Internet cable problems; please help

Reba

Reba

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My Deaf friend has high speed internet from Comcast. The Comcast modem connects to a videophone-provided router. Her PC connects to that router. Her videophone from provider "VRS-2" connects to that router. (Until recently, she used to have a videophone and router from "VRS-1".) (I'm not using their real names.)

Problem:
Almost every other day, she tells me that her PC doesn't get internet, or her videophone doesn't work. So she disconnects and unplugs everything, then reconnects and plugs in everything. Then her computer and/or VP work for a couple days. Then it happens again.

She told me that her Deaf friends have the same problem. They suspect it's the cable from Comcast that is the problem.

She said the problems for her PC/VP started a couple months ago after a thunderstorm.

What is the solution?
 
Try changing with a different router and see if it helps. Routers sometimes shut things down and you don't get internet.
 
sequoias said:
Try changing with a different router and see if it helps. Routers sometimes shut things down and you don't get internet.
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I think this is her third new router in two months. She got the latest one two weeks ago. She has also gotten a couple of new replacement VP's, and a new replacement modem, within the last two months.
 
Reba said:
I think this is her third new router in two months. She got the latest one two weeks ago. She has also gotten a couple of new replacement VP's, and a new replacement modem, within the last two months.
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Comcast in what state? I had similar problem in Wisconsin (thats where I used to live) ... it turns on/off... I called technician to come to my house to do the inspection 6 times, and all he said "It is working fine!". That is because when he is here, internet is working. When he is gone, internet's dead.

Here in DC... I never had any problem with Comcast internet/cable/phone (all in 1 deal) for almost one year.
 
Reba said:
I think this is her third new router in two months. She got the latest one two weeks ago. She has also gotten a couple of new replacement VP's, and a new replacement modem, within the last two months.
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really? I don't know why it keeps breaking, she must have a bad luck with those equipment, I guess? I have no problems with my internet and I have been on same router, cable modem, etc since april with comcast.
 
authentic said:
Comcast in what state? I had similar problem in Wisconsin (thats where I used to live) ... it turns on/off... I called technician to come to my house to do the inspection 6 times, and all he said "It is working fine!". That is because when he is here, internet is working. When he is gone, internet's dead.

Here in DC... I never had any problem with Comcast internet/cable/phone (all in 1 deal) for almost one year.
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Comcast of South Carolina.

Did you ever figure out what caused the problem in Wisconsin?
 
im been using linskys but you can work out for you but you would try that! and i told my mom about my internet dont work and my mom fixed internet on her own computer each of her and mine!

but i have comcast cables also so im wishes i would have anythings with internet with comcast because more expensives i know its lowest prices in Arkansas but im lives in North Little Rock,Ar
 
It is not that easy, it involves miles of network cable, sometimes its inside the ISP network, sometimes its on the road, loose cable can give technician hard time trying to locate them. Often when technician sees the problem and couldn't find it, the last possible response to customer is what? "Everything is fine" instead of embarrassing saying, "gee I can't find the problem, yeah there is a problem somewhere". Most technicians hate to admit that they can't find the cause of the problem in front of customer.

Of course router could be one of them, but again remember network involves not just router, it involves alot materials in the system and it is not always easy to pinpoint where.
 
diehardbiker said:
It is not that easy, it involves miles of network cable, sometimes its inside the ISP network, sometimes its on the road, loose cable can give technician hard time trying to locate them. Often when technician sees the problem and couldn't find it, the last possible response to customer is what? "Everything is fine" instead of embarrassing saying, "gee I can't find the problem, yeah there is a problem somewhere". Most technicians hate to admit that they can't find the cause of the problem in front of customer.

Of course router could be one of them, but again remember network involves not just router, it involves alot materials in the system and it is not always easy to pinpoint where.
Click to expand...
Since her problems began during a thunderstorm, I wonder if it is weather related? That would possibly indicate a problem with the exposed section of cable outdoors?

I told my friend that she just needs to move to my part of town and get RoadRunner instead of Comcast. :D

Our local area is growing at fantastic speed. I suspect some of the cable expansion might be getting down too fast, and/or subcontracted to less reliable companies.

But my theories don't help my friend with her current problem. :(
 
One suggestion is to have the outside cable line that goes 'to' the house be replaced. The outside cable line that we have here has been replaced 2 times due to problems similar to your friend's. It's now working better....just a suggestion. ;)

Good luck--






~RR
 
Roadrunner said:
One suggestion is to have the outside cable line that goes 'to' the house be replaced. The outside cable line that we have here has been replaced 2 times due to problems similar to your friend's. It's now working better....just a suggestion. ;)

Good luck--

~RR
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I think that's a good suggestion. The problem is convincing the Comcast technician to do it.

I'll pass the idea on to my friend. :)
 
This is very possible that weather can cause problems, water can creep in cable if they are not properly sealed. This will mess up the signal going though.

I wouldn't guarantee if re-locate to different place would solve problem but yes it is a possiblity.

And yes if the growth in area is too fast, it is good chance that VP will notice more problems.

The VideoPhone itself is very sensitive when it comes to speed, latency, and other noises. Much more than computer. Often people will think that VP is problem when the computer looks fine. This can send wrong message to VP users. I will never depend on computer and based on that to blame on VP.

It really takes detective job to figure out where the problem might cause.

If the cable technican uses test equipment made before 2002, they may not be able to detect the problem. Replace the test equipment isn't cheap and those technican tend to pay themselves for the test and don't want to spend $ to update. The problem with older test equipment is that they don't have capablity to test videostream quality, they can test Datastream, and that won't detect any problem that is causing on VideoPhone. You may want to bug for newbie Technican who would have much higher chance of having newer test equipment. But again who knows?

Reba said:
Since her problems began during a thunderstorm, I wonder if it is weather related? That would possibly indicate a problem with the exposed section of cable outdoors?

I told my friend that she just needs to move to my part of town and get RoadRunner instead of Comcast. :D

Our local area is growing at fantastic speed. I suspect some of the cable expansion might be getting down too fast, and/or subcontracted to less reliable companies.

But my theories don't help my friend with her current problem. :(
Click to expand...
 
I took a look at her cable outside today.

The Comcast cable comes out of the ground about 18 inches out from the house, in a puddle of water. The cable connections are about one foot up from the ground on the side of the house. Every time it rains, the connection is splashed and soaked.

The ground wire from the house is just lying near the metal ground post. It is not connected to it. It's pretty worn looking, with sections of the rubber coating missing.
 
My friend would like to connect a second computer (PC or laptop) into the Sorenson router. But last time I tried that with my laptop, her computer and VP both crashed. What's the solution?
 
Your friend should get the wiring looked at especially the ground wire for the house. I had similiar problems with my routers disconnecting often until I plugged them into a UPS (Uninteruptable Power Supply). Since then it only goes down when cable on the street goes down. Routers are very suseptable to power fluctuations.
 
cdaigle430 said:
Your friend should get the wiring looked at especially the ground wire for the house. I had similiar problems with my routers disconnecting often until I plugged them into a UPS (Uninteruptable Power Supply). Since then it only goes down when cable on the street goes down. Routers are very suseptable to power fluctuations.
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:ty:
 
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