Severe packet loss and connection drops every night

[AZhang]

I have been experiencing severe packet loss every night for the past 4 months now. My connection is stable for the rest of the day, but around 8PM-1AM, there will be severe packet loss and connection drops for 2-4 hours. The time that packet loss/drops start to happen is random, but the consistent thing is that it happens every single night.

I have had 3 techs out already, and they confirm that my hardware/cabling is fine. I've upgraded my internet speed to determine if that was the issue, and nothing changed. At first I thought it might have been an issue with my hardware, but after every fix I could find, nothing improved. After further research, signs point to an issue outside of my home as the connection is 100% stable for most of the day, and at night it goes to 10-30% packet loss with connection drops.

I'm unsure of what to do at this point, I was given the contact information of the supervisor for my area by one of the techs, and he has stopped replying to my messages regarding this issue.

Modem stats during packet loss: https://imgur.com/a/pgTuqlp

Modem model: TP-LINK TC-7610

An example of a traceroute during packet loss: https://imgur.com/a/coTJDey

[AZhang]

Happened again last night for 3 hours. Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[wonderwaz]

Exact same problem here. I know it's not with my home network, but Comcast refuses to do anything about it. I was told its "noise" on the network.

[AZhang]

Could it be a modem issue? My modem is 8x4 which is pretty outdated. If I get a modem with more downstream channels could it help?

Any insight is appreciated, thank you.

[wonderwaz]

Fingers crossed, it appears that my issue has been resolved.  Luckily, another person in the same building reported this issue and that was enough for them to connect the dots and check the communication box outside and, lo and behold, there was a bird nesting there. The crew came in to fix it up and connection hasn't dropped since.

[AZhang]

This is still occurring every night.

Further research has pointed to either:

-someone in the neighborhood generating a lot of noise on the network

-an old/outdated modem (8x4), which I will upgrade this week but not sure if it will do anything

ANY information is greatly appreciated. Troubleshooting tips/general advice on how to reach out to Comcast effectively, etc

[EG]

Start here;

https://forums.xfinity.com/t5/Your-Home-Network/Connection-Troubleshooting-Tips/m-p/1253575#M94474

Post the requested info from here;

https://forums.xfinity.com/t5/Your-Home-Network/Information-Requested-for-Connection-Related-Posts/m...

[AZhang]

Modem’s error logs - https://imgur.com/a/CAAdUra

Make and model of modem - TP LINK TP-7610

Make and model of router - ASUS RT-AC68U

Let us know if you contacted Comcast or had a tech visit - Yes, 3 techs have checked my hardware/wiring and neighborhood tap, they said everything was working fine. The issue is, they can never detect the issue as it occurs starting at night. I was told from the local supervisor that the networking team was monitoring my connection but nothing came of that.

Let us know what the lights on your modem are doing when you are having problems - Nothing out of the ordinary.

Screenshot of signal levels - https://imgur.com/a/pgTuqlp

Let us know to what speed tier you subscribe - 200MB/s down

Unsure of what to do at this point. I've tried reaching out to Comcast over a dozen times, and the furthest I've gotten was being told by the local supervisor that the networking team would monitor my connection and those of my neighbors. Nothing came of that, and since then the supervisor has been ignoring my voicemails about the issue. I'm fairly certain it is not a hardware/wiring issue on my end as my connection was perfectly fine just 4 months ago until issues started happening. It seems to be either an overcongested line or someone in the neighborhood causing noise/feedback on the line.

[EG]

The signal stats are o/k but the error log entries indicate that something is going on. Perhaps there is noise ingress into the line(s) somewhere.

There are other signal stat figures that can't be read by the modem. They are the "Upstream Rx Power" (Upstream Receive Power Level), the "Upstream SNR Ch." (Upstream Signal To Noise Ratio), and the "Upstream ICFR" (In Channel Frequency Response). These are as equally important in diagnosing connectivity issues as are the modem's stats.

I'm going to escalate your issue to the Comcast corporate employees that are available to these boards. They will be able to poll the CMTS to see whether or not everything is in the green zone, see your node / cable plant and modem health, and also see a history plot for the modem. You should get a reply here in your topic. Good luck !

[ComcastJoeTru]

Hi AZhang. Thank you for visiting and posting on our Forum. Apologies you are experiencing continued issues with your internet service. I can assist in reviewing your connection issues. I'd like to start with polling the CMTS for real-time and historical RF signal reports from your modem. I can also check your local Node/Plant for any degradation or error reports. Please send me a private message and include your full name so I can access your equipment. 

[AZhang]

The packet loss started about 10 minutes ago, here's what a brief traceroute looks like at the moment: https://imgur.com/a/oNvuSVb

Modem stats at the moment: https://imgur.com/a/T9G6LdF

I am considering upgrading to a modem with more down/upstream channels tomorrow, unsure if it will do anything.

[AZhang]

I would greatly appreciate any sort of updates on this issue. At this point all I want to know if it's an issue on my end or something outside of my control for a better idea at how to approach fixing it.

[ComcastJoeTru]

Hi AZhang. Apologies for the delay. I did receive and respond to your private message. Let's continue our conversation via PM please. Thank you. 

[AZhang]

Packet loss started at 6PM today, 2 hours earlier than it's ever been. Getting high amount of T3 timeouts as always.

I am wondering how to reach someone at Comcast who could investigate ingress noise or upstream SNR issues, or at least give a definitive answer as to what's happening.

[AZhang]

I've upgraded my modem and it seems to help slightly, but the same thing is happening at the same time every night. Now instead of 15-30% packet loss i'm getting around 10-20% which is still quite terrible for anything requiring a stable connection.

At this point I'm 100% certain it isn't my hardware, signs point to ingress noise on my tap or upstream SNR issues. I'm not the only one getting the issue as well, my neighbors are experiencing the same thing.

How can I go about asking Comcast to investigate, besides scheduling another tech and hope they can help?

[AZhang]

A tech came yesterday and said the same as every other tech - signals/wiring was fine since it was during the day when the issues aren't happening. He made a networking ticket which was marked as resolved the same day, and of course at night the packet loss happened again. This time much worse and closer to the loss I was getting before my modem upgrade (20-30% PL).

At this point I'm at a loss for how to fix this issue, everything seems to be a dead end.

[revor]

Your quoting me problem that's been going on for 6 months; including 4 techs!  All say the same thing.  No problem with hardware, lines, etc.

The last one said he would change something in the outside box because he was here, but it wouldn't make any difference.  I followed him.  He changed a black connector that had the Fiber optic wire coming into the box to a wire already there and that lead to an aluminum larger box.  He then changed the aluminum box (thought he called it "Photo" - something).  He said that neither would give me my issue.  He then showed me the black connector box and it had a split along the seam.  He said that wouldn't do it.  He then called somebody to have them monitor my service that night, and left.  That was a week ago.  My service has been consistently reading 500-700, day and night, ever since.  I suspect it was humidity build up in the box and in the connector, as the sun went down.  Remember having a daytime issue on rainy days but we don't get much rain during the day, here.  Don't know if this is your problem but it fixed mine.  None of the other techs replaced anything.  Good luck!