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noname2
join:2001-05-29
Waltham, MA

noname2

Member

[Speed] RCN Upstream issues in MA

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I am with RCN on 110/15. Have no issues with DS at all, and HAD no issues with Upstream (always around 15, slowest was around 14).
Until about two weeks ago when "something happened somewhere" and I barely get 9.5 upstream. I know 15 is not guaranteed, 9.5 is not acceptable and clearly something has changed that caused it to drop.
Called support, everything looked fine on their end. They sent a technician who checked everything and made sure everything is fine. He even replaced the modem. Nothing helped...still this slow upstream.
Of course we checked with the router an without the router (directly to the modem) - same results, so it is not the router.
In addition, I am getting an error from the RCN MA Speed Test site (see attached), telling me that the test failed and that it may be caused by my firewall or antivirus application. This of course has nothing to do with any firewall or antivirus because we checked three different computers and all three of them got the same response from the MA site. It does not happen in other RCN Speed Test sites (NY, PA, DC).

Anyone else in MA area or elsewhere who experiences the same issue?

Thanks.

sashwa
Mod
join:2001-01-29
Alcatraz

sashwa

Mod

Can you post your encoded MAC address from one of the other RCN speed tests?

»RCN Forum FAQ »Why do we ask for encoded mac addresses?
noname2
join:2001-05-29
Waltham, MA

noname2

Member

Encoded Mac:

3aeade2e3d947d735773ab9a468f96131c9a8111
hydrox
Premium Member
join:2010-10-30
Lexington, MA

hydrox to noname2

Premium Member

to noname2
said by noname2:

getting an error from the RCN MA Speed Test site (see attached)

I am in Lexington and right now I get the same error message. It appears something is amiss at the server end not at our machines.

I did an speedtest.net (Ookla) just now and I am registering a very normal (for me) result:
Download: 113.60Mb/s
Upload: 16.32Mb/s
Ping: 16ms

When I go to RCN NY speedtest my upstream is at 9.5 to 11 Mbps and it is slightly lower the further away the RCN site is located. RCN MA has normally registered at about 15 for me. I have not noticed any performance degradation in my upstream in the past few weeks.
noname2
join:2001-05-29
Waltham, MA

noname2

Member

Ookla also shows 9/9.5 at the most, even Comcast Xfinity speed test is 9.34, so something is not working right.
Zahl
TinBoy
join:2003-02-12
Watertown, MA

Zahl to noname2

Member

to noname2
Posted about this a while ago and got no response so consider yourself lucky. Tech support refuses to replace modem when its clearly the issue. Modem LED goes green from orange and my speeds get cut in half...

My thread;
»[Connectivity] Modem led turned green and speed dropped
noname2
join:2001-05-29
Waltham, MA

noname2

Member

That's EXACTLY what happened - Upstream led was orange, then I lost connection for about a minute or so and the led turned green. Ever since then I am having the speed issues.
But as I mentioned - the technician did replace the modem last week, however when he connected and activated the new one it immediately had a green led, not orange. So I am not sure it is within the modem, it has to be somewhere else down the pipe.
Zahl
TinBoy
join:2003-02-12
Watertown, MA

Zahl

Member

good to know, probably is something on their end then. wonder if it has something to do with bonded channels. I see that I get 8 down, 2 up, on either the 50 or 110 plan. I could have sworn it was 4 up on the 110.
You can check on the modem status page at 192.168.100.1
noname2
join:2001-05-29
Waltham, MA

noname2

Member

Click for full size
I was aware of the modem status page but frankly didn't know what specifics to look for. Now that you mentioned it I decided to look again and I was wondering - WTH is this DOCSIS2 in the Upstream? Does it suppose to be there if my modem is DOCSIS3 and my upstream speed is clearly cut by half?
Zahl
TinBoy
join:2003-02-12
Watertown, MA

Zahl

Member

Click for full size
Yeah looks the same. Not sure on the docsis thing, hopefully someone here can provide more info. But man whats with all the errors on mine:(
noname2
join:2001-05-29
Waltham, MA

noname2

Member

Just spoke with RCN support again, they don't see any issue (of course not...) and 9 mb US is within their specs (of course it is; I guess if I had 5 mb up in a 110/15 they would say "5 is within specs".
Zahl
TinBoy
join:2003-02-12
Watertown, MA

Zahl

Member

Of course that is what they will say. I don't know wth is going on with this but it's not worth it to get the 110 plan any longer. Upload is exactly byte for byte the same as on the 50 plan and it will never go over 10, ever. I'd never get under 16 before this LED modem change so they can say whatever they want and ill save the difference every month
noname2
join:2001-05-29
Waltham, MA

noname2

Member

So you now have 50/10? What are you speeds with 50/10?
Cost wise, it doesn't make sense to downgrade unless you have your own modem which cost at least $100. Modem is included with ALL their plans except of the 50/10.
Zahl
TinBoy
join:2003-02-12
Watertown, MA

Zahl

Member

Yeah i downgraded. Modem is included according to my bill but will double check

noname2
join:2001-05-29
Waltham, MA

noname2

Member

May I ask how much are you paying?
noname2

noname2 to Zahl

Member

to Zahl
said by Zahl See Profile


[/bquote :

That's incredible. This 9.73 upload is the same exact speed I am getting with 110, which means somewhere in their network they limit the upload.

Zahl
TinBoy
join:2003-02-12
Watertown, MA

Zahl to noname2

Member

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Its a triple pack but I do see my internet went from $44.29 to $34.29 (total bill from $159 to 149) so it's a $10 difference between 110 and 50 plans

Edit- I am not kidding man, its exactly the same between the plans. At least since the day the LED changed
noname2
join:2001-05-29
Waltham, MA

noname2

Member

Got ya. Because they publish $39.99 for the 50/10 package (internet only) and $44.99 with modem.
Zahl
TinBoy
join:2003-02-12
Watertown, MA

Zahl

Member

yeah I'll definitely double check that but since the total difference on the bill is $10 i think its included on both.

This is my last good 110 test before the led change. All before are similar too so whatever they did happened some time in august
Zahl

Zahl to noname2

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to noname2
Ok, just to show that it is the same I just went back to the 110. I will keep this for a month but if there is not change I will go back to saving my $10.

hydrox
Premium Member
join:2010-10-30
Lexington, MA

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Click for full size
I have my own Cisco DPC 3010. Here is my Ookla upload test speed from today. The waveform shows the entire upload speed during the test. Is the Arris the problem? I am provisioned for RCN service at Down = 120 Mbps & Up = 19 Mbps as per their »ma.speedtest.rcn.net.
noname2
join:2001-05-29
Waltham, MA

noname2

Member

said by hydrox:

I have my own Cisco DPC 3010. Here is my Ookla upload test speed from today. The waveform shows the entire upload speed during the test. Is the Arris the problem? I am provisioned for RCN service at Down = 120 Mbps & Up = 19 Mbps as per their »ma.speedtest.rcn.net.

I don't believe the Arris is the problem. It worked fine for both of us, with "provisioned" speeds (110/15) until something changed. A technician replaced my modem and it still does it.

It appears to be that RCN is limiting the upload speeds on the 110 from 15 to 10.
hydrox
Premium Member
join:2010-10-30
Lexington, MA

hydrox

Premium Member

Is it possible that RCN did recently perform a general software/firmware update to the Arrises that has the effect of reducing upload speeds?
noname2
join:2001-05-29
Waltham, MA

noname2

Member

I suspected that, I brought it up with the support agent, but she said she doesn't see it.
On the Aaris log you can see several attempts of SW update - all failed.
Zahl
TinBoy
join:2003-02-12
Watertown, MA

Zahl to noname2

Member

to noname2
Starting to think it has something to do with these Arris modems not bonding correctly or something. Would be nice if someone with one on a 110 plan could test it and/or rcn could check it from here because the phone support guys don't even know a modem status page exists or what channels are..
noname2
join:2001-05-29
Waltham, MA

noname2

Member

So how come it worked fine with the Arris before that, for several months?
Zahl
TinBoy
join:2003-02-12
Watertown, MA

Zahl to noname2

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I know, I meant working with whatever changes they made on their network that changed the led color. I doubt our modems died out, changed led, and killed our upload all on their own
noname2
join:2001-05-29
Waltham, MA

noname2

Member

Can anyone with 110/15 service post a screen shot of their modem status page? I am curious to see what you have in the Upstream Channel Type.
noname2

noname2

Member

Anyone?!

artjohn
Premium Member
join:2000-11-17
Chevy Chase, MD

artjohn

Premium Member

Click for full size
Click for full size
Hope this helps, but we are located in MD and pretty much see these speeds

24/7
said by noname2:

Anyone?!