3 Messages
Packet Loss and Increased Ping
Just before Hurricane/Tropical Storm Lee was set to hit New England (I am in southern New England), I started experiencing unusual internet issues.
First, the xFi gateway itself would shut off or reboot completely without warning, and we would lose internet for a couple of hours at a time, get it back for maybe 10-15 minutes, and lose it again. I suspect it was an issue with the gateway itself, and that issue has gone away since exchanging the device for a replacement.
However, since replacing the gateway, ALL devices will experience packet loss and high ping repeatedly near peak hours (7:30pm onwards). I want to just assume it's noise on the network that will be cleaned up eventually, but I do not have high confidence, as I have experienced horrific internet issues before this that took replacing underground internet lines, the wiring in my apartment, and replacing the gateway only a year, maybe a year and a half ago. I cannot actually afford to lose internet consistently past 7:30pm every day, due to work. Both my wife and I work from home at odd hours, so this is negatively impacting our work.
So my questions are as follows:
- How can I confirm there is interference/noise on the network at the time of the issue? I want documented proof of the issue before I go to my managers, the landlord, or Comcast again. I can take some instruction, if I need to run a specific program or command line, I will do my best. Just whatever I can do to properly document the issue at the time.
- When there is documented evidence, how do I communicate this to Comcast appropriately? I cannot end up on the phone with someone attempting to live troubleshoot with me when the issue may not even be occurring. Again, this typically happens past 7:30pm, I am tired and trying to do my work, I cannot actually be on the phone for a long period of time at the time the issue is occurring.
- Are there any steps I can take as a moderately tech familiar individual to reduce how much interference is impacting my home network? The less I can bother Comcast technicians, the better, because I just want stable internet to do my job.
user_1e395c
Visitor
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1 Message
1 year ago
I am curious to hear this answer. I have had noise issues for months now. Technicians have been out twice. The second time, he did something to close out unconnected lines since we no longer have cable TV, only internet. It helped but the issue is still going on enough to be bothersome.
I also can't afford for the noise outages to interrupt my connection for work. I have logs from a connection monitor to show when this happens. Going through xfinity chat (done it no less than 5 times) is useless. I want to know what I might do to fix this problem.
1
XfinityRay
Official Employee
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2.1K Messages
1 year ago
Hello, @mintshroom! Thanks for your thoughtful post about the packet loss that has been happening. I apologize that this has been your experience and am happy to help. We have all the needed tools to get to the root cause of the problem and are able to stay with you over time without starting over. We work at home too and understand the service needs to be reliable. Our team is able to check your local area as well as your location for noise in the signal.
I sometimes see noise coming from a loose or damaged coax cable or a splitter inside or outside of your home. We just ask that you take a look at the inside equipment if you are able to. If anything is wrong outside our Technicians check and take care of that.
Is the coax cable between the coax outlet and the back of the modem finger tight at both ends and without damage?
Are there any splitters between the coax outlet and the back of the modem?
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mintshroom
3 Messages
1 year ago
I wanted to give an update to my last post [see everything above].
Comcast came out and replaced the router with a downgraded version, as the technician suspected the issue was with the device.
Since the replacement router, there has still been issues, and I have started to use PingPlotter to traceroute my paths across the network to identify where and WHY this is happening.
And apparently a majority of the packet loss is at the Comcast router the packet passes through. Just in the past 5 minutes alone, 93-94% of the packets sent have been lost.
Comcast, I do not understand why each technician and each customer service representative is so sure the issue is resolved, and attempt to reassure me this will never happen again.
Instead of false assurances, maybe actually work with your clients to identify an issue and resolve it.
This clearly is not an issue I can address by upgrading my internet service, or getting another replacement router.
Please clearly state what can actually be done to address this?
Also, I own up to the fact that I do not know enough to properly address this on my own. I can barely interpret the graph PingPlotter is showing me.
If there is a better explanation, please explain! I am not against being wrong and owning up to my mistakes.
Thank you,
Beth
(edited)
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