Sketchy Internet.

Hi folks. I am hoping someone here can offer some insight. I have a 30 megabit cable internet service, running through a Hitron modem/router, supplied by the cable com. My computer is hardwired and my wife uses a notebook and Iphone wirelessly. When we had a 5 mbit connection with 4 users and 7 devices, we seemed to have better speed. At present, the service tends to be very slow, even painfull to use at times. I get disconnections while playing games online, timeouts during downloads, timeouts while trying to connect to a site. This is already an upgraded modem, which was supposed to help improve over the first (different) modem. If we do a speed test, which I once did while on the phone with a tech, the wireless notebook was faster than my wired desktop, and the Iphone was fastest of all, all exceeding 35, with the Iphone at 44. Too often I feel like I am on dial up, and guesstimate it is costing me a couple of hours a day extra to do what I want to. Getting disconnected while in a party with others in an online game is beyond annoying. I have spent hours on the phone with tech support, and am to the point of considering a switch to DSL, even though they are offering a lower speed.
So, the question I have, is this: is there a way to determine whether the DCs are coming from the source server or from a shaky cable connection? The current deal from the cable company is for 100 megabit which should be 3 times faster. However, 3 times 0 is still 0. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. thanks

 

Make sure the cable input is tight at the modem and the wall.

Cold boot the modem by unplugging the power mains from the modem, wait 30 seconds and plug it back in. Once it resets, restart your computer.

If problems still persist, try a different ethernet cable. They're fragile and can break internally.

 

Since the notebook and iPhone have normal speeds that suggests the modem is functioning properly so not sure a reset is needed - it won't hurt, but since you already replaced it once, and most likely tech support has already had you do this, I am not optimistic. But it does not hurt to try.

I was going to suggest this too. I would also try a different Ethernet port on your router. And note many motherboards have two Ethernet ports so you can try that too, if yours does.

That said, I might suggest you buy your own network gear, and I would get a separate modem and router too. In the end, you will save money buying instead of renting their device. One of the advantages to having separates is in cases just like this. If you have connection problems, you can connect directly to the modem and not go through the router or it's integrated Ethernet switch.

For sure, your Ethernet connected PC should have the best, most stable connection - not your wireless devices. So it is looking like an Ethernet issue, not your ISP, or the modem side of your "gateway" device.

What do you get with speedtest.net?

 

Thanks for the replies. I should clarify that the problems are worse with the wireless. Often times my wife has been trying to connect to the internet with the phone and it goes into spin cycle. Switching to the mobile network results in immediate connection. From this I assume the problem is the internet service. It isn't always slow, but we can't peg it to peak times. Sometimes it is slow in what should be off hours. At times, when it seems slow, and I try a speed test from speedtest.net, it takes a couple of minutes to load ( I always get 30+ on the test). I think I now own the modem device. I have also heard they have a new Cisco modem that is supposed to be better, so I will contact them again. I was just hoping to verify that the problem was with them and not the game servers and such we are connecting to.I have had techs out to the house because of issues, and they were to replace the cable to the house, but didn't when the cable installer tested the cable and didn't believe there was a problem, so just replaced the connector. All connectors in the house were replaced by another tech another time. I have at different times tried different network cables but have never found any difference.
Again, thanks for the ideas and suggestions.

 

I don't know what more to suggest but to have them come look again. If the problem happens with all your connected devices, that points to the network.