I Hate It When I Make Something Work And Don't Know How

[Bill Robertson]

I've said before that I've spent almost 50 years in some trade or another where troubleshooting and repair were/are a big part of what I did/do. Everyone in my place has made things work and had no idea what really fixed the problem. Never trust any service person that says otherwise.
So. Yesterday my router stopped seeing the internet. Reset both the router and the cable modem. Got with COX this morning and they said they could "see" my modem and everything looked fine. I ran the router troubleshooting app and it said everything was fine with the router. I checked the connections and tested the cables connecting everything. Nothing worked.
So I decided to redo everything. The modem used to be right by the coaxial wall jack, then a 20 ft Cat 6 cable to the router. I changed to a 20 ft coax cable to the modem which is now right next to the router. Everything works now but I have no idea what fixed it.

[PaddyShack]

I've said before that I've spent almost 50 years in some trade or another where troubleshooting and repair were/are a big part of what I did/do. Everyone in my place has made things work and had no idea what really fixed the problem. Never trust any service person that says otherwise.
So. Yesterday my router stopped seeing the internet. Reset both the router and the cable modem. Got with COX this morning and they said they could "see" my modem and everything looked fine. I ran the router troubleshooting app and it said everything was fine with the router. I checked the connections and tested the cables connecting everything. Nothing worked.
So I decided to redo everything. The modem used to be right by the coaxial wall jack, then a 20 ft Cat 6 cable to the router. I changed to a 20 ft coax cable to the modem which is now right next to the router. Everything works now but I have no idea what fixed it.

Not sure if it is a thing or not, but I had to upgrade our modem this year to allow for the faster speeds, when I used my original cables it didn't work. I went and got some new cables and the darn thing worked perfectly... I really doubt that the cables were the issue, but that is what happened.

[Roger S]

One of my standard questions when someone calls me with a hardware problems is "Have you tried kicking it?".

The reason why is because I have actually kicked a computer and it started working..... Was a short term fix but a fix none the less.

[Bill Robertson]

One of my standard questions when someone calls me with a hardware problems is "Have you tried kicking it?".

The reason why is because I have actually kicked a computer and it started working..... Was a short term fix but a fix none the less.

I like it. I've had cars that I always carried a hammer in because beating on something often got them going.

[Roger S]

I like it. I've had cars that I always carried a hammer in because beating on something often got them going.

LOL.... Yep... My other one is "Get a bigger hammer.".... Rebuilt a motor with a friend in highschool and that became our motto on that project.... Good times!

[FighttheGoodFight]

Also you can usually login to your modem and see power level, noise, etc. Then google to see if those rates are normal or in flux. The usual address is 192.168.0.1 for Arris or 192.168.100.1 for Netgear.

[Bill Robertson]

Also you can usually login to your modem and see power level, noise, etc. Then google to see if those rates are normal or in flux. The usual address is 192.168.0.1 for Arris or 192.168.100.1 for Netgear.

I could log into the modem from the COX app and it said all was good. I could log into the router and it said all was good. But they weren't talking. I'm guessing it was the CAT-6 cable between the two that was the problem.

[FighttheGoodFight]

I could log into the modem from the COX app and it said all was good. I could log into the router and it said all was good. But they weren't talking. I'm guessing it was the CAT-6 cable between the two that was the problem.

Interesting. I always default to Cox's fault after dealing with them for over 6 months to fix my issue. Glad it was a simple cable switch!

[BoulderSooner]

I could log into the modem from the COX app and it said all was good. I could log into the router and it said all was good. But they weren't talking. I'm guessing it was the CAT-6 cable between the two that was the problem.

bad cable or slightly "loose" cable would be my guess ...

I pretend to be an IT professional and at least once a Q we "fix" a major issue and don't really know what we did ..

[ctchandler]

One of my standard questions when someone calls me with a hardware problems is "Have you tried kicking it?".

Roger S,
This is the age of technology and kicking it is old time. As a retired IT professional, I suggest a hammer, and if that doesn't work, use a bigger hammer. If you need more help, just pm me.
C. T.

[ctchandler]

Oops, I should have read the other posts. Several posts mentioning a hammer.
C. T.

[mugofbeer]

When in doubt, duck tape it!

[Dob Hooligan]

I have had success on more than 2 occasions by disconnecting every wire and cable from a device and starting over. I call it “Mechanical Reboot of the Universal Impedance Protocol”. Or dumb luck

[Bill Robertson]

Well crap!!! COX went off for a couple of hours in the neighborhood. Now I'm back to COX can talk to the modem. On my router app I can talk to my router. But the two aren't talking to each other. And changing the CAT 6 cable didn't fix it.

[OKCDrummer77]

When in doubt, duck tape it!

If it's not supposed to move and it does, use duct tape.

If it is supposed to move and it doesn't, use WD-40.

[jerrywall]

One of my standard questions when someone calls me with a hardware problems is "Have you tried kicking it?".

The reason why is because I have actually kicked a computer and it started working..... Was a short term fix but a fix none the less.

I miss the day that slapping or knocking on a hard drive could actually fit it .

[Bill Robertson]

I miss the day that slapping or knocking on a hard drive could actually fit it .

Me too!

[SoonerDave]

This is going to sound a little goofy, Bill, but you *might* consider whether the power supply to either the router or the modem is getting weak.

The reason I suggest that, odd as it may sound, is that I had a *crazy* intermittent problem with a device a few years ago, could *not* figure it out, and on a whim I tested the power supply - and darned if the thing wasn't putting out a consistent supply. Replaced it and the problem disappeared.

A lot of these wall-wart power supplies provided with newer electronics are the weak link in the whole thing. Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're really crappy.

Also, if Cox goes out on you, even when it comes back and the modem lights are all correct, I reboot the modem *anyway* to ensure I've got an absolutely clean connection back to the node/headend.

As for me, I'm just hoping the OECFiber "Coming Soon!" signs I'm seeing just a mile or two east of us head this way. They're actually dropping fiber cable in my mom's neighborhood as we speak. I told her the *moment* she gets a notice its available to change to OECFiber. I know I will. They're offering *symmetric* gigabit service with *no* data cap for $85/month. I'm paying $100/mo for 300mbit with a 1280mb cap.

Okay sorry, thread hijack, different subject...Good luck with the cranky router.

[HangryHippo]

I’ve heard OEC Fiber is terribly inconsistent with regular service outages. Has anyone else heard this or had any issues with their service?

[Bill Robertson]

This is going to sound a little goofy, Bill, but you *might* consider whether the power supply to either the router or the modem is getting weak.

The reason I suggest that, odd as it may sound, is that I had a *crazy* intermittent problem with a device a few years ago, could *not* figure it out, and on a whim I tested the power supply - and darned if the thing wasn't putting out a consistent supply. Replaced it and the problem disappeared.

A lot of these wall-wart power supplies provided with newer electronics are the weak link in the whole thing. Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're really crappy.

Also, if Cox goes out on you, even when it comes back and the modem lights are all correct, I reboot the modem *anyway* to ensure I've got an absolutely clean connection back to the node/headend.

As for me, I'm just hoping the OECFiber "Coming Soon!" signs I'm seeing just a mile or two east of us head this way. They're actually dropping fiber cable in my mom's neighborhood as we speak. I told her the *moment* she gets a notice its available to change to OECFiber. I know I will. They're offering *symmetric* gigabit service with *no* data cap for $85/month. I'm paying $100/mo for 300mbit with a 1280mb cap.

Okay sorry, thread hijack, different subject...Good luck with the cranky router.

It's a fairly new router. I probably need to update the modem. The second time it went off it ended up being COX even though they kept saying it wasn't them.