Comcast Internet - "Weak Signal"

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AMD_RULES

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Mar 26, 2007
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So I bought a new modem (SB5101) and I call Comcast to activate it and the guy tells me I have a "weak signal." What is this all about? Have a guy coming out later in the week to check it out. Did notice my internet downstream speed is very slow.

Any ideas?
 
Something wrong with the coax line. They will prob install a new line to the modem and check the house to poll connection.
 
its signal from pole to house, may be number of splits, you want the cable modem on the first split.

you should know this..... =)
 
or maybe more of comcrap overselling and their line is saturated going to his neighborhood :)
 
marley1 said:
its signal from pole to house, may be number of splits, you want the cable modem on the first split.

you should know this..... =)
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:cool: Never had to know this before, now I do :)
MrGuvernment said:
or maybe more of comcrap overselling and their line is saturated going to his neighborhood :)
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Well the guy told me over 200 homes in the neighborhood were online.
Jabroni31169 said:
Something wrong with the coax line. They will prob install a new line to the modem and check the house to poll connection.
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That's what they said, but sometimes these comcraptic reps don't always have the best technical knowledge.
 
Just to add my experience with Comcast. I moved into my apartment 4 years ago and had nothing but trouble with getting a good signal. I was very persistent and got them to give me free time for to amke up for the bad service once they finally admitted it was their problem and not mine. Over the course of a few months they had many calls and eventually techs at several locations simultaneously they did track down the problem. I now have an exceptional connection and the fast speeds their commercials promise. My only question now is why are they so expensive?

Anyhow, be persistent and eventually you may get satisfaction. Good Luck.
 
The rep also mentioned something about the signal needing to be between 30-55, and mine was at 58.
Hopefully it is not an issue that will take long to solve. The rep said the other customers in my neighborhood are not experience any signal issues so it may just be the box outside my home.
 
Had the same problem after we moved into our house now. It took 15 calls, 4 days of missed work with 4 techs and it still wasnt fixed. Via the consumerist I found an exec number, called and complained and my internet miraculously was fixed two days later. My problem was a bit more severe though, internet would be down and my modem wouldnt activate. No internet for 3 weeks=teh lose.
 
marley1 said:
how many splits are in the house?
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Are you referring to splitters or coax cables?

There is one coax line coming into the home --> Which Goes into a single splitter with four connections (three occupied) . One of those lines goes to the room where the modem is located. There was a second splitter to share a TV with the modem, but the rep said the signal was bad with and without that second splitter in the room. Guessing it is something on there part, not the wiring in my home.
 
NotSoSimple said:
Had the same problem after we moved into our house now. It took 15 calls, 4 days of missed work with 4 techs and it still wasnt fixed. Via the consumerist I found an exec number, called and complained and my internet miraculously was fixed two days later. My problem was a bit more severe though, internet would be down and my modem wouldnt activate. No internet for 3 weeks=teh lose.
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Replaced a rental modem with this Motorola SB5101 and we were without NET for five days. And I thought that was hard.... man, that must have been a living hell for 3 weeks. ;) :D
 
what i would do to make sure its not because you have 3 splits.

put that 2 way splitter in off the main line. run the line that goes up to the bedroom where the modem is off the first splitter, then run a line from the 2nd output to the 3 way splitter to feed the tvs.

Main Line ---- 2 way splitter ------ One Line to Bedroom Cable Modem
---------------------------------------------- Other line to 3 way splitter ---- TVS in house

That is the correct way to wire cable modem.

If you still have problem its probably from the pole and not ur house
 
marley1 said:
what i would do to make sure its not because you have 3 splits.

put that 2 way splitter in off the main line. run the line that goes up to the bedroom where the modem is off the first splitter, then run a line from the 2nd output to the 3 way splitter to feed the tvs.

Main Line ---- 2 way splitter ------ One Line to Bedroom Cable Modem
------ Other line to 3 way splitter ---- TVS in house

That is the correct way to wire cable modem.

If you still have problem its probably from the pole and not ur house
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Thanks for that info marley1. I'll have to wait and see if the problem is inside my home, then I can go about making changes to the setup.

Currently Setup:

Main Line -----------> Four Way ------> one line to Room ---> Two Way Splitter ----> TV and Modem
 
I would do it before the guy comes out, the way cable works around here if its a problem inside the home due to the wiring you get charged, if its outside not charged.

so if its something you can fix i would do it, instead of getting charge for some moron tech to do nothing =)

easy test you can do is bring hte modem down to the basement, plug it directly into the main line, if you cant get it on its a problem outsid eof house, if it gets online then its a problem with the wiring/splits inside house.
 
marley1 said:
I would do it before the guy comes out, the way cable works around here if its a problem inside the home due to the wiring you get charged, if its outside not charged.

so if its something you can fix i would do it, instead of getting charge for some moron tech to do nothing =)

easy test you can do is bring hte modem down to the basement, plug it directly into the main line, if you cant get it on its a problem outsid eof house, if it gets online then its a problem with the wiring/splits inside house.
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I'll go down and try the modem into the main line directly and see what happens. Thanks :)
 
try a 2 way split and see what happens i think its a problem with the 3 way.
 
Well I take back what I said before, I just reconnected everything and the web pages are loading the same as when the modem was directly connected to the main line. Pretty sure it's outside my home. I just have to wait and see now...
 
The reasoning behind the "first split" rule is to keep the dB rating in the +10/-10 (optimal is 0dB) on the upstream and the mentioned 35-55dB downstream. Now if the signal is too high coming into the house from the tap, then they will use different type of splitters that will decrease the dB rating or if it's prime they'll use a splitter that calls for very little dB loss. Not to mentionion the 2dB/100ft rule... Cable modems are a pain in the ass, and unless you have the proper equipment, it's even more of a pain to properly troubleshoot.

I know here in Central Florida, BrightHouse won't charge you for a service call unless they have to run lines and such, swapping splitters is something that is covered. Not too sure about your ISP/Cable company.
 
Sometimes you can find out the IP address and password to log into the cable modem you have and it will report the signal strength. If the problem is splitters and such on your end this might help you find a solution.
 
dont use a router, go direct to modem, any i have had didn't have a user / pass as it was just an info screen that should show in 192.168.1.1 or .100/
 
my RCA cable modem I can access via 192.168.100.1
and I can access it through my router.
 
Here is some info: (btw, for the SB5101, the IP address is 192.168.100.1)

DOWNSTREAM
  1. Frequency 723000000 Hz
  2. Signal To Noise Ratio 36.6 dB
  3. Power Level -8.1 dBmV
    The Downstream Power Level reading is a snapshot taken at the time this page was requested. Please Reload/Refresh this Page for a new reading
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UPSTREAM
  1. Power 53.0 dBmV
Click to expand...

Does this info help?
 
the SNR is fine.
is the power level a negative 8.1?
if so, that's bad.
it should defiantely not be below 0.

downstream power level on mine at home is around 8.9
 
j-sta said:
the SNR is fine.
is the power level a negative 8.1?
if so, that's bad.
it should defiantely not be below 0.

downstream power level on mine at home is around 8.9
Click to expand...
I refreshed the page a few times and the level is between -7 and -8 (negative numbers)

What would cause this? Something outside or the coax in my home? :confused:
 
AMD_RULES said:
I refreshed the page a few times and the level is between -7 and -8 (negative numbers)

What would cause this? Something outside or the coax in my home? :confused:
Click to expand...

anywhere from -10 to +10 is a good reading, granted optimal is 0..
 
So is anything wrong with my connection? It seems pretty fast for a 6Mbit/2Mbit connection...
 
AMD_RULES said:
So is anything wrong with my connection? It seems pretty fast for a 6Mbit/2Mbit connection...
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I stand a little corrected but you're deff within good range of the proper signal.

Optimal is 0dB... -5/+5 is great... -10/+10 is worst case scenario, but QC won't come a bitching.

My room mate is a cable technician, so I just asked him to see if I was correct.

If you're having problems it's not your internal wiring if you're within that -10/+10 and 35/55 threshold. Let the guy know that, even though he'll still whip out the DSAM because well theres enough "I know what I'm doing" type of people.
 
d3c1us said:
I stand a little corrected but you're deff within good range of the proper signal.

Optimal is 0dB... -5/+5 is great... -10/+10 is worst case scenario, but QC won't come a bitching.

My room mate is a cable technician, so I just asked him to see if I was correct.

If you're having problems it's not your internal wiring if you're within that -10/+10 and 35/55 threshold. Let the guy know that, even though he'll still whip out the DSAM because well theres enough "I know what I'm doing" type of people.
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Thanks for the info d3c1us. I think i'll still have the guy come out since its free. If he blames anything inside my home, I'll "whip" out a screenshot of the modem "signal" page. I personally don't really notice any problems with my connection, but apparently there is a problem according to comcast... Don't know if they're looking for money (which I know they always are) or what...
 
Update
Comcast guy came out. Everything is fine (which I already knew)
Found out that although I'm paying for a 6/1 connection, i'm getting 23Mbps Download and 1.59Mbps upload :D
 
AMD_RULES said:
Update
Comcast guy came out. Everything is fine (which I already knew)
Found out that although I'm paying for a 6/1 connection, i'm getting 23Mbps Download and 1.59Mbps upload :D
Click to expand...

Ha nice. I had that once for a little while, but then it went away. It may have been after a modem power cycle or something.
 
AMD_RULES said:
Found out that although I'm paying for a 6/1 connection, i'm getting 23Mbps Download and 1.59Mbps upload :D
Click to expand...

Gotta love PowerBoost! I miss it badly, I had it where I lived before...I moved a few towns over, stuck with small cable ISP with a 6 meg cable.

When Comcast was deploying powerboost where I lived before....as they were tweaking it, I was pulling 70..even 80 megs at times. Once they finished it up, I was a constant 28 megs peak.
 
marley1 said:
30/10 here, fuck ur Powerboost.

<3 Optimum Online =)
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Just wait till your node becomes saturated and someone caps their uploads when you are trying to get online. anywhere from 5-6 people uploading at once on a 2-400 modem node will drain your internet. Most ISPs offer more than they can handle at the HFC end. I moved into a brand new neighborhood only 5-6 people and got speeds like that here locally. Then people moved in speeds went down.

NEVER and I mean never use a splitter for an internet connection. Have a dedicated line for your broadband and another for your TV. With the new digital standard coming in Feb 2009, your cable box will use more signal than it currently does. I made the installation tech install a second line just for my BB connection. Splitter can go out, wiring in the house could cause an issue, amplifier in the wiring in the basement or by the circuit breaker could cause issues. Dedicated line from the outside eliminates this issue. Never had a signal or speed issue with my setup.

Also if you use a wireless router which most of us do, put it no less than 3 feet away from your modem. :D
 
If they're close together they'll become friends and work harder
 
smaug8821 said:
Why is this?
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RF (I believe) I worked in tech support call center for over 2 years. The wireless router will cause the modem to drop offline and likewise the modem could cause weak signal for the wireless. Some people couldn't "find" their wireless network. Moving the modem away from the router solved the problem.
 
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