Packet Loss Issue (Solved)

(Issue solved. View solution below)
I’ve been having a packet loss issue for months. I was finally able to have a tech come out and replace cables, which helped my issue, but didn’t solve it. It was unusable before the tech came out. It would fluctuate from 10% to 85% packet loss before the tech came out. Now it’s a constant 1% to 20% with occasional loss of service. So much better, but still frustrating. My download speed seems fine. Upload is lower. 

Xfinity up to this point has been the best and most reliable ISP I’ve ever had. The techs have all been extremely professional and helpful. I’m thinking about changing to a local ISP if Xfinity can’t fix this issue though. 

How do we solve this issue?

*Solution*

It took quite a while to solve this issue. About 4 months. Initially a tech came out and replaced cables and connections which helped my internet, but didn’t solve the underlying issue. Another came out weeks later and told me there wasn’t much he could do, but later ended up finding the issue and forwarded his findings to maintenance. That weekend after my internet seemed to be fixed, with 0% packet loss, perfect download/upload speeds, and great latency. It seemed like everything was back to normal, but the following days my issue came back and I frustratingly scheduled another tech appointment. This tech was the same that initially came and changed out my cables. He was truly a passionate professional and went through everything with me. He found the issue again.

Finally. It was some piece malfunctioning Xfinity hardware (maybe a server) that was an initial one of the hops that data routes back and forth from miles away. Over that weekend it seemed normal, maintenance swapped my route to another server and my slow speeds and packet loss went away, but then switched my route back to the malfunctioning server the following week. The tech called his supervisor and maintenance supervisors and sent out emails. He went all out getting the issue fixed, because that same server was what part of my neighborhood was connected to and they were also experiencing slow speeds, but didn’t know to report it. 

The next morning a maintenance truck replaced a pretty big cable for the neighborhood (which wasn’t the issue, but they were gonna make sure it was working right) and I’m sure they replaced that bad equipment/server miles and miles away too. Problem solved and I’m happy.

Lessons learned 

•Make scheduling tech appointments easier by messaging Xfinity Help Chat on these forums. So much easier than calling. Calling truly tested my patience as an human. Chat was also more helpful and personal.
•Become accustomed to Ping tools or command prompts to help you diagnose your speed, latency, and packet loss issues. Take screenshots and show techs your findings. You’ll learn a lot. 
•Make sure that you’ve done the basics. Restart your router/modem. Make sure all physical cable and power connections are tight. Check your router/modem settings to make sure your firmware is up to date (if you use a personal router/modem only). 
•Make sure that there’s not too many devices connected on 1 Wi-Fi channel on your router. Make sure if you’ve got a lot of devices that you spread them onto multiple channels.

•Your 2.4 Mh channel has a larger range, but not as much bandwidth. Your 5Mh channel has more bandwidth but less range, so keep those devices closer to the router. Ethernet wired connections are best. 

•Be persistent, accountable, and patient. I tried to do my part and make sure my equipment wasn’t the thing malfunctioning and was able to prove it. Buying a new router isn’t going to magically fix your internet, although the customer service might make it seem like it will help. That’s why I recommend learning how to use ping tests and learning basic home network knowledge. YouTube is a great resource for help. If your issue starts up again after a tech visit, just do yourself a favor and schedule another even though it feels pointless. Keep making noise until your issue is fixed but don’t be disrespectful. Hopefully after several visits the techs will be able to find and fix your issue. 

Hope this helps someone. Take care.