Basic Internet Connectivity And Modem Help

[Fastdog70]

Since the switchover to Xfinity, our Neflix streaming via our Wii box, "stutters". It indicates that the connection has been lost and has to "re-retrieve" the film. This happens numerous times, seemingly, at random and is extremely annoying. Does anyone have a similar experience and found a solution?

[Baric]

This has nothing to do with your TV service, Netflix streams over the Internet.  If you have Comcast High Speed Internet, then I would suggest heading over to the Connectivy and Modem Help forum and posting as much information about your network setup as possible, like:

1. How is the Wii connected to your network exactly?  Wireless?

2. What router are you using and how is is configured?

3. What cable modem are you using and what are your modem signal levels?  You can see them at http://192.168.100.1

Your problem usually indicates there is a problem somewhere along your network path to the Netflix servers, so you have to narrow down where the problem is.  It might be in your local network, your router, wireless interference, flaky modem, bad cables, spotty connection to Comcast, routing issues on the Internet, etc.

I'll move this topic over to the Connection forum.

[Fastdog70]

Thank you. Some additional info. This issue has only begun since the "upgrade" to Xfinity. Prior to that, no problem streaming Netflix via my Wii.  We also now have frequent disconnects occuring to MS Outlook email, also a problem that began with the Xfinity changeover. Prior to that no problems. Any additional information or solutions you can suggest knowing that?

[Fastdog70]

One more thought. I have also tried to stream Netflix directly on my laptop not using Wii. Same issue, many disconnects and reconnects. All else on laptop regarding internet connectivity, sites, etc. functioning as normal.

[JamesR]

Do you have a wireless router involved? If so, can you bypass the router just for test?

[i-am-nerdburg]

Please give us more information:

1) Please connect your computer directly to the modem via Ethernet ( no router, no wireless, no USB )
2) Run ShaperProbe and post your results.
3) Post your upstream and downstream signal levels (click the link.) We are interested in your power levels (dBmV) and your Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR).
4) Let us know to what speed tier you subscribe.
5) Post the make a model of your modem.

[tiajjm]

Hello, I've been grappling with this for over six weeks....

I have 12mpbs package and a Motorola Surfboard. My set up is an iMac in the office which is connected to a Time Capsule router that wirelessly feeds the rest of the house. The iMac is the only machine connected through ethernet. I plug my Macbook into my HDTV in the living room and stream Netflix content wirlessly. (On an AT&T DSL connection there was never an interruption).

When the Comcast modem is plugged into the Time Capsule in the office and I am wirelessly streaming content to the laptop (which is plugged into my HDTV in the living room) there is always an interruption in that content (Netflix) and almost consistently after 1.5 hours. The movie stops playing, the bottom bar says, "loading" and nothing happens. I have to restart the movie and often there is a second interruption.

It's important to note that this problem consistently happens at night, but RARELY occurs between the hours of 9AM and 2PM. After 3PM it has occurred and always happens after 7PM on both weeknights and weekdays.

When the Comcast modem is plugged into the Time Capsule and I am streaming content, there is also another issue: an interruption to the Airport Utility, which pops up, has turned on the amber flashing light and tells me that no DNS servers can be found. After approximately 1 minute, this resolves itself and the light turns green. This happens more than once a day. 

The above could be the same issue or two separate issues, I'm not sure. I'm also checking with Apple on all these issues.

To test the Netflix streaming interruption isssue, I have done the following:

1) I have tried streaming Hulu content in the exact same manner and have gotten no interruptions to streaming content, though I've only tried twice. I often stream Pandora via another device and no problems.

2) I have streamed the same Netflix content from a friend's house using their router, a different ISP and different modem (non-Apple products). I have gotten no interruptions to streaming.

3) have reviewed all potential wireless interruptions in the house and have found nothing at all that could cause an interruption. I have also altered the settings on my radio channels multiple times and this hasn't changed the outcome of the tests. 

4) Since this morning I have disconnected the Apple Time Capsule and have tried streaming with the Comcast modem directly plugged into my iMac. When I am streaming content, there is no interruption at all. However, I am testing right now between 9AM and 2PM and still need to test at night, when the problem happens 100% of the time.

Finally, below are reports of my signal levels, my logs from my modem (time stamp makes no sense though) and the SharperProbe results that I pulled as I'm running these morning tests:

Signal levels:

Downstream Value Frequency 693000000 Hz Signal To Noise Ratio 37.3 dB Power Level -0.8 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

Upstream ValueChannel ID 5 Frequency 36400000 Hz Power 42.4 dBmV

SharperProbe:

Connected to server 72.26.217.87.

Estimating capacity:
Upstream: 4184 Kbps.
Downstream: 18464 Kbps.

The measurement will last for about 2.5 minutes. Please wait.

Checking for traffic shapers:

Upstream: Burst size: 4899-4979 KB; Shaping rate: 2128 Kbps.

Downstream: Burst size: 7115-7304 KB; Shaping rate: 12805 Kbps.

For more information, visit: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~partha/diffprobe
logout


[Process completed]

Modem Logs:

Time Priority Code Description1970-01-01 00:00:32 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:29 3-Critical D001.0 DHCP FAILED - Discover sent, no offer received 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 1970-01-01 00:00:34 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:31 3-Critical D001.0 DHCP FAILED - Discover sent, no offer received 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-11-07 21:01:43 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-11-07 21:01:43 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 1970-01-01 00:00:23 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-11-07 20:56:42 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-11-07 20:56:42 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 1970-01-01 00:00:21 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-11-07 20:16:30 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-11-07 20:16:30 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 1970-01-01 00:00:30 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:27 3-Critical D001.0 DHCP FAILED - Discover sent, no offer received 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-11-07 19:31:12 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-11-07 19:31:12 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 1970-01-01 00:00:35 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:32 3-Critical D001.0 DHCP FAILED - Discover sent, no offer received 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-11-07 18:40:59 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-11-07 18:40:59 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 2011-11-07 17:00:46 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-11-07 17:00:42 6-Notice M571.4 Ethernet link dormant - not currently active 1970-01-01 00:00:29 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:26 3-Critical D001.0 DHCP FAILED - Discover sent, no offer received 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-11-07 16:50:02 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-11-07 16:50:02 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 2011-11-07 01:24:12 3-Critical R005.0 Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out 1970-01-01 00:00:34 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:31 3-Critical D001.0 DHCP FAILED - Discover sent, no offer received 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-11-03 18:47:15 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-11-03 18:47:15 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 1970-01-01 00:00:22 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-11-03 18:42:14 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-11-03 18:42:14 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 2011-11-03 18:41:42 3-Critical R005.0 Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out 1970-01-01 00:00:34 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:31 3-Critical D001.0 DHCP FAILED - Discover sent, no offer received 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-11-03 18:37:14 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-11-03 18:37:14 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 1970-01-01 00:00:21 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-11-03 18:21:53 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-11-03 18:21:53 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 2011-11-03 18:00:42 3-Critical R005.0 Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out 1970-01-01 00:00:30 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:27 3-Critical D001.0 DHCP FAILED - Discover sent, no offer received 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-11-01 07:39:08 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-11-01 07:39:08 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 2011-11-01 06:32:23 3-Critical R005.0 Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out 1970-01-01 00:00:18 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-10-31 21:15:57 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-10-31 21:15:57 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 2011-10-31 21:14:42 3-Critical R005.0 Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out 1970-01-01 00:00:18 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-10-31 18:30:05 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-10-31 18:30:05 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 2011-10-31 17:02:06 3-Critical R005.0 Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out 1970-01-01 00:00:34 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:31 3-Critical D001.0 DHCP FAILED - Discover sent, no offer received 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-10-31 15:44:11 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-10-31 15:44:11 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 2011-10-31 14:06:23 3-Critical R005.0 Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out 2011-10-31 08:04:32 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 1970-01-01 00:00:58 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:55 3-Critical D001.0 DHCP FAILED - Discover sent, no offer received 1970-01-01 00:00:28 3-Critical T001.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire QAM/QPSK symbol timing 1970-01-01 00:00:21 3-Critical T002.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire FEC framing 1970-01-01 00:00:20 3-Critical T001.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire QAM/QPSK symbol timing 1970-01-01 00:00:14 3-Critical T002.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire FEC framing 1970-01-01 00:00:14 3-Critical T001.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire QAM/QPSK symbol timing 1970-01-01 00:00:14 3-Critical T002.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire FEC framing 1970-01-01 00:00:13 3-Critical T001.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire QAM/QPSK symbol timing 1970-01-01 00:00:10 3-Critical T002.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire FEC framing 1970-01-01 00:00:09 3-Critical T001.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire QAM/QPSK symbol timing 1970-01-01 00:00:09 6-Notice M571.4 Ethernet link dormant - not currently active 1970-01-01 00:00:18 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-10-30 18:47:49 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-10-30 18:47:49 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 1970-01-01 00:00:20 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 2011-10-30 18:07:36 6-Notice M573.0 Modem Is Shutting Down and Rebooting... 2011-10-30 18:07:36 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o 2011-10-30 15:22:18 6-Notice M571.1 Ethernet link up - ready to pass packets 1970-01-01 00:00:19 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP FAILED - Requested Info not supported. 1970-01-01 00:00:07 6-Notice M571.4 Ethernet link dormant - not currently active

[Drogo42]

First, Comcast is a shared connection.  Everyone in your local area (within several blocks) is sharing the same bandwidth through a multiplexer.  Comcast is not clear how they limit users who pay less or give users who pay for faster speeds what they pay for.  There aew a few different tecnologies that can accomplish the job and all of them will cause delays and slowness as they are more heavly utilized.  The bottom line is that you are sharing ... which means when everyone else gets on you have less available to each individual.  The busy times are after 3PM when the kids get home.  There's another huge bump in demand after the dinner hour, 7 to 8PM, and that one lasts until about 11PM in my experience.  I also get a predictable drop is all service at either 9PM, 10PM or 11PM, or 5 minutes after one of those hours.  My guess is that Comcast is resetting something on an automated schedule but is trying to make it seem random.

Secondly, it is a common theory that Comcast plays around a lot with packets.  To what end no one is sure except for the Comcast folks.  The result, however, is decreased performance, corrupted downloads on occasion, and sometimes even a refusal to access or download certain content.  Downloads that use P2P technology, and there is a lot of legitimate download services that use P2P, are routinely messed with.

Technically I pay for 25MB with Speed Boost but I rarely get over 13MB.  At the heavy use times I'm lucky to sustain over 7MB and frequently drop to under 2MB.  I also experience frequent disconnects and drops/refusals during heavy usage times.  The more people you have on your neighborhood multiplexer the worse these problems will be.

Bottom line ... it's Comcast and their technology stack.  Your local "multiplexer" maybe old and Comcast hasn't gotten around to replacing it and/or your underground cables.  It's a pitfall of a "shared anything".