Right now I have the 1000/20 plan. Since I upgraded my plan from 250/15Mbps to gigabit a few months ago all I'm getting for upload speeds is about 9-12Mbps. Downloads about 875- 950Mbps, hardwired. What are other RCN customers in MA getting for upload and download speeds, especially if you have the gigabit plan?
For a modem I'm using Arris SB8200, 2 years old. I did call tech support and they tried everything on there end to improve upload speeds, didn't help. They said it looks like my modem might be unstable, from there testing.
Should I buy a new modem? What would you recommend? Maybe a new Arris SB8200 or try a Netgear CM1000 DOCSIS 3.1?
↧
Upload speed in Boston area?
↧
[Speed] Terrible speed problem, can't get through (Lexington, MA)
Twice this week, both times after a thunderstorm, my internet speed has gone down to 20-30mps, including now. (I have gig service.) Just called to try to get a technician to come and waited for tech support about 20 minutes. The person who answered insisted on power cycling my modem, which I had already done — and when she did that, we were disconnected. She did not call me back, and now the recording when I call says "estimated wait time up to 20 minutes" yet again. Shouldn't I have been called back if disconnected under such circumstances? Terribly frustrating!
Edit: gave up after 25 minutes on hold
Edit tried again, was told no one could come earlier than next Tuesday, was then put on hold, and disconnected for a second time; trying now for the third time — have been at this for close to 90 minutes now
↧
↧
RCN IPTV - Any Experience?
My condo building in Chicago has been bidding out bulk internet/TV to a few providers, one of which is RCN. I'm trying to understand RCN's proposal and it does not match my previous experience with RCN at another property and what I understand them to offer.
I was expecting a traditional coax-based proposal (similar to what Comcast has proposed) but instead, they are proposing an entirely ethernet-based deployment (including symmetrical gigabit internet) with what they are calling IPTV streaming boxes. This is proposed with the same package structure and channel lineup as the traditional offering detailed on their website.
I can't find anything on RCN's site or in further research about what this IPTV solution could be. I am thinking perhaps this is the Tivo Next Gen IP-based solution that RCN signed on for which would eliminate the need for traditional coax/QAM based infrastructure at the property. Does anyone have experience with this offering/product or any insight they might be able to provide?
↧
[Equipment] About to Swap Out Modem But Merlin info
Hi and hope everyone is well.
I have a question regarding something I know nothing about. A few months back a few of you were kind enough to give me suggestions for modems (wanting to stop renting,) and ended up purchasing a Netgear CM500. It has been sitting in its package for months. When I was about to make the change, there had been a problem with the RCN provided Arris TM822. I had noticed one evening that a normally 'green' light had changed to 'amber' or at least I thought it had not been normal. After looking up, I was certain that it should've been 'green' but didn't seem to have any performance issues. I called RCN (Lehigh) and the Rep had no idea. She kept asking over and over what light, told her Upstream over & over, and she kept saying the color should be correct. Finally she said she would have to send a tech out because everything was "normal" as far as she could tell, and scheduled one to come out the following week - asked about a fee and since she said "it depends on if the technician charges you or not." Huh?? After the call, I kept thinking about it, and looking at more online and thought there likely would be no need. Also wondered why she didn't reset. I also kept seeing references to channels being "out of spec" and posts with graphical info. I checked back here and saw inquiry's with the same info.
I ended up calling RCN back, got the same rep, cancelled the tech and asked if she could try rebooting. She did, and the light was now "green" and had stayed that way. I also figured out the "Merlin" references and checked finding some "channels out of spec." That's as far as I got - life got in the way, and procrastination. Since then (had been on 50/10 package) RCN had complimentarily upgraded to 100Mbps. Nothing noticeable in service. I finally decided last week that I must get this new Modem going. For whatever reason I ran a speedtest and found getting only about 73Mbps. Checked different days & times, and always the same. I 'used' Merlin and saw the same "red" indicators of some channels being out of spec. I figured I would post here today after running speedtest again. Same with Merlin. So I wanted to post the Merlin info, and question if this is something that needs to be addressed before swapping the hardware, and see what happens when I call RCN to provision. The funny thing is, as I glance over to the Arris - the darn US after months, is suddenly 'amber'!! It wasn't yesterday or any other point up until now.
I will attach the info, and hopefully someone can enlighten me - I really don't have a good grasp of the "channel bonding, etc.," and get a bit overwhelmed (hence, procrastination.) Thanks in advance.
↧
[CATV] RCN has dropped MASN/MASN2 in the DC area
This is unusual, as I've never seen RCN get into a carriage dispute with a network before. I've been a loyal customer for close to 20 years, but I'm also a Nationals fan and if a carriage deal with MASN isn't reached by the end of the month, I'm gone. Switching to Comcast would slash my bill in half, and I can buy my own TiVo that isn't hobbled by RCN.
↧
↧
Bad Packet Loss on Modem; Every 1 to 12 Hours
Hey everyone, I am trying to get my internet fixed and working. For the past 2-3 weeks, the internet at my apartment would become unusable - extreme packet loss to the point where things are super slow or just losing connectivity across the board. This happens at irregular intervals - sometimes it will be okay for 1 hour or it'll be okay for most of the day (~12 hours) and there does not seem to be a specific time of day that it occurs. The only fix currently is to wait it out or try a full reboot (via unplugging and re-plugging).
I had an RCN tech out last week (July 16) and all he did was swap the modem from a Ubee UBC1301 (which I had been using since August 2018) to an Arris DG3450. The problems have continued after this swap, so I do not believe it is a modem-specific issue. I have made another tech appointment with RCN for July 24 but am looking for others' input, insight, and suggestions.
My setup uses the modem in a bridge mode as I have a duplexed apartment (concrete floors with only a few non-concrete openings between floors for pipes and stairs and the like) and thus use an Orbi RB50 with a satellite to have much better connectivity upstairs. I should also note that I took a look at the wiring that I can see and there is one cable from the wall to a 3-way splitter; then from the 3-way splitter, one cable runs to the modem, one cable runs to a TiVo/cable box, and one connection has a 2-3" metal cylinder on it.
Below are the Merlin captures from during tonight's most recent modem episode.
Let me know if there is any other information that may be helpful. I appreciate any ideas anyone has.
↧
Outside Coax Drop - LV
I would like some opinions on my RCN coax drop.
My gut feeling is the coax is bent more than it should be and it should be in a drip loop since it’s not in a box.
However, it has been like this for 5+ years. I’m torn between making sure it’s done right and not touching something that’s working.
Overall my speeds seem very good and I only have minor connectivity issues. Some T3/T4 errors in the cable modem log, low numbers of errors when looking at Merlin.
↧
Upload Speed significantly diminished, frequent disconnections
Hi there! I hope this forum is at least active enough to get help, because I'm by far at my wit's end with this issue.
Around the beginning of June, most of our upload speed has diminished. Went from getting 26mbps to anywhere from 0.75 - 7mbps upload (directly wired to the modem). And began experiencing frequent disconnects, especially when gaming. RCN recently gave me an upgrade to the gigabit plan, so 1000down/20up in the Bethesda metro area [20815].
My modem is a Netgear CM1000v2 docsis 3.1 modem.
At first it was only doing a soft-disconnect on gaming systems that use a peer-to-peer connection than a dedicated server, and would happen only around 10:30 every night. But every day since then, it's been getting increasingly worse - now the same thing cannot connect and play through multiplayer without experience the same disconnection, even directly wired to the modem. Actually looking into the modem logs, I am experiencing T3 time outs, and many error messages regarding the OFDM downstream channels.
In March, we had a similar issue with the disconnecting and it ended up being an upstream power issue, tech came out and changed the coaxial cable and added an attenuator, and it was good until June.
Things I have done: Remove the attenuator, change coaxial cable, new router, changed where the devices were plugged in, frequent power cycling, changing the ethernet cable, changed which device was connected directly to the modem, power cycling before each attempt.
Have been calling almost every day since then, trying to get the problem solved. Multiple techs have been out, first tech said everything looked great and when I pointed up the lack of upload and showed when the channels would go out of sync, said it was a post-wire issue so he can't do it and would have a "supervisor" come out to check. A second tech came, did nothing, and then said that it was actually an underground wire issue and that a construction team would need to come out. The next tech came, and they found the box the wiring is connected to, and brought up a new wire to my apartment, they put in the coaxial plate upside down (it appears to be an older plate design, perhaps that could be the problem? Still has a DSL ethernet port). I ran a speed test before they left, and still was getting 4mbps upload. Tech said that the upstream levels at the box "needed more heat to them" and that a construction team would come fix.
Called a rep today, and the rep said that apparently the work order was complete and they had already fixed the the issue and it was marked complete. Internet speeds still fluctuating, only getting 4mbps up STILL when wired directly to my modem (some tests even showed .75mbps! hardwired!). Rep said I was having good signal ratings, while I had merlin open as well and saw two upstream channels fluctuate out of sink, and packet loss spike up to 33%. Tech told me it was because I was viewing the merlin client through a different method than him, so that was why it was "not as accurate" and kept attempting to speak over me, saying that the upstream channels that were out of sync weren't used anyway, and wouldn't be my issue. He kept writing off anything that I mentioned, despite me stating multiple times what I've already done, the problem areas, and completely ignoring the low upload speed.
One of the upstream channels consistently has 790,000 uncorrectable codewords, the other upstream channels get a couple thousand each. I have personally seen packet loss spikes, and each of the three bonded channels go out of sync (both their SNR and their power levels).
The Rep scheduled a tech to come out on August 5, but that is a long time to wait for a problem that has been happening for two months and should've been fixed by now.
TL;DR: experiencing consistent terrible upload speeds no matter the time of day, inconsistent and fluctuating download speeds, and "soft" disconnects on gaming consoles while some "hiccups" with streaming. Is there anything I can do, or should I just switch to Verizon fios? I've been loving RCN so far, and RCN used to have some of the nicest customer service, but today's rep left such a bad taste in my mouth and left me feeling hopeless that I may just have to if there's nothing else that I can do on my end. I would just like to use the internet I pay for.
↧
[Connectivity] Lehigh Valley: Modem disconnecting daily around 10:30 am
Almost every morning around 10:30 am, my modem has been disconnecting and then (usually) reconnecting within about ten minutes. This pattern has been ongoing for several weeks. The problem does not seem to occur at other times of the day. Speeds and levels all seem normal when I'm connected.
Encoded Mac: 909d49320691b2f44cc2386dbbca23213ac00e94
Any help would be much appreciated, as I need a stable connection to work from home!
↧
↧
Any recommendations for cable modems
Hi everyone. I've recently talked to RCN about changing up some of my services to get my parents' bill out of the stratosphere (>$330/month!). One of the things that they offered was to up my speed to the 250mbps tier, but my current modem, a Surfboard 6182, apparently doesn't support that speed and the support guy was trying to get me to downgrade to the 100mbps tier. I told him that I'd rather upgrade the modem and get the faster internet. I've been looking online at cable modems and there are just so many to choose from and potential issues with hidden problems like the Puma chipsets from years past and bufferbloat. I was originally thinking of going with a DOCSIS 3.1 modem to future proof, but upon further reading it seemed like both the Netgear and Arris units had high failure rates and were very temperamental with signal levels while the Motorola unit isn't available for use on RCN's network. Then there are the DOCSIS 3.0 modems and there are so many of them. I was trying to go with RCN's recommendation of at least 24 channels down which does limit the options. Those modems are quite a bit of the way to the DOCSIS 3.1 modem in terms of cost. So, apologies for the incredibly long spiel, but I'm a bit overwhelmed and I don't want to put in a modem that is going to have problems, because once I leave after the pandemic lets up then they will be without their built in tech support. Does anyone have a recommendation for the cable modem that I should get?
↧
Chicago, trying to troubleshoot for a friend
So my friend is having congestion issues (dropping to ~10Mbps during the day)
The modem he has is 24 channel capable, on 250/15.. but is only binding 8 channels on the downlink
I told him to get a D3.1 modem then he sent me his stats and i see it’s only bonding 8, he’s getting the lower channels so I assume it’s not a trap issue
are there parts of Chicago with only 8 DS channels still? It would not surprise me with my ~60 days with them so far and the issues I’ve had (finally fixed once FCC complaint was filed), or is this just a config issue on RCN’s side?
↧
[CATV] RCN has dropped MASN/MASN2 in the DC area
This is unusual, as I've never seen RCN get into a carriage dispute with a network before. I've been a loyal customer for close to 20 years, but I'm also a Nationals fan and if a carriage deal with MASN isn't reached by the end of the month, I'm gone. Switching to Comcast would slash my bill in half, and I can buy my own TiVo that isn't hobbled by RCN.
↧
[Connectivity] High latency throughout the day
I recently switched over to RCN and have been experiencing high latency throughout the day. My connection seems to exhibit a lot of jitter which is honestly worse for me than having just having high latency across the board due to needing to work over remote desktop. The bandwidth is similarly all over the place, but I care about that a lot less.
https://www.dslreports.com/pingtest/5b28c96bc969/3548317
[att=3]
My encoded MAC: 46221d04e3f8d2d8adb1455a0dca8364e6762234
[att=1]
[att=2]
A tech came over and made some adjustments today, but the situation has not improved. Any thoughts on what I should do next?
↧
↧
Outside Coax Drop - LV
I would like some opinions on my RCN coax drop.
My gut feeling is the coax is bent more than it should be and it should be in a drip loop since it’s not in a box.
However, it has been like this for 5+ years. I’m torn between making sure it’s done right and not touching something that’s working.
Overall my speeds seem very good and I only have minor connectivity issues. Some T3/T4 errors in the cable modem log, low numbers of errors when looking at Merlin.
↧
Arris SB8200 Reboots Every 2-3 Days
A few weeks ago, I decided to go the BYOM route and purchased an Arris SB8200 modem. I only have 110 Mbps down / 15 Mpbs up, but figured if I was buying a modem I should get a Docsis 3.1 modem to future proof a little. Since I hooked it up I have been having random reboots every 2-3 days. I started doing some research and learned how to look at the modems logs for troubleshooting purposes. At first glance my downstream power was very good, but my upstream powers levels ranged from 51 - 53 which I read was too high. RCN had installed a 6db attenuator on the cable line going into the modem, so I removed it. My downstream power levels increased, but were still with in spec, but my upstream levels were greatly improved. The even log shows T3 and T4 errors right before the modem reboots. Attached are copies of my modems power levels and events logs. Does anyone have any recommendations? I know RCN is going to tell me that since it’s a customer owned modem it is my problem. I live in a large apartment complex and the only wiring I can control is after the threshold of my apartment. At the threshold there is a single 2 way splitter. One leg goes to my TV and the other goes directly into the modem. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
↧
[TiVo] [CATV] Tour de France 2020 missing stages
Due to possible errors in TiVo Guide August 31st to September 3rd, my OnePass isn't scheduled to auto record stages 4-7. Will I have to manually record each one?
↧
[Speed] Chicago West Town FTTH
I just had RCN gigabit fiber installed in the new West Town area that RCN is promoting.
So far, so good. Speeds are about 930-940 up and down. They issued a Calix Gigapoint 803G. It is a rental, free for the first year, then a modem rental charge after that. I hope they eventually have some supported devices I can purchase instead of renting it.
The install was rushed and because I elected not to rent their provided Eero router, the installer just provided the fiber drop and left. It was up to me to hook it up and connect to my router. I am fine with this, but the less savvy may not be.
They do not offer CATV in this region, but they do offer telephone, which I elected not to subscribe to.
↧
↧
4K game today??
Can someone please confirm RCN is showing the FOX College Football game today in 4K ??
Arkansas State @ Kansas State
Thanks
↧
[CATV] All offers include Internet
Tried to look online up TV only price.
Web page displays the following:
All offers include Internet. Please call 1-800-746-4726 for TV and Phone only offers.
↧
Port phone number out with bundled service?
I have bundled Internet and phone today with RCN. I am going to port out my phone number. Will porting out my number cancel my phone service, and will it cancel my Internet service?
↧