Question on modems

[jmh547]

I have been having trouble with a slow internet connection. Intermittently my d/l speed will screech to a halt then any devices connected to the network (smart phone, internet speaker, fire stick) will report no internet connection. This typically happens during "peak" time and a couple minutes later it will be fine.

At first I thought this to be a wireless connection issue but with my recent, mandated, opportunity to work from home I am having a similar issue with my laptop hard wired to the router.

My neighbor works for a company deploying large networks. He told me that my issue was that my modem is an 8×4 and the 8 channels it is currently using are likely too congested. He said investing in a 16 or 24 channel modem would likely fix the issue.

I find this plausible but not sure how likely it is.

So tell me is there truth to this or is he blowing smoke?

Modem: d-link dcm301
Router: rt-ac68u

 

[Janus67]

Quite possible. The more channels you have available the more it can be spread out. What speeds are you paying for?

 

[jmh547]

I paying for either 50 or 75 mb/s I cant remember... comcast does a good job at not specifying speeds by name tiers (ie basic, performance, etc)

 

[Janus67]

It certainly wouldnt hurt to get a modem that has more channels. Something like the Netgear cm1000 (or it's subsequent models) is really good and would let you upgrade to gigabit if you ever decided you'd want that. Of course check the supported list by Comcast, I imagine they have a matrix of compatibility somewhere.

 

[EarthDog]

I get wifi from my asus ac3200 router. I think it has 4 or 8 channels, not sure... but we have at least a dozen devices on the network at one time and even when my 2 kids and wife stream (wifi), and I was downloading a game (also wifi), things didnt really hiccup on any system. More may help, I dont know, but I think I have a similar router config and dont seem to get choked up.

What I've done is to be sure I split up 5ghz and 2.4ghz devices as evenly as I could (with keeping in mind device needs, signal strength etc) but also changed my wifi channel to one that is less crowded...

 

[knoober]

The next time it drops out go and put your hand on the case. If it feels very warm, you might be overheating. If you can think of a way to keep it cool you can test further. Point a box fan directly at it or something. I used to wrap my lunchbox ice pack in a rag and set on top (be careful of this because you could drop water on your electronics and then you need a new modem for sure). If cooling stops the dropouts then you can look at more permanent solutions like zip ties and a case fan. Good luck

 

[Railgun]

On a 75Mb service, on DOCSIS 3, the modem will not be the bottleneck.

To expand, you’re most likely only using two channels anyway. Those channels aren’t going to be limited to 4 within the spectrum, rather 4 you can bond at once, which isn’t going to be the case as...you only have 75Mb service. (IIRC...been a while since I’ve had cable)

It’s probable that because cable service is cable service, and as you say you experience this at peak times, the provider’s network leaves much to be desired, which is to say can’t hack it.

I’d be more interested in seeing what the modem is currently doing, and what it does during this time; whether it reselects different channels and/or simply drops sync.

The end result is having the ability to bond more channels will probably not help.

If you can and have time, and this event is somewhat predictable, log into the the thing and you should be able to get that channel information. Log into it either during or immediately after to pull the same information and see if it changes.

Also, the DCM301 can bond up to 8 down and 4 up.