RT-AC66 Sporadic Internet Outages

[ThatsLANtastic]

I've had the RT-AC66 for about a month now after replacing what I thought was a dying router. I'm suffering from sporadic internet outages that last 5-10-15min. I'm not sure how often they happen, but I was able to run a few pings and tracert during one last night.

First, here are my variables:
-*Just moved
-New modem (Moto SB6121)
-New ISP (Time Warner)
-*New RT-AC66
-Tried stock FW (3626)
-Now on latest Merlin (376.49_2) (Cleared NVRAM after flashing)

Symptoms:
-*Internet not accessible/very slow for 10-15min
-*Can access router config page during outage (No abnormal CPU usage)

Here are pings/tracerts done during the 'wierdness':

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.3.9600]
(c) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>ping google.com

Pinging google.com [74.125.227.200] with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 74.125.227.200: bytes=32 time=781ms TTL=51
Reply from 74.125.227.200: bytes=32 time=27ms TTL=51

Ping statistics for 74.125.227.200:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 2, Lost = 2 (50% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 27ms, Maximum = 781ms, Average = 404ms

C:\Windows\system32>ping google.com

Pinging google.com [74.125.227.200] with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 74.125.227.200:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

C:\Windows\system32>ping google.com
Ping request could not find host google.com. Please check the name and try again
.

C:\Windows\system32>ping google.com

Pinging google.com [74.125.227.229] with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Reply from 74.125.227.229: bytes=32 time=3110ms TTL=51
Reply from 74.125.227.229: bytes=32 time=92ms TTL=51
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 74.125.227.229:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 2, Lost = 2 (50% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 92ms, Maximum = 3110ms, Average = 1601ms

C:\Windows\system32>tracert google.com

Tracing route to google.com [74.125.227.229]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  router.asus.com [192.168.1.1]
  2     *     1039 ms    38 ms  cpe-70-121-192-1.satx.res.rr.com [70.121.192.1]
  3     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  4     *      628 ms    64 ms  tge0-10-0-3.snaptx1901r.texas.rr.com [24.175.33.74]
  5    14 ms    13 ms    14 ms  agg22.snavtxuu02r.texas.rr.com [24.175.32.160]
  6   471 ms   806 ms   663 ms  agg23.hstqtxl301r.texas.rr.com [24.175.32.156]
  7  1233 ms   822 ms    19 ms  107.14.17.138
  8  3795 ms  1175 ms    63 ms  107.14.19.218
  9    18 ms    24 ms    21 ms  ae2.pr1.dfw10.tbone.rr.com [107.14.17.236]
 10    23 ms    19 ms    31 ms  207.86.210.125
 11    30 ms    22 ms    19 ms  207.88.14.182.ptr.us.xo.net [207.88.14.182]
 12    29 ms    24 ms    25 ms  207.88.14.189.ptr.us.xo.net [207.88.14.189]
 13    21 ms    27 ms    25 ms  ip65-47-204-58.z204-47-65.customer.algx.net [65.47.204.58]
 14     *        *       44 ms  72.14.233.77
 15    22 ms    21 ms    23 ms  209.85.254.111
 16    22 ms    24 ms    26 ms  dfw06s38-in-f5.1e100.net [74.125.227.229]

Trace complete.

C:\Windows\system32>tracert google.com

Tracing route to google.com [74.125.227.229]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  router.asus.com [192.168.1.1]
  2    11 ms    15 ms    11 ms  cpe-70-121-192-1.satx.res.rr.com [70.121.192.1]
  3     9 ms    10 ms    13 ms  tge1-0-0.snantx2000-10k1.satx.rr.com [24.28.133.33]
  4    16 ms    15 ms    14 ms  tge0-10-0-3.snaptx1901r.texas.rr.com [24.175.33.74]
  5    10 ms    14 ms    13 ms  agg22.snavtxuu02r.texas.rr.com [24.175.32.160]
  6    19 ms    22 ms    25 ms  agg23.hstqtxl301r.texas.rr.com [24.175.32.156]
  7    19 ms    31 ms    27 ms  107.14.17.138
  8    29 ms    30 ms    30 ms  107.14.19.218
  9    22 ms    22 ms    33 ms  ae2.pr1.dfw10.tbone.rr.com [107.14.17.236]
 10    22 ms    23 ms    20 ms  207.86.210.125
 11    29 ms    25 ms    21 ms  207.88.14.182.ptr.us.xo.net [207.88.14.182]
 12    21 ms    37 ms    21 ms  207.88.14.189.ptr.us.xo.net [207.88.14.189]
 13    24 ms    23 ms    24 ms  ip65-47-204-58.z204-47-65.customer.algx.net [65.47.204.58]
 14    21 ms    19 ms     *     72.14.233.77
 15    20 ms    17 ms    22 ms  209.85.254.111
 16    19 ms    18 ms    24 ms  dfw06s38-in-f5.1e100.net [74.125.227.229]

Trace complete.

C:\Windows\system32>tracert google.com

Tracing route to google.com [74.125.227.229]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  router.asus.com [192.168.1.1]
  2   799 ms   845 ms   610 ms  cpe-70-121-192-1.satx.res.rr.com [70.121.192.1]
  3   111 ms   117 ms   108 ms  tge1-0-0.snantx2000-10k1.satx.rr.com [24.28.133.33]
  4   139 ms   135 ms   128 ms  tge0-10-0-3.snaptx1901r.texas.rr.com [24.175.33.74]
  5   120 ms   127 ms   145 ms  agg22.snavtxuu02r.texas.rr.com [24.175.32.160]
  6   141 ms   139 ms   146 ms  agg23.hstqtxl301r.texas.rr.com [24.175.32.156]
  7    43 ms    30 ms    30 ms  107.14.17.138
  8  1827 ms   902 ms    31 ms  107.14.19.218
  9     *     1417 ms    26 ms  ae2.pr1.dfw10.tbone.rr.com [107.14.17.236]
 10    20 ms    22 ms    22 ms  207.86.210.125
 11    18 ms    17 ms    27 ms  207.88.14.182.ptr.us.xo.net [207.88.14.182]
 12    50 ms    34 ms    24 ms  207.88.14.189.ptr.us.xo.net [207.88.14.189]
 13    19 ms    18 ms    22 ms  ip65-47-204-58.z204-47-65.customer.algx.net [65.47.204.58]
 14    20 ms    28 ms    24 ms  72.14.233.77
 15    19 ms    34 ms    18 ms  209.85.254.111
 16    23 ms    23 ms    17 ms  dfw06s38-in-f5.1e100.net [74.125.227.229]

Trace complete.

C:\Windows\system32>tracert google.com

Tracing route to google.com [74.125.227.192]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  router.asus.com [192.168.1.1]
  2    17 ms    21 ms    13 ms  cpe-70-121-192-1.satx.res.rr.com [70.121.192.1]
  3    27 ms    17 ms    10 ms  cpe-70-121-192-1.satx.res.rr.com [70.121.192.1]
  4    17 ms    11 ms    12 ms  tge1-0-0.snantx2000-10k2.satx.rr.com [24.28.133.37]
  5    15 ms    16 ms    11 ms  tge0-10-0-2.snaptx1902r.texas.rr.com [24.175.33.76]
  6    14 ms    16 ms    14 ms  agg22.snantxvy01r.texas.rr.com [24.175.32.168]
  7    28 ms    19 ms    23 ms  agg23.dllatxl301r.texas.rr.com [24.175.32.146]
  8    28 ms    23 ms    22 ms  107.14.19.92
  9    17 ms    23 ms    20 ms  ae1.pr1.dfw10.tbone.rr.com [107.14.17.234]
 10    24 ms    15 ms    24 ms  207.86.210.125
 11    23 ms    24 ms    20 ms  207.88.14.182.ptr.us.xo.net [207.88.14.182]
 12    19 ms    23 ms    30 ms  207.88.14.189.ptr.us.xo.net [207.88.14.189]
 13    20 ms    23 ms    21 ms  ip65-47-204-58.z204-47-65.customer.algx.net [65.47.204.58]
 14    19 ms    16 ms    22 ms  72.14.233.85
 15    19 ms    23 ms    20 ms  64.233.174.139
 16    22 ms    21 ms    21 ms  dfw06s33-in-f0.1e100.net [74.125.227.192]

Trace complete.

Modem signal page during the event:

Downstream	Bonding Channel Value
Channel ID	1 	2 	3 	4 
Frequency	555000000 Hz 	561000000 Hz 	567000000 Hz 	573000000 Hz 
Signal to Noise Ratio	36 dB 	36 dB 	36 dB 	37 dB 
Downstream Modulation	QAM256 	QAM256 	QAM256 	QAM256 
Power Level
The Downstream Power Level reading is a snapshot taken at the time this page was requested. Please Reload/Refresh this Page for a new reading
-3 dBmV  	-4 dBmV  	-5 dBmV  	-4 dBmV  
Upstream	Bonding Channel Value
Channel ID	7 	6 	5 	8 
Frequency	30600000 Hz 	24200000 Hz 	19400000 Hz 	37000000 Hz 
Ranging Service ID	2615 	2615 	2615 	2615 
Symbol Rate	5.120 Msym/sec 	5.120 Msym/sec 	2.560 Msym/sec 	2.560 Msym/sec 
Power Level	45 dBmV 	45 dBmV 	44 dBmV 	46 dBmV 
Upstream Modulation	[3] QPSK
[1] 16QAM
[2] 64QAM
[3] QPSK
[1] 16QAM
[2] 64QAM
[3] QPSK
[2] 16QAM
[3] QPSK
[3] 16QAM
 
Ranging Status	Success 	Success 	Success 	Success 
Signal Stats (Codewords)	Bonding Channel Value
Channel ID	1 	2 	3 	4 
Total Unerrored Codewords	35211210054 	35210568981 	35210568018 	35210568376 
Total Correctable Codewords	2300 	2281 	2166 	2179 
Total Uncorrectable Codewords	710 	559 	1611 	1561 

(Log page)

Time	Priority	Code	Message
Dec 24 2014 07:00:49	6-Notice	D106.0	DHCP Renew - lease parameters tftp file-?BEWGlx2wd6wrXNgK9GJJ@CvRiSZ6BfDNybRwmLNpIkPP1Xa_A3_l7 modified;CM-MAC=b0:77:ac:2b:5c:d8;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:87:5b:0e;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Dec 17 2014 19:36:12	6-Notice	I401.0	TLV-11 - unrecognized OID;CM-MAC=b0:77:ac:2b:5c:d8;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:87:5b:0e;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Dec 17 2014 19:36:12	5-Warning	Z00.0	MIMO Event MIMO: Stored MIMO=-1 post cfg file MIMO=-1;CM-MAC=b0:77:ac:2b:5c:d8;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:87:5b:0e;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Jan 01 1970 00:00:25	3-Critical	R02.0	No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out;CM-MAC=b0:77:ac:2b:5c:d8;CMTS-MAC=00:17:10:87:5b:0e;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Jan 01 1970 00:00:13	6-Notice	N/A	Cable Modem Reboot from GUI/Configuration page ;CM-MAC=b0:77:ac:2b:5c:d8;CMTS-MAC=00:00:00:00:00:00;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;

I am not at all well versed in troubleshooting these types of issues, and I was hoping someone far smarter than I could weigh in as to my next logical troubleshooting step. Am I chasing my tail trying to fix this? (Could it be TWC?)

 

[jegesq]

Looking at your modem's log, it appears that your basic power levels are fine, but the correcteds and uncorrecteds would indicate that you have some line issues that are probably outside your house, either on the pole, a distribution amp nearby, or some bad cabling. Have you called TWC? If not, you should and they should roll out a truck to check the line at the drop. Mostly likely not a router or modem issue.

Do you have the modem on a cable splitter provided by TWC, or one you purchased yourself? Is there an amp anywhere on your line within your house? Any unterminated cable lines? I'd look at all of these first before looking at either your modem or router.

Best bet would be to call and request TWC to have someone come out and check your lines.

 

[ThatsLANtastic]

Thanks for taking a look.

I called TWC, but I was threatened with a charge for the service call if it ended up being something inside my apartment; I wanted to make sure it was them before I called someone out.

The modem is on a splitter which came with the apartment. There is one two-way; one run to the modem and one to the living room TV. Looks to be pretty good quality. Apartment is only 5ish years old, so I don't think cable in the walls is an issue. No amp in the apartment. I don't have any unterminated lines.

I will call them back and schedule a visit. Thanks again!

Edit: They'll be here on the 5th.

 

[jegesq]

I asked about splitters in particular because it's important that your modem be on the first two-way splitter after it enters your house/apt. Also, make sure that there are no ports on any other splitters you may have. Be sure that they are marked "5-1000," "5-1200," "5-1500" or "5-2100"+ mhz. If it's an older one marked "10-400" get rid of it and replace it with one of the newer ones. You can get the newer ones at Radio Shack (yes, they are still good for something) and they may also be sold as "Direct TV SWM". If you have any open ports, terminate them with terminators with 75ohm resisters (again, you can get these at Radio Shack). Lastly, if you have any center barrel connectors, replace them with new ones, or just install a longer R6 cable. Make sure that all center copper wires are shiny and clean, and extend at least 1/8" for a good connection to any splitter.

One more: Be sure to show the TWC tech your cable modem logs so he can see the signals showing interruptions on your line.

Another: Where are you located and what tier of service do you have? I ask because TWC is upgrading most of their network to offer better and faster service than what you may be getting (I ask because your modem log indicates that you are only using 4 channels bonded for download, which limits your speed to no more than 137Mbps. Your area may be provisioned for higher speeds, and if you want to take advantage of them, you'll need a 16x4 modem, and should look at the Arris-Motorola 6183 (which you'll need to purchase yourself), or the Arris DG1670A (a combo unit that TWC will rent to you that you can set to bridge mode and continue to use your RT-AC66).

 

[ThatsLANtastic]

It is on the first and only 2-way, and it is labelled 5-1002:

I am in San Antonio and only have the 20/1.5 plan. I figure this should be sufficient for anything I typically do. Usually one Netflix and maybe a YouTube video are the most I ever have running concurrently.

I've inspected all of the cables and they look to be in good shape.

Radio Shack (yes, they are still good for something)

Ha! I joke to my wife that they must be up to something nefarious to still be in business. I never see any customers when I do go in there. The one thing I used to visit them for (electronic parts) seems to become more and more scarce.

What values are considered acceptable as far as corrected/uncorrectables? I've looked at a few different sources and I see some conflicting information.

 

[jegesq]

jegesq

With regard to the splitter, I'm not sure that you want to use the one you have, but since you say that you're in an apartment, the installers may have used it in order to make sure that the signal your modem is getting is actually increased by 6db. The reason I say this is that it's not a "splitter" but a "mini-tap". What does that mean? Here's some info from another website (speedguide.net) from two very knowledgeable guys who wrote about the differences between a "mini-tap" and a "splitter":

There are also DCs (Directional Couplers) or 'Mini-taps' which pretty much do the same thing as a regular tap on the feeder line. Just as an example, if you have a DC-6 mini-tap, there are three legs: an in-leg, an out-leg, and a tap. The out-leg normally will lose around 1 - 2 dB in signal strength. The tap leg will lose 6 dB (hence the DC-6 terminology)...we've got mini-taps all the way up to DC-29 (although we rarely use anything above 23) and most of the time mini-taps are used in situations like hotels where a closed loop system is set up for the cable.

As far as using them with the cable modem, some installers and technicians will use the mini-taps in place of a two or three way splitter to increase the amount of signal to the modem if the signal to the back of the modem is borderline to begin with. By using the out leg to the modem, you gain some signal strength as opposed to using a standard two or three way split.

Other situations where a mini tap may be used is in a house with more than 5 or 6 outlets hooked up. A mini tap will be placed before the main split, with the outleg going to the modem, and the tap leg going to the splitter feeding the rest of the outlets in the house.

A cable tap is the point where a cable drop connects to the service line. The tap might be up a pole or in a pedestal on the ground. From the tap the drop runs to your home, either in the air or underground. When the drop reaches your house splitters are used to split the signal from the single line drop into the multiple lines that run to the various TV sets, digital boxes, and cable modems that you have in your house.

If you are using ONLY a cable modem and are not recieving TV service from your cable company you will find a ground block at the end of the drop instead of a splitter. A ground block is basically a straight through barrel type connector with provision for a ground wire. Cable needs to be grounded at the "first splitter..." so if there is no splitter a ground block has to be used to provide a grounding location. A ground block has the lowest dB loss (almost none) of any type of splitter, as it is really not a splitter.

Every time you split a line there is a drop in signal. This drop is measured in dBs. A ground block has almost no loss. A 2- way splitter drops fewer dBs to each leg than a 3- way splitter. A 3- way splitter drops fewer dBs to each leg than a 4- way, and so on. The more legs a splitter has, the greater the dB drop to each leg is.

The "ideal" setup for a cable modem would be a seperate drop from the tap to a ground block, and from the ground block to a line into your home directly to your cable modem. This would provide the cleanest possible signal to your cable modem. Unfortunately, the cable company will not run a seperate drop just for your modem! The only way to achieve this set-up would be to cancel your cable TV service and become a "cable modem only" customer. Otherwise, remember, you have to have splitters to get that signal to multiple points in your home!

The solution is to put a 2- way splitter IN FRONT OF the existing splitter. That setup looks like this... from the tap the drop enters the 2- way splitter. One leg of the 2- way splitter will "feed" the cable signal into whatever splitter you are using now. The second leg of the 2- way splitter will run a line directly to your cable modem. This will give you the cleanest possible signal to your cable modem with the lowest dB loss.

IF you or your installer choose not to run an additional line see Indy's post regarding Directional Couplers. We usually only use these in apartments or " housing projects" where we aren't allowed (thank GOD!) to run a new dedicated line to the cable modem. We also use DCs in the rare situations where the signal is too strong for the cable modem to lock, as running from the "tap" leg of the DC to the modem allows us to drop the signal to acceptable levels.

So, the question is to which side of the mini-tap that is in your apartment is your modem connected, the 6 or 2.8 connector? If it's to the 2.8 connector, try switching those around so that your modem is connected to the 6 and your cable tv to the 2.8 and see if that doesn't improve things. Also, the power levels on your download signals are right at the borderline low side of what Motorola suggests you need (which is +/- 5dBmV)

Just as an aside, it's kind of odd to see 4x4 bonding with 256QAM; it's usually 8 down and 4 up, not 4x4, or 4 down and 1 up. Ask the tech about the headend CM server, since it could be set wrong, or perhaps they are going to split your neighborhood node?

Also, a couple of your tracerts suggests pretty heavy latency and timeouts early in the hops, so perhaps your local node is experiencing congestion, or it's possible that something inside (a device connected to your lan) is interrupting things. Did you run these pings and tracerts wired or wireless? If wireless, try to do it again but wired instead, and turn off any wireless devices when you're running the tests. Better yet, connect directly to your cable modem and run the pings and tracerts to see if you can isolate the issue (i.e., to determine whether it's on the TWC end of things outside your home) or whether it's some setting inside.

Also, were any clients running file transfers, cloud updates, background torrents, etc when you tested? Also check your router and modem ntp settings and be sure that time is correct in both, and finally. Lastly, be sure to turn off WPS in the router, and disable any guest networks when you run these tests (you should disable WPS anyway). Just a few more things to think about.

 

[jegesq]

One last add: Regarding your location, you might also check the TWC message forums, specifically the "Connectivity" sub-forum within the "Internet" section. TWC's forums have some really excellent people who can read your modem logs with far greater skill than I. Users "Ms. Raye" and "Redrock" come to mind. Also, I seem to recall that back in September and October there were a lot of people reporting a lot of issues with connectivity in San Antonio, which is right when they rolled out the provisioning for the higher-speed tiers.

Don't forget to also look at the DSLReports forums as well, since they often have decent info on the status of cable internet issues, particularly for the larger providers like TWC, Comcast, and Charter. Lots of users with lots of info checking in frequently.