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AgentGoat
join:2011-09-07
Springfield, OH

1 edit

AgentGoat

Member

General Question about RG replacement

I've got a 3800HGV still kicking from my original install in late 2009. A couple days ago I had a series of short disconnect warnings in a game I play (L4D2, with a 30sec server timeout, so I didn't drop). While playing I'm using Ventrilo, and connected to an IRC channel on a secondary machine. Neither of these disconnected that evening.

Tonight I was playing again and dropped completely. Everything disconnected. I had enough time to login to my router, verify it was up, and attempt to connect to the RG, when the connection came back up. About 10 minutes later it dropped again, for a shorter period this time. Ventrilo's audible connect sound effect makes a great "hey it's back" notification.

The training history in the DSL diagnostics on the RG reveals an exit code of "ERR_HI_BER_LIMIT" around the time of the drop. This is accompanied by accompanied by a large number of CRCs and FECs (I know the first term, but not the second). This seems to be the most concise bit of info I can find in a cursory examination of the unit.

Now obviously these issues don't have to be a problem with the RG, but it got me to thinking that the box will probably fail some day, and I'm wondering how many cattle I'll have to sacrifice to get a new one. Can it be accomplished in less than two hours on the phone with tech support? I'd prefer to replace it *before* it fails completely if that's where this situation is headed.

Aside from that godforsaken box and its determination to forget my DMZ+ setting on occasion, I have to say that this is the first noticeable service degradation I've seen in the entire time I've had the uverse service... I realize this makes me one of the lucky ones.

Thanks for any input you folks might have..

-- edit --

I finally remembered UV realtime (couldn't recall the name) and installed it. Reading through the docs, it appears that my line statistics range from normal to exceedingly good.

The error table shows 2 link retrains with 2 training timeouts, and a huge number of corrected blocks (62272) along with 948 uncorrected blocks. These numbers are stable at this point, so I'm presuming they accumulated in the period where I was having trouble. This data is limited as the RG was rebooted earlier today for unrelated reasons.

Anyone care to guess what happened here? This took place a bit after midnight, so it's not as if they were fiddling with the equipment upstream.

Thanks again.

jtudor
MVM
join:2002-12-07
Morganton, NC

jtudor

MVM

You can log in to the RG and reset the statistics so that you can then watch any errors count up from 0, knowing exactly when you last reset them.

Forosnai
join:2011-09-30

Forosnai to AgentGoat

Member

to AgentGoat
If you're not keen on the call in support, use the online chat or make a detailed post on the direct forum with your account info and contact #. I had zero pushback getting my 3800 upgraded 18 months ago via the 800#. Outside of you being one of those rare Fiber to the home installs that can't use the 3801 direct shipped from ATT, I'm sure that if you articulate the symptoms your experiencing, and explain that you'll have no problems with the DIY install and dropping off the old RG at the UPS store, they'll hook you up.
AgentGoat
join:2011-09-07
Springfield, OH

AgentGoat

Member

Excellent, thanks. I hadn't thought of the chat service. I also wasn't sure how they handled the return and such. I don't know that I'd want to bug the folks on the direct forum for this.

RJW
@sbcglobal.net

RJW to AgentGoat

Anon

to AgentGoat
I just posted a similar complaint, mine for very erratic speeds and it problems it was causing me-- from two different sites, one with a new RG.
I have a feeling the problem is with the ATT systems, not with a single installation.
AgentGoat
join:2011-09-07
Springfield, OH

AgentGoat

Member

Well, it happened again. Connection flickering in and out for about 15 minutes. Unfortunately I was not able to recover without restarting the modem, so I have no data as to what was going on. I guess maybe I need to get going on a replacement.

I *have* seen multiple link retrains via the RG web interface. So is it the RG or the VRAD?

Forosnai
join:2011-09-30

Forosnai to AgentGoat

Member

to AgentGoat
Bottom line, if you don't let ATT know about it, it's not going to get any better. If you've had the same RG for years, it's definitely a good idea to get a new one and or schedule a tech visit to make sure all the ATT connections are up to date. Modem refrains are almost always caused by problems with the modem or the copper before the modem.
AgentGoat
join:2011-09-07
Springfield, OH

AgentGoat

Member

Yes, I know Forosnai I just hate dealing with ATT, as I have to talk to them quite a bit in my job.

I contacted them via chat as you suggested and it only took half an hour to get a new RG on the way. Hopefully that will resolve the issue.

Thanks for your help.

Mario101
@sbcglobal.net

Mario101

Anon

Was it free? Or did you have to pay full price?? Also did you send your old one. I thinking of getting a new one I been having it sense mid 2011 but I want it for free