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fonzbear2000
Premium Member
join:2005-08-09
Saint Paul, MN
·Verizon Wireless

fonzbear2000

Premium Member

Connection going from normal to very slow every 2-3 days

About a week and a half ago, my connection all of a sudden got very slow so after many modem and router resets with no change, I called Comcast. They said the signal levels on my modem looked fine and they couldn't really do anything to fix the issue. I just let it go and couple days after that, my speeds went back to normal, but then, a couple more days after that, I started to get slower speeds again, but for some reason, I just let it go again and they again returned to normal after a couple more days. Well, it's been a couple days again and speeds are again back to being slow. I thought it might be the router so I plugged the modem directly into a computer and no change. I've never experienced anything like this in the 8 plus years I've had Comcast. So, before I make another call to Comcast, I would like to get your opinions on this and if there is anything else I can do to try and resolve the issue. Thanks.

Here is what my modem currently shows:

It's the Arris TM402P

Downstream
Freq/Power: 705.000 MHz -9 dBmV
Signal to Noise Ratio: 35 dB
Modulation: QAM256
Upstream
Freq/Power: 29.000 MHz 46 dBmV
Channel Type: DOCSIS 2.0 (ATDMA)
Symbol Rate: 5120 kSym/sec
Modulation: QAM64

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

downstream power is pretty low, COULD be a potential problem, depending which way it swings. SNR looks ok for such low power. Upstream looks ok.

fonzbear2000
Premium Member
join:2005-08-09
Saint Paul, MN
·Verizon Wireless

fonzbear2000

Premium Member

said by tshirt:

downstream power is pretty low, COULD be a potential problem, depending which way it swings. SNR looks ok for such low power. Upstream looks ok.

Well, now it's -8 and it does say
For all modems: -10 dBmV to +10 dBmV "Recommended".

The main thing I don't get is why is my speed going from normal for 2 or 3 days to super slow for 2 or 3 days, back and forth like that?

Extide
join:2000-06-11
Salt Lake City, UT

Extide to fonzbear2000

Member

to fonzbear2000
SNR is way more important than the power level itself. With a 35db level it seems ok.

Keep some logs of the exact times it is fast/slow. See if there are any correlations (like slow in evenings/etc). Also have a look at signal levels when it is slow.

fonzbear2000
Premium Member
join:2005-08-09
Saint Paul, MN
·Verizon Wireless

fonzbear2000

Premium Member

said by Extide:

SNR is way more important than the power level itself. With a 35db level it seems ok.

Keep some logs of the exact times it is fast/slow. See if there are any correlations (like slow in evenings/etc). Also have a look at signal levels when it is slow.

It stays slow for 2-3 days straight and then goes to normal for 2-3 days straight. All day and night. The signal levels I already posted are from right now which is slow.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

1 edit

tshirt to fonzbear2000

Premium Member

to fonzbear2000
A 3.5dBmV fluctuation in signal on any given day is totally within normal range.
so assuming your modem is exactly right about the level(it's not a precision meter, but a "close enough" sort of reading) depending on exact when you took the reading, it could actually be down at -12 or so part of the time, throw in changing temps/seasonal manual adjustments, and you could have such a low signal that your modem is constantly saying "sorry, I didn't hear that, please say again" continual resends could explain the bad performance days.
It is borderline enough to make it worth calling in for a tech and fixing/adjusting it before you totally lose contact.

fonzbear2000
Premium Member
join:2005-08-09
Saint Paul, MN
·Verizon Wireless

fonzbear2000

Premium Member

I called Comcast again and they said the modem was getting lots of packet loss and that it was probably starting to die. I got a new modem and all is good now. Thanks so much for all your input.