Cable modem is resetting itself

[Ardinea]

This problem seems to occur once every few hours.

It has been happening since 9 pm tonight... and I dunno what to do. My internet goes out, and then the modem goes through a power cycle, as if I had unplugged it.

It is a Motorola surfboard (I forgot which brand specifically).

Comcast is my ISP.

Any help here?

[Bacon]

Could be a number of problems.

1. First thing I'd do is to set the modem to its default configuration. Allow for the modem to start properly and reboot your machine.

2. Check to make sure all the cords are correctly plugged, just plug and re-plug each one of them and perhaps switch to a new power socket.

3. Sounds dumb, but a friend of mine has fixed this problem by shaking his modem. I guess you could try that.

4. Call the folks at Comcast and ask what's going on. These problems differ from person to person, and if your warranty hasn't expired yet it's best just to ask Comcast why your Modem keeps resetting.

I'm not familiar with exactly why it happens since it's never happened to me, but I've heard that modems reset because your ISP will send these signals to your modem and adjust the radio frequency values. If the radio frequency value aren't withint a specific range, the connection will fail and it seems that the Modem restarts to fix this. This is just one of the problems. There are many other things that might make your modem restart as well.

[Ardinea]

The modem signals are fine, as far as I know. Comcast has a range value for their modem signals and according to the modem page, everything is a-ok. There's absolutely no reason it should be doing this, but it is anyway =/

I believe my modem belongs to Comcast - its being rented out. It's 4 years old, so maybe this is the sign of a dying modem?

Looks like I might have to get a technician to come out.

[XTOTHEL]

if it is just the modem, you can just call comcast and tell them your modem is broken. They'll ask you what the problem is and walk you through a whole bunch of stuff trying to fix it.

Try to be firm to them about getting a new modem. They should ship one to you without charge.

[Yoorah]

The modem has nothing to do with it; it's fine.

Your ISP's network became unstable, due to some technical problem on their end, and/or maintenance work being done. I have a Motorola Surfboard too, and it would get disconnected like that a couple times a week, for a few weeks. On some days I'd get over 10 disconnects, while on others I'd get none. Eventually, it stopped disconnecting, and I've had a rock-solid connection for the past year or so.

I suggest you wait for a day where your modem starts disconnecting often, and then call your ISP right away. Tell them your connection is unstable and you're getting disconnected repeatedly. They might monitor your logs in real-time and pinpoint where the problem might be in their network.