BleepingComputer.com: Constant internet slowness

My internet connection has extended periods of crappiness, and I often have to reset the router / restart it to get it to work for ten more minutes until I have to do it again. I don't think it's an electrical issue, but my house does have aluminum wiring in some areas, so I tried using different receptacles. We've taken all appliances except the router off of those receptacles, and same deal. This problem has been going on for years, and hasn't changed even when we changes routers, and when we switched from Comcast to Verizon. The last thing I can think of is the coaxial cable that goes to the router, which has stayed the same over the years.

So can it actually be an electrical issue? Or is it more likely to be an issue with the coaxial cables?

Connect directly to the modem and see if you still have the same problem, bypassing the router.

If you have low voltage, router would disconnect randomly. Try getting a UPS for your computer system.

Lorjack, on Jun 25 2009, 07:04 PM, said:

I have FiOS, which only comes with a router. Would the modem be the white box they installed?

What is your sequence of wiring?

I had the same trouble for years and years then I got the answer. Here is my story and you can see if it relates to yours.

As you may or may not know your modem should be connected to the telephone master socket (ie. the socket that the actual telephone wire coming in from the outside is connected to).
Originally I had an ADSL cable (30 mtrs) running from my master socket running upstairs to my modem then a short wire from the modem to the PC. It worked but it was WRONG. For years I had random disconnections and not being able to connect. Frustrating but I came to live with it.

Anyway, what I should have done was to connect the modem to the master socket with the short wire supplied with the modem then using the correct cable (CAT5E STRAIGHT RJ45 NETWORK CABLE) to connect the modem to the PC.

Never been disconnected since!

Apparently the reasoning behind this is, the signal that runs between the master socket and the modem is very prone to outside interference (such as unsurpressed car/motorbike engines etc) leading to random disconnection so this cable (supplied) should be as short as possible. However, the signal that runs between the modem and the PC can run on whatever length of cable you need without problems.

Hope this helps.....it did it for me, thankfully

You say that it goes through periods of crappiness. What is going on weather wise when it happens?

You talk of different routers and different ISPs. The coax cable AND the fiber outside prolly both stayed the same no matter what ISP you went with.

The reason I am leaning toward enviromental issues is cause you have pretty much changed the other parts of the network.

During any type of weather. For the past few months now, the router has needed to be reset every 15 minutes regardless of the weather, whether or not the A/C was on, or anything like that.

The wiring is as follows: We've got the FiOS white box hanging up in our laundry room, a coax cable running to a splitter, one coax going off of that to the FiOS router, and the other going to another splitter, which runs three cables to our three TVs.

Are you on wireless or is this all hard wired? Is there a refrigerator or microwave anywhere near your PC or modem and do you have cordless phones in the house?

No to the fridge or microwave, yes we do have cordless phones, and a mix of wireless and wired. We've got a PC and an Xbox 360 running from ethernet cables to the router (PC is hardly ever used), and two laptops running wireless.

The first picture - That is your telephone hook up. And good lord that is an old hook up lol.

The second picture - I see on the front of the box an Ethernet jack and 2 phone test jacks. The Ethernet is labeled Ethernet Hub jack, is that used? I am just trying to get an idea what's what with your hook up. I have very little experience with fiber hookups.

This is me guessing but, the black wire with the green stripes at the connector is the FiOS wire from the street or outside your house. The black wire that comes out of the right side of the box and into the left side just connects the 2 sides of the box. The black wire that comes out and down behind the pipe is the coax cable that runs to the splitter and then to your router and TV setup. The thicker white cable that just loops down and back in is the power cable. Am I correct? If a coax cable runs to a splitter to split to your router and TV set up, can you bypass that splitter and connect it directly to your router? All the wires look new except the wire connecting the 2 sides of the box and the one running to your splitter. Has the splitter changed or stayed the same no matter which ISP you were with? And just cause you take really great pictures can you post a picture of the router as well?

What is the white wire that comes in from the left, runs under the box and coils up on the right with the black wire tie?

and OMG Dust in there!!! lol laundry room = not the best wire closet choice

Yep, the long white wire is the power, the coax next to the phone test jacks lead to a splitter, I'll take a look at what the rest do. I think we've changed the splitters once or twice, not sure.






And yes, the router area has been dusted since

At this point I'm not sure what it could be. But if you've changed ISPs and all of the hardware then the only thing left is your house.

I am assuming you've called your ISP when this was happening? Specially while it was happening. What did they say it was? Have they been out to actually look at anything?

If you suspect its a power issue a UPS would be a good idea. You wouldn't need the most expensive one.

I don't think it would be a power issue, but since it has been said that the wire that goes outside remains the same, could that be it?

I've called ISPs before, get the usual "reset your router for 30 seconds, lather, rinse, repeat" responses, but got annoyed before actually talking to someone who knows what they're talking about. I'll try that and be persistent.

Edit- Just used a multimeter on the outlets we use for the FiOS router and the white box. Both are reading around 120, they just jump from around upper 118 to upper 121 volts.


Inside the box:


Can't really tell from the bottom of the picture, but it doesn't look like it was grounded when I saw it.

Should I be blurring out those serial numbers and whatnot?

When calling your ISP - Normally the first person you get is a trouble shooting tech sitting in a call center. You will have to do what they say before they will let you talk to the people that can actually do something. You are looking to talk to tier 2 tech support. Normally you get them by asking to speak to the first tier's supervisor. You might get lucky and get a first line tech that can call the "engineers". These are the people that have all the cool little tools at their finger tips. My advice would be to call when you are having the trouble. I know talking to them will not be fun, but if you are nice about it, normally they will be nice and bust their butts to get you fixed. I used to work for as a DSL tech in a call center(omg the memories..lol) and I can tell you, you call in and be an ass you aren't going to get the help you would if you are nice about it. Keeping in mind, its not their fault and they are there to help you.

But you need to eliminate the ISP side of things. Before moving on.

Let us know =)

I called them up, and she couldn't think of anything either. She suggested we have someone come out and check it out, so I guess we'll do that later.