Major Ongoing Issues With 2.5 Gbps Symmetrical FTTH EPON Service — Requesting ONU/Optical Line Investigation

Hi Board,

I am writing because I really need some help getting an ongoing issue with our XFINITY FTTH service properly investigated and escalated.

I want to make it clear from the beginning that I genuinely love this service and do not want to leave XFINITY. When our connection works properly, it is absolutely incredible. We have 2.5 Gbps symmetrical FTTH/EPON service, and during the first few months we had it, I regularly saw approximately 2.5 Gbps up and down on Speedtest.net over Ethernet and over 2.2 Gbps up and down over Wi-Fi 7. It was honestly some of the best residential internet I have ever used.

Unfortunately, over approximately the last 3–4 months, the connection has progressively become extremely unreliable.

We are now experiencing at least 15+ network outages/disconnections per day, every day, and there may actually be considerably more than that. This occurs regardless of the time of day and even when the weather is completely dry.

Importantly, the problem actually began while we were still using our previous XFINITY gateway, before the XER-10 was installed. Therefore, this issue did not originate with the XER-10.

Our current setup is an XFINITY XER-10 connected to the provided optical network unit (ONU) for our 2.5 Gbps symmetrical EPON service.

The behavior of the ONU and gateway during these failures is also inconsistent. Sometimes the PON light goes out along with the ONLINE light. Sometimes the PON light remains on while the ONLINE light goes out. There have also been occasions where the XER-10 loses connectivity while the ONU itself remains fully illuminated. The connection will sometimes recover on its own, but the problem can repeatedly occur throughout the day.

The problem becomes significantly worse during heavy rain

Again, the problem absolutely occurs during completely dry conditions and has been doing so for months, so I am not saying that rain is the sole cause.

However, during the most recent heavy rainstorm, the connection began repeatedly dropping almost immediately as the rain became heavier. I observed approximately 45 disconnect/reconnect events within only 15–20 minutes.

This makes me concerned that there may be a marginal optical connection or another physical-layer issue that is being aggravated by moisture.

Significant throughput degradation

I have also noticed a significant degradation in our actual throughput over approximately the last 15 days.

Previously, when directly connected to the XER-10’s 10GbE port with a 2.5GbE-capable laptop, I could consistently achieve approximately 2.5 Gbps up and down on Speedtest.net.

I am now consistently seeing approximately 1.5–1.6 Gbps up and down under the same general testing conditions.

Wireless performance has degraded as well. I previously could consistently obtain approximately 2.2+ Gbps up and down over Wi-Fi 7 from my iPhone 17 while standing close to the XER-10. That performance has also dropped substantially.

Since the wired connection is experiencing the same degradation, I do not believe this is simply a Wi-Fi interference issue.

Steps I have already taken to rule out my own equipment

I have gone to considerable lengths to rule out my own network equipment as the cause.

We have two Linksys E8450 routers operating as a mesh system. The primary unit is connected directly to the XER-10’s 10GbE port, but the E8450 is only gigabit-capable. Therefore, my 2.5 Gbps speed tests are performed by removing the Ethernet cable from the Linksys parent node and connecting it directly to a laptop with a 2.5GbE Ethernet port.

That same direct connection previously delivered the full approximately 2.5 Gbps symmetrical service.

I have tried:

• Using a different Ethernet cable between the XER-10 and testing device.
• Removing the Linksys mesh system from the network entirely for multiple days.
• Running the Linksys equipment in bridge/access-point mode.
• Completely disconnecting the Linksys equipment from the XER-10.
• Removing all other Ethernet connections from the XER-10.
• Power cycling the ONU repeatedly.
• Power cycling/rebooting the XER-10 repeatedly.
• Unplugging the ONU power supply, waiting approximately 30 seconds, and reconnecting it.
• Ensuring the ONU is clean and unobstructed.
• Wall-mounting the ONU with completely unobstructed ventilation because it appeared to run relatively hot.
• Checking that the fiber entering the ONU is not tightly constrained by the wall-mounting zip ties.
• Checking that the fiber is not sharply bent or kinked.
• Inspecting the visible fiber routing inside the home.

None of these changes have produced any meaningful improvement in the reliability or frequency of the outages.

ONU and fiber concerns

The ONU itself is dated 08/2022, meaning it was approximately 3.5 years old when it was installed at our home. I have noticed that it seems to operate relatively hot and has exhibited the recurring instability described above.

I do not know whether the ONU itself is failing, but given its age and the symptoms, I would really like the ONU to be properly evaluated and potentially replaced if appropriate.

I am also concerned about the exterior fiber drop. The black fiber coming from the exterior box through the bedroom wall to the ONU may potentially be secured too tightly against the brick or may have an excessively tight bend somewhere along its route.

I obviously do not have the equipment or expertise to determine whether the optical loss is within specification, which is why I believe this needs to be properly tested by an XFINITY technician.

Previous attempts to obtain assistance

I have contacted standard XFINITY support about these problems multiple times. On at least one occasion, the representative indicated that the ONU appeared to be behaving abnormally and scheduled a technician appointment.

Unfortunately, XFINITY subsequently canceled that technician appointment.

My mother has also repeatedly attempted to obtain another appointment and has been told there are no appointments available. This has now been going on for roughly three months.

Separate account/service issue

There are also separate account/service issues that have occurred during this same period.

Approximately three months ago, an XFINITY representative offered to permanently reduce our bill by $20. My mother explicitly told the representative that she did not want any services changed. The change nevertheless removed Netflix and other included programming and downgraded the account from Platinum to Gold.

The representative promised to restore everything, and we even have an email stating that the account was supposed to be restored to Platinum, but this apparently never occurred. We have only received a $20 credit despite the issue continuing for approximately three months.

My mother spent more than 4.5 hours on the phone during one particular attempt to get the services restored.

I mention this separately because it is another unresolved XFINITY support issue occurring during the same general period. The account/service issue is separate from the technical cause of the internet outages, but it has added considerably to our frustration after multiple unsuccessful attempts to get help.

Impact on our household

The internet reliability problem has also become a serious issue for us financially.

We work from home, and having the connection drop a minimum of 15+ times every day has made working extremely difficult. During particularly bad periods, we have had to resort to cellular hotspots on our phones.

We previously operated a website from our home connection, and the reliability has now deteriorated to the point where that is no longer practical, despite having what should be an extremely capable 2.5 Gbps symmetrical connection.

At this point, I really do not believe this is a normal Wi-Fi, router, Ethernet, or customer-network configuration problem.

The problem:

• Predates the XER-10.
• Persists with the Linksys equipment completely disconnected.
• Persists with direct Ethernet testing.
• Occurs regardless of weather.
• Has become dramatically worse during heavy rain.
• Has coincided with a significant reduction in throughput.
• Has involved both PON and ONLINE connectivity indicators going out at different times.

The dramatic increase in failures during heavy rain has made me particularly concerned about the physical optical path.

What I am asking XFINITY to investigate

What I am hoping someone can help with is getting this escalated to someone who can actually investigate the EPON/optical side of the connection.

I would really like to have a technician come out and properly evaluate:

• The optical receive/transmit power levels, including measurements in dBm as appropriate.
• The fiber drop from the exterior box to the ONU.
• The exterior fiber terminal/connection and any applicable splice/connector points.
• The fiber for excessive attenuation, bending, mechanical stress, contamination, or possible moisture intrusion.
• The ONU itself for abnormal operation or failure.
• The EPON/optical registration and stability of the connection.
• Any network-side errors or events that could explain the repeated loss of PON/ONLINE connectivity.
• The recent reduction in throughput from approximately 2.5 Gbps to approximately 1.5–1.6 Gbps symmetrical.

If the optical levels and fiber path are within specification, I would also appreciate having the ONU itself ruled out as a failure point and replaced if appropriate.

Final thoughts

I am not trying to leave XFINITY or switch providers. Quite the opposite.

I genuinely love having 2.5 Gbps symmetrical FTTH available at our home, and when it was working properly, it was absolutely fantastic. We simply need someone with the ability to investigate the actual EPON/optical side of the connection because normal gateway troubleshooting has clearly not resolved the problem.

At this point, I feel like I have done essentially everything I can do from the customer side. I really just need a competent technician to come out, look at the optical levels and physical fiber/ONU, and determine where this connection is actually failing.

Any assistance getting this escalated would be greatly appreciated.

We would really like to keep our XFINITY service; we just need it to become reliable again.

Thank you.