Intermittent, crappy connection via NTL

cornbb

I'm using NTL broadband with a wireless router in the Galway area. For the last few days my connection has been crapping out every few hours, to get it running again I need to go downstairs, unplug the modem and router for a minute or so and plug them back in. This has happened 3 times this evening already and is a pain in the ass to say the least.

At some times services such as skype and bittorrent work fine but I have no luck with http. At other times https (for online banking etc) is so slow its unusable. If I try to Repair my wireless connection instead of unplugging then it comes back saying I have limited or no connectivity.

Has anyone else experienced such problems? Is there any way I can email NTL? I know from experience that phoning them is a futile and costly experience. To say that this service is pissing me off would be an understatement.

DingDong

What type of modem do you have. Are you running torrents while trying to browse, this can mess up your connection. Is it possible to connect the computer direct to the modem just to rule out any wireless problem. One other thing type in 192.168.100.1 into your browser and have a look and see what your modem is transmitting at(should be below 52 ish dBmV) and recieve power level(around 0 dBmV).

cornbb

Hi, thanks for the help. I'm running torrents at the moment alright, these are probably slowing things somewhat but the connection still craps out sometimes when BT is off.

Its a Motorola Surfboard cable modem. The IP address you gave me has some useful information, the upstream and downstream transmission power is within the ranges you describe (well right now, while its working).

Can't bring my machine downstairs but I'll try pinging the modem next time the connection fouls up to rule out problems with the wireless connection.

Any point in posting the logs? There are a few errors listed from when I unplugged the modem.

DingDong

If I remember correctly all the green light should be on if the Motorola modem is working correctly. Have a look at that when you have a problem. What was the transmit and recieve power level?. I remember when I did use torrents it messed up my connection and I had to reset the modem. Its been a while since I used torrent though. Make sure you shut down the torrent client properly so it not runnning in the background too.

cornbb

DingDong wrote: »

If I remember correctly all the green light should be on if the Motorola modem is working correctly. Have a look at that when you have a problem. What was the transmit and recieve power level?. I remember when I did use torrents it messed up my connection and I had to reset the modem. Its been a while since I used torrent though. Make sure you shut down the torrent client properly so it not runnning in the background too.

All four lights are on and the orange light is blinking, both when its working and when its not. At the moment (while working) transmit power is 41.0 dBmV and receive power is 0.6 dBmV. I'll check these again if the connection goes down again.

I think bittorrent might be the problem alright. I paused all my torrents this evening and haven't had a problem yet (touch wood). I'll leave it off for a few days and see how things go. Thanks for the help.

DingDong

cornbb wrote: »

All four lights are on and the orange light is blinking, both when its working and when its not. At the moment (while working) transmit power is 41.0 dBmV and receive power is 0.6 dBmV. I'll check these again if the connection goes down again.

I think bittorrent might be the problem alright. I paused all my torrents this evening and haven't had a problem yet (touch wood). I'll leave it off for a few days and see how things go. Thanks for the help.

The levels and the light are all spot on cornbb. You should be grand if you only let the torrents run when your not planning to be browsing. Look into using newsgroups they work so much better than torrents and you will always max out your connection.
Good Luck

cornbb

Excellent, thanks for all the advice.