Problem with Comcast cable internet

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by risktaker, Nov 18, 2005.

  1. Connection has been going down 1-3 times a day usually around the same time always 1-2 hrs before market close. Their tech guy came by last week and replaced the modem, adjusted the cable, etc. but problem continues.

    Come 11:30am-1:00pm Pacific time, the damn cable internet goes down for 3-5 minutes then it comes back. Sometimes it does this 2-3 times in a day!

    I'm using dsl now, but still want a reliable backup/primary connection. First 9 mos with this service were great and never a problem but now this.

    Anybody with a similar situation?
     
  2. 9999

    9999

    No problem with mine in Los Angeles.
     
  3. No problem in San Francisco Bay Area.
     
  4. No problem in Philly.
     
  5. How long has this been happening for? I've worked for broadband companies in the past, and OFTEN they'll have some problems on their routers (or other infrastructure) at the nearest POP and they wont know it until a tech has gone out to a couple of houses in your neighbourhood, a few times each. I'm not kidding. At any rate, Comcast isn't that bad of a company, and I'd be willing to bet when they find the problem it'll be fixed for a good while. Keep calling them out when you have problems and don't let the tech leave until they are fixed. They'll say "control has to provision this and that, it'll work in about three hours and if not, give us a call" etc, etc, just to get out of there. Imho, none of that is true, because when I was at AT&T we could fix almost anything immediately once we found the problem.

    Some things to try... Get the tech to test the signal strength and/or just ask him to put a booster on the line. Test your connection when it's down by doing a traceroute (tracert at the command prompt, PM me if you do not know how to do this) and save a copy of it for when he comes out, or when you call them next (although they may not know what to do with it).


    In the end, cable should be very reliable, and problems like this are usually a sign of something that can be easily fixed.

    - The New Guy
     
  6. PS no problems in Chicago
     
  7. Thanks for your help.
    Comcast doesn't appear to be dragging their feet yet (they've been out and replaced the modem, checked the line, etc). But they DO admit that there's been some technical issues in Central and No. California and they are doing some repair work. I was asked to keep them informed if the problem continues for the next couple of weeks and they'll send someone out again.

    It just seems to be one of those problems that are hard to pinpoint the cause and I suppose many people (besides heavy traders) may not even notice this type of trouble. Which is why I wanted to get some opinions/help on this.

    Thanks!

     
  8. The advice offered by New Guy is on the money.

    I had a similar problem a couple months ago. It was caused by the outgoing signal not being strong enough. It took them a couple trips, but Comcast got it fixed.

    Except for that minor glitch, Comcast's service has been excellent.
     
  9. That also brings up another possibility... although they don't do this much anymore, they have in the past worked on the live environment during low traffic times (afternoon or early early mornings) and have caused disruptions. I believe that is mostly a thing of the past however, but not out of the question.

    - The New Guy
     
  10. ii had dsl for 5 years never a problem and wanted a backup so i got comcast. adfter trying it for amonth i decided to use it as my full time conncection for trading and its awesome. down 1 time ina year and its much faster than dsl plus the upload seems much faster. i'm very happy with it
     
    #10     Nov 18, 2005