XB7 modem to XB8 modem

[llove]

Two days ago I had a tech come in and replace my XB7 modem with a XB8 modem due to intermittent signal instability. Now I have zero connectivity and speed tests come back 0.00. 

I've had an additional tech here today to see what he could do and was once again not able to fix the issue. 

My landlord refuses to pay for an electrician to update our 24 year of cable wires in the building and this is what is causing the speed failures as well as not being able to connect new technology (XB8 modem) to 24 year old wires fed through my floor. I don't even have a faceplate on my wall to screw a coax cable into, it just feeds through the walls down to the mainframe panel.

Rogers have gone above and beyond to accommodate me and do everything within their power to get this working for me but it comes down to my wiring being far too old in this building to run new technology on it. 

So my questions are: Is there a way for me to change any settings on the XB8 modem to bring it back to the same level as the XB7 modem that was connecting, just not at it's full capability levels because of wiring. 

My second question is: Has anyone dealt with a landlord refusing to update their buildings wiring? At this point I can't get ANY services in my apt from ANY service provider.

Any tips, suggestions and help would be so appreciated.

Thnx

[57]

@llove : Here are my comments:

1. I don't believe there is anything wrong with the XB8 and there probably is nothing you can do with the device itself to solve the issue.

2. I, as you, believe there is an issue with the wiring.  It may be a simple matter of a broken internal wire near your end of the cable. A cut and redo of say the last foot or more if possible of the cable with a new cable end, may resolve the issue and that may explain why simply undoing and reconnecting the cable caused the connection to go from "intermittent" to "non-existant).  Wiggling the cable and "compressing" it lengthwise, may get it working intermittently again. Did the Rogers tech try this - new end, etc?

3. If the issue is further down the cable to the mechanical room, then you may need an electrician or someone knowledgable with a multimeter to short the other end of the cable and do a continuity check.

4. The age of the cable may not be the problem. I had 30 year old cable (RG59) in my house working, although RG-6 is now recommended.

5. How large is this building? If it's small and the issue only affects you, I'm not sure how far you'll get with outside pressure, although if you're paying for cable through the rent, then there is a case to get this fixed.

6. Will the landlord allow you (or someone else) access to the "main panel"?  If so, a continuity check is very easy to do with a multimeter in your "suite/apt" while shorting the cable at the panel end, or vice versa.

[llove]

These are excellent suggestions. 

No, neither techs tried a new end to the cord or tried anything with the cord at all. That's great to hear the cable may not be the culprit, there may be hope after all! It only started when they switched to the new modem which is why I had wondered if going backwards to the old modem may solve this at least temporarily. It's a 12 unit building and everyone in the building has terrible connections, however they are still connected. The landlord refused to allow my certified electrician in to resolve this issue for me as well so I'm doubtful he will allow anyone in to a test, although the room is unlocked and if I knew how to preform one and know what I was looking for I could definitely do it myself.

You make some awesome points and things I would never consider, thank you so much for your response! Much appreciated

[57]

A good technician always re-does the cable ends if there is a signal issue. It only takes him a minute.  I'm a bit surprised this wasn't done.

You may wish to read up on how to do a continuity test on the web. One needs a multimeter or an ohmmeter connected to one end of the cable (inside wire and outside casing) and for you to "short" the cable at the other end by touching something to the inside wire and outside casing of the cable.  As the cable is shorted the resistance (ohms) on the meter goes from infinity to a number close to zero.  Some multimeters come with a continuity setting.  Since there is a distance between the two ends of the cable, two people are required, or there is a "shorting" gizmo (technical term) that can be screwed to the other end of the cable and then one person can do the test.

However, if the panel has many cables, you need to ensure you have the one going to your unit.

[Datalink · Accepted solution]

@llove did the techs check the condition of the cable installation in the utility room? There are a few considerations here:

1.  The signal level into the building: is this acceptable or not acceptable?

2.  What condition is the Multiple-Dwelling unit in, if there is one located within the utility room:  is this acceptable or not acceptable?

3.  What is the signal level into your modem with everything else prior to this in an acceptable condition:  is this acceptable or not acceptable?  If its not acceptable, then possibly the cable run from the utility room to your apartment requires replacing.  That appears to be a battle that you would have to fight with your landlord. 

In the case of an apartment, there are two ways to provide cable service to the individual apartments:

1.  by running individual cables from the apartment to an outside local tap, which is either located up on a utility pole, or located within a pedestal which would be close to the apartment building.  The pedestal is about waist high, roughly 14 inches square and typical green in colour for a Rogers pedestal.  

2.  by running a single cable from the external local tap, into a Multiple-Dwelling Unit.  That can be seen on the following page, listed as a Multi Port Splitter:

https://www.antronix.com/solutions/multiple-dwelling-unit

If there is an MDU in the utility room, it should resemble the Multi Port Splitter on that page.  Essentially its a splitter that has a single input and multiple outputs to service all of the apartments in the building.  There are numerous manufacturers, so, they won't look exactly the same, company to company.  

So, if you're talking with tech support or a field tech, getting answers to all of the above will clarify where the issues might lie.  Considering that the whole apartment is experiencing cable issues, that points to the main feed into the apartment or possibly the MDU, if there is one in the utility room.  Those MDU's operate 24/7, year in year out.  They don't last forever and every once in a while they have to be replaced.  The contract tech are most likely not allowed to perform any servicing on the MDUs, other than connects / disconnects. 

You would need a Senior tech (real Rogers tech) to determine if the MDU is serviceable or if it requires replacement.  I suspect that you really need a Senior Tech to examine the issues for the whole apartment, not just for your individual apartment.  Now, the question is, can you simply request a Senior Tech, as a customer seeking answers from someone such as a Senior Tech who has the experience and equipment to determine what issues are afoot in a cable system.  Typically, for an apartment, there should be some agreement or contract between the apartment building owner and Rogers, which allows Rogers to provide cable services to that apartment.  The question of the day is, at what point does a building owners refusal to provide systems support conflict with Rogers customer support?  Although this is above you as an apartment dweller, this might be a contractual issue where Rogers has permission thru an existing contract.  That might be an avenue that you might have to pursue with Rogers, on your own, in order to understand what the situation is regarding Rogers access to the building's cable system. Is Rogers committed to supporting the cable system in terms of the main signal entry point and MDU?  Maybe a Senior Tech might have access to those details??  

A technician of any type will always require the apartment owners permission to enter the building and perform any action required to support the buildings system.  The question in this case, is, what is Rogers access rights and who pays for any servicing to the main cable entry point and MDU, if there is one in the building.  

If the utility room isn't locked, a quick check might reveal if there appears to be an MDU out in the open that you can see.  That at the very least would confirm what cable system is in place, MDU fed, or fed from an external source.  If the MDU is locked inside of a cabinet, then you wouldn't be able to tell what is installed.  

The tech can use a Time-Domain Reflectometer (TDR) to test the cable run to your apartment.  Essentially he or she would disconnect your cable connection in the utility room and use a TDR to fire a pulse down the cable, looking for a reflection from the other (disconnected) end.  That will yield the cable length from the TDR to the other end of the cable or to the break in the cable.  Running the test from the other end in your apartment should result in the same cable length if the cable is serviceable.  If there happens to be a cable break at some point in the cable, the TDR cable lengths from both ends will be different, and the measured length can be used to determine where that cable break is.  This is a slightly more advanced version of the continuity check that @57 was indicating.  Knowing if and where the break is, would allow the tech to potentially fix the cable, depending on where the break happens to be.