Forum Discussion

jd284's avatar
jd284
New Contributor
6 years ago

Degrading connection to home / wall connections

Hi, it seems that my connection has degraded significantly over time.

Modem: Zoom 5350 (bought in 2013 i believe)

Router: Archer C3200

Bandwidth Plan: 150MB

Attempted solutions: reset modem, power cycle modem, moved modem location

Current Status: Moved modem to a different location - bandwidth speed is back but still getting dropped connections

One specific wall outlet was yielding 3mbps with a wired connection to the modem. After inspecting the modem statistics and researching online, it seems that the connection is poor. I moved the modem to a different wall outlet and am receiving the 150MBPS as i should be with a direct connection to the modem, but am still experiencing periodic dropped connections. My friend mentioned i may need what is called a "booster". Here are some statistics from the new wall outlet. Upstream all 4 channels are power 49.2. I have noticed that the downstream power levels fluctuate, but the uncorrectable numbers remain high.

Downstream:

https://imgur.com/a/BYPrnGm

Upstream:

https://ibb.co/2FnVCVX

Any ideas on what needs to be done? Thank you

  • Bruce's avatar
    Bruce
    Honored Contributor III
    6 years ago

    You're testing your modem at different coaxial wall-outlets throughout your house?  Only one outlet should be the primary feed into your house.

    I'd remove the wall plate of the 3 Mbps connection to inspect what's in there.  I too was getting a constantly deteriorating signal, removed the wall plate and found an extra splitter on the cable.  The extra splitter had a Cox label on it, so I suspect the first homeowner subscribed to Cox and because the next homeowner subscribed to DirectTV...(they left their satellite bolted onto my balcony)...they stuffed the CATV coax and splitter behind the wall outlet.  I removed the extra splitter and my signal improved.

    If you don't find an extra splitter, describe what you do see in there.

    • jd284's avatar
      jd284
      New Contributor
      6 years ago

      Thank you for your comments. I do have direct TV and only use Cox for internet. I was not aware that the modem should be on the primary feed, but that makes sense! I checked the line coming in and this is what i see. 

      The primary is hooked up to a two way splitter both are 3.5 DB output. I traced one output of that splitter to be the coax terminal wall outlet of the new location where i moved the modem. The other output of the splitter then goes to a 3 way splitter (3.5 db, 7db, 7db) only two of which are used. I traced the 3.5db output of the second splitter to the original coax terminal - at the previous location the signal was going through at least two splitters. One of the 7db outputs is hooked up, it must go to another room in the house.

      It looks like the primary feed is not long enough to eliminate the use of the first splitter. i am going to check behind the wall outlet now.

      Thanks again

      • Bruce's avatar
        Bruce
        Honored Contributor III
        6 years ago

        I reads like you only need 3 splits:  Primary Outlet, "New Location" Outlet and wherever the second split goes on the 3-way splitter.

        Assuming the 3-way splitter is good (3 Mbps), I'd just replace the 2-way splitter with the 3-way splitter.

        The "New Location" outlet is getting a good signal because it's only going through 1 splitter.  All other outlets seem to be weak.

        If you need/want a new splitter, I'll assume Cox recommends 1000 MHz (1 GHz).  Also, only get the number of outputs you needs.  The more ports on a splitter, the less signal it passes to each port.  Unused ports would still weaken the signal.

        Your Internet modem should be on a 3.5 dB outlet.