For several weeks I have experienced intermittent loss of connection to internet, sometimes resolving spontaneously but other times requiring reboot (power off/power on) of cable modem (Arris SB6141). Cox support by (phone and by local technician visits to home) show proper signal levels to modem. Arris/Motorola support also says modem checks out OK, according to signal levels, etc., in the modem status pages. Internet speed test for my level of service (Preferred) has been normal when the internet connection is present. The connection loss in recent weeks is typically in the 12 midnight to 2:00 am time period. On the two most recent occasions Cox reps denied a known maintenance outage, stated my problem was unique. Local in-home wifi network works fine; only internet connection is lost. On my latest call to cox tech support, the tech ran tests and suspected a problem with the cable modem (Arris SB6141) and arranged for a new modem to be shipped to me (Cisco DPC3010). This arrived but I have not connected it yet, pending further research. Researching the issue, I found reports of alleged incompatibility between Cox and the Airport Extreme router, possibly related to Cox’s IPv6 implementation of IPv6 and the AE router IPv6 settings. There are also reports of incompatibility between the Arris Sb6141 modem and the AE router. Question: Are there any setup parameters in the Airport Extreme router that I should try before changing out to the new modem? Something perhaps related to interaction between the AE router and SB6141 modem, or between the AE router settings and Cox’s IPv6 requirements? My current router settings are Configure IPv6 “Automatically” (other choices are “link-local only” and “manually”) and IPv6 Mode “Native” (other choice is “tunnel”).

@StayingAlert Indeed many users across different Internet providers have reported problems with Airport routers using IPv6 however I don't believe IPv6 is active in your area yet. I'd start off simple by checking first to see if you can duplicate the issue without the router in place.

I am having the exact same issue with my airport extreme. It worked fine until 6 weeks ago, now wifi works but lose internet connection daily and have to reboot my modem which is a cisco DPQ3212

@sabdouch, Does it seem to happen at the same time every day or is it at random? Does the connection drop for the wireless devices only or for everything connected to the router?

Hi All - I've started experiencing similar issues over the past several weeks and seems to be progressively getting worse. My internet will stop working (but all lights on modem & router are still on) and in order to correct, rebooting my modem seems to fix the issue, most times... but sometimes both the modem and router need to be rebooted. Both wifi and hardwire connections into the router are impacted. I'm now noticing this behavior occurring a few times a day over the past week. I have an SB6141 and using an Airport Extreme router. On the SB6141 modem home page it shows set to IPv4 only under configuration, not IPv6. There are settings also in my Airport Extreme for IPv6 similar to the first post. I tried resetting my modem to factory in the configuration page to create a new initialization but the command doesn't work to reset, like it's been disabled. I live in the Phoenix area. Previous to several weeks back I didn't experience this issue (have had this current configuration for over a year). I'll keep watching this thread for some answers/suggestions and happy to provide more info too. I've also noticed complete loss of internet (even after rebooting) around the midnight hour a couple times in the past week. Thank you!

I am having the same issue. Just started service with Cox and never had an issue with the Airport Extreme and Charter. Rebooting the router seems to be the only way to get it to work and it doesn't work for very long.

Intermittent internet connection loss, Airport Extreme (newest version) router and SB6141 modem

31 Replies

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ChrisL
Former Moderator
9 years ago
@StayingAlert

Indeed many users across different Internet providers have reported problems with Airport routers using IPv6 however I don't believe IPv6 is active in your area yet. I'd start off simple by checking first to see if you can duplicate the issue without the router in place.
sabdouch
New Contributor
9 years ago
I am having the exact same issue with my airport extreme. It worked fine until 6 weeks ago, now wifi works but lose internet connection daily and have to reboot my modem which is a cisco DPQ3212
DerrickW
Valued Contributor
9 years ago
@sabdouch,

Does it seem to happen at the same time every day or is it at random? Does the connection drop for the wireless devices only or for everything connected to the router?
HelpPlease
New Contributor
9 years ago
Hi All - I've started experiencing similar issues over the past several weeks and seems to be progressively getting worse. My internet will stop working (but all lights on modem & router are still on) and in order to correct, rebooting my modem seems to fix the issue, most times... but sometimes both the modem and router need to be rebooted. Both wifi and hardwire connections into the router are impacted.

I'm now noticing this behavior occurring a few times a day over the past week. I have an SB6141 and using an Airport Extreme router. On the SB6141 modem home page it shows set to IPv4 only under configuration, not IPv6. There are settings also in my Airport Extreme for IPv6 similar to the first post.

I tried resetting my modem to factory in the configuration page to create a new initialization but the command doesn't work to reset, like it's been disabled.

I live in the Phoenix area. Previous to several weeks back I didn't experience this issue (have had this current configuration for over a year). I'll keep watching this thread for some answers/suggestions and happy to provide more info too. I've also noticed complete loss of internet (even after rebooting) around the midnight hour a couple times in the past week.

Thank you!
dave7
New Contributor II
9 years ago
I am having the same issue. Just started service with Cox and never had an issue with the Airport Extreme and Charter. Rebooting the router seems to be the only way to get it to work and it doesn't work for very long.
jc723
New Contributor
9 years ago
no Airport extreme here but I am also having similar internet loss around the same time as you are.. not sure your location. i am in the 93117

tech support over the phone is useless... all they want is to reboot the system..
Jabster
New Contributor
9 years ago
I also have a similar setup (6th gen Airport Extreme and Motorola SB6141) and as of a few days ago have started see a need to restart my router every few hours to restore internet connectivity. My setup had been working almost flawlessly for the last 2 years so this issue has been very noticeable (and annoying).

This is not a wifi related issue, nor is it a signal issue with modem (I've checked). There are no unusual issues logged in the modem's logs (which usually is the case when there is a connection issue on Cox's end).

When the issue has happened I've been able to experiment a bit and have noticed that in fact I am still connected in the sense that I can access IP addresses directly without issue, it seems the issue is that DNS resolution via the DNS proxy on the Airport Extreme dies effectively killing DNS for all devices in my network and by extension my access to the web.

Given that nothing changed on my end and this issue started out of nowhere very recently (and yet consistently) it does seem that this IPv6 theory could very well explain what may be happening. I was able to confirm that IPv6 is fully enabled on my connection using a few of the test sites out on the web.

To work around the issue I've currently changed my IPv6 setting from "Automatically" to "Link-Local Only" on the Airport Extreme which effectively disables IPv6 for all outside connections (though IPv6 will still be enabled within my LAN). I will post here again if it appears that this has not resolved the issue (until either Apple releases an updated firmware to fix this, or Cox tweaks their config to work around it).
Jedie24
New Contributor
9 years ago
I am in CT and am having the same exact problem. Internet connection dies (status light to "Internet" in the Airport Utility for iOS goes from green to orange), but I'm still connected to my AirPort Extreme just fine. This started happening March 1st. It dies several times per day. Rebooting the cable modem (Cisco DPQ3212) usually resolves the issue, but sometimes I need to reboot the AirPort, as well. I have been running this exact setup (DPQ3212 and AirPort Extreme) since July of 2015 with zero problems. Initially, I thought the problem may be with the AirPort so, I called Apple support. Since it was under warranty, they sent me to my local Apple Store, where they gave me a brand new one. Same problems persisted, so I called Cox. Everything looked normal on their end, even when it was acting up with them on the phone. That prompted the phone tech to schedule a field tech to come to my house to check things out. That was yesterday (March 4th). The field tech checked everything from the modem back to the pole. He even disconnected and reconnected the wires at the pole, just to be sure. All signals in the house looked normal to him. He ended up replacing the modem with a new one before he left. This morning (March 5th) it was dead, again. I don't know if it will make a difference, but I have an AirPort Express that isn't being used anymore. I am going to try using that for a few days. I won't be able to get full speed out of it via wifi (I pay for 100 Mbps and routinely get 120 via wifi with the Extreme-it drops to 70 or so with the Express), but it will be interesting to see if the connection stays up.
spotster
New Contributor
9 years ago
I had same issue - I have Cox (Premier residential service) - Cox conversion to IPv6 causing issue. I have Arris 6190 Cable Modem and most recent Airport Extreme Router (7.7.3 Firmware). Beginning in late December had to reset router / cable modem every day or so as I could not connect to internet from inside network (at home), but my devices (webcams, etc) were still online and accessible outside my home network. I am IT savvy - worked backwards to troubleshoot....tried a new Airport Extreme, changed DNS to Google DNS. After days of troubleshooting and still having issues I changed Airport Extreme settings to "Link Local Only"....and have had no issues since....(7 days and counting).....(neighbor did same and resolved his issue - he had 6141 and Airport Extreme) side note, finally getting thru to both Apple AND Cox Tier 2 Support, both acknowledged issue....

So, open Airport Utility and change settings as follows:

Airport Utility>Internet>Internet Options>Configure IPv6>Link-local only
Jedie24
New Contributor
9 years ago
Yes to this! After my post yesterday, I did some more research and came across a thread on the Apple Support forums from people having the same issue with Cox and AirPort Base Stations. The problem seems to be with the roll out of IPV6. Supposedly, both Apple and Cox are working on a solution. But, in the meantime, the workaround seems to be to change your IPV6 settings in the AirPort to link only local. I did this last night and my connection stayed live through the night for the first time in a week. You'll lose the ability to support pure IPV6, but it should be okay in the short term while they sort this out. My understanding is, while the push is on to move to IPV6, most are running a dual stack for both IPV4 and IPV6 support.