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Tanukitsune

Anybody want to help my with horrible internet connection problem?

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I usually don't ask for tech support because I can usually figure it out by myself, but this is just baffling me...

Recently we upgraded out internet from 20Mb to 50Mb.... We didn't notice a difference, as a matter of fact, the connection has gotten WORSE even since we "upgraded", it drops a lot and it's slower! Not to mention my consoles are performing worse online too!

We found out that our Wifi adapters are not the right type, so we upgraded from G to N and... the laptop has gone from... 10 to 20 Mb, the desktop... more or less the same?

I have a Cisco EuroCISC Gateway and 2 Belking SURF USB wireless micro adapters...

Google gives me links to pirates talking about some program to enhance my connection, but that's not going to help my consoles...

The signal is so weak... the obvious solution seems to get an access point? My brother in law who is more tech savy say to do some investigation work, and by that he means google it...

Then again, maybe there is something else to this since the laptop won't perform better even if I set it up right in front of the gateway...

And if you're going to ask if my adapter is close to anything... it's close to EVERYTHING!;(

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Since it's worse since the upgrade I'd guess it's the ISP's fault. Call them and ask for a technician to have a look.

Alternatively, I'd ask for help at dslreports.com, but you have to be able to better explain your problem. I'm having a hard time understanding it myself.

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That tells me that they screwed up during the upgrade. If you didn't change anything else in your setup when you made the change from 20mb to 50mb, then the problem should be there and not your wifi.

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Unlike ISPs often claim, switching to a plan with more bandwidth can actually make your connection worse. The problem lies in the quality of the connection. If you have a lot of noise on the signal you can get worse performance due to more need for error correction and retransmissions.

This stuff can happen when you're simply changing your plan, and all the ISP does is allow more bandwidth.

Other problems can happen when there's a firmware update on either side if your cable. Often ISPs increase bandwidth for all customers and release a firmware upgrade to their routers and often the modem of the customers.

Here are some things you can try:

- Perform a hard reset of your modem (i.e. to factory defaults) and see if that works. This is usually done by pushing in the small reset button on the device.

- Reflash the modem's firmware (if possible). This can because it's often difficult to find it.

Always test your connectivity using a wired connection to the router.

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That last point is very important. To determine if it's the wifi or the internet connection, just hook up to the modem with a cable and test it that way. Try a bandwidth measuring site clowe to you (your ISP should have one) and see if you reach anything close to 50Mb/s.

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Lick your finger and hold it out in front of you, sometimes the internets gets blown off course by the wind.

If that doesn't help it's likely the outer extracting lever and fufu valve are incastigrated and won't bed down properly. In that case you'll need a new gallbladder.

Hope that helps.

:grin:

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As elmuerte said, faster isn't always faster... Most of the time you're not going to be using your 50mb/s connection (like when you're surfing the next, checking emails, etc.). More important is the quality of your connection and your ping rate.

I'd take a good quality 10mb/s connection over a crappy 50mb/s any day.

Check back with your ISP and explain the problems you're having.

In short: If YOU (not the technician) is still having a crappy connection over a wired connection, then it's not your wifi.

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I'd take a stable slower connection too...

I think I will call them, maybe they can make some sense out of this mess...

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elmuerte speaks truth.

i too tire of isp's selling faster "speeds". it's bandWIDTH not bandspeed.. soo many things could be happening it would hard to figure out without more testing..

reset your modem and test with a wired laptop straight to the modem.. do some ping tests and look for any packet loss.

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i too tire of isp's selling faster "speeds". it's bandWIDTH not bandspeed..
Actually, it's much more likely they increased the maximum speed and not the bandwidth.

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ISP said I should get a tech guy... so I asked the local PC shop clerk, he told me to check the N Network setting, it was set to automatic and when I changed it... my router broke and the ISP had to send a guy over to fix it...

The ISP guy came and said that neither an access point or a repeater will help and only using cables will help me... Should I believe him?:erm:

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Hmm, I'm feeling very stupid now, and I'm going to feel stupid for thinking this might work or for not thinking of it sooner...

Yeah.... I just realized something... My room has TV cable which I no longer use because I watch TV online, but I just realized that's it's a coaxial cable... and the cable that goes to the router is coaxial too...

Could it that simple? I feel stupid for asking, but I'll feel even more stupid for not asking!

This cable is old and probably isn't good for what I need, but I just realized the coaxial cable for the TV in main room is the same as the internet one they even come from the same source if I follow the cable to the end?

Is it possible for me to just buy the right coaxial cable and then connect that to my PC? :eek:

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Might work! Coaxial cables don't last forever. They kind of degrade over time. They're not too expensive, so buy one and try it out. :D

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Hmm, like I said the cable is old... the little pin in the middle is to thick to fit into the gateway.. Would buying a new cable work? I assume the other end too think too... Or could I just get the right type of end for this one? :erm:

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Are you running some kind of network at home or something? What the heck do you need 50 MB for? Even 20 is super fast for most home use, at least that's my experience.

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ISP said I should get a tech guy... so I asked the local PC shop clerk, he told me to check the N Network setting, it was set to automatic and when I changed it... my router broke and the ISP had to send a guy over to fix it...

The ISP guy came and said that neither an access point or a repeater will help and only using cables will help me... Should I believe him?:erm:

Why didn't you follow the advice in this thread that you asked for? Testing the cable connection YOURSELF first.

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I don't have those kind of cables... While the guys might be lying about the fact that I can only get that speed thought cable, why would he lie about the cable speed? He isn't the first one to say this...

I do have more than one device that connect to the internet if that's what you mean?

It looks my options are:

A) Do nothing and stay with 10Mb while paying for 50, which sounds stupid...

B) Get a repeater or access point which MIGHT work...

C) Get the router in the same room as the desktop... The coaxial cable pin is too thick so either I can replace the "intake" area myself and hope I can do it or get the ISP people to do it?

D) Go back to 20... which would probably send me connection back to 5-6Mbs...

EDIT: I managed to get my hands on an ethernet cable and used that to test the laptop's speed... It was 10Mbs... WHAT THE?! I'm positive I wasn't trying the right connection because the test stopped working once I unplugged it...

Now I REALLY don't know what to do...:frusty:

Edited by Tanukitsune

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This is getting nonsensical...

First, I'm gonna point out AGAIN, from what you described, what should be the problem here. You changed the plan from 20 to 50mbits and that made thinks WORSE. So forget everything about wireless. If you screwed up when changing from G to N, that's a separate issue, we can deal with this later, but it becomes increasingly hard to diagnose a problem when you add more moving parts to the equation.

I'm going to guess that your internet is cable, and not DSL, since you're talking about coaxial cables. That white round cable that you can hook on your TV goes to a cable modem. What everyone here is asking you to do is to connect any computer DIRECTLY to the cable modem using an ethernet cable (the same type of cable that goes to your router). I can't believe you don't have such cable, if you don't it's ridiculously cheap or you can ask your brother-in-law for one.

Use one of the many services online to gauge your internet speed, like speedtest.net. It should hit 50mbits. Open the command window (Windows+R, cmd) and write ping -n 100 www.google.com. Count the number of lost/timed out packets. This should tell if your connection is reliable or not.

If these tests pass, meaning no lost packets and 50mbits, then the problem is with your wifi setup.

If not:

-The cable signal getting to your home is weak. It could be fixed in the ISP side, you should ask a technician to come. You're a paying customer and they should give you the best service. You can check the signal levels in your cable modem firmware (it's usually 192.168.100.1) and ask for advice in the dslreport forums.

-The cable signal within your home is weak. Through how many splitters the connection is being divided? Make sure there are no unconnected ends in any of your coaxial cables in your home, this attenuates and drops the signal quite frequently. I've had this happen with me once and with a friend as well.

-Your cable modem is crap. Get the latest upgrades, connect to your modem from your computer and update it.

This will be my last contribution to the matter... good luck.

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You can check the signal levels in your cable modem firmware (it's usually 192.168.100.1)

Great post. You've got more patience than me :)

Also, I think it's usually 192.168.0.1 (or at least it always has been for me).

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Apparently you both skipped the edit, because I did try an ethernet cable and got 10MB, the ISP guy got 50Mb WITH those sites you mentioned...

I can access my router through it's IP address, but it doesn't seem to show the signal levels...

I only see one split and no loose ends...

I probably don't know a tenth of what you guys do, but the fact that I can't get the same connection that the ISP guys did with an ethernet cable (a cable that was left behind by them, come to think of it) makes me extremely confused...

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Since you've tested the connection yourself and gotten 10Mb/s you should call the ISP and say "Hello, I'm only getting 10Mb/s on my speed test. Send a guy over and fix it, please."

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