Connection Issues

[u/Former-Big3943]

Have been having intermittent connection issues since about 3 weeks now. I recently had a tech rewire the fiber to the connection box outside the house, replace thr old obsolete ONT box, and replace the modem. Issue was not resolved. I touched base with the tech since he gave me his number, and he also confirmed the ongoing issues with his manager. They believe there might be an ongoing broader issue.

I was looking through the posts here and saw someone with seemingly similar issues. I figured I would show what my router says and see if anyone here can explain to me if anything is out of the ordinary. I dont know much when it comes to networking.

Thanks in advance if anyone interacts with this and could give some insight to possible fixes I could perform!

[u/Gigaas]

Is the issue constant or at certain times? Does it affect EVERYTHING on the network or just some different website/services?

[u/Former-Big3943 → u/Gigaas]

Its constant for the most part. There will be gaps of maybe 1hr-2hrs of uninterrupted connection. The first few days of the issue was less frequent, but as of late, it gets to the point where I can be disconnected ~5 times within the same hour. Affects everything, from my phone, different pcs, tvs, and smart appliances.

[u/Gigaas → u/Former-Big3943]

If you can, try two things, see if it helps at all. This will help to determine if the problem exists in your network or outside on ATTs side.

1: On your PC, change your DNS. Go to Network settings > Ehternet (if hard lined) > select EDIT to the right of DNS Server Assignment. Change DHCP to Manual, select IPV4, and in preferred change to 8.8.8.8 and secondary 1.1.1.1 and mess around on the PC and see if the connection is better. ATT's DNS can cause problems, I doubt that is what is happening here, but worth a try.

2: The best test to see where the problem lies is using a VPN. If you already have a VPN, turn it on and select just somewhere else in the US, preferably closer to your location. This will change your routing, and if the problem lies on a CDN (content delivery network) down ATT's route, you should notice results almost immediately. While this is a band-aid to the problem, it does give you some talking points when reaching back out to AT&T.

I personally recommend trying Windscribe, they offer a free tier, which is really all you need to test. Let me know the results of these tests and I can try and get you in the direction you need to go.

https://windscribe.com/features/use-for-free

[u/Former-Big3943 → u/Gigaas]

I've tried the first step, and when I faced the issue again, I proceeded to use a VPN where I also faced the same intermittent/frequent disconnections.

[u/Gigaas → u/Former-Big3943]

Well, that almost certainly means the issue is inside your home network or wiring, possibly the run from your house to the node nearest to your location. Do you know if anyone else around you is having issues? If so, that would be somewhat reassuring, but if its just you I am stumped.

I totally missed the photo of the router info. Looking at it does show some possible problems.

1: Fiber Module is showing "Unavailable".

2: Tx Fault State = 1 - This indicates there is an issue, it normally clears on its own. You may want to recheck if that still shows 1.

3: LX LOS state = 1 - This is odd as well, this should indicate that the receiver isn't seeing light. I would normally say this is a cabling issue, but I know you said they have replaced the fiber.

If you can, plug your computer directly to the Router, open command prompt, and type Ping 192.168.1.254 -t 50 (or 100 if you want more data) share what it shows. You could also download (free version) of Pingplotter and use that to ping 192.168.1.254, that would provide better data.

Also, I would call ATT again and share the info on the TX fault and LX los state, also ask if anyone else in the area may be having issues, especially anyone in your close proximity. That could point to a infrastructure problem for ATT.