Internet now INCREDIBLY slow

[cctaylor88]

I am subscribed to Spectrum (TWC), my home was built in 1996, Spectrum has been my ISP/Cable provider since I moved into this home two years ago. Never had an issue with speeds or disconnects until 6mo ago. I was told the modem was bad and they replaced it. Since then my speeds will vary greatly and it’s been noticeably slower. I used to get 80-100 Megabits per second, Now I'm lucky to get 1 Megabit per second. I'm driving myself insane over this.

Today I had a tech come out, says everything outside and running into the home is fine. He unplugged the coax cables from my set top box and modem and showed me on his little reader that the “lines are damaged” or slowed or old whatever. I requested for the modem to be replaced, apparently he went to his truck to ask his supervisor. The supervisor declined and stated once I have the cables inside the home professionally replaced he would be happy to come out and replace my equipment.

I really don’t know what to do. I’ve had spectrum out here about 4-5 times and I’ve never been told this. Every time its been something else. First it was a bad connection on the outside box, then it was a dead modem. Now I'm being told my cables are bad. I don’t believe it. I mean every home in this neighborhood is 20+ years old. I went from 100 to <1 Mbps. Like that. I'm completely lost. The modem/router is an all in one from Spectrum Technicolor TC8717T is all I could find

 

[mnewsham]

If you think it's your modem, buy a modem yourself and try it. Their website should have an entire list of authorized modems that will work on their network, just purchase one off amazon and give it a try. If that fixes your speed, problem solved. If it doesn't, then it likely is an issue with your house wiring.

I don't see why you'd rent a modem from them anyway, just a waste of money.

 

[cctaylor88]

I have no idea which modem to buy? Or router? As it stands I lease their combo unit. What do you recommend?

 

[mnewsham]

I have no idea which modem to buy? Or router? As it stands I lease their combo unit. What do you recommend?

Depends on the speeds you have, and your network topology.


I personally would run a standalone modem, and a standalone router(without wifi), AND a standalone access point for wifi.
But that's because I prefer the devices to be dedicated single purpose devices as I personally find they have less issues than devices that are supposed to do all 3 duties.


ARRIS SB6190 would be good enough for pretty much any speed tier they currently offer, up to gigabit speeds. The Arris SB6141 is cheaper and would be good enough 200-300mbps depending how they configure their channels.



If you'd like a router gateway modem combo, then look at the Arris SBG7580AC, or the Netgear C7000, or Netgear C6250.

 

[mxnerd]

OK the modem is Technicolor , go to

http://192.168.0.1/ and click on WAN Network

take downstream & upstream screenshots

then upload the images and post here.

Someone here definitely can help. But I can't.

 

[Ketchup]

My parents have a house up north they visit from time to time and use a modem just like that for internet. The family and I came up to visit for a week. I don't know the specifics about their plan, but the speed and range is awful - I honestly don't believe they make a cable internet service that slow - if I spent more time there I would have looked harder, but I am 99.9% sure it's that modem.

Here is the pdf for that unit:

https://d15yx0mnc9teae.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/technicolor-tc8717t-userguide.pdf

On my Charter site (not TWC) they used to tell me what Modems worked with their service. Now that they provide them for free (in my area)they just ask if I need a router or a modem when I/they upgrade something.

Another option is to put the TC8717T in bridge mode and connect it directly to your desktop. If speed is good and consistent in that configuration, get a wireless router to connect to it and you should be good.

 

[JackMDS]

Spectrum Signal Comes through Coax, if there is any other coaxes they probably have to do with the TV.

It might be the Modem, but I am not so convinced about it as you are.

It is advised to put a Coax Spliter at the end of the entry cable,
Then one side of the spliter goes just to the Modem, the other side goes to the rest of the coaxes bound to the TVs.

So... temporarily disconnect the cables and make sure that only signal Input is connected to the Modem input directly from the outside. Then check the Internet speed how with one computer connected to the Modem.

.

 

[mxnerd]

Yeah, it could be that coax splitter thing, happened to me a while back.

 

[cctaylor88]

OK the modem is Technicolor , go to

http://192.168.0.1/ and click on WAN Network

take downstream & upstream screenshots

then upload the images and post here.

Someone here definitely can help. But I can't.

Unfortunately the link you provided does absolutely nothing. Not working

This site can’t be reached
192.168.100.1 took too long to respond.

 

[cctaylor88]

Spectrum Signal Comes through Coax, if there is any other coaxes they probably have to do with the TV.

It might be the Modem, but I am not so convinced about it as you are.

It is advised to put a Coax Spliter at the end of the entry cable,
Then one side of the spliter goes just to the Modem, the other side goes to the rest of the coaxes bound to the TVs.

So... temporarily disconnect the cables and make sure that only signal Input is connected to the Modem input directly from the outside. Then check the Internet speed how with one computer connected to the Modem.

.

In my basement where everything starts there are a ton of cables and wires and coax etc. Idk what's what. I've owned this home for 1.5yrs and I'm sure there have been several providers and ISPs etc. Idk what/where the "entry cable" is. I get what you're trying to tell me, its just beyond me.

 

[cctaylor88]

Depends on the speeds you have, and your network topology.


I personally would run a standalone modem, and a standalone router(without wifi), AND a standalone access point for wifi.
But that's because I prefer the devices to be dedicated single purpose devices as I personally find they have less issues than devices that are supposed to do all 3 duties.


ARRIS SB6190 would be good enough for pretty much any speed tier they currently offer, up to gigabit speeds. The Arris SB6141 is cheaper and would be good enough 200-300mbps depending how they configure their channels.



If you'd like a router gateway modem combo, then look at the Arris SBG7580AC, or the Netgear C7000, or Netgear C6250.

I don't know the first thing about modems/routers. As it stands I'm leasing an all in one from my ISP. What should I do? I need both a modem and a router right? Does the Coax go into the modem? What else goes into it? Where do I put my router? Whats the basic function of both?

 

[mnewsham]

I don't know the first thing about modems/routers. As it stands I'm leasing an all in one from my ISP. What should I do? I need both a modem and a router right? Does the Coax go into the modem? What else goes into it? Where do I put my router? Whats the basic function of both?

If you're truly clueless when it comes to networking, just get a modem router gateway combo. They're more or less idiot proof to a certain extent. My suggestions are the Netgear C6250, or C6300.

 

[Ketchup]

Unfortunately the link you provided does absolutely nothing. Not working

This site can’t be reached
192.168.100.1 took too long to respond.

192.168.0.1 (not 100)

 

[mxnerd]

It's http://192.168.0.1/ not http://192.168.100.1

Your Technicolor is a cable modem & router combo.

If you have cable TV service & internet, your connection looks like this.

make sure the all coax cables are good & screwed tightly for individual connection.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I've got a TP-Link something-or-other AC router / 24x8 (maybe 16x8) modem combo unit, got it for $40 from Newegg, might have been refurb.

Also picked up a brand-new Linksys combo unit, AC1900 router and 24x8 modem, for cheap, new in retail box from ebay. Only problem is, those are Puma6, which have packet-loss / latency issues.

Try to get a DOCSIS 3.0 modem with 16x8 or 24x8, with a Broadcom chipset (especially if you game online), and then get a decent router, I recommend and use an AC68U/R/AC1900 from Asus, but there are newer and better (and more expensive!) routers, too. That one is around $100 or less, refurb, online.

So, a combo unit MIGHT be cheaper, but if half of that unit fails, you have to replace the whole thing. I normally would use separate units, but space in this instance was at a premium, and the TP-Link combo unit has a wifi "ON/OFF" button, that I wanted.

 

[Ketchup]

The modem I have is identical to this one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Arris-TM16...=item4b57754e19:g:EZAAAOSw8a9cDIKx:rk:19:pf:0

And speed has been very good so far.

 

[VirtualLarry]

And speed has been very good so far.

No offense, but that's just an 8x4 modem. Most people would be better off (well, at least, in Comcast land) getting a 24x8 modem or better. Unless you like slowdowns during peak usage.

Those will only go to around 200-220Mbit/sec downloads too. (The 343Mbit/sec is only under controlled lab testing, and doesn't account for encoding overhead, nor node / channel congestion.)

OP would be way better off with one of these, for $20 more.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/TP-Link-TC7650-DOCSIS-3-0-24x8-High-Speed-Cable-Modem/254007326282

I've got one of these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/TP-link-AC...IS-3-0-Cable-Modem-Router-CR1900/183551180965

 

[cctaylor88]

It's http://192.168.0.1/ not http://192.168.100.1

Your Technicolor is a cable modem & router combo.

If you have cable TV service & internet, your connection looks like this.

make sure the all coax cables are good & screwed tightly for individual connection.

I appreciate the help so far. So basically I'm having a nightmare of a time trying to figure all of this out. As it stands I have another tech coming out Saturday (potentially my last) to my home and that's where I need to determine for sure where the problem stands. I'm just oblivious when it comes to this stuff so I don't know how to go about proving/asking/figuring out where the problem is. Does that make sense. So when they arrive Saturday what questions/actions should I perform in order to get a clear and definitive answer?

 

[mxnerd]

Keep saying you have no idea does not help at all. You should at least tell us where your modem/router is. Is it in the basement or somewhere else?

No technician will troubleshoot the connections inside the house after modem/router, or even the wall outlet where signal comes in. no matter where you live.

It's your job to make sure the cables and connections (coax & ethernet) inside the house are good. If you really can't figure out, get a local pro.

What you can do now before another tech visit is move the modem to the basement if it's not already there. Get a computer / laptop with ethernet cable connected to the modem right besides it. And see if the speed has improved. If the speed is OK, then you have a bad cable between basement and where your modem previously was located.

 

[mnewsham]

It's your job to make sure the cables and connections (coax & ethernet) inside the house are good. If you really can't figure out, get a local pro.

100% this, if it's beyond you, pay for a professional, your ISP has no obligation do anything about your houses internal wiring.

 

[JackMDS]

Get this inexpensive tester.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DQH4XP...&pd_rd_r=2e1d67ff-fe5e-11e8-b229-e508859a68d9

Read the instructions, and then use it to mark (with small stickers) all the stickers and assess the cables.

The principle is the the small detached unit goes to the end of a single cable in the periphery and the Main unit is user on the other side to id and test the cable.

 

[Iron Woode]

100% this, if it's beyond you, pay for a professional, your ISP has no obligation do anything about your houses internal wiring.

This is the right move. Hire a cable technician to help you with this.

On another note: where I live, Rogers (cable company and ISP) owns the cables going into your house. Sometimes they own the cables in your house. Their techs will help you with your cabling issues.

 

[killster1]

isnt there suppose to be a filter? I would just run one new line into the house and call it good, its just a coax should take 15 mins.

 

[sdifox]

It's not a filter, depending on signal level the tech may slap in a splittsr to reduce the level. And they deteriorate over time.