Rogers unusable

[vwalien]

I've been having extremely high packet loss (up to 40%), high jitter and slow connection speed that seems to be occurring more and more lately. (not related to today's outage-june 2nd).

It all started about 3 weeks ago. In the past three weeks my neighbours next door moved out/cancelled rogers, I've cancelled my rogers home phone. I'm wondering if rogers needs to tune the network because of all these changes.

All of the signal strength indicators in the modem appear to be good.
DPC3825

Downstream
Power Level: Signal to Noise Ratio:
Channel 1: 4.0 dBmV 39.1 dB
Channel 2: 3.3 dBmV 39.1 dB
Channel 3: 3.3 dBmV 39.1 dB
Channel 4: 3.8 dBmV 39.0 dB
Channel 5: 3.4 dBmV 39.1 dB
Channel 6: 4.6 dBmV 39.2 dB
Channel 7: 4.3 dBmV 39.0 dB
Channel 8: 4.2 dBmV 38.7 dB

Upstream
Channel Power Level:
Channel 1: 38.9 dBmV
Channel 2: 38.7 dBmV
Channel 3: 0.0 dBmV
Channel 4: 0.0 dBmV

As another test I've removed as many splitters as possible and my modem is connected into the first splitter in the -3.5db port.

I'm wondering if they are just targeting me full time for my VPN/SSL encrypted connections, I'm running 2 VPN's and several SSL websites continuously connected.

Anyone else having strange problems? I actually was going to call them today to start the support process but the big storm/outage has them all tied up today.

[Mr.Nobody]

I was just checking the forums to see if a problem I'd recently been having had affected anyone besides me - and your issue sounds similar.

About 3 weeks ago, I noticed my wifi internet connections were unable to stream web video without AWFUL constant buffering issues. Some web pages were extremely slow to load and some wouldn't ever seem to finish loading. Didn't matter which computer it was. My wired connections were better but still not unaffected. My PVR's diagnostic pages indicates signal was good on the tv end of things.

Pings of various packet sizes directly from my router's Admin page were coming back 40% loss, 60% loss, 20% loss. Speedtest.net was reporting speeds of 2.5Mpbs to 3.5Mpbs if I was lucky, and I'm on Express with a DOCIS 2 modem so it should be closer to 11.

I reset my router. No change. I unplugged the modem for 1 minute (and even disconnected the cable) and after I plugged it back in, Speedtest reported 6.5Mbps on the first few attempts, but within hours, it was back to 2.xx - 3.xx. This was a repeatable test. Not sure why it initially improved things and then got quickly & progressively worse.

For about a week and a half, I played with my router and wireless device settings, trying everything I could to fix the issue. I could not get good speed or consistent 0% pack loss from any 1 computer, let alone all.

I eventually reset my router's Tomato firmware back to its defaults, but with no improvement. I did something I probably should have done first and tried bypassing the router altogether by plugging the ethernet cable coming out of the modem directly into a computer. Still no change!

Next, I tred bypassing the cable splitter where the line comes into the house. I disconnected from the splitter the coax cable that goes to my modem and, after removing the cable that runs between the splitter and the powered cable signal booster that Rogers or the previous cableco had installed (it looks similar to a splitter but connects to an A/C adapter), connected it directly. Ran Speedtest again, STILL, only 2.2Mpbs. Aagh. Time to call Rogers...

But, there was one last thing I could try -- I remembered something - around the time this problem started, my home suffered a number of ultra-brief power cuts. A couple of devices (1 computer and a gaming system) sometimes don't work after power cuts until the power adapter is removed and residual power in the capacitors is drained (by pressing the device's power button or letting it sit for 5-10 minutes) -- was there a chance the powered cable signal booster benefit from being unplugged? Doesn't cost anything to try! I unplugged it, let it sit for 5 minutes, came back, plugged it in.

Ran Speedtest. 10.7Mpbs. Days later, still getting 11-12Mbps every time. I can ping from all computers & the router with consisten 0% loss. MY problem appears to finally be solved.

Do you have a powered cable signal booster on your line? Try unplugging it for a bit, see if it helps.

[Mr.Nobody]

vwalian - any update?

update on my slowdown issue: My speed was good for about 4 days then started to drop progressively. A couple of days ago, when webpage loading became problematic, I ran the Speedtest.net test and was getting 6.5Mbps, then yesterday was really horrible and when I ran it again, topped out at 2.6Mbps.

I unplugged the booster, plugged it back in, and.. it only went up to around 6.5
I reset the modem with the end of a paperclip.. tested again and it said 13.4Mpbs. Let's see how long it lasts.

[jfmcaninch]

Hi,

I have had the same issues in Brampton for the last 3 weeks. Called Rogers tonight and the automated attendant said major cable outage for all cable services. I did some trace routes and it showed major latency with a hop near Nunavut/Manitoba border (69.63.249.189 and .185). As I finish typing this my Internet is fast again. The slowness tonight was for 1.5 hours.

[iPedro]

I've been having this issue for months. My Internet is totally unusable now. Been offline since last night. Rogers tech is coming in the morning. Will this qualify to get me out of the contract? I can't stand Rogers and their terrible customer service. I don't have much of an option because Bell tops out at 5mbps but I'd rather have functional Internet than these constant drops.

Would this qualify as breach of contract? I've had it with Rogers. Every few days I have issues, replaced the modem and been visited by tech support multiple times. How can they hold me to a contract if they're not providing the service?

[57]

Rogers doesn't have contracts for cable or internet or home phone. You can cancel any time with 30 days notice and if you aren't getting service, you can probably get credit for any service you're not getting.

There may be something specific to your location causing the issue as most people are quite satisfied with Rogers internet.

Is your computer connected directly to the modem via a cable? Many people confuse router issues with internet issues.

[iPedro]

Yes they do have contracts. They said they were giving me a discounted rate so I was on a contract for a year. To get out would have cost me nearly $200.

Fortunately, after writing the office of the President with my hair pulling experience, they called me, voided my contract and offered me 2 months free to try to work through the issues. I took it but I'm looking really closely at CIA now.

My computer is connected directly to the Rogers modem. But the issue manifests itself both wired and wifi. My iPad and iPhone get no Internet even though it connects and my Ethernet connected MacBookPro can't get on either. The tech guy who came here couldn't figure it out but somebody at headquarters fixed it on their end. Lets see how long it lasts.

[JamesK]

My Internet is totally unusable now.

The tech support should be able to test the connection to your modem. Do they see it fail? There are 3 areas where the failure could occurs, the modem, your hardware that attaches to it and the cable network leading to your home. If the tech support can't access your modem, it's either the modem or the cable. If they can, but you still don't have access, it's either the modem or your equipment & wiring. If it's a solid failure, then it should be fairly easy to determine where the problem is. When it fails, can you access the modem at http://192.168.100.1?

[57]

Yes they do have contracts. They said they were giving me a discounted rate so I was on a contract for a year. To get out would have cost me nearly $200.

That's a bundle (or other) discount where a portion of the discount is paid back if you don't stay for the term. I believe it's limited to $50-100 and as you say, if you threaten to leave you can often negotiate even more discount.

The reason I said they have no contracts on "cable" is because if you didn't negotiate this discount, you'd be paying more and be worse off. There's really no disadvantage to doing this (the worst case scenario is you pay the same as without the discount if you leave within the first few months). Best case, you save hundreds of dollars. Therefore it's not the same as a contract, say for a cell phone.

[yyzlhr]

The limit is $400 to cancel a cable/internet/home phone contract.

[iPedro]

Originally Posted by JamesK

The tech support should be able to test the connection to your modem. Do they see it fail? There are 3 areas where the failure could occurs, the modem, your hardware that attaches to it and the cable network leading to your home. If the tech support can't access your modem, it's either the modem or the cable. If they can, but you still don't have access, it's either the modem or your equipment & wiring. If it's a solid failure, then it should be fairly easy to determine where the problem is. When it fails, can you access the modem at http://192.168.100.1?

It's a building issue. My brother in a different unit was simultaneously having the same problem and when the Rogers tech was here, he called in and found out that 6 other modems were offline in the building.

It works for now but I've been pushed and shoved by Rogers and have had to work and monitor to keep them compliant with providing me the service that I pay for. I think the damage is done to my confidence in that company. I won't be defaulting to Rogers again when choosing an Internet and cell provider.