jdohe3
join:2010-08-11
Seminole, FL
1 edit |
jdohe3
Member
2014-Jul-2 2:59 pm
[Internet] Brighthouse in Central FloridaI have a very frustrating problem that I have done everything imaginable about, yet still exists. I will get right to the most clear example of the problem.
I have Lightning 90 service. The speeds are correct at about 100 down and 11 up, but I have massive problems connecting to websites about 95% of the time. They either load very slowly, or don't load at all, and I get messages such as "Unable to resolve DNS Server" or "Webpage failed to load" or "Unable to access web page" or "The Proxy Server is not responding" or "Internet Explorer cannot display the web page" or "The proxy server isn’t responding" or "Unable to connect to the Internet". It works fine about 5% of the time. This happens with websites such as: Bing, Yahoo mail, Youtube, CNN, etc. It happens both on my wired and wireless connections, and on both my laptop and desktop. It happened on my Windows 7 computer and also on Windows 8.1. Once I am on a page, that page works fine, until I refresh the page or go to another page. If I disable and re-enable the adapter, that temporarily fixes the problem for about 20 seconds.
NOW - here is the most annoying part. I take my laptop to a free wifi place like McDonalds or Publix or Boston Market - and pages load up instantly 100% of the time instead of 5% of the time at home. I make no changes to any settings, yet I get superior performance out of the free wifi than I do at home.
While we are at it, NONE of the local Brighthouse Hotspots work. I can sit in a parking lot that has a Brighthouse Hotspot and also McDonalds wayport.net - and the Brighthouse one doesn't work, yet the McDonalds one works perfectly.
Bascially, everybody's free wifi works except for Brighthouse's, and my home Brighthouse is not working the way it should. I would switch to Verizon's FIOS if it were available here. |
actions · 2014-Jul-2 2:59 pm · (locked) |
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I would suggest starting off with using a different DNS server. Login to your router and change the default DNS server (which is defaulted to RR DNS) to the following:
Primary - 208.67.222.222
Secondary - 208.67.220.220
Let me know how it turns out. |
actions · 2014-Jul-2 3:20 pm · (locked) |
bighorn1
Premium Member
join:2004-06-19
California |
bighorn1
Premium Member
2014-Jul-2 3:33 pm
Level3 has usually the best DNS servers. Quick, reliable and they return all errors as oppose to re-directing wrong URLs to advertising pages.
Trace the IPs and see which are closest to your location
Level3 public DNS Servers:
4.2.2.1
4.2.2.2
4.2.2.3
4.2.2.4
4.2.2.5
4.2.2.6
209.244.0.3
209.244.0.4 |
actions · 2014-Jul-2 3:33 pm · (locked) |
BHNtechXpertThe One & Only
Premium Member
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL |
to jdohe3
said by jdohe3:I have a very frustrating problem that I have done everything imaginable about, yet still exists. I will get right to the most clear example of the problem.
I have Lightning 90 service. The speeds are correct at about 100 down and 11 up, but I have massive problems connecting to websites about 95% of the time. They either load very slowly, or don't load at all, and I get messages such as "Unable to resolve DNS Server" or "Webpage failed to load" or "Unable to access web page" or "The Proxy Server is not responding" or "Internet Explorer cannot display the web page" or "The proxy server isn’t responding" or "Unable to connect to the Internet". It works fine about 5% of the time. This happens with websites such as: Bing, Yahoo mail, Youtube, CNN, etc. It happens both on my wired and wireless connections, and on both my laptop and desktop. It happened on my Windows 7 computer and also on Windows 8.1. Once I am on a page, that page works fine, until I refresh the page or go to another page. If I disable and re-enable the adapter, that temporarily fixes the problem for about 20 seconds.
NOW - here is the most annoying part. I take my laptop to a free wifi place like McDonalds or Publix or Boston Market - and pages load up instantly 100% of the time instead of 5% of the time at home. I make no changes to any settings, yet I get superior performance out of the free wifi than I do at home.
While we are at it, NONE of the local Brighthouse Hotspots work. I can sit in a parking lot that has a Brighthouse Hotspot and also McDonalds wayport.net - and the Brighthouse one doesn't work, yet the McDonalds one works perfectly.
Bascially, everybody's free wifi works except for Brighthouse's, and my home Brighthouse is not working the way it should. I would switch to Verizon's FIOS if it were available here. This is not a DNS issue this is system config issue of some type based purely on your description of the problem. The fact that you state that all your systems behave the same way on or off your modem (including the hotspots) doesn't make much sense unless you are using the same security platform on each gone horribly wrong OR you have some funky config going on. Perhaps some more details are in order. |
actions · 2014-Jul-2 4:06 pm · (locked) |
jdohe3
join:2010-08-11
Seminole, FL |
jdohe3
Member
2014-Jul-3 6:36 am
Well, it is very confusing to me also. Just a couple of hours ago, I drove down the block to where Publix is on 113th St in Seminole area code 33772. Publix free wifi is also roadrunner. My laptop connected instantly to it, automatically, and all the webpages loaded almost instantly.
My current suspicions are that either my router at home is not fully compatible with Brighthouse 90 (it is an Arris) or that something is interfering or hijacking my DNS server or there is a DOS (denial of service issue). I just got the Arris replaced with another Arris (the previous one's battery was not charging).
Another weird thing is that when a page won't load, file transfers still go fine in the background. And, if I disable and re-enable the adapter, I can load pages for about 20 seconds before the problem arises again.
Another concern I have is that I have some very shady neighbors who share the same outside cable receptacle which looks like a mini silo on a farm. Although there is a lock on it now, that lock was not there until recently. I would not put it past them to have screwed with the wiring inside that 2 foot tall "silo".
One thing I would love to try is to find were someone has a Lightning 90 setup like mine that either does not have a password, or I had the password to. Then, I could eliminate my computer as having anything to do with the issue. And better yet, it would determine if the Brighthouse DNS server is an issue. Although Publix uses roadrunner, they use a business account which is not the same, and I am sure they use a different router/modem. For instance, I am sure they are not on an Arris modem nor with Lightning 90 service.
This has been extremely frustrating as I am sure you can imagine. The "lightning" fast transfer speeds are fantastic.. but if a page won't load - that makes the entire package pretty worthless. Currently, I could surf the web faster with dialup than I can with my Lightning 90.
Lastly, this problem is not constant. For instance, right now, it is working quite well - which is very rare. Also, whenever I call 611 to Brighthouse, the system automatically sends a signal which resets the equipment. That clears up the problem for a minute or two - which is a problem for the techs who can't see a problem unless the problem exists when they are looking at it. A couple of weeks ago, a tech came out and everything was perfect. He stayed a long time, and I thought everything was fixed. I joked with him that it will probably stop working 15 minutes after he left. Well, 15 minutes after he left, it stopped working!
When it is acting up again, which I expect will be in a couple of hours, I will try rebooting into Safe Mode with Networking. I used to do international tech support and had thousands of people doing Safe Mode with networking with Windows XP, but they have made it very difficult to get into Safe Mode with windows 8.1.
--
Thanks for your quick replies. Do you ever sleep? I tend to be an night owl myself for surfing the web. |
actions · 2014-Jul-3 6:36 am · (locked) |
| jdohe3 |
to gigahurtz
I will try that.. I have tried that before or something very similar. I wonder what the difference is between selecting the server on the router itself, and selecting it on the ethernet ipv4 adapter advanced configuration. I am not at all happy with Brighthouse. They charge a fortune for their service, and it has lots of problems. I should not have to fix nor diagnose the problems myself. I have a new laptop that doesn't load pages at home, yet always loads them instantly when I go to Publix, Boston Market, McDonalds, etc. I would blame the router, only the router has been swapped out. |
actions · 2014-Jul-6 2:42 pm · (locked) |
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said by jdohe3:I will try that.. I have tried that before or something very similar. I wonder what the difference is between selecting the server on the router itself, and selecting it on the ethernet ipv4 adapter advanced configuration. I am not at all happy with Brighthouse. They charge a fortune for their service, and it has lots of problems. I should not have to fix nor diagnose the problems myself. I have a new laptop that doesn't load pages at home, yet always loads them instantly when I go to Publix, Boston Market, McDonalds, etc. I would blame the router, only the router has been swapped out. The main difference between changing DNS server on the router is that it will auto apply to all devices on your network that don't have a pre-defined DNS server in their network card settings. As for your issues, I would suggest posting in the Direct forums on here. You'll work directly with a BHN employee (Gary) who will work with you on your issues and do whatever he can to get them resolved. » /fo ··· sedirect |
actions · 2014-Jul-6 3:04 pm · (locked) |
 neonhomerDearborn 5-2750
Premium Member
join:2004-01-27
Edgewater, FL |
to jdohe3
said by jdohe3:Another weird thing is that when a page won't load, file transfers still go fine in the background. And, if I disable and re-enable the adapter, I can load pages for about 20 seconds before the problem arises again. You say file transfers.. Are these torrents? The reason I ask is most torrent clients default to an unlimited bandwidth setting for uploads. When your upload channel is saturated, your network connection can behave as described. Try setting the upload bandwidth to 25% of your max upload speed. Do you use the built in wireless of the Arris, or do you have an external router? Regardless, if you are going wifi, try hardwiring directly to the modem and see if it goes away. (Remember you might have to reboot the modem after switching to hardwire so the modem recognizes the new MAC address, and after, if you have a external router). If it goes away, then the wifi of the router or config of the wifi is suspect. BTW - I am on cfl.rr.com as well, 20/2, and mine works flawlessly... except for the persistent burnt marker smell still emanating from my modem (I think BTX is trying to off me...) |
actions · 2014-Jul-6 3:20 pm · (locked) |
BHNtechXpertThe One & Only
Premium Member
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL |
to jdohe3
said by neonhomer:BTW - I am on cfl.rr.com as well, 20/2, and mine works flawlessly... except for the persistent burnt marker smell still emanating from my modem (I think BTX is trying to off me...) Still? |
actions · 2014-Jul-6 4:49 pm · (locked) |
jdohe3
join:2010-08-11
Seminole, FL |
to neonhomer
I have no external router. I have tried safe mode with networking.. same problem. You mentioned that you are using cfl.rr.com, but you are on the east coast and I am on the west coast. What are your two DNS servers when you do an IPCONFIG /ALL at a command prompt?
It is so annoying that all the problems go away when using the free wifi at McDonalds, Publix, or Boston Market. |
actions · 2014-Jul-6 5:28 pm · (locked) |
neonhomerDearborn 5-2750
Premium Member
join:2004-01-27
Edgewater, FL |
Isn't west coast tampabay.rr.com?
I'm behind my own router (my modem is bridged to my router). My DNS servers are as follows:
65.32.5.111
65.32.5.112
How do you connect to your home network? Wireless or by an ethernet cable to the modem directly?
BTX - Yes, still... but it's no where near as bad as it was... just a hint of the smell.... I think the pain and suffering is worth, oh, let's say... $8/mo for 12 months??? |
actions · 2014-Jul-6 5:46 pm · (locked) |
 mixdup
join:2003-06-28
Alpharetta, GA |
to jdohe3
If you're getting Proxy server errors, ensure that you don't have any malware installed. A lot of popup adware will install a local proxy app and then direct all your traffic through it.
To check, open up your Internet Explorer options and under connections open the proxy config. If it's pointing at 127.0.0.1 or localhost, then that's your problem. |
actions · 2014-Jul-6 8:17 pm · (locked) |
BHNtechXpertThe One & Only
Premium Member
join:2006-02-16
Saint Petersburg, FL |
to neonhomer
said by neonhomer:Isn't west coast tampabay.rr.com?
I'm behind my own router (my modem is bridged to my router). My DNS servers are as follows:
65.32.5.111
65.32.5.112
How do you connect to your home network? Wireless or by an ethernet cable to the modem directly?
BTX - Yes, still... but it's no where near as bad as it was... just a hint of the smell.... I think the pain and suffering is worth, oh, let's say... $8/mo for 12 months??? Um yea.....NO |
actions · 2014-Jul-6 9:47 pm · (locked) |
jdohe3
join:2010-08-11
Seminole, FL |
to mixdup
that is a great suggestion, but it is not the case here. I have had the problem you mention years ago. That local proxy thing completely blocks access to the internet. |
actions · 2014-Jul-7 9:41 am · (locked) |
| jdohe3 |
to neonhomer
Those are the same dns servers I use. I thought your torrent suggestion would work, but unfortunately the problem still exists with the torrent program not even running. |
actions · 2014-Jul-7 9:46 am · (locked) |
| |
said by jdohe3:Those are the same dns servers I use. I thought your torrent suggestion would work, but unfortunately the problem still exists with the torrent program not even running. Have you tried an alternate DNS server on your home router? |
actions · 2014-Jul-7 11:08 am · (locked) |
neonhomerDearborn 5-2750
Premium Member
join:2004-01-27
Edgewater, FL |
to jdohe3
Have you tried turning off the torrent program, and then rebooting the modem to clear the routing table? I know my old Linksys would load up when running torrents, and it would actually lock up. I had to reboot it it to get things to work again. |
actions · 2014-Jul-7 11:38 am · (locked) |
