Here are a few helpful tips for trouble-shooting cable internet issues:
Factory resetting your cable modemTo factory reset your modem, hold the 'reset' pin in on the back of the modem for 30 seconds or until all the lights flash and the modem begins to reset itself. This does much more than just 'rebooting' the modem as it causes all the memory from the prior configuration to be erased, rescans the channels on the node for the best set and requests a new copy of the profile to be sent down to it.
Modem signal levelsTo get your modem details open »
192.168.100.1 in your browser and go to the diagnostics, signal or statistics page. There you will see a grid showing which channels and frequencies are being used by the modem. Your receiving (forward) signal should be between -11 and +11 dBmV, and the transmission (return) signal level should be between +35 and +52 dBmV, and the BER (bit error rate) should all be 0%. If you have poor signals check the physical connectors that they are tight and remove any additional splitters that may be in the path. If the signals don't improve and you're able to connect the modem to the cable where it comes in your building that will help determine if the issue is with the outside or inside wiring. If you change the physical setup, it's best to make sure you label which cables went where so you can put things back afterwards.
Speed issuesThe first step is always to factory reset the modem. If the problem still occurs after this it is important to remove the router/wifi from the equation. Testing over wifi or a handheld device is never accurate as you have to contend with interference from other wireless devices, cordless phones, baby monitors and even your microwave. Even just using a wired connection to your router does not eliminate all problems such as routers not capable of higher speeds because of CPU limits, QoS settings, memory leaks or other people on your network using the connection during your testing.
The second step is to make sure that you close down any software from your now directly connected computer, including background updates, backups, etc that could be using your connection in the background. Additionally some anti-virus and firewall software can sometimes be the source of the problem, try temporarily disabling it.
The third step if the problem persists is to check your physical setup, ie try replacing the network cable if you have a spare, or using a different computer to see if you have a problem with the network card on it.
If you're not able to resolve it please call us and we'd be happy to trouble-shoot with you and put in a ticket if there is an issue with your line.
Latency issuesBefore testing specifically for latency issues it's important to reset your modem and do the same testing for speed issues as above, ie removing the router from the network while trouble-shooting. If speeds are good, but latency exists then there are a few additional steps to take.
First, it's important to determine what type of latency you're experiencing. It can either be a constant (ie high latency for minutes at a time) or intermittent (ie a few high latency packets intermixed with regular latency). It can also be related to time of day (ie happens any time during the day vs only happens during peak periods).
Second, it's important to determine where the latency is, ie to test your local node you should ping the gateway of your connection and if you experience the latency on that first hop then the following grid is the typical reason for the latency:
Constant or intermittent at peak: Node congestion. A factory reset of the modem might pick up a better channel set that is less congested.
Constant off-peak: Something on your system is saturating your upload, hunt it down and turn it off. If nothing really is running (check byte counters on your network card interface), then either an equipment or line failure.
Intermittent off-peak: Equipment or line failure.
If there is no latency on the first hop but exists further down, then use »
WinMTR.net and run a 10 minute test to determine where the problem exists.
Splash screenIf you get a splash screen showing the incumbent cable carriers logo, that means that your modem is not properly registered or you are using a different modem than has been registered with us. If the later, reconnect the registered modem. If that is not the problem please verify the MAC address on the label matches the status screen at »
192.168.100.1 and let our support team know the details.