The modem is a Linksys BEFCMU10v.4 with firmware version 2.0.3.4.2.-1212.
Acquire Downstream Channel 597000000 Hz Locked
Connectivity State Operational Operational
Boot State OK Operational
Security Enabled BPI+
Downstream Channel
Lock Status Operational
Modulation 256QAM
Channel ID 81
Provisioned Rate 6600 kbps
Symbol Rate 5360.537 Ksym/sec
Downstream Power 3.4 dBmV
SNR 36.8 dB
Upstream Channel
Lock Status Operational
Modulation 16QAM
Channel ID 1
Provisioned Rate 384 kbps
Symbol Rate 2560 Ksym/sec
Upstream Power 41.5 dBmV
The DHCP lease as shown in my router (obtained from the modem) varies from 1 hour to odd periods like 2 days, 17 hours. Previously, I used to consistently see DHCP lease times of 7 days. This all started happening a little over two weeks ago, when I called in to report a chronic problem where, for some reason, the connection reverted back to a modem MAC address for a device that I hadn't used in about 6 months. I replaced my modem right around the first of the year, and called Comcast (then still Adelphia)
to have them release my MAC and pick up the new one. About two months later, my connection cut out completely for a day. When I called in, they asked me to read the MAC address on my modem, and the one on the new Linksys modem didn't match their records... they still had the old Motorola modem's MAC from two months ago. They cleared it again and reset the connection, and I was back in business. Since then, every month, I've had the exact same problem, right around billing time. This past month when it happened, I called in to demand a permanent solution, and got the runaround. The first guy said he couldn't help me because his computer was down, I should call back and speak to another tech. The next guy told me (at 1 o'clock in the morning) that I needed to speak to sales, because only someone in sales had the authorization to reset my MAC address... so I would have to wait until morning. In the morning, I called and asked to be transferred to sales. Sales acted as if I was an **bleep** for asking them to resolve this problem and transferred me back to tech support. This tech person finally spent the time researching the problem and claimed that she would be able to permanently clear the old MAC address and reset with the new one. A few hours after getting off the phone, this problem with the connection dropping out started happening, and it happens consistently ever since. I can get anywhere from 5-30 minutes of connection time before the connection drops out - it seems to be a certain volume of traffic that triggers the condition. My LAN remains up and connected, the problem is entirely with the WAN connection from the router out through the modem.
I know other people in the area that are having the same exact problem, and it started at the same time. They're using different hardware, so the chances that we just happened to have simultaneous hardware failures with different modems yielding identical symptoms are astronomically high. I've also read this forum and others and can see a pattern of many other people around the country reporting the exact same issues in multiple threads. This is not a problem on my end, Comcast has managed to mess something up, and they need to fix it ASAP.
