Stuey1982's profile

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4 Messages

Monday, September 16th, 2024 6:01 AM

Arris S33 fails to connect at gigabit speed

Xfinity support wasn't helpful. They told me to contact the manufacturer or purchase one of their modems. I told them exactly what is wrong with their system, but this is not covered in their script. The internet - including this forum - is littered with the problem being upstream connection power. The Arris upstream power levels need to be between 45 and 51 dBmV.

Mine are between 43 and 44.

How do I get this fixed?

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26K Messages

2 months ago

... The Arris upstream power levels need to be between 45 and 51 dBmV. ...

Arris began saying that upstream QAM signals should be "at least 45 dBmV" several years ago. I don't know why, because it's complete nonsense.

The upstream signal levels are controlled automatically and continuously by Comcast's equipment and do not need to be above 45 dBmV. That's because, as long as upstream levels are not maxed out, what's important is not the level at the modem, it's the level (and quality) of the modem's signal as received at Comcast, which they control by adjusting the modem's transmit level. In fact, many customers have service that works perfectly fine with upstream modem signal levels below 45 dBmV. Some even operate with the upstream below 35 dBmV.

Comcast's signal level ranges are given in https://forums.xfinity.com/conversations/your-home-network/connection-troubleshooting-tips/602da777c5375f08cdea3db9. If Arris' products did not work in those ranges, CableLabs and Comcast would never approve the devices.

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Are you connecting via Wifi or Ethernet? If Wifi, it's best to switch to an Ethernet cable connection if possible for testing. That would allow you to determine whether the problem is the Wifi signal or the link between your modem or gateway and Comcast's network. Network connection problems that affect both Ethernet and Wifi devices are often due to poor coax connections or damaged coax cable, usually in or near your home. Running the cable through a surge protector, a defective splitter, or too many splitters can cause signal problems as well. If there is an amplifier in the line make sure it's getting power. 

If you want to troubleshoot this yourself, please see Internet Troubleshooting Tips. If you still need help, please post your Internet plan speed and the following information from your modem (from http://192.168.100.1):

  • uptime
  • downstream: power levels, SNR (or MER), and error counts for all channels
  • upstream: power levels for all channels
  • complete event log (Be sure to remove or blot out any MAC addresses. Forum security processing considers them "personal information" and may prevent the event log from posting if these are present.)

Copy and pasted text is preferred over images. Be aware that, if you post any images, your message will be made Private for a time, as all images must be approved by the Forum Moderators before the messages containing them become generally visible.

If you can't find the problem or you'd rather have Comcast take care of it and an employee does not respond to your message here, call them at the phone number on your bill or 1-800-Comcast, or use one of the options on https://www.xfinity.com/support/contact-us/. It's not likely they can fix the problem remotely. If not, insist they send a tech out to identify the cause and correct it.

If the tech finds bad coax, splitters, amplifiers, or connections in your home (even if Comcast originally supplied them) you'll probably have to pay for the visit (approx $100) unless you have their Service Protection Plan ( https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/service-protection-plan, closed to customers that don't already have it). If the trouble is due to a faulty Comcast rental device or anything outside your home you shouldn't be charged.

Please be aware that there are 2 kinds of responses in this Forum: Replies and Comments. When you Comment on a post by scrolling down to "Comment on this post here...", I am notified of your response. But if you select Reply, I am NOT notified and may not be aware of your response.

(edited)

New Poster

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4 Messages

Thanks for your response, Bruce.

A tech came out yesterday and said everything was great - from the Xfinity perspective, apparently not the Arris perspective. This is the relevant data from my plan:

Internet

Gigabit Plus Internet Plan

Download speeds: up to 1200 Mbps

Upload speeds: up to 35 Mbps

And my S33 Modem:

Channel ID Lock Status US Channel Type Frequency Width Power
1 Locked SC-QAM 16200000 Hz 6400000 44.0 dBmV
2 Locked SC-QAM 22800000 Hz 6400000 43.5 dBmV
3 Locked SC-QAM 29200000 Hz 6400000 44.3 dBmV
4 Locked SC-QAM 35600000 Hz 6400000 42.8 dBmV

Current System Time:  Mon Sep 16 10:41:03 2024

The S33 modem claims that RG45 amber LED will glow for a 100M connection and the green LED for a Gigabit connection. I'd like to see the green LED go on. I believe that will happen if we bump up that power just a little bit.

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106.9K Messages

@Stuey1982​ Nope.  It doesn't work that way. It's two separate systems. The WAN RF power system can can not affect the LAN / Ethernet speed port negotiation with the device that is connected to that particular port..

I am not a Comcast Employee.
I am a Customer Expert volunteering my time to help other customers here in the Forums.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.

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Gold Problem Solver

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26K Messages

2 months ago

Got a spare splitter and coax cable? Inserting a splitter in line with the modem will cause the CMTS to tell the modem to increase the upstream power level. The splitter will also lower the downstream level by the same amount. That may or may not cause problems, depending on where the downstream power levels are now.

The change in the upstream level is likely to be purely cosmetic.

Please be aware that there are 2 kinds of responses in this Forum: Replies and Comments. When you Comment on a post by scrolling down to "Comment on this post here...", I am notified of your response. But if you select Reply, I am NOT notified and may not be aware of your response.
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