Modem frequently resets itself

[Levian]

Hey Sharders, I have a problem I'm hoping someone can help with. I know this kind of thing is best asked in an actual tech forum, and I have posted it there, but from my experience that particular forum is very slow to respond, if at all. I know a lot of the Sharders here are really smart, a lot of you guys seem to have pretty good computer knowledge what with all the discussion of coding going on. Two different subjects, but I can hope right? 

 

 

I have a very annoying problem. . I live in Canada with family and we're with Bell .The internet isn't in my name so there's not a ton I can do with Bell unless my family calls in and lets me speak with them, making things just a little bit more annoying. 

 

So for the past two years or so we've been having issues where the internet speeds slow down to a crawl over about 5-10 minutes. Web pages take ages to load, then load like it does when you're using almost all your bandwidth. Then the modem basically turns off, all devices disconnect and can't see the modem because it is off. It eventually resets itself within 20 minutes or so. 

This happens anywhere from 1-4 times a day, to once every couple days, but it is a frequent issue. Usually before it automatically turns itself off, I'll access the modem through the browser and reset it. This solves the problem for anywhere between a couple hours to a day. 

Last year, we upgraded to Fibe using the Sagecom modem. We don't have our own router. Our download and upload speeds are pretty great, what we're supposed to be getting. But that didn't stop this issue. Before we upgraded to Fibe, we had the modem replaced about 3 times. With Fibe, we've had it replaced twice, and every time the issue remains. We've had wires in the house replaced with no effect. Now with Fibe, the TV is connected to the modem as well. When it resets itself, the TV turns off as well. 

We just had a technician in today who basically told us (for the umpteenth time) that there is nothing wrong he can see, and even that they have no record on their end of the modem having turned off since last June (!!!). He said that even unplugging it for 2 seconds, it should register on their system that it has been unsynced or some such. Which is strange considering not only the amount of times we reset the modem daily through the browser and unplugging it, but we had an ice storm this winter that left us without power for three days. We brought in a generator and plugged in the modem and still had service, so obviously Bell's system was unaffected by this storm, so that at the very least should have registered.

There are 15 different devices connected between cell phones, iPods, game systems and computers, although a maximum of 6 or 7 are active at once. The others are from family who comes to visit and have registered their devices. All of us use wireless except the main PC beside the modem which is plugged directly into the modem. I'm not sure listing my or any household PC specs are relevant seeing how it seems to be an issue with the modem, therefore it affects all devices.

I believe we're using the Sagemcom 2864, but I'm not 100% sure. It's definitely a Sagemcom though. I can't seem to find any trigger that causes this. It doesn't happen during or after downloading or uploading at max speeds, and it's happened while nobody is using the internet or tv at all, early in the mornings or late at night.

Sorry for the long post, but I figured the more details the better. This is ridiculously frustrating, ongoing for two years with each call and technician resulting in no fixes, being told that there is no problem. If anybody has any suggestions as to what the problem could be and a potential fix, or even something I can finally call Bell and tell them to look into I would greatly appreciate it. Let me know if there's any more info needed.

[Argent]

Uh, that's weird. It almost sounds like a wiring problem, not a modem / service one, but I am really not the right person for this.

[Eerongal]

Unfortunately, there's probably about a billion different things that could potentially be wrong, so it's hard to troubleshoot like this over the internet.

 

That said, if you're having the issue with TWO different carriers and several different modems, I would probably put money on it being a wiring problem OR a problem with the "last mile" portion of your connection. Do you know if your neighbors have the same issue if they have the same provider(s) as you?

 

One thing I can recommend is giving their support a call at the literal time that it's happening, not after someone resets the modem or anything. If you're talking to them WHILE it's happening, they can usually do some tests on their end to verify your connectivity strength and all. You would probably wanna speak to Tier 2 support ASAP, because Tier 1 is just going to likely walk through the usual scripted steps, which would include unplugging and replugging it in (which could invalidate the purpose of the call in the first place).

 

I personally have had similar issues with a cable company back when I lived in Missouri here states side, we had intermittent issues and the techs always claimed there was nothing wrong. After years of back and forth, we finally had a tech who tested some wiring INSIDE the house and found a problem, and corrected it, and after that things worked much better. Can't say for sure if it's the same issue you have, but it's a personal anecdote that might help push you in the right direction, maybe.

 

It might also be worth your while to invest in an actual stand-alone router, and swap the modem into bridge-mode to use the modem they gave you as a dumb-pipe for data. It's been my experience that the wireless router/modems provided to you by ISPs are pretty much garbage, even a cheap 30-something dollar linksys router will serve you better in the router department. This would take some significant lifting off the modem and could help rule out the actual modem as the issue.

[Levian]

Thanks for the quick replies guys, I knew this would be a great place to ask

 

So we have had some wiring replaced but I don't know the extent of what was done, I wasn't involved with any of the technicians until recently and my family is pretty dumb with anything technical. I'm not a genius with this stuff but I know enough to get by at least.

 

The problem with calling tech support while the modem is down is that it usually fixes itself within 5-10 minutes, and getting a hold of them can take 10-20 minutes. It's worth a try though and I'll definitely do it next time.

 

There is no way to know if we'd have the same issue with two different service providers without paying for a second service right? That wouldn't be an option, that's an added expense I'm sure the family isn't going to want to do for some tests, regardless of what I could say to them. That being said, there have been a fair few trucks from Bell and Rogers in our court, but we haven't asked anybody else if they're having similar issues. We brought this up to the technician and asked if it could be a wiring issue coming into the court, and he just said if it was that we wouldn't be getting any connection at all. I doubt the truth of this, but I don't know enough about wiring and electrical stuff to really comment on that. 

[Eerongal]

Thanks for the quick replies guys, I knew this would be a great place to ask

 

So we have had some wiring replaced but I don't know the extent of what was done, I wasn't involved with any of the technicians until recently and my family is pretty dumb with anything technical. I'm not a genius with this stuff but I know enough to get by at least.

 

The problem with calling tech support while the modem is down is that it usually fixes itself within 5-10 minutes, and getting a hold of them can take 10-20 minutes. It's worth a try though and I'll definitely do it next time.

 

There is no way to know if we'd have the same issue with two different service providers without paying for a second service right? That wouldn't be an option, that's an added expense I'm sure the family isn't going to want to do for some tests, regardless of what I could say to them. That being said, there have been a fair few trucks from Bell and Rogers in our court, but we haven't asked anybody else if they're having similar issues. We brought this up to the technician and asked if it could be a wiring issue coming into the court, and he just said if it was that we wouldn't be getting any connection at all. I doubt the truth of this, but I don't know enough about wiring and electrical stuff to really comment on that. 

 

Oh, you mentioned "Switching to Fibe" and I just assumed that was another carrier, i'm guessing that's not the case? As far as faulty wiring goes, it's totally possible for a connection to work intermittently. It's not a binary "works/doesnt work" thing. If there's a short in the wire, it can work sometimes, and fail other times. I'm sure the technician probably just didnt care and wanted to continue on with his work.

[Levian]

Oh, you mentioned "Switching to Fibe" and I just assumed that was another carrier, i'm guessing that's not the case? As far as faulty wiring goes, it's totally possible for a connection to work intermittently. It's not a binary "works/doesnt work" thing. If there's a short in the wire, it can work sometimes, and fail other times. I'm sure the technician probably just didnt care and wanted to continue on with his work.

 

 

Honestly that sounded like the case to me with the technician. He just kept referring to this program he had open on his laptop saying it was "reliable" and he saw no issues, basically refused to acknowledge, offer suggestions or anything to the problem we were having. 

 

If it is a wiring issue, is it possible for it to be wires not in the house, but leading from somewhere outside to our house? I'm guessing since we've had some wires replaced they should be okay, but I will bring up the wiring issue next time I call. The reason I'm wondering is because I mentioned this to the technician as well, and he said they aren't about to dig up our lawn and driveway to check the wires to find out there isn't a problem. 

 

Just not sure how to go about this. Get the wires in the house checked out first no doubt, but how do I get them do check the wires out of the house?

 

*edit*

 

Oh and for clarification, when I said we switched to Fibe, that is just a faster service they provide. We were on DSL I think before, and switched to Bell's firbe optic service 

Edited April 30, 2014 by Levian

[Eerongal]

Honestly that sounded like the case to me with the technician. He just kept referring to this program he had open on his laptop saying it was "reliable" and he saw no issues, basically refused to acknowledge, offer suggestions or anything to the problem we were having. 

 

If it is a wiring issue, is it possible for it to be wires not in the house, but leading from somewhere outside to our house? I'm guessing since we've had some wires replaced they should be okay, but I will bring up the wiring issue next time I call. The reason I'm wondering is because I mentioned this to the technician as well, and he said they aren't about to dig up our lawn and driveway to check the wires to find out there isn't a problem. 

 

Just not sure how to go about this. Get the wires in the house checked out first no doubt, but how do I get them do check the wires out of the house?

 

*edit*

 

Oh and for clarification, when I said we switched to Fibe, that is just a faster service they provide. We were on DSL I think before, and switched to Bell's firbe optic service 

 

Unfortunately, there's no way to FORCE them to check the wires in your house, obviously. When it happened for us, we just got lucky with a tech who was willing to hear us out and do some extra tests that the others have never done. Unfortunately, we just had to keep at it until we got someone who knew what he was doing.

 

As far as their "Fibe" service goes, i'm willing to bet that it's probably fiber-to-node (its cheaper for ISPs to implement, generally), meaning you would actually be using the same wire/line as when you were using DSL. basically, the fiber runs to a specific "node" the ISP owns, and then runs copper cable over the last mile to houses. That way, they don't have to put actual fiber cable in the ground near everyone's home, and people get faster internet access, but not as fast as a TRUE fiber connection. You generally see this more than you see ACTUAL fiber connections.

[Levian]

I believe you're right about the fibre-to-node thing, the tech mentioned something about it being a copper wire but I didn't really know what it meant. Oh well, it doesn't really affect us either way, we're getting the speeds we pay for at least. 

 

So as to getting this issue resolved, it comes down to calling every week to have the keep bringing in technicians until one gets it right? Would there be no way to contact customer support, talk to one of the higher up people and explain how them trying to replace the modem for the 5th time isn't doing anything and it's probably a wiring issue?

[Eerongal]

I believe you're right about the fibre-to-node thing, the tech mentioned something about it being a copper wire but I didn't really know what it meant. Oh well, it doesn't really affect us either way, we're getting the speeds we pay for at least. 

 

So as to getting this issue resolved, it comes down to calling every week to have the keep bringing in technicians until one gets it right? Would there be no way to contact customer support, talk to one of the higher up people and explain how them trying to replace the modem for the 5th time isn't doing anything and it's probably a wiring issue?

 

Well, it's more about luck to getting someone who knows where and what to look for in order to pinpoint the problem. That said, if you can think of or try a different tactic, it could certainly work, i'm just giving my recommendations from what issues I've had in the past. You're unfortunately going to be at the mercy of your ISP for a resolution, most likely.

[Ryan]

Do you have one of those modem/router combos, like most ISPs love to foist upon us? I have found that while the modem half of the combo is often quite reliable, the router side is almost always horrible.

 

I had issues like yours, so what I did was, I turned off the stupid router on my modem/router combo (because there is no such thing as a DSL modem that is not also a router; I know you're on fiber, but that still needs a modem, right?), put it in bridge mode, and use an Apple Airport Extreme for the router. Since I made that change, not only did all my reliability issues disappear, but my connection got 7 megabits faster.