IT Question

[Hal...]

Periodically, my internet slows down to the extent that I need to "reauthorize" my modem by my ISP (Spectrum). Once that's done, my internet speed is back up to where it's supposed to be.

FYI, I own my own modem which is one that is compatible with my ISP (are any of them incompatible?). Also, I haven't kept track of internet usage with the need to reauthorize, but it seems like when I've been streaming or downloading a lot, reauthorizing becomes necessary. Operative word there is "seems", so I could be totally wrong about that.

Anyway, my question is why does my internet slow down? Is it my ISP? My modem? A combination?

Or is it simply a continuation of how much Spectrum, née TimeWarner, sucks elephant balls?

[markwoll]

The elephant balls thing applies across the board.
A cable modem should not require re-registration unless the Serial number/mac address id of the modem changes.
The ISP may have some wonky hardware out there, and or the merger is really bumpy for end users.
Internet slowdowns are like the weather. Hard to forecast.
Most of the time it is the result of the after work/school streaming video/netflix etc. traffic.
The cable throughput is a shared resource. The more users on a branch the more traffic.
Does not matter who the ISP is, in general. Some provision better than others.
This forum is national, but focused on Charter/TW/Spectrum.
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/charter~days=60

[rcarlberg]

A need for constant reauthorization indicates that your PTP protocol negotiation, which pops up every hour or so, is not automatically finding what it needs. Either your modem's software version is out of date, or your provider's. Either way, you should contact Spectrum's customer service and raise holy hell.

[Hal...]

A cable modem should not require re-registration unless the Serial number/mac address id of the modem changes.

It's not re-registration; it's what they call reauthorization. They've already got my serial # and mac address. I think it's what we used to call "shaking hands".

And, yeah, I'm aware of the after school/work slow down, but I generally don't have a problem with that.

A need for constant reauthorization indicates that your PTP protocol negotiation, which pops up every hour or so, is not automatically finding what it needs. Either your modem's software version is out of date, or your provider's. Either way, you should contact Spectrum's customer service and raise holy hell.

It's not constant. Sometimes it's once a month. Other times I've gone months with no problem. And other times I think it may have even fixed itself. Not sure about that, tho.

And the fix is relatively simple. I call their toll free number, press 1 for customer support. I then get these options:

• to activate a new modem press 1
• if you can access the internet press 2
• if you can't access the internet press 3

I press 3 (even tho I can still access the internet) and they send some signal to my modem and the problem is solved.

I just wondered why. But I'll see if there's new firmware for my modem.

Thanks guys.

[rcarlberg]

I press 3 (even tho I can still access the internet) and they send some signal to my modem and the problem is solved.

Yep. The initial handshake is more convoluted than the "keep alive" handshake that occurs every hour or so.

Firmware update should probably solve.

[3LockBox]

I thought this was going to be a question about the Steven King novel 'It', the 3-part TV movie or the upcoming theatrical release of the same.

I thought the TV movie kinda sucked.