Connection Issues

Your downstream power level is a little on the high end. You have three channels out of spec and five that are within spec but could be  fluctuatingout of spec.  Your upstream power level is also a bit low and should always be above 35.

Have you gone over the wiring in your business and confirmed nothing is broken/damaged and everything is tight? Also do you have any splitters on your path that can be removed?

Thanks for the feedback - when I showed the technician yesterday at first he didn't know what the screen was, then he realized and said all those numbers were perfect.

This is in a home. The modem outlet is the only line running. It's about 20 feet from the outside connection.

This wasn't clear in my initial post - when it's working, I'm at full 20/2 all the time. There is no "degraded" signal or anything like that. When it doesn't work, it's dead.

The tech said that they would put my modem on a special service to check continuously and call me if something showed up, but given the DSLReports graphic showing continuous breaks I'm not sure if that's happening?

If I remember correctly those checks only run for a short period and if nothing is seen they are disabled. As for your issue. You will need to contact Comcast and ask that they diagnose the signal levels as that appears to be the issue here.

After another bad night I called and they said they cannot check power levels on my modem since it's mine, so they're sending a tech out tomorrow. They also gave me the shtick about not being able to do anything if it's my modem. What are the odds that it's my modem? It's two months old - do those things go bad?

It's possible it could be the modem but it's hard to say. In the six years I've been with Comcast I don't think I've ever actually had a bad modem, but it's definitely been replaced a few dozen times. Pretty simple way to test. When the tech is out there ask that they put a Comcast modem in. You'll have to start paying the rental fee for it but it's an easy way to test.

Progress! This tech put his analyzer on the house and said "Woah - I don't see this too often" 🙂

Power levels are fluctuating, he's not happy with how the inside connections were made from the outside, but he tested more and it's happening in the outside line. So we're making headway...

So the update... The tech spent about an hour here Sunday. He left and said he'd come back with a lineman because it's a line issue. They returned that evening, but it started raining heavy and he explained that they need to open the box where the fiber is converted to cable, and that box can't get wet. He promised a Monday morning return so all good by noon Monday.

It rained Monday so I cut him slack 😉

Today it did not rain. And I'm still up and down. I called this evening, told him the story about the line crew not returning, and customer service told me to power cycle the modem. I did so, he proceeded to give me a CR number and asked what else he could do.

Sigh...

I explained again the story, and he said that line crews are not part of Comcast so he couldn't help me. The best he could do was send a tech out next Monday! I said that's not acceptable. He found a tech who could come out yet by 8p this evening.

At 9p I called and asked what happened, and the rep said that my appointment was next Monday. I asked about what happened to tonight, and after another long hold he came back to say the field tech realized this was a line tech issue, and that no line techs were available until Monday.

I asked for a credit since we've been barely able to use the Internet for two weeks now, and it looks like it'll be another week (at least), and the rep said that since I have Internet some of the time that I can't get any sort of credit. He also noted that it's possible that having my own modem caused problems with the outside line (is that even possible?) If so, I'd be held responsible.

That sounds like they didn't know how to properly help and just fell back on generic responses. It's good that you got a CR number. That generally means a request has been opened to level 2 and that someone should be investigating. Not likely you'll get a call but they can see a wider range of systems to identify problems. If it's as bad as the tech said it was they'll see it and put in a work order.

So we left off Tuesday when they cancelled my appointment with a field tech so they could send out a line tech.

Yesterday, a field tech showed up.

He found no issues at all, and told me to reboot my modem. Or buy a new one.

Well played Comcast...

I am sorry to hear that 😕 I'd recommend getting the number to the tech supervisor in your area the next time there is a tech out and give him a call directly. It sounds like your issue is being miscommunicated when it's being translated between departments(which is pretty normal for Comcast). 

In looking at the DSLReports smokeping test from the first post - I've been fine since Thursday evening. I'm guessing (hoping?) that they did the line work at that time...

Here is my current power snapshot.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/6375163/signal2.PNG

Compared to "before"

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/6375163/signal.PNG

Your downstream power level is much better, but your upstream is still out of spec. It should be between 35-50. With it being that close it's hard to say if you'll see issues or not.