Insight on Internet connection issue?
 

Since Friday there has been an issue with my internet connection. Charter customer support is useless, so I am hoping someone might have an idea what it could be.

I usually get 10-20Mbps DL speeds and 1-2Mbps UL. Starting on Friday I noticed my connection seemed slow, and when I ran a bandwidth test it came back as under 1Mbps DL, but the UL was still full speed at 1-2Mbps.

Does anyone know what could cause just the DL to be affected? I have replicated the issue on multiple machines, both with a router (wireless and wired) and connected directly to the modem. So it isn't a machine-specific issue or being caused by the router. Charter says they aren't showing any service issues in the area, and also said their test of signal strength and diagnostics didn't show any issues.

Has anyone ever had a similar problem?

Have you asked for a new modem? I've had one crap out on me before. Though in my case the internet ceased to exist altogether.

Have you reset the modem? (unplug power for a minute)

There's usually a reset button, too. :smile:

I am planning to swap the modem out tomorrow if I have time to run down the the local office, and I have reset the modem multiple times (always the first thing I try). Also tried changing from manually specifying the DNS addresses, and having them automatically assigned, and problem still exists.

Have you tried hitting it really hard? Maybe a component came loose on the BEC board. :lol:

Trust me, I am pretty close to doing some "percussive maintenance" on the modem.

I think it has to be either hardware failure in the modem, or something happened to the coax cable or the junction where it connects on the utility pole outside. Just seems weird that the upload is fine and only the download is affected. I had a suspicion that they might be throttling my connection due to excessive bandwidth usage, but I really doubt it. I never download anything pirated/illegal and you think they would tell me if there was a new bandwidth quota or policy in place.

I don't think they would throttle you down to 5% either..... That's how you lose customers! :yes:

Hammer time.
 

My dad always used to say if the usual stuff does not get things in order, then its hammer time. Smash it to smitherines and then get you a new one. We have fiber optic internet directly from our work (US Gov), so issues like this are extremely rare. Cable internet is much more reliable because you receive dedicated lines just for internet. DSL which is run by the phone complanies as we all know are terribly unreliable. They cannot even keep good cellphone coverage, so how in the world can anyone expect them to keep good internet connection?

Before you go smashing things, I have a couple questions:

1) Is this wired or wireless? If wireless, how is the signal strength? If low, it will affect your bandwidth. If wired, try another cable. If the cable is old/used the NIC could be thottling back the speed to compensate for collisions.

2) Are you using a router? If so, try connecting directly to the modem.

Just to check - you haven't run any new electrical cable (new wall outlets, new lights, whatever) lately, or installed any new flourescent bulbs in /on/near where the cable that goes to your DSL modem runs, have you?

I've seen a couple times where people have installed a new electrical outlet, and it's caused interference that resulted in issues like you're describing. (If you do have to cross an electrical cable, do it at right angles. Never run a data line parallel to an electrical cable unless it's very shielded)

I have replicated the problem with just about every combination I have: Mac or PC, desktop or laptop, wired or wireless, through router or direct to modem.

It is a cable modem, not DSL, but we did switch recently from an old 20" tube TV to a 42" LCD. The thing is the setup was installed for about a week before the problem started to occur. Might be something to look into though.

Shouldn't be a problem, unless you ran the electric cord parallel to it. And cable has better shielding, too. (though still not great)