OptimumOnline → [OOL] Optonline Phone & Internet regular dropouts in PJ Sta NY

For years Phone and internet were stable last year drop outs started. Dropout defined as phone dead internet dead router still alive. Problem usually solved with disconnect of power to modems and routers. Remember both PHONE and internet drop out never just one. Wiring is pole to splitter (TV/Cable modem) 3 downstream splitters on TV line. Optimum has sent techs repeatedly... changing downstream splitters for TV which was not the issue. changing cable modem, latest is ARRIS TM822G. Since the change there are more frequent dropouts multiple daily. I asked techs to swap out modem... they came with another ARRIS TM822G... no change. All techs report that signal to modem is good and it must be me. Techs are now suggesting rewiring feed which is a real pain because the line is buried in walls and I will have to be present if they are running a new path. Some of the techs are aesthetically blind and even dangerous when it comes to routing cable. I have a real hard time believing that its the feed as the failure has a frequency... dead every morning (unknown when it exactly dropped). I have never seen cable fail like that. The techs dont/wont reason... they follow protocol. I would like break the run on insanity and run a long diagnostic cycle to find root cause. Im open to any suggestions that are not guesses... I get that from the techs.

What do you see here »192.168.100.1/cgi-bin/status_cgi and here »192.168.100.1/cgi-bin/event_cgi

Thanks I had a seperate request on accessing the logs:) I have attached the log in pdf... It probably means more to you than me... strange log time in DOCSIS
I noticed that there's a warning that the battery is missing ... saw another post where the user was pulling his battery to allow true resets and believed it caused modem drops because drops occured when he reinstalled battery.... any thoughts. Thank you very much for your time.

and the status log attached

Have you checked the signal multiple times a day at different times. Its possible a bad line or equipment outside is causing your transmit level to raise above what is required. If you havent done that you should then you will know if its possibly signal related. It could be electrical interference or a lot of things. Do you have any extra wiring in house connected to splitters that are not used anymore?

You could also put yur router on channel 11 if not already on . You can also leave the router unplugged from modem overnight and see if modem stays on. These i suggest since you say the cable is probly fine. Does your neighbor(s) have same exact issue?

The router wouldn't cause the phone to drop.

If you have phone you should have a battery. At least one person with an Arris found that they were seeing reboots without a battery and the reboots did not occur when they had a battery in the modem, at least that was the last info reported. I don't know if your first Arris had a battery but if it did not I would request a battery since with a Phone, I believe you should have one anyway.

Thanks to all of you for your help:
Alpacas: How would you suggest I check the signal and what am I looking for? I have a scope There is no extra wiring upstream. On the TV line downstream I have some splitters but cable co has replaced them at least 3 times... its in their book come to house, change splitters, change wire even though they admit that there's ample signal... I complained about the delay changing channels on digital box which is still there.
TheWiseGy: I saw that post about the battery as well but the large battery pack was not included... just a gapping hole.
We originally called because occaisionally the phone and internet would drop out... they switched to Arris modem and it happens multiple times a day. Swapped to a second Arris modem with same multiple failures per day result. Everytime it fails it takes a power cycle on the powerstrip to get it started again... that cycles power on modem, routers etc. Real PIA

Did anyone see anything that looked strange to them in the log? Whats with the time scale dropping back to 1970?Bad Parameter in config file? Also checked again and there are no new events.

It is normal for the time to go to 1970 until the modem contacts the Time of Day server. The time is really an irrelevant parameter, it does not change modem performance.

Lack of battery shouldn't cause repeated T3/T4 timeouts. With the other issue referred to possibly involving the battery usage, it was not happening with the frequency described here. I feel confident in saying that significantly less than 10% of users have a battery connected, and that a lot of people would be complaining of daily dropouts with their modems if that was a software/hardware defect. It may not be an issue at your home, but it seems clear to me that CV needs to either roll again to your house or somewhere in the field, if they can see anything that causes a problem.

You can purchase a battery if you want to have a battery for back-up purposes, though.

frdrizzt: thank you... extremely good point about number of users without batteries. I came here to see if there were any others experiencing similar problems. That said what do you think it might be? I have an extremely hard time believing the cable is good then bad theory... I wanted to run an external cable through the window just to test the theory but I ran out of time. CV is coming next Friday. Will likely want to replace all of the splitters for a 4th time. I will let them replace the cable while Im there.

Your upstream power is quite high - near the upper limit in fact. The timeouts are often the result of the node not hearing your modem. The high power is caused by the node telling your modem it needs to shout louder because it can't be heard.

I had a similar problem. The upstream power would suddenly go up to near the limit, and occasionally the modem would drop off and back on. It always came back after a minute or two. The techs eventually thought my house wiring might be the issue. I disconnected everything but the modem and still saw problems. So probably outside wiring?

Eventually, they redid everything inside and out, and now I'm rock solid. I was really surprised that the wiring could cause this, but apparently it's not just a signal loss issue but a collection of noise and reflections that dirty the signal.

I do not have a battery.

The power level on bottom of status page is transmit.

So last night one of the best techs OOL ever sent arrives (not being sarcastic). He pulled out an inline amp previos tech installed on FEED LINE.. replaced a leg of downstream noisey cable and replaced line to the house. Dramatic improvement in TV quality... TV looks like DVD almost Blueray quality... never noticed I was looking at poor quality TV because it started out that way. at 930am wife complained "Words with friends not working" aka no IP services. Noticed modem Tel1 tel 2 line and line were blinking madly ....the internet dropped briefly but reaquired without a reset... time will tell. I think they have an overcrowded signal distribution problem when the masses wake up and go online. Thanks to all... you represent what is truly great about the internet.

Were those tel lights blinking at same time? Were any other lights blinking along with these? If theres a phone wiring short with the arris sometimes all the lights will flash at same time. Maybe the amp or drop was causing the upstream levels to fluxuate .