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Keep having to reboot cable modem after internet interruption

1,550 98 March 11, 2024 at 09:17 PM
2 to 3 months ago I started having problems with my internet connection going down. My theory is there is a slight pause or whatever you want to call it in the connection and my modem can't reconnect. If it goes down and I immediately reboot the modem it starts working. I've let it set for as much as 30 minutes after going down and it doesn't reconnect but does immediately after rebooting the modem. I'm hoping there is an option in the modem that I haven't been able to locate that will force a reconnect without me having to reboot. Does anyone know of any possible solutions. So far I haven't found anything in my research.

Modem is a Arris G36. Happens at different times during the day and late at night so i don't think it is a overload of their network. I replaced the outside splitter and that didn't help. Also the outage isn't consistent. It will happen 4 or 5 times in a 2 to 3 hour period and then might not happen again for a week or more. I'm hardwired into the modem and I've tried different ports plus just wifi.
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jkee
03-11-2024 at 11:28 PM.
03-11-2024 at 11:28 PM.
Quote from opus123 :
2 to 3 months ago I started having problems with my internet connection going down. My theory is there is a slight pause or whatever you want to call it in the connection and my modem can't reconnect. If it goes down and I immediately reboot the modem it starts working. I've let it set for as much as 30 minutes after going down and it doesn't reconnect but does immediately after rebooting the modem. I'm hoping there is an option in the modem that I haven't been able to locate that will force a reconnect without me having to reboot. Does anyone know of any possible solutions. So far I haven't found anything in my research.

Modem is a Arris G36. Happens at different times during the day and late at night so i don't think it is a overload of their network. I replaced the outside splitter and that didn't help. Also the outage isn't consistent. It will happen 4 or 5 times in a 2 to 3 hour period and then might not happen again for a week or more. I'm hardwired into the modem and I've tried different ports plus just wifi.
Generally, modems with a router built in tend to be less reliable. Is the modem yours or rented? You might consider calling your cable provider and trying to get them to send some out to test your line, there might be something like a loose connection, bad splitter, or overdriven line that needs attenuation. I'd also pay attention to if it seems like the modem is overheating.

You might be able to log into the router at 192.168.0.1 (or whatever the ip is) and reboot it from your LAN without having to go physically unplug it. There would also be a status page you can access on the router's webpage that shows the modem/wan status and can provide some insights into what's going on, on plain modems this is typically accessed at 192.168.100.1, on combos under 192.168.0.1 but you have to log in to see it. The biggest things to look at on the status page are corrected/uncorrectable errors and SNR.

In my experience when cable internet goes down, it will often come back on it's own without intervention, but if you reboot the modem it's likely to come back online much quicker. If your motivated it's possible to automate this with a home automation system and zwave or zigbee controlled outlet.

Given the frequency of the issues your having, I would suggest having someone investigate the line and if your renting the modem perhaps try to get them to replace it.
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Original Poster
opus123
03-12-2024 at 12:14 AM.
03-12-2024 at 12:14 AM.
Quote from jkee :
Generally, modems with a router built in tend to be less reliable. Is the modem yours or rented? You might consider calling your cable provider and trying to get them to send some out to test your line, there might be something like a loose connection, bad splitter, or overdriven line that needs attenuation. I'd also pay attention to if it seems like the modem is overheating.

You might be able to log into the router at 192.168.0.1 (or whatever the ip is) and reboot it from your LAN without having to go physically unplug it. There would also be a status page you can access on the router's webpage that shows the modem/wan status and can provide some insights into what's going on, on plain modems this is typically accessed at 192.168.100.1, on combos under 192.168.0.1 but you have to log in to see it. The biggest things to look at on the status page are corrected/uncorrectable errors and SNR.

In my experience when cable internet goes down, it will often come back on it's own without intervention, but if you reboot the modem it's likely to come back online much quicker. If your motivated it's possible to automate this with a home automation system and zwave or zigbee controlled outlet.

Given the frequency of the issues your having, I would suggest having someone investigate the line and if your renting the modem perhaps try to get them to replace it.
I own the modem. The ISP doesn't provide one with ports over 1gig even though their service is 1.5gig. I did some more research tonight and it looks like it is a bad firmware and I have the bad version. I'm on 1.04 and 1.05 supposedly fixed the dropping issue for many. Unfortunately the ISP is the one that has to do the update and I have no idea if mine is pushing it out. All the posts I found were for Xfinity and they were having issues pushing it out. They blamed Arris for the update issue and Arris of course blames Xfinity. I wish I could just update it myself.
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komondor
03-12-2024 at 06:05 AM.
03-12-2024 at 06:05 AM.
Contact Arris is the best answer, you can make your own outage by unscrewing the coax, if you have one of the push in vs screw coax it will make it even easier. use your phone to call them ( not on wifi) that way you can simulate the outage.

Are you sure it is the connection that goes down vs a bad power supply?
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jkee
03-12-2024 at 10:14 AM.
03-12-2024 at 10:14 AM.
Quote from opus123 :
I own the modem. The ISP doesn't provide one with ports over 1gig even though their service is 1.5gig. I did some more research tonight and it looks like it is a bad firmware and I have the bad version. I'm on 1.04 and 1.05 supposedly fixed the dropping issue for many. Unfortunately the ISP is the one that has to do the update and I have no idea if mine is pushing it out. All the posts I found were for Xfinity and they were having issues pushing it out. They blamed Arris for the update issue and Arris of course blames Xfinity. I wish I could just update it myself.
You're right, there seem to be plenty of complaints about that firmware. You might consider taking one of those basic motorized lamp timers and plugging your modem into it creating a daily 15-30 minute power outage for your modem in the middle of the night. There's a chance this could help reduce the frequency of the issues you're having and it would also make the modem inquire about firmware updates more often.

I'd still try to get a technician to check your line. It might need attenuation and the tech who comes to your house may be able to do more regarding the modem getting the firmware update than the people in the call center. Don't tell them you need a firmware update, merely complain you keep losing your internet connection and want a tech send to the house. Talk to the tech about the firmware, see if they can do anything.

The way firmware is handled is one of the frustrating things about modem / router combos. Nearly 20 years ago, I had a cable modem that I had to flash with a special firmware in order for it to work on comcast. It was never a very reliable modem, always quite frustrating.
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Last edited by jkee March 12, 2024 at 10:16 AM.
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opus123
03-26-2024 at 07:34 PM.
03-26-2024 at 07:34 PM.
Very strange, I got an alert saying there was a new reply to my thread but nothing new is here.
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komondor
03-27-2024 at 04:42 PM.
03-27-2024 at 04:42 PM.
Did you contact Arris?
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opus123
04-01-2024 at 08:35 PM.
04-01-2024 at 08:35 PM.
Quote from komondor :
Did you contact Arris?
I did not. All the info I could find said they would just say it is the responsibility of the ISP to send out an update. Hopefully not jinxing it, but it hasn't had to be rebooted for a couple of weeks. Maybe it actually was an ISP issue and they finally resolved it. My ISP has been great for years and I liked it because it only operated in my state and their help desk was located in the state. I called about an issue on a Saturday afternoon once and they had someone at my house within 2 hours. They were bought out a year or so ago by a big national company that is buying up small regional ISPs and from all that I've read, CS is really suffering now.
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komondor
04-02-2024 at 06:38 PM.
04-02-2024 at 06:38 PM.
If you have an issue I would still contact Arris do you have your equipment on a UPS it is also possible that your ISP is trying to push out an update and it is failing..

If you talk to Arris they may tell you the modem is bad and it is under warranty.
I do hope you are not renting the modem???
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