra 100 service and picked up my own modem (Motorola SB6121). It worked great, had no issues provisioning it or anything. Didn't even have to deal with the dreaded "whoops, we forgot you had your own modem and charged you a rental fee" issues I've seen others on these boards have had.

But now I've recently moved to a new townhouse after being outside their service area for a few months, so I had to cancel and sign up for new services. However, this time I was blindsided by the news that I will no longer be able to use my own modem and I'll be provided with one (Cisco DPC3010). Yeah, I'm no longer (explicitly) charged for it, but I paid a pretty hefty fee to get my stylish little modem and it didn't even have enough time to pay for itself, so I'd like to let it live out its life. Not to mention, the provided Cisco modem looks just like a cheap junker.

Anyway, during the install today (which I was forced to pay for *grumble*), the installer said he'd have no problem attempting to provision my 6121, which I thought was awesome. Sadly though, as we watched it go through its startup and connection process, right before it finished the connection, immediately after the "online" globe light turned green, the upstream and downstream lights started flashing blue, the online light turned off and the connection seemed to have been dropped entirely.

So, I guess I'm wondering if Charter is actually doing something to prevent non-Cisco modems from connecting, or if my modem decided to die at a very (in)convenient time. The modem's status and signal pages say everything is working and it's connected, but I can't get Charter's install page or anything to come up, nor has my Google-fu turned up any information on what the double flashing lights mean.

So, tl;dr:
- Anyone have any clue what the flashing upstream/downstream lights means, exactly?
- Is Charter actually blocking other modems? Is it even feasible?
- Is there anything else I can check to determine where the problem is?

Thanks
-C
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

I have SB6121 works fine.

There's no "secret" charge for a modem. Considering 30 meg is $15 a month cheaper than the old price if you rented a modem from Charter.

You were charge for an install because you are getting new services at a new place. that has been pretty much standard for a long time. If you had Charter digital cable already you could do a self install.
Feramors
join:2010-05-07
Saint Louis, MO

Feramors to ceiu

Member

to ceiu
I could have sworn that Us/DS flashign simultaneously means the firmware is updating.

I could be wrong about that, though.

cablegeek01
join:2003-05-13
USA

cablegeek01 to ceiu

Member

to ceiu
the flashing up and downstream lights usually means that the modem is trying download new firmware. Charter's provisioning system will try and keep all supported modems on the latest firmware. If you open a browser, enter 192.168.100.1 and go to the info page, what firmware is your modem running?
Chubbysumo
join:2009-12-01
Duluth, MN
Ubee E31U2V1
(Software) pfSense
Netgear WNR3500L

Chubbysumo

Member

said by cablegeek01:

the flashing up and downstream lights usually means that the modem is trying download new firmware. Charter's provisioning system will try and keep all supported modems on the latest firmware. If you open a browser, enter 192.168.100.1 and go to the info page, what firmware is your modem running?

mine did that as well. Lets hope that he didnt brick it by unplugging it in the middle of a FW update.
markopoleo
join:2003-04-02
Bonne Terre, MO

markopoleo to 88615298

Member

to 88615298
said by 88615298:

I have SB6121 works fine.

There's no "secret" charge for a modem. Considering 30 meg is $15 a month cheaper than the old price if you rented a modem from Charter.

You were charge for an install because you are getting new services at a new place. that has been pretty much standard for a long time. If you had Charter digital cable already you could do a self install.

If he told charter he was moving they would not charge him at all.

mmainprize
join:2001-12-06
Houghton Lake, MI

mmainprize to ceiu

Member

to ceiu
You should try and sell the extra modem on E-bay while you can still get most of your money back. The modem that charter gave is working and will be replaced if it stops working by charter.

Or keep it for a backup in case you have troubles and need something to run over a weekend until the charter tech can come out and replace it.
ceiu
join:2012-08-15
united state

ceiu to cablegeek01

Member

to cablegeek01
said by cablegeek01:

the flashing up and downstream lights usually means that the modem is trying download new firmware. Charter's provisioning system will try and keep all supported modems on the latest firmware. If you open a browser, enter 192.168.100.1 and go to the info page, what firmware is your modem running?

Here's all the info:

Help
Model Name: SB6121
Vendor Name: Motorola
Firmware Name: SB_KOMODO-1.0.6.1-SCM00-NOSH
Boot Version: PSPU-Boot(25CLK) 1.0.12.
Hardware Version: 5.0
Serial Number: -snip-
Firmware Build Time: May 12 2011 15:15:14

Status
DOCSIS Downstream Channel Acquisition Done
DOCSIS Ranging Done
Establish IP Connectivity using DHCP Done
Establish Time Of Day Done
Transfer Operational Parameters through TFTP Done
Register Connection Done
Cable Modem Status Operational
Initialize Baseline Privacy Done

Cable Modem Operation Value
Current Time and Date Aug 16 2012 16:58:50
System Up Time 0 days 0h:4m:13s

Signal
Downstream Bonding Channel Value
Channel ID 193 194 195 196
Frequency 723000000 Hz 729000000 Hz 735000000 Hz 741000000 Hz
Signal to Noise Ratio 37 dB 37 dB 38 dB 38 dB
Downstream Modulation QAM256 QAM256 QAM256 QAM256
Power Level
The Downstream Power Level reading is a snapshot taken at the time this page was requested. Please Reload/Refresh this Page for a new reading
2 dBmV 2 dBmV 3 dBmV 3 dBmV

Upstream Bonding Channel Value
Channel ID 2
Frequency 26400000 Hz
Ranging Service ID 1985
Symbol Rate 5.120 Msym/sec
Power Level 47 dBmV
Upstream Modulation [3] 16QAM
[3] 64QAM

Ranging Status Success

Signal Stats (Codewords) Bonding Channel Value
Channel ID 193 194 195 196
Total Unerrored Codewords 12446343 11612137 11612314 11612492
Total Correctable Codewords 17 0 0 0
Total Uncorrectable Codewords 643 565 548 518

----

How long does a firmware update take? I left this thing on all night in the event that was the issue, but it's still flashing at me almost 24 hours later. Also, at the moment I've got the Cisco modem provisioned on my account. Do I need to switch over to the 6121 before it will be able to download firmware?
whoaru99
join:2003-12-17

2 edits

whoaru99

Member

Are you using a router between the modem and the computer? If so, take that out, shut down computer. connect computer to Moto modem, connect CATV to modem, then power up modem wait until the startup cycle seems complete, then boot up the computer. If the modem isn't registered/provisioned then you should get the self-service equipment page in the browser.

Some say it works fine with the router between (if you have one) but I've never had success that way, only direct to do the modem myself.

EDIT: FWIW I'm in MN too and just tried a SB6120 I had laying around and it seemed like there was not problem. I didn't actually go through with the provisioning but all LEDS/indicators acted normally and when I release/renewed the IP on my computer the browser went straight to Charter's self install website.
ceiu
join:2012-08-15
united state

ceiu

Member

I've reset the configuration, unhooked all of my other equipment, rebooted everything... and got nowhere. I did get some fresh log data, however:

Aug 16 2012 18:48:45  5-Warning   Z00.0   MIMO Event MIMO: Stored MIMO=-1 post cfg file MIMO=-1;CM-MAC=                 ;CMTS-MAC=                 ;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Jan 01 1970 00:00:02  5-Warning   D04.1   ToD request sent - No Response received;CM-MAC=                 ;CMTS-MAC=                 ;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Aug 16 2012 18:48:31  3-Critical  R02.0   No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out;CM-MAC=                 ;CMTS-MAC=                 ;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Aug 16 2012 18:48:15  3-Critical  I02.0   REG RSP not received;CM-MAC=                 ;CMTS-MAC=                 ;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Aug 16 2012 18:48:15  4-Error   I271.0  T6 Timeout and retries exceeded;CM-MAC=                 ;CMTS-MAC=                 ;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Aug 16 2012 18:48:15  3-Critical  I251.3  Registration RSP rejected unspecified reason;CM-MAC=                 ;CMTS-MAC=                 ;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Aug 16 2012 18:48:15  5-Warning   Z00.0   MIMO Event MIMO: Stored MIMO=-1 post cfg file MIMO=-1;CM-MAC=                 ;CMTS-MAC=                 ;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Jan 01 1970 00:00:01  5-Warning   D04.1   ToD request sent - No Response received;CM-MAC=                 ;CMTS-MAC=                 ;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Jan 01 1970 00:00:38  3-Critical  R02.0   No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out;CM-MAC=                 ;CMTS-MAC=                 ;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Jan 01 1970 00:00:13  6-Notice    Cable Modem Reboot from GUI/Configuration page ;CM-MAC=                 ;CMTS-MAC=                 ;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
 

MAC addresses blanked out by me.
whoaru99
join:2003-12-17

whoaru99

Member

Probably time to go straight to the source and post/ask in Charter Direct forum.

cablegeek01
join:2003-05-13
USA

cablegeek01 to ceiu

Member

to ceiu
said by ceiu:

I've reset the configuration, unhooked all of my other equipment, rebooted everything... and got nowhere. I did get some fresh log data, however:

 
Aug 16 2012 18:48:15  3-Critical  I02.0   REG RSP not received;CM-MAC=                 ;CMTS-MAC=                 ;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Aug 16 2012 18:48:15  4-Error   I271.0  T6 Timeout and retries exceeded;CM-MAC=                 ;CMTS-MAC=                 ;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Aug 16 2012 18:48:15  3-Critical  I251.3  Registration RSP rejected unspecified reason;CM-MAC=                 ;CMTS-MAC=                 ;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
 
Jan 01 1970 00:00:13  6-Notice    Cable Modem Reboot from GUI/Configuration page ;CM-MAC=                 ;CMTS-MAC=                 ;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
 

MAC addresses blanked out by me.

For some reason Charter is rejecting the registration request from the modem. (also the modem needs newer firmware. The latest is either 1.0.6.3 or 1.0.6.6) As said above, I'd open a ticket in the direct forum and see if they can provision it for you. It's better to have a knowledgeable tech/engineer from charter to help here, since the auto provisioning probably wont take. Let us know how it turns out!
ceiu
join:2012-08-15
united state

ceiu

Member

I'm currently working with CharterDylan over there, but I was going to wait to see if and what worked before posting my reply.

It seems like part of the problem is that the modem is still associated with my old account, so it's being rejected.
Also, he said the firmware was fine, so either Charter is only using 1.0.6.1 or he's just assuming/expecting the firmware will/to be updated once the account information overlap is corrected.

I'll post more once I get this resolved.
whoaru99
join:2003-12-17

whoaru99

Member

I doubt it has anything to do with the firmware. My 6120 has old firmware and I have no reason to believe it wouldn't have provisioned based on what I saw yesterday.

Also, even if Charter is pushing newer firmware I doubt that it would be pushed to your modem until it's provisioned on their system.

msmisfit
join:2004-09-13
Atlanta, GA
ARRIS SB6121
Netgear WNDR3800

msmisfit to ceiu

Member

to ceiu
said by ceiu:

Also, he said the firmware was fine, so either Charter is only using 1.0.6.1 or he's just assuming/expecting the firmware will/to be updated once the account information overlap is corrected.

My SB 6121 is still using l.0.6.1 and working fine. That old account association probably is the root of the problem.
ceiu
join:2012-08-15
united state

ceiu

Member

Indeed it was. I gave Charter a call and mentioned the old account and they removed the modem from that account and re-provisioned it on my new account. From there it just took reboot or two to solve all the issues.

Now I get to do this all over again when the cable card arrives on Wednesday.