New problem solver
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3 Messages
Intermittant disconnects with SMCD3G-CCR router
I am having a really bizzare time with my internet connection for the last few months and it seems to be getting steadily worse.
The symptom is that the internet connection will start cycling (Drop, then "US" then "DS", then "Online", then Drop, repeat), with the "UP" time being as short as 30 seconds. Sometimes the router just crashes and will not restart unless unplugged
I have tried disconnecting equipment - The connection only seems to drop when there is traffic through the router, but no particular peice of equipment seems to fare better or worse.
I have tried eliminating possible noise in the environment, on the cable, and on the power supply - Nothing seems to make any difference, but it's a direct cable run with no splitters/amplifiers. The installer said that I had sub-optimal, but ok noise levels when he installed it (suggested an amplifier if I wanted to add TV service). When I looked at power levels they seemed ok (though I will check again if I can and update if my statement is incorrect - it's hard to check while the router is flapping)
The only correlation that I have found is that the router seems to be rock-solid for a while after being unplugged for a few hours - When it starts having issues, the router itself is warm (but not unusually so) and the power transformer is really hot - The first time I unplugged it, it was because I was afraid that the plastic casing was nearing melting.
Anyway, the lines of thought that I am having is getting a higher-rated power transformer - the one I have says 12V, .5A (Would that even be ok with Comcast If I did that?) or getting someone out to check the line in case it has degraded since install. Has anyone heard of anything like this before? Any other suggestions? Should I just get a new router and be done with it?
Accepted Solution
rwilper
New problem solver
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3 Messages
11 years ago
Some symtoms are shared with another user's thread "Constant issue with my SMCD3G-CCR since I updated to 50/10"
Checked signal levels again and still nothing stands out
Downstream
SNR 38.25, 38.25, 38.25, 38.60
Power 1.09, 1.31, 0.83, 1.39
Upstream
Power 41.25, 38.5, 39.5, 40
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Accepted Solution
tmittelstaedt
Problem solver
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326 Messages
11 years ago
Get a new power wall wart by all means. You will have to have them remove your old modem's serial number and insert the new one and why go through the hassle if the wall wart is bad? My experience is many of them go bad. I have fixed many malfunctioning devices (routers, switches, etc.) by replacing them
With the new wall warts that are small and lack the iron stepdown transformer, they use a small switching power supply in them. They must get the components from the cheapest places in China when they make these. No on second thought, the Chinese wall warts are probably the ones to aspire to - most companies probably get their wall warts from Elbonia.
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Accepted Solution
rwilper
New problem solver
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3 Messages
11 years ago
I found a wall wart for an external HDD that I had sitting around that had the same voltage/polarity/inside and outside diameter, etc. It also had an RF choke on the DC side which the original did not have - I do not think that matters, but it's a plus in my book anyway.
Since I switched over, my internet connection has not dropped even once.
P.S.. Sorry everyone for my slow return to my thread - I made it much more difficult than I needed to to find a replacement for the wall wart and then I wanted to run a few days to be sure everything was stable. Lesson learned - There are two different inside diameters for 5.5mm barrel connectors, I needed the smaller one and kept finding the larger one until I happened to swap backup drives one day. The hard drive was a Maxtor, BTW.
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rpineau
New problem solver
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14 Messages
11 years ago
Yep, similar problem as me (the "Constant issue with my SMCD3G-CCR since I updated to 50/10" is mine
).
The few things I notice :
- If I have a lot of traffic the issue will show up. At the time I was doing an 1.5TB Backup to Crashplan from my main server with a constant 4Mbps upstream traffic for about a month. Since the backup has finished, traffic is minimal and the problem hasn't reoccurred.
- No matter what equipment you connect to it has no impact on the issue (tried with just a laptop, just mu Cisco 28010 and with the Cisco 3750 and 2801 ... same in all cases).
My guess is that the firmware of these so called "business gateway" are far from being ready for business use and have a lot of bugs. When you push to much traffic through them I'm guessing some counter are overflowing and some internal buffer are not managed properly. Switching to the Netgear doesn't look like a good solution either if your read all the horror story in the forums (the firmware is even worst than the one on the SMC gateway). To me it's clear that this device are not tested with high load over long period.
Regards, Rodolphe
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dconway
Visitor
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1 Message
9 years ago
Well I've now bought a new router and it's still happening. I *know* I need a new model but don't know how to convince them. Seems crazy for this expensive Internet service which is supposed to have a good service level agreement to not have them just swap it out. Any suggestions?
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