Weird MoCA issues

[SilverBlade]

What's the most common, or proper way to set up a MoCA network?

The reason why I ask this is I've been having weird issues lately with MoCA.

When I first got my Netgear MoCA adapters, I set it up like this: Wall outlet to coax cable, to splitter. One side going to the cable modem, one side going to the MoCA adapter. This worked for 2 years, until recently.

Occasionally, I would get disconnected from the internet and switching out the splitter seemed to work for a few weeks then I'd have to change them again. Recently, however, changing the splitter would only work for under 30 seconds before I would get disconnected again (all of the lights on the modem would go off). I plugged the coax cable leading to the MoCA adapter and my modem would connect again and I would get full speeds. If I re-connect the coax adapter, my modem would disconnect just by this one change. I even tried changing coax cables - and nope..same result - cable modem would disconnect within 30 seconds. Yet, this set up worked for 2 years without an issue.

Then I changed how everything is connected. I connected the Coax adapter right do the wall, and have the cable modem connected to the 'coax out' connection on the MoCA adapter and it seems to hold up and I'm getting full speeds.

Why would my modem suddenly disconnect when a MoCA adapter is introduced onto the splitter after 2 years of solid performance?

It seems very weird to me.

 

[socaljazzdude]

What's the most common, or proper way to set up a MoCA network?

The reason why I ask this is I've been having weird issues lately with MoCA.

When I first got my Netgear MoCA adapters, I set it up like this: Wall outlet to coax cable, to splitter. One side going to the cable modem, one side going to the MoCA adapter. This worked for 2 years, until recently.

Occasionally, I would get disconnected from the internet and switching out the splitter seemed to work for a few weeks then I'd have to change them again. Recently, however, changing the splitter would only work for under 30 seconds before I would get disconnected again (all of the lights on the modem would go off). I plugged the coax cable leading to the MoCA adapter and my modem would connect again and I would get full speeds. If I re-connect the coax adapter, my modem would disconnect just by this one change. I even tried changing coax cables - and nope..same result - cable modem would disconnect within 30 seconds. Yet, this set up worked for 2 years without an issue.

Then I changed how everything is connected. I connected the Coax adapter right do the wall, and have the cable modem connected to the 'coax out' connection on the MoCA adapter and it seems to hold up and I'm getting full speeds.

Why would my modem suddenly disconnect when a MoCA adapter is introduced onto the splitter after 2 years of solid performance?

It seems very weird to me.

From what you described, it seems as though your initial set up was correct. While I do not use Netgear MoCa Adapters, I do use Actiontec's and my setup is RG 6 coax cable #1 connected to the wall outlet--->2.4 ghz splitter---->RG 6 coax cable #2 connected to cable modem and RG 6 coax cable #3 connected to Actiontec MoCa Adapter.

Here are a few of my thoughts on what you could do.

Does anyone else in your neighborhood have MoCa Adapters as well? I use a MoCA POE Filter to prevent outside interference from other MoCa networks. If you are not sure what this is, here is where I ordered mine:

https://www.tivo.com/shop/detail/moca-poe

Other than possibly one of your MoCa Adapters possibly going bad, does Netgear have a firmware update that you could use? In any case, good luck to you.

 

[SilverBlade]

From what you described, it seems as though your initial set up was correct. While I do not use Netgear MoCa Adapters, I do use Actiontec's and my setup is RG 6 coax cable #1 connected to the wall outlet--->2.4 ghz splitter---->RG 6 coax cable #2 connected to cable modem and RG 6 coax cable #3 connected to Actiontec MoCa Adapter.

Here are a few of my thoughts on what you could do.

Does anyone else in your neighborhood have MoCa Adapters as well? I use a MoCA POE Filter to prevent outside interference from other MoCa networks. If you are not sure what this is, here is where I ordered mine:

https://www.tivo.com/shop/detail/moca-poe

Other than possibly one of your MoCa Adapters possibly going bad, does Netgear have a firmware update that you could use? In any case, good luck to you.

I don't know if anyone else has MoCA adapters, and I'm not sure if people in my condo complex even knows what they are. Most people around here use wifi for their networks.

I'm not sure about one of the adapters 'going bad', I mean, after changed the connections so that it's now wall > 'In' on the Coax adapter, and another RG6 cable going from the 'out' of the adapter and into the 'in' of the cable modem, things are working very well. Seems odd to me.

 

[stevech]

I have a townhouse with one common wall.

In my home, been usng MoCA for several years, zero issues.
Here's my wiring (in words)

Cable Company coax from demarcation point to my home. Not shared with neighbors, of course.
Entry coax goes to a two-way amplifier provided by cable Co. This amplifies both down and up. Most amps don't amplify upstream. Amp needed due to long coax to demarcation.

Output of amp to 2-way splitter; one leg to cable modem. Other leg to splitter, and one leg goes to MoCA box adjacent to home router which has cat5 to MoCA box.

MoCA box out goes to another room, to MoCA box then on to cable set top box. This 2nd MoCa box goes to an ethernet switch feeding HDTV, DVD player, PC, etc.

The MoCA boxes are old gen-1 D-Link. Have worked flawlessly as if they were ethernet switches. I get about 70Mbps net yield when running SpeedTest.net on the PC served via MoCA.

Condo-problem. After years of struggling with too-weak signal on coax, I finally got a sympathetic cable co. tech manager to go in attic of neighbor because my coax passed through. They found a 4 way splitter that was mistakenly (or worse) installed 20 years ago.

 

[Samir]

To answer your question, the only thing I can think of is that the overall signal has degraded over the years to the point that it's marginal for MoCA via the splitter. Also, different splitters have different losses, sometimes as much as -7db, which can mean the difference between working and not working.

I would always try to use the coax out from a MoCA adapter that has one. It's what it was designed for.