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  • #2144088

    Router Failure, Weird Connection, Possible Electrical Issue

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    by xivaknight ·

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    Since installing internet via Spectrum, it’s just been acting strange.
    I have a Dell gaming desktop with a wired connection. Everything runs the same when connected via a wireless connection, just at slightly lower speeds. I recently moved to this location; No problems were noticed at previous locations, but that could be because I had significantly slower internet at previous locations.

    I am supposed to be getting 400 mb/s. Normally, I run ~450 when directly connected to the Modem, and about 370 when connected to the Router.
    The first router installed lasted a month before it suddenly dropped me down to 40 mb/s. A firmware reset raised it to 50 mb/s. Nothing else would fix it or let it go higher. Directly connecting to modem gave me full connection. A technician came out and replaced it; I went back to 370.

    Two days later, the router failed again. Different model, it dropped down to 10 mb/s. Firmware reset gave me 20 mb/s. Technician came and replaced EVERYTHING; Modem, router, associated cords. I am directly hooked to the modem now, rather than risk another router, but the technician said all tests were fine. The only explanations were that there is something wrong with my Desktop, or that there is something wrong with the outlets they are plugged into; This is an old house, and they were plugged directly into the wall. He tested the outlets, and the test passed, but it one of those plugs that just made sure the outlet worked, and he isn’t an electrician.

    I’m not really doing much that requires a stable connection other than playing the game Mordhau, during which I frequently suffer from ‘High Packet Losses’ (This could just be poor servers) or reading Online Manga Scanlations, which consist of a series of high to medium quality images loaded onto a single page. These images often fail to load (Again, could just be a server issue, it’s a free website) I have a constantly fluctuating Upload speed, which is supposed to be at 20 mb/s, but can be anywhere from 8 to 25, changing by the day in no noticed pattern.

    I am currently directly connected to the Modem via a wired connection. I used the following Ethernet cable;

    Due to limited space, I’ll just post the store page of my computer; It possesses all the specs
    https://www.samsclub.com/sams/dell-gaming-desktop-i7-gtx-1060/prod22274409.ip?xid=plp_product_1_3

    Thank you for your time/assistance

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    • #2420744

      The obvious thing to look at is the Mains Supply

      by oh smeg ·

      In reply to Router Failure, Weird Connection, Possible Electrical Issue

      If it is an older house it stands to reason that it is in an Older Area where the Mains where put in years ago and have not been as well maintained as they could be and that spikes are coming over them trashing any plugged in equipment.

      Try putting a filter between the power point and the devices you want to use and see if they start lasting longer. If they do you know you have stopped any spikes/surges coming in and that is what the problem was.

      • #2420740

        Hooked up a surge protector

        by xivaknight ·

        In reply to The obvious thing to look at is the Mains Supply

        https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006B829/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This is the one

        First few minutes it was fine. Not even an hour, I’m back at the exact same problem I’ve been having. Is there any other problems you know it could be?

        • #2420739

          Those devices need a working earth to do their job

          by oh smeg ·

          In reply to Hooked up a surge protector

          So have you checked the Earth Spike and made sure it is damp around it? For that matter check it to make sure that there is a wire actually connected to it as well and that there is no corrosion where the wire joins the spike.

          If it is a iron spike you need to remove the connection and reset the wire connection tot he spike as it will corrode and stop any electrical connection. If it’s a copper spike you should remove the earth wire clean it and the spike and after reconnecting the wire throw some paint over the connection to stop it going High Impedence and not passing any charge to earth.

          If the earth spike connection is OK check the Power Point to make sure it is actually earthed and that nothing is wrong with it.

        • #2420654

          Is it possibly something else that you know of?

          by xivaknight ·

          In reply to Those devices need a working earth to do their job

          Such as malware on the router, or something wrong with my computer? I don’t know if I followed all your steps correctly 100% correctly, but I talked to a friend that knows more about wiring and they said there is nothing obviously wrong with the setup or outlets I have.

          Could it be malware or something infecting a site I use semi-regularly, if that’s within your knowledge?

          Thank you for the help, by the by. I truly have no idea what is going on, and your assistance is really valuable to me. I appreciate it very much.

        • #2420646

          A router infection is always possible but

          by oh smeg ·

          In reply to Is it possibly something else that you know of?

          They are not common as you do not generally speaking do much with the router itself to get an infection. But you could try resetting the Router to Defaults there is a little pin on the back could be reset but pushing that in will return the router to Defaults and start again.

          Just start with the obvious connect directly to the Router and see what happens. If the speed remains constant then add in the Hub and see if that makes a difference.

          If the Router and Hub are on the same power point change the power board to another one and see if that makes a difference. Weird Earth Loops are difictult to do anything about short of replacing everything and that includes any Power Boards which are generally speaking cheap so start with them first.

        • #2422352

          Everything has been replaced at least once

          by xivaknight ·

          In reply to A router infection is always possible but

          Except for my computer and Ethernet cable, literally everything has been replaced at least once; Power cords, power strips, the devices themselves, the outlets involved swapped.

          The outlet the power strip is currently plugged into was the same one my computer was previously plugged into.

          Once the router fails, it’s speed becomes capped at the failure, sometimes getting an additional 10 mb/s once every single way you could reset it has been done.

          The only common thread between failures is that I spent substantial (at least one hour, upwards of five in some cases) time the day of or prior, browsing three particular websites. Mangarock. com, Mangapanda. onl, and a less than wholesome site that I’m note sure I can mention (Nothing illegal, ofc, just porn). Running Kaspersky and Virus total did not return anything but approval across the board, for all three sites, testing on multiple pages. Is it possible whatever method used to transfer data is somehow damaging the router?

          Directly plugged into the modem, my Download speed is roughly consistent with the 400 I am supposed to be getting.
          Upload speed, however, usually jumps from 4 to 20 (20 is what I am supposed to be getting), though this could just be a quirk; When downloading, there is the occasional spike or drop, but when monitored I usually have a stable, reasonable download speed . I haven’t ever tested this prior to Router failure.

          The connection itself is as stable as always with router failure; It’s just that the maximum download speed suddenly drops to the abysmal rates. Even upload speed remains consistent.

        • #2422351

          OK I’m lost here

          by oh smeg ·

          In reply to Everything has been replaced at least once

          A Router is a Modem Hub Device that is more secure than a Modem and you do not plug a Router into a Modem it unnecessary.

          What you are describing is a Modem plugged into a Hub and then feeding the computer so how many devices do you have that need to be plugged into a hub?

          By the sounds of things the Hub is becoming Speed Limited to the slowest device plugged into it so what else are you plugging into it?

          If there is only 1 computer and nothing else you don’t need a hub at all but like any part way decent Hub it will always become speed limited tot he slowest device connected.

          I’m not sure if that is of any use but if the wrong names are used for devices it gets confusing.

        • #2422350

          It might be a ‘cultural’ difference in terms, apologies. I am layman.

          by xivaknight ·

          In reply to OK I’m lost here

          I didn’t consider that there might be different usage for the terms.
          As far as things are titled to the end (private) user from the internet companies, Modem is what connects to the outside line. Coaxial cable in this case, processing(?) all data to and from that line. Modems are then connected to the router via an Ethernet cable, possessing a single port and no wifi capabilities.
          Router (usually) has Wifi, and several ethernet ports, managing multiple connections. Sometimes, these two devices are combined, but this is not the case here.

          When connected to my Router, is when I experience the issues.

          All that being said, it is possible I am becoming Speed Limited on my computer. My desktop has the only wired connection, but wifi sends signals to two phones that can run around 10-40 mb/s tops.
          Information related to that theory:
          -The technician’s phone’s wifi could handle the full 400 mb/s when he re-installed the modem. When we ran Internet Speed Tests at the same time, I would get around 360, and his phone would only get 40 (I was connected via Ethernet)
          -My connection doesn’t always drop when the phones were being used/connected.
          -Something flagged in Comcast’s systems that showed my router needed service (This could be explained by me making a mistake in resetting it; Specifically, not letting it reboot properly by plugging in device too soon/wrong order.)
          -It doesn’t explain the fluctuating Upload speed (Average tests give 3, 14-16, or 21) which could just be attributed to hardware weirdness, performing as they should but not processing the tests correctly, or just Comcast (Downloads are *generally* steady; Abnormalities can also be attributed to host)

          How would one go about disabling Speed Limiting? Or make set it higher for the desktop, we don’t need the phones to get more than 20 mb/s for what we use them for.

        • #2422348

          What generally happens is that another device pluged into the Hub/Switch

          by oh smeg ·

          In reply to It might be a ‘cultural’ difference in terms, apologies. I am layman.

          Has a slower speed than the device itself and locks the device into a Speed Limited situation much more common on Hubs than switches but never the less can happen on both.

          But every time I have ever seen this there has been more than 1 device hardwired to the Hub never seen an instance where a WiFi Device is limiting the overall speed of the Hub as they are on a different system being Wireless not Wired.

          Does doing a Hard reset of your WiFi device make any difference when this starts happening? That is pushing the button on the back that returns the device to Factory Defaults.

          If that is what is happening here I have no idea how to solve the situation as it is not something I have ever seen with the play toys I work with granted that are all Office Spec devices and I don’t get to play with Home devices at all but from the little I have seen of the Home devices they seem to work OK.

        • #2422347

          There is no difference after reset

          by xivaknight ·

          In reply to What generally happens is that another device pluged into the Hub/Switch

          Is there a different way to modify Speed Limiting? Disable it, perhaps?

          Or are there any other possible culprits that you know of?

        • #2422346

          how far is the desktop from the WiFi Access Point?

          by oh smeg ·

          In reply to There is no difference after reset

          You have listed a 100 Foot Cat 7 Cable which may be the problem if it is coiled up “Maybe.”

          Ideally you should use the shortest run possible and this is from what you have described so far the only thing I can think of that may be the issue. As it is a Shielded Cable one end should be connected tot he chassis of either the WiFi Access Point/Modem or the computer. a test with a multimeter should show this but I would doubt that the Modem/WiFi Access Point would have the earth option as they are mostly plastic devices without an earth pin. The computer end is a different story as even the most basic Ethernet connectors have a earth link to send anything that the shield picks up to earth. Also most computers have a Earth Pin on their power leads so anything coming in over the cable should be shunted to earth.

          The thing about coiling any cable is that it effectivelly becomes an inductor with magentic fields being generated by electrons flowing through the cable and being CAT7 it has more than 1 wire in it to generate these fields. If you are seeing a lot of lost/dropped packets thins could be a result of a coiled lead which builds up resistance to electrons flowing through it. In any coil this is called EMF or Electro Motive Force however if the lead is straight or at least not in a coil running in a more or less straight line up hill and down dale up/down walls and around bends there should be no resistance to the electron flow. I remember a case where a crow trace was thrown up on a screen at a education meeting for motor mechanics of a Fuel Injector opening and closing or pulsing and it produced a line from positive 12 Volts to Negitive 12 Volts or a 24 Volt Swing which caused some to ask how a 12 volt electrical system could generate a 24 volt swing.

          Sorry I’m clutching at straws here and is the only thing I can think of with what you have given. Not sure it will be of any help though.

        • #2422345

          OH in answer to your question

          by oh smeg ·

          In reply to There is no difference after reset

          Generally when you unplug the slow device speed returns and I’ve only ever seen it with hard wired devices into a Hub/Switch not a WiFi device causing the problem in a WiFi Access Point.

          Maybe turning off the WiFi would be a test to see if anything was to happen but I have no idea what could be causing it inside the device itself.

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