Intermittent internet issues

[BO Terry]

I have a business (break-fix, not MSP) client that I do residential work for also. He moved in 3 months ago and has AT&T 1gb fiber. The signal has been inconsistent for most of their time there. Sometimes, it is bad enough that they turn off wifi on their phones and just use their data for looking up things on the phone. Not as a hotspot, just for phone tasks. The house is a rental, FWIW.

3 primary sources for the issue as I see it (or combo):

The outside line is still not buried and is actually on the side of the road and across the driveway.

They installed the router in the easiest spot for the installer which is in the garage (South East US in the summer = hot).

Faulty ATT all in one modem/router/Wi-Fi unit. (Is there a good test I can run besides speed test?)

I’m trying to get them to call back to ATT for line tests etc but they are frustrated with that process. I can go to the site but want to make the most of the visit, especially since it’s a bit of a drive. They are even willing to buy their own router etc but I hate to have them do that without verifying outside lines (and I don’t have the equipment to test that for them).

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I'd run some troubleshooting...
*So are they using WiFi only? Poor wifi connection? Site survey, look for competing channels, look to relocate the ISP provided gateway, is anything else other than the ISP provided gateway providing wifi? If not...place large enough to warrant a mesh setup? Go around house and run wifi monitoring software, look at signal strength.
*Or are some devices running on ethernet...so a wired connection to the gateway...is that still acting up or is that a good connection?
*Plop a little mini PC on his network as a "loaner"...run steady pings both to the gateways internal IP, and to a common public IP. Wired in.

 

[BO Terry]

I'd run some troubleshooting...
*So are they using WiFi only? Poor wifi connection? Site survey, look for competing channels, look to relocate the ISP provided gateway, is anything else other than the ISP provided gateway providing wifi? If not...place large enough to warrant a mesh setup? Go around house and run wifi monitoring software, look at signal strength.
*Or are some devices running on ethernet...so a wired connection to the gateway...is that still acting up or is that a good connection?
*Plop a little mini PC on his network as a "loaner"...run steady pings both to the gateways internal IP, and to a common public IP. Wired in.

I had them run a speed test last week on a laptop as well as desktop plugged directly into the Gateway. Both speeds were lower than they should have been. They do have a Nighthawk AC1900 upstairs. It is just under 3000 SF (2700 I think) I plan to install an eero Pro setup there but was reluctant until the ISP issues were resolved. You mentioned relocating the gateway, is that because of the heat in the garage? I thought it a weird spot for an install (probably just easy for the installer) but don't have any first-hand knowledge of it being problematic.

The computer in the garage is plugged directly into the gateway and they have a desktop upstairs plugged directly into the Nighthawk. Everything else is Wi-Fi. As I understand it, the issue is on both wired and wireless devices. For sure the desktop upstairs that's connected to the Nighthawk has these issues.

I could probably set up a ping on the computer in the garage.

 

[Mick]

The outside line is still not buried and is actually on the side of the road and across the driveway.

Does that mean cars and so on are actually running over it ?? That could cause some serious attenuation problems, if not worse.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I doubt a gateway being in the garage would cause issues....I've seen plenty of network equipment in a garage.

You mention another router upstairs....how is this connected? I see a possible double NAT or opposing DHCP issues here.....residential people (even IT people that don't know better) putting 2x routers on 1x network often leads to issues.

 

[BO Terry]

I doubt a gateway being in the garage would cause issues....I've seen plenty of network equipment in a garage.

You mention another router upstairs....how is this connected? I see a possible double NAT or opposing DHCP issues here.....residential people (even IT people that don't know better) putting 2x routers on 1x network often leads to issues.

Good to know on the garage. I just didn’t know but know that heat can cause problems with electronics in general.

The Nighthawk is wireless. Originally setup beside the gateway, then moved upstairs. One upstairs computer is plugged into it via Ethernet. It is being replaced soon. Do you suggest unplugging it next time they have a major issue to see if it helps? Or remote in and adjust some settings?

 

[BO Terry]

Does that mean cars and so on are actually running over it ?? That could cause some serious attenuation problems, if not worse.

Does that mean cars and so on are actually running over it ?? That could cause some serious attenuation problems, if not worse.

Does that mean cars and so on are actually running over it ?? That could cause some serious attenuation problems, if not worse.

Unfortunately, yes. It is a relatively new neighborhood and they have not been able to get them back out to bury it yet.

 

[BO Terry]

Good to know on the garage. I just didn’t know but know that heat can cause problems with electronics in general.

The Nighthawk is wireless. Originally setup beside the gateway, then moved upstairs. One upstairs computer is plugged into it via Ethernet. It is being replaced soon. Do you suggest unplugging it next time they have a major issue to see if it helps? Or remote in and adjust some settings?

What are your thoughts on setting up the new MESH now to see if that helps? I was reluctant since it seems there are other issues and didn’t want to be in a position of having to go back out to set it up again if they get a new gateway or something.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

That Nighthawk upstairs...how it is connected? Via it's WAN port...to a LAN port on the ISPs gateway? Or via a LAN port...to the LAN port. Was the IP changed to fall in the range of the ISP Gateawy (but not conflict) ..and DHCP disabled?

 

[BO Terry]

That Nighthawk upstairs...how it is connected? Via it's WAN port...to a LAN port on the ISPs gateway? Or via a LAN port...to the LAN port. Was the IP changed to fall in the range of the ISP Gateawy (but not conflict) ..and DHCP disabled?

it was connected near the gateway using wireless setup/app, then moved to the current location. The house is not wired for Ethernet and it’s a rental so won’t be happening.

DHCP was not disabled, not sure about the IP but don’t think so. Even before they had issues, they had dead zones so I plan to install a MESH system for them. They already have 3 eero Pro’s there waiting for setup.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Ahh so the Nutgear was trying to do some wireless repeat mode...mixed brands for this..yuck.

Yeah..go with mesh.
Bridge the ISP gateway, (ensure its wireless is disabled) stick the first Mesh kit device on that as a router..and then finish the mesh with the other 2 satellite APs.

 

[Markverhyden]

I had them run a speed test last week on a laptop as well as desktop plugged directly into the Gateway. Both speeds were lower than they should have been.

In situations like this I'll typically run ping tests in addition to the web speed test. Usually ping -t 8.8.8.8 > ipping.txt and then ping -t google.com > dnsping.txt. Each one for 120 seconds. Then look at the output for latency and packet drop issues.

Do they have neighbors? Ask them if they use AT&T fiber. When I go to a business I'll often check with neighboring businesses to see if they have the same ISP and if they are experiencing similar symptoms. One thought is the installer didn't properly clean the fiber end when setting up the media converter.