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Why does cable modem need a hard reset every month?


Pgoodwin1

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About once every 3-4 weeks, my network slows down to 20% of my averages. I called Time Warner on this and they said "well your modem hasn't been reset in a long time". It had been about 5-6weeks since the last reset. To reset it I have to go down into the basement, unplug it, then re-power it. After every reset the network speeds jump right back to their normally pretty decent speeds. Anyone have any idea as to why it wouldn't manage itself to where you didn't have to do a hard boot reset every month.

The modem is a Motorola Surfboard SB5101

My network configuration is:

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There are several reasons I've seen this. If the user is torrenting, many times the IP gets cached somewhere and you have clients trying to get to the specified linked chunk.

It never hurts to grab a new IP either way. I do this on average 1- ? times a week. Then again I change the local mac address to grab a new IP, find the best one and store that mac until it gets overloaded with everyone els's leases and do it again.

Your running osx right ? Just use automator to restart the modem every few weeks , say at a time when no one is using the connection. Problem solved. Maybe a crappy solution , none the less unless your going to get into a mess with the ISp , seems like a viable solution no ?

I've seen people not restart there modems for well over a year, many people don't even know the thing exists , or would seem as such.

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The network the modem is on is 1 important factor...

Our modem constantly LOCKS UP and its because the network IS UNSTABLE and when the signal level gets TOO LOW,it causes the modems transmit to INCREASE and if it gets TOO HIGH,it loses sync and locks........

Pain in the ass but ITS NOT THE EQUIPs FAULT,its the ISPs!!

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The network the modem is on is 1 important factor...

Our modem constantly LOCKS UP and its because the network IS UNSTABLE and when the signal level gets TOO LOW,it causes the modems transmit to INCREASE and if it gets TOO HIGH,it loses sync and locks........

Pain in the ass but ITS NOT THE EQUIPs FAULT,its the ISPs!!

i rarely reset my equipment i think my modem was up last time for around 80 days or so i did have to reset it because i needed to take an attenuator off but otherwise i wouldn't have reset it at all. which modem do you have?

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Thanks everyone.

What software would I use to do a soft reset of the cable modem. I have a separate Router that I communicate with (the D-link) in the diagram I put a link to above. But I don't know how to reset the modem other than unplugging it. I'll take a look at at Warner's RoadRunner support info tomsee if I can find anything.

MudMan..when you run Automator, how do you communicate with your modem? My cable modem is outboard of my router.

TriRan-it's the Motorola Surfboard SB5101 model referenced above. I have a network diagram link in my original post showing how everything is hooked up.

Time Warner swapped my cable modem a few months ago while troubleshooting a performance problem. Same model. Only the old one would run for many many months without ever having to be reset. The old modem had nothing wrong with it; the performance issue was related to signal levels, but they swapped it anyway.

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Thanks everyone.

What software would I use to do a soft reset of the cable modem. I have a separate Router that I communicate with (the D-link) in the diagram I put a link to above. But I don't know how to reset the modem other than unplugging it. I'll take a look at at Warner's RoadRunner support info tomsee if I can find anything.

MudMan..when you run Automator, how do you communicate with your modem? My cable modem is outboard of my router.

TriRan-it's the Motorola Surfboard SB5101 model referenced above. I have a network diagram link in my original post showing how everything is hooked up.

Time Warner swapped my cable modem a few months ago while troubleshooting a performance problem. Same model. Only the old one would run for many many months without ever having to be reset. The old modem had nothing wrong with it; the performance issue was related to signal levels, but they swapped it anyway.

your modem and router need to be on the same subnet or....your router needs to have a bridged subnet of the modem (much more difficult) at which point you can access the modems configuration page and click the reset button to soft reset the modem

you can probably find the modem config at http://192.168.100.1

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  • 3 months later...
  • 1 year later...

I know this post is old, but I used to work for Comcast as a Broadband Tech.

 

If your Internet seems to be slower than usual:

- ensure no one is hacking into your connection: check your router's "attached devices" page. (disable non-essential WiFi/Wireless broadcasting on your router, etc.)

- ensure you're not close to your monthly bandwidth limit.

- ensure there's no IP conflict

- ensure it's not your DNS server (if applicable, check out "DNS Benchmark" for verification)

- ensure your bandwidth is not being hogged up by other members of your household

- keep in mind, especially during evenings, your node can be congested. (everyone's home and Online)

 

Few Tips for Slow Speeds:

- Power cycle your modem & router if applicable. (unplug completely from outlet for atleast 20 seconds.)

- Ensure you're using Cat5 (Ethernet) cables and not USB cables.

- If possible, try to request a new IP.

 

Recommendations:

- mudmanc4 is correct, it is wise to change your IP if possible. (prevents neighbors hacking/stealing your bandwidth, Online hackers, ISP flagging, etc.)

- Comcast, like many other ISPs, issue static IPs. In order to change static IPs, you have to change (spoof) your MAC Address. If you're behind a router, change the MAC on your router, then power-cycle your equipment.

 

I use TMACPortable. (no installation required)

The MAC Addresses it issues are compatible 100% of the time.

While other MAC apps., (from my experience) are not as reliable.

 

Note: sometimes.. during power cycling..  the modem will not lock up right away.. stay calm.

This is usual.. just give it time.. and keep power-cycling the modem.(this happens maybe once a month for me.)

The longest i've had to wait was 20 minutes.

(this is not accounting for infrastructure problems, in that case, it depends on your ISP. ie. down power lines, node congestion, etc.)

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