RoadRunner Internet - frequent lost connections?

For about 1 week or so, my Internet connection is sporadically dropping off and I'm at a loss to explain why. This almost always happens like this:

1. Open Firefox
2. The New York Times site loads correctly as my default start page
3. I try to navigate to a different page (from Favorites or by typing in URL)
4. I get "The page www.xxxxxx.com cannot be found."

Now, the interesting thing is, if I click around on the nytimes.com site that already loaded, the pages load fine. It's clear I'm still connected to the Internet, I just can't visit any other sites. Even if I try opening another browser like Internet Explorer, it won't find that browser's default start page or any other site. Also doesn't matter if I try to use my Favorites or manually type in the URL... the sites won't load.

Now, usually within 30 sec to 3 or 4 minutes, everything seems to fix itself and I can navigate as usual (until the next outage). Turning the modem on and off also usually, but not always, works.

Anyone else having similar problems?

Same problem, but I'm using IE. Seems obvious it's on TW's end. A few weeks back I was having problems with outgoing email taking a loooong time to actually send because there was trouble establishing a connection to the pop server. Even though TW denied there was a problem, it magically cleared up after a week or so. Hopefully the same happens here...

drano, even though i usually use firefox, the same thing happens on IE for me as well. if you check out some other sites (such as http://www.dslreports.com/forum/cable,rr) you'll see that there are other similar problems occurring. some people seem to think it's due to a network upgrade that TW is rolling out this spring. seems strange that they have to break the network to upgrade it. i guess it's like setting a broken leg. :?

Subject: me too...

I have been noticing the same thing over the last week or so. My old Toshiba modem died, and I got one of the new RCA/Thompson modems, I thought maybe it was something with the modem. I haven't seen any service notices on the Roadrunner NYC site. I'm on Carroll St near 8th, I wonder if it is (very) local thing?

Subject: Re: me too...

8th&Carroll wrote: I have been noticing the same thing over the last week or so. My old Toshiba modem died, and I got one of the new RCA/Thompson modems, I thought maybe it was something with the modem. I haven't seen any service notices on the Roadrunner NYC site. I'm on Carroll St near 8th, I wonder if it is (very) local thing?

PPW and 7th here. I wouldn't worry about the modem, I have used that model for a couple years now and it has performed without incident. And good luck getting TW to come clean, they will (hopefully) fix the problem but they won't tell us anything.

Same story here using IE. My soluton is that I enter the new site twice, the first time I get a "not available" the second time I get the site. Same is true for navigating around within a site.

i had all kinds of problems with Roadrunner at first, but they do have more problems than others with a certain type of modem, which is what i had at the time. they replaced it, and i never had a problem again.

the biggest problem with getting a tech out is that they often have to go through other people's yards to get to the box. if you have a jerk for a neighbor (which i do, three doors down. want her address?), you're going to have a hell of time getting the tech to be able to do anything.

I experienced the problem again this morning and called Time Warner. They said there was "weak signal strength" between my modem and the outside world. A tech is coming on Thursday afternoon (gotta love Time Warner and their FOUR HOUR service windows...). I'll post an update on what happens.

8thandPrez wrote: I experienced the problem again this morning and called Time Warner. They said there was "weak signal strength" between my modem and the outside world. A tech is coming on Thursday afternoon (gotta love Time Warner and their FOUR HOUR service windows...). I'll post an update on what happens.

I had this mythical 'weak signal' problem with cablevision. after FOUR different tech appointments where entire lengths of cable were re-run, new holes were drilled, etc etc etc, I solved the problem myself. I bought a $10 splitter at radio shack (one of the gold ones) and swapped out the crappy, cable-company issued model. yep. it worked.
I figured this out by unplugging the splitter and plugging the modem directly into the outside cable. I worked on my computer that way for awhile and sure enough, no problems.

I was having problems with my cable box last week and was given a prompt service call of 4 days later. I was told by the service guy (who was sooo happy to be here) that there are problems with TWC all over Brooklyn. I asked if he had any other info because I was alos having problems with IE and he gave me the technical lowdown "Fuck if I know". Good luck with your tech service 8thandPrez. Just make sure you put away any sharp objects so you don't tempt yourself to commit justifiable homicide!

Have you had TWC where you live for long? Location can make a lot of difference. Roadrunner worked flawlessly for me at my co-op. When I moved to my house I had so many "weak signal" problems that I switched to Verizon.

Hello, some of you may know me as Steve with Quick Byte, I've done freelance IT consulting in the area for about 9 years. I have a lot of clients using RR. By and large, I find the service and the tech support to be fine, though I can't help but agree that a 4 hour window is a bit much. I've seen the splitter issue a handful of times and the techs have told me several reasons for upgrading it over the years. In any case, based on a sample in the hundreds, overall the service is troublefree, and they have had only one area wide outage in the last five years that I am aware of. An additional advantage over DSL with Verizon is that it is relatively easy to replace their modem with another at the TW "Store", if you suspect it is the problem

Ok, that's that. Anyone interested in Quick Byte's services can check out my site.

http://www.quickbyte.net

I've had TWC at this location of 1 1/2 yrs and at my previous place 1 block away for 2 yrs with no problems. This recent issue just started about 1 week ago. From what I can tell online at Broadband Reports and TestMy.net, there are others in Brooklyn and Queens who have had the same problem crop up in the past 2 weeks.

Thanks for the input though, I'll see what my "tech" says. I'm willing to bet $500 that I'll have a new modem by the end of his visit (to replace the new modem I just got 3 months ago) and I'm also willing to add an additional $500 that it will end up doing nothing to solve theproblem.

I experienced the problem again this morning and called Time Warner. They said there was "weak signal strength" between my modem and the outside world.

My god it's an epidemic. I just had the tech here and he replaced my modem. Of course the problem returned within 45 minutes of his departure. I thought it might be problems with the exposed connections in the "backyards" of Park Slope after the recent precipitation and freezes, but my TV is fine.

I solved the problem myself. I bought a $10 splitter at radio shack (one of the gold ones) and swapped out the crappy, cable-company issued model. yep. it worked.

That sounds a lot easier than calling TWC again. Thanks for the tip. I'll keep you updated.

Dope on the Slope wrote: I experienced the problem again this morning and called Time Warner. They said there was "weak signal strength" between my modem and the outside world.

My god it's an epidemic. I just had the tech here and he replaced my modem. Of course the problem returned within 45 minutes of his departure. I thought it might be problems with the exposed connections in the "backyards" of Park Slope after the recent precipitation and freezes, but my TV is fine.

I solved the problem myself. I bought a $10 splitter at radio shack (one of the gold ones) and swapped out the crappy, cable-company issued model. yep. it worked.

That sounds a lot easier than calling TWC again. Thanks for the tip. I'll keep you updated.

yeah - if your TV is fine but the internet is jacked, the signal is coming in just fine (more than likely). my problem was the opposite - I was losing around half of my channels (the critical ones - NY1, ESPN, TNT, FoodNetwork - wtf?!) but the internet connection was fine. then the internet connection started to degrade and I realized that if some stuff was working and other stuff wasn't, there was only one way to test if it had to do with the outside world or the connection inside my apartment, and I ended up tracing it to the splitter.

Subject: The Solution

Yes I HAD this problem. The issue is with RR's DNS servers. If you switch your DNS servers either in your router or in your XP network settings if you dont have a router the problem will go away.

You can get a list of public DNS servers here: http://www.opennic.unrated.net/public_servers.html

Even after the new splitter, the problem has come back with a vengeance. My neighbors in my building are reporting the same issue. They noticed it got really bad this week.

The issue is that the signal speed drops to abysmally low levels temporary and sporadically. Some times of day appear more prone than others, but it is basically making the internet unusable for work. Sometimes it's screaming and other times slower than dial-up.

One guy replace his entire wireless set-up. I hated to tell him that wasn't the issue.

Can it really be the Roadrunner servers? I'm wondering if there isn't some larger network issue in the Brooklyn area. Some of my neighbors are having periodic cable picture dropout, especially those that have HDTV.

The last think I want to do is switch to DSL, but this problem seems to be more systemic that I previously thought. Surely they have noticed a pattern of repair calls from this area?

hrm. does TWC work the way cablevision does in that they have a master box for a certain number of homes on the street somewhere which controls the signal output for that area? if so, the tech that they send to your home can't actually change that output level - someone else (in cablevision land, this someone else can only be sent by the technician, and you can't get information about WHEN they're coming when you call for service. awesome) has to come and adjust those settings. in any case, if I were you and had gone through all of the trouble you've gone through, I'd be burning up TWC's phone lines and checking out DSL options in your area.

that really sucks, though.

According to RoadRunner's very own RoadRunner Medic software (which I installed on my system), the problem is indeed one of DNS resolution. When my connection craps out, the Medic shows the DNS resolution as the first item to go, soon followed by the remainder of the items related to Internet connectivity. I'll try to explain this to the "tech" (and I have screenshots of the Medic to prove it).

The really stupid and annoying this is that RR created this Medic software, but when there's a problem with your connection it doesn't record any record of the incident or keep any kind of a log. You have manually activate it and then it announces "There appears to be a problem with your Internet connection! I couldn't gather any information about your connectivity!" DUH.

alafairnadia wrote:
yeah - if your TV is fine but the internet is jacked, the signal is coming in just fine (more than likely). my problem was the opposite - I was losing around half of my channels (the critical ones - NY1, ESPN, TNT, FoodNetwork - wtf?!) but the internet connection was fine. then the internet connection started to degrade and I realized that if some stuff was working and other stuff wasn't, there was only one way to test if it had to do with the outside world or the connection inside my apartment, and I ended up tracing it to the splitter.

Actually, not so true. One thing that I am aware of that can cause both intermittent and partial problems is water getting into the outdoors cable box. I'm not sure why it works that way with cable, but with dsl/telco service your data and your phone service use different channels of the same line, it may be something analagous, but that's just a guess.

T'was me that wrote the above post, I never seem to auto login...

alafairnadia wrote:

yeah - if your TV is fine but the internet is jacked, the signal is coming in just fine (more than likely). my problem was the opposite - I was losing around half of my channels (the critical ones - NY1, ESPN, TNT, FoodNetwork - wtf?!) but the internet connection was fine. then the internet connection started to degrade and I realized that if some stuff was working and other stuff wasn't, there was only one way to test if it had to do with the outside world or the connection inside my apartment, and I ended up tracing it to the splitter.


Actually, not so true. One thing that I am aware of that can cause both intermittent and partial problems is water getting into the outdoors cable box. I'm not sure why it works that way with cable, but with dsl/telco service your data and your phone service use different channels of the same line, it may be something analagous, but that's just a guess.

UPDATE:

Well, the tech came out. She said that the throughput signal strength, which she measured by logging in to RR's secure tech website, was low. The ideal throughput signal should fall in the range between -10 and +8. Mine registered at +10. She replaced the splitter with a new one and got the signal down to +4, which she said was acceptable.

I haven't had the opportunity to test out the connection too extensively, but everything was working ok this morning <fingers crossed>.

On a slightly unrelated note:

Use Firefox. Safari is a great browser on OS X, but if you're stuck on Windows, DEAR GOD you should be using Firefox 1.5.



Friends don't let friends click the big blue E!

pete_c wrote: On a slightly unrelated note:

Use Firefox. Safari is a great browser on OS X, but if you're stuck on Windows, DEAR GOD you should be using Firefox 1.5.



Friends don't let friends click the big blue E!

yeah, too bad my workplace won't pay for citrix security certificates for anything but IE. it's infuriating. running two browsers is retarded at best, especially if one of them is IE. ugh.

Drano here...

My service seems to be back to it's old reliability, and I haven't made any changes...anyone else notice this has seemed to clear up?

Sorry, can't edit...please replace "it's" with "its"

Regards

Anonymous wrote: Sorry, can't edit...please replace "it's" with "its"

Regards

Drano, you are a gentleman and a scholar...

I only use Firefox... ditched IE looong ago. Of course, when the tech couldnt find IE on my desktop she instantly insisted that Firefox was the culprit. I had to assure her that IE had the same issues and show her how to open that browser.

I haven't had any problems since the tech came out, but Drano's post makes me think that her visit didn't have anything to do with the resolution of the problem.

I am still having the problem as of this morning. Using third party DNS servers does not solve the problem like I had originally thought. It seems as if queries to the DNS servers are being blocked or otherwise filtered out or dropped.

Ribeye,

Have you contacted RR?

Just an update if anyone cares...

Problem still absent on my end. It has been smooth for the last few days.