UPC/NTL

Blastblade

hey guys
Just having a small problem and was wondering if other ppl are having the same one

I live in Galway just outside the city centre.
My net keeps cutting me off every few mins and reconnecting
The time between these are different i could get one in 20 mins or two in the space of a few secs

I ran up NTL but they just said reboot your modem( like i know that i did computers in college) :P

Anyone know anyway how to fix it or is it purely NTL's problem

vibe666

it depends if you are actually getting disconnected from the net or if it's a local problem.

are you using it wirelessly? if so try with an ethernet cable and see what happens, it *could* be a poor strength signal or wireless interference from all or any of the following: other local wifi, bluetooth, car alarms, dect phones, microwaves and probably more besides that.

if it's not wifi related, watch your modem lights ad see if it does actually disconnect from th net, or if it's just your PC losin the connection from the modem/router.

what model is it? do you have the old scientific atlanta modem with the seperate white netgear router, or the newer all-in-one cisco one?

it could also be DNS related. keep a text file on your desktop of the ip addresses of the websites you like to visit and when your internet appears to go down, try accessing the websites using their IP addresses instead of their domain names and see if you can still access them that way.

Blastblade

im using a belkin routor atm and i have it set up so my laptop can access the wireless.

I am playing a game called World of Warcraft and i use skype while playing it too.
Now i did a full reinstall of windows and still the same thing i get a dc and its not like a dc that dc's fora few mins, i can instantly reconnect to the game and skype.
Now i have been playing this game and skype for 2 years now and no problem till now.
I do have an old modem do you think i shud get NTL to send me a new one?
What do you think the problem is?

dub45

You were asked to try it with the laptop connected by ethernet to the NTL modem did you do that?

vibe666

wireless is far from perfect, so the first thing you need to do is find out if the problem is with the modem or the router.

the way you do that is to remove the router from the equation and if you still have problems then it's with the mode. if you don't then it's with the router.

solutions for each of those scenario's are very different so we need to find out which one is causing the problem before we can help you any further.

FrankGrimes

I've been having problems with an on/off connection on NTL/UPC in Dublin 12 for about 10 days now. Haven't worked up the effort to deal with NTL 'support' yet as I'm just about getting by and know I'll end up in a rage after dealing with them, but naturally I do want to get it sorted.

Problem is both when connecting wirelessly or over ethernet to my router (and I also tried ethernet direct to the modem) and my setup has been working without issue for over 6 months with no recent changes.

I suspected a DNS issue so changed my router to point at the Open DNS server (with Scrub It as 2nd alternative) but that doesn't really change things.

When the connection is on, I'm getting >2,000 Kb/s over Usenet via GrabIt but then it just goes and IE8 just comes up with the 'Diagnose Connection' button which finds no solution...and then the connection comes back on a few minutes later.

Any ideas on what it might be or anyone having similar trouble?

vibe666

have you tried a different browser to rule that out?

just a thought, but is it a laptop that you might use in work?

maybe you have proxy settings in your browser that's preventing it from connecting to the net when you're not in the office?

soprry, just grabbing at straws for now, but it wouldn't be the first time i've seen that happen on someones laptop.

is grabit using a usenet server name or IP address? i'm just thinking if it's a server name, i.e. news.usenet.com or something like that, then it's not likely to be dns related or grabit wouldn't work. if you have the IP of your news server in though, it could still be a DNS issue.

dub45

FrankGrimes wrote: »

I've been having problems with an on/off connection on NTL/UPC in Dublin 12 for about 10 days now. Haven't worked up the effort to deal with NTL 'support' yet as I'm just about getting by and know I'll end up in a rage after dealing with them, but naturally I do want to get it sorted.

Problem is both when connecting wirelessly or over ethernet to my router (and I also tried ethernet direct to the modem) and my setup has been working without issue for over 6 months with no recent changes.

I suspected a DNS issue so changed my router to point at the Open DNS server (with Scrub It as 2nd alternative) but that doesn't really change things.

When the connection is on, I'm getting >2,000 Kb/s over Usenet via GrabIt but then it just goes and IE8 just comes up with the 'Diagnose Connection' button which finds no solution...and then the connection comes back on a few minutes later.

Any ideas on what it might be or anyone having similar trouble?

I wonder if this is an ie8 issue rather than USP? I regularly get this with IE8 and I am on Smart. I have several tabs on my home page some of the pages open fine and others dont - again I get the diagnose connection and within a min or two the page opens no prob.

FrankGrimes

Thanks for the ideas. I've tried both Firefox and IE8 -same problems in both.

Same experience on an ethernet-wired desktop, personal laptop over wifi and my work laptop over wifi. GrabIt is using a server name so involves a DNS lookup, but even GrabIt doesn't work in the off-times.

vibe666

i think you're just about out of options other than calling them.

actually, did you try changing your DNS settings to level3? there are (afaik) 6 servers using the IP address range from 4.2.2.1 up to 4.2.2.6 so maybe give that a go? i use .1 .3 and .6 on my router and have never had any isses with anything except my ps3 with that config.

failing that, call ntl and explain you've tried different PC's and both wired and wireless connections and always have the same issue. and ask them to check your line and modem and take it from there.

being in that sort of industry myself and having worked my way out of a call centre environment i've always hated calling tech support lines, but the last couple of times I've spoken to people from ntl they've been very good, so don't give up on the yet, they are getting better.

if you still don't get any joy, i know there are a few ntl guys on the forums here (even if they don't advertise it;)) so if you ask for help i'm sure you'll get it.

TouchingVirus

FrankGrimes wrote: »

When the connection is on, I'm getting >2,000 Kb/s over Usenet via GrabIt but then it just goes and IE8 just comes up with the 'Diagnose Connection' button which finds no solution...and then the connection comes back on a few minutes later.

Any ideas on what it might be or anyone having similar trouble?

My friend out in Drumcondra had that problem. He could blitz torrents out of it but try to open a browser and there was all sorts of timeouts and other browsing-based connection problems.

In the end he didn't sort it because he moved house (only up the road mind you) and the UPC in that house is working 100%.

Sorry I couldn't be of any real assistance, but I just wanted to throw it in that you're not alone in the problem, but there might only be two of you

ada4347

hey im thinking bout getting the 3mb ntl would anybody reccomend it to?

ada4347

hi vibe666 wat router would u reccomend it to me?

DMBandit

Blastblade wrote: »

hey guys
Just having a small problem and was wondering if other ppl are having the same one

I live in Galway just outside the city centre.
My net keeps cutting me off every few mins and reconnecting
The time between these are different i could get one in 20 mins or two in the space of a few secs

I ran up NTL but they just said reboot your modem( like i know that i did computers in college) :P

Anyone know anyway how to fix it or is it purely NTL's problem

I'm having the exact same problem as you OP, living in Galway as well. The problem is only there when I connect wirelessly, its fine when I use the ethernet connection.

ada4347

if ntl works wirelessly why would u want to have a cable connection is it for wired devices? Which is faster wired or wireless?

dub45

DMBandit wrote: »

I'm having the exact same problem as you OP, living in Galway as well. The problem is only there when I connect wirelessly, its fine when I use the ethernet connection.

It doesnt look as if you are having the exact same problem. If you can connect fine by ethernet there is nothing wrong with your basic bb connection. Have you change your wireless channel? Are there any other wireless gizmos in the house?

Download netstumbler and it will show if there are any wireless networks around you.

DMBandit

dub45 wrote: »

It doesnt look as if you are having the exact same problem. If you can connect fine by ethernet there is nothing wrong with your basic bb connection. Have you change your wireless channel? Are there any other wireless gizmos in the house?

Download netstumbler and it will show if there are any wireless networks around you.

I did that, and there are loads of wireless networks around me, however my signal is perfect with no noise. If i'm downloading something, the speed will reduce to 0kbps after about ten seconds. But if I stop the download and restart it immediately it will kick off again at full speed for another ten secs! I can do this for a while and then eventually I wont even be able to access webpages for about a minute. If I wait then everything is grand again and the problem restarts. Its so strange.

ada4347

i dont have ntl but im getting it do u think i should get a router if so wath brand?

Elmo

ada4347 wrote: »

if ntl works wirelessly why would u want to have a cable connection is it for wired devices? Which is faster wired or wireless?

The wireless router is connected to the UPC network via the co-axe cable connection you your house. In the same was as most phone companies provide wireless modems which are wired, but it is over a co-axe cable.

Wired is faster.

UPC Broadband is excellent. Their customer service is crap.

I bought a wireless router but I beleive the provide some for free with different connections.

ada4347

thanks guys so would anybody be able to tell me if a linksys router is better than a netgear router?

ada4347

"How do I get the settings up on the laptop screen do I get a hardware cd of some sort?

Elmo

ada4347 wrote: »

"How do I get the settings up on the laptop screen do I get a hardware cd of some sort?

Do you need to install wireless hardware on to your PC?

If you already have hardware installed the wireless on board your PC/Notebook should pick up the signal, you then need to set it as your default.

I still haven't got round to putting security on mine you will prob need a CD for that I am not sure. Must try to do it some time.

I use an edimax wireless router, I think it was the cheapest so I don't know if it was the best.

yoyo

ada4347 wrote: »

thanks guys so would anybody be able to tell me if a linksys router is better than a netgear router?

Linksys is the home version of Cisco, so it may be better, however I have a netgear and it works fine, and is very easy to configure, note I have a netgear wireless router and not a modem (Thats the Cisco one NTL provide)

Nick

ada4347

Elmo wrote: »

Do you need to install wireless hardware on to your PC?

If you already have hardware installed the wireless on board your PC/Notebook should pick up the signal, you then need to set it as your default.

I still haven't got round to putting security on mine you will prob need a CD for that I am not sure. Must try to do it some time.

I use an edimax wireless router, I think it was the cheapest so I don't know if it was the best.

Yes i have wireless wlan on my laptop so would that work if u I have wireless wlan an a 3mb UPC connection with a maybe linksys router should that work im in a gud area for a strong connection.

Elmo

ada4347 wrote: »

Yes i have wireless wlan on my laptop so would that work if u I have wireless wlan an a 3mb UPC connection with a maybe linksys router should that work im in a gud area for a strong connection.

Sorry I don't really understand that, but if I am correct: -

You have a wireless wlan on your notebook then you should pick up all wireless routers in range.

Regardless of the make of wireless router you should be able to access it on your laptop. You will just need to connect the wireless router to your Cable Modem.

You should secure the router for your own use and privacy.

ada4347

k thanks. i dont have ntl yet but would u reccomend it to me on a 3mb in a gud area?

Elmo

ada4347 wrote: »

k thanks. i dont have ntl yet but would u reccomend it to me on a 3mb in a gud area?

I would, I think most people who have UPC Broadband would recommend it. And most people would point out their bad customer services as well (as a con), but I have never had to call them about anything to do with either the TV or Broadband.

Do they not give you a free wireless router with your new account? I thought they introduced that a while back.

ada4347

wath mb do u have.

Elmo

ada4347 wrote: »

wath mb do u have.

3mb but I have had it for the past 4years so they were not providing wireless routers with their products at the time.

I have looked at their website the provided free wireless routers with their 10mb Express pack.

ada4347

and wath downstream an upstream do u get?