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Vince6
join:2013-01-08

Vince6

Member

Re: [TWC] Possible problem with new Zoom 5341j

Talked to a level 3 guy again. He said everything looks good and there was nothing they could do. I hung up on him. Maybe I'll see if the TWC office can give me a 3.0 modem tomorrow. Not sure what else to try.

hobgoblin
Sortof Agoblin
Premium Member
join:2001-11-25
Orchard Park, NY

hobgoblin

Premium Member

"Talked to a level 3 guy again. He said everything looks good and there was nothing they could do. I hung up on him."

Nice.

Hob
Vince6
join:2013-01-08

Vince6

Member

I didn't hang up in the middle of the call. I hung up as he was about to go in to the "thanks, is there anything else I can do, blah blah blah...".
Radisc359
join:2010-10-02
Fremont, NE

Radisc359

Member

In my case, they need to have an engineer look at the codes for this modem, because something isn't kosher with their system and this modem. A temporary solution would indeed to get a different modem and see if the disconnections go away. Now tier 3 can only do so much, for my issue they are now monitoring it to look for patterns in the drops when it sends a DHCP request then fails disconnecting us for like 10-30seconds every ~2.5days. You can have great signal and have a modem that is not configured correctly, but it takes so long for them realize the error. My recommendation would be to get a $4 dollar credit for a month and try one of their Docsis 3 modems and see if the problem goes away.

j1349705
Premium Member
join:2006-04-15
Holly Springs, NC

1 edit

j1349705

Premium Member

said by Radisc359:

In my case, they need to have an engineer look at the codes for this modem, because something isn't kosher with their system and this modem. A temporary solution would indeed to get a different modem and see if the disconnections go away. Now tier 3 can only do so much, for my issue they are now monitoring it to look for patterns in the drops when it sends a DHCP request then fails disconnecting us for like 10-30seconds every ~2.5days. You can have great signal and have a modem that is not configured correctly, but it takes so long for them realize the error. My recommendation would be to get a $4 dollar credit for a month and try one of their Docsis 3 modems and see if the problem goes away.

How did you get anyone to bother looking at the issue where the connection drops every 2.5 days after the DHCP failure? I have the same issue, and they don't seem to be interested in helping me.

This isn't the worst issue I have seen with a cable modem... it is certainly annoying, but at least it doesn't completely hang and require a power cycle to restore service.

I have also found an unrelated firmware bug on version 5.5.4.4J (patched in 5.5.4.9J). I'd rather not disclose the nature of the bug on a public forum. Time Warner Cable refuses to push the update, insisting that customers can install it themselves (which is not true), and that Time Warner Cable never updates the firmware of customer owned modems. This makes me wonder why they even bother with an approved device list. Firmware updates on cable modems are rare, but sometimes necessary.

I have spoken to tier 3 multiple times.
Radisc359
join:2010-10-02
Fremont, NE

1 edit

Radisc359

Member

Actually my I've had three customer owned modems, my first SB6141(unused) acts like its overloaded or overheated randomly while speedtests show fine, my 2nd SB6141(returned) had odd disconnects with large jumps in codeword errors. This Zoom works so much better. Also they aren't monitoring it for the dhcp error thing, I was told the downstream crashes, while it adds it to the upstream. That's what Tier 3 told me the last time I talked to them. So the guy put my modem on a monitor, and that someone would get back to me if they saw a pattern. I know they can't read the correctable/uncorrectable errors on the Zoom, so they may not even be able see the snmp log. I'm just sick of bugs and just want a modem I can leave on and have it stay up without a dhcp failure or any funniness.

j1349705
Premium Member
join:2006-04-15
Holly Springs, NC

j1349705

Premium Member

said by Radisc359:

I know they can't read the correctable/uncorrectable errors on the Zoom, so they may not even be able see the snmp log. I'm just sick of bugs and just want a modem I can leave on and have it stay up without a dhcp failure or any funniness.

I think they can see the SNMP log... the most helpful tech that I talked to said he saw the same errors I was talking about.

Regarding getting a stable modem, I think that might never happen. Every modem has an occasional firmware bug... usually they don't impact everyone (sometimes they only impact people on one brand and model of CMTS).

TWC's outright refusal to even consider updating firmware on customer owned modems means it will always be luck of the draw... if you buy a modem with perfect firmware, you will be OK... unless TWC makes network changes that expose a bug. In that case, be ready for the run-around, with the fix being to buy a different modem and hope for the best.

This also shows that the own your own modem program exists purely to get people to stop complaining about the fee, and that they don't take it seriously and don't intend to support modems on the list of approved customer owned devices.

I just wish we could apply our own firmware updates. I have never seen a cable modem that intentionally allowed this, most likely due to security reasons (for example, they wouldn't want someone loading custom firmware that ignores parts of the config file that is sent on startup).

Going back to a rented modem isn't a solution either. I didn't buy my modem just because of the fee, I bought it because I don't want to be stuck with whatever random beat up used modem they feel like providing on any given day, especially since some of the DOCSIS 3 gateways are a bit of a PITA to deal with in bridge mode (I'm thinking specifically of the Motorola SBG6580). I just want a plain modem, no router, no wireless, just a bridge. My pfSense router beats the hell out of any integrated cable modem gateway product.
j1349705

3 edits

j1349705 to Radisc359

Premium Member

to Radisc359
This post contained information about a possible fix for the DHCP error and connection drops, but it turned out not to true. Therefore, I have removed the contents.