Cable Problems

[barb67]

Hi, was wondering if anyone out there, has cable problems.  It has been almost three months when we were slowly loosing channels that go black and it would last a few minutes.  Now Aug 22, it is getting a lot worse, about half of my station go black and last hours.  Rogers have no idea or if they do they don't want to fix the aging system and want us all on Ignite.  Also, getting annoyed that I still have to pay the same price even with all this craziness.

[57]

@barb67 This is almost always an issue with the signal to/from your home, or neighbourhood.  It is possible the SDV (Switched Digital Video Channels that fewer people watch) are the source of the problem, although usually there is a message on the screen that comes with that problem, rather than a black screen. The signal (requesting the channel) from your box is not getting back to the node in your area, or the head end and the signal for that channel doesn't arrive at your box.  These issues could be due to a poor splitter in your home, or bad cable inside or outside your home.  Check with your neighbours to see if they have the same problem.

You'll need to contact Rogers to have them check the signal, which they can do remotely.  Changing to IgniteTV will NOT solve such a signal problem, perhaps it'll even be worse.  Here's a post on the topic:

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Archived-Posts/Nextbox-3-0-PVR-Skips-Recorded-Playback-Only/m-...

You can also check the signal yourself per the link in the post above.

[-G-]

@barb67  I have seen others report similar problems.  (e.g. see here and here).  Even if you were to ask, I don't think that Rogers would provide any indication as to how widespread any problems, such as yours, really are.  It's also hard to say what the cause(s) could be because there are so many.  Do you see the same issues with all of your TVs/cable boxes?  Do you see this with all channels or just some?  Are the glitches more frequent when the weather is really hot or really rainy?

Years ago, when I was a Rogers Digital TV customer, I had so many problems with the service.  It was CONSTANTLY glitchy.  Rogers tech support could not do anything other than suggest exchanging my set-top boxes.  The problems seemed to be unfixable and I ended up dumping the Digital TV service and switching to a competitor.  By contrast, other than last month's massive outage, Ignite TV has been problem-free for me for years.

At the very least, call tech support and have them open trouble tickets.  Keep on top of them until the problems get fixed.  If the problems with your service continue, you should be able to get billing credits... and at some point, you may also need to consider switching to a different TV service.

[-G-]

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@57 wrote:

You'll need to contact Rogers to have them check the signal, which they can do remotely.  Changing to IgniteTV will NOT solve such a signal problem, perhaps it'll even be worse.  Here's a post on the topic:

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I think that all depends on what the underlying problem is.  I had constant glitches on my SDV channels; broadcast channels were less problematic.  My problems actually originated at the headend, and agents in the Richmond Hill call centre (when it existed) could confirm the same problems that I was seeing... but after escalating the tickets, the higher-level techs continued to close those tickets without fixing anything.

Ignite TV is streamed over your Internet connection.  It's a completely different technology.  If your Internet connection works well and your in-home network works well, then Ignite TV will work well.

[barb67]

I also want to mention that I contacted the CCTS and put in a complaint, so everyone if Rogers isn't willing to fi the problem put a complaint in. 

[barb67]

Last nite was the worse, some of the lower stations, most of the 50's station and 60's and in the 500's .  I

[barb67]

Just received my latest email from a case manager with Rogers. He said at this time the only option would be to migrate to the ignite tv bundle. Tech guy found no issues with the service. 

[-G-]

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@barb67 wrote:

Just received my latest email from a case manager with Rogers. He said at this time the only option would be to migrate to the ignite tv bundle. Tech guy found no issues with the service. 

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Rogers is still keeping Digital TV around to service a handful of customer segments: Bulk agreement contracts that have not expired yet, a "Skinny Basic" package for residential customers, and TV for business customers.  They have stopped selling the service to new customers and are not making any efforts to retain existing customers.  Rogers may have also already reached the point where they can no longer obtain spare parts to service their aging Digital TV infrastructure.  After last month's massive outage, Rogers has publicly committed to investing $20 Billion to upgrade their networks, and it makes zero sense for them to invest even a single dollar to upgrade or fix any obsolete technology that has no future.

You can try to apply pressure to get the problems with your TV service fixed but it will take the collective efforts of multiple (probably hundreds of) customers to make this happen.  I can understand why many people would like to keep using Digital TV for as long as they can.  However, the reality is that it is also only a matter of time before Rogers formally discontinues the service, and they will almost certainly do this before they are forced to fix ongoing problems, the existence of which they will never admit to.

[PhilP]

I see that you had this problem back in August.  We just had the same thing happen this past weekend (October 8th, Newmarket) on 3 separate boxes, and the only answer I got from tech support was to switch to Ignite TV.  Rogers had a maintenance update over the weekend (Saturday night - Sunday morning), it was Saturday night I first noticed the problem.  I have escalated and hope to get a better response, if I have to switch it won't be to Ignite, I'll find another provider.

[57]

Did you check out post 2 of this thread regarding signal?  Also note that @-G- 's posts in this thread indicate that Rogers is trying to get Legacy Digital Cable customers to switch to IgniteTV, so don't expect a lot of help from them.  You can check the signal yourself as indicated in post 2 or ask Rogers do to it, and/or talk to your neighbours.

[barb67]

Had no choice but to switch to ignite, I had at least seven tech come to my house they did not know what the problem could be but told me cable is fazing out and to go to ignite.  

[-G-]

As @57 suggested, check the signal levels on your cable boxes AND on your cable modem.

I recently had an issue where the signal levels in my neighbourhood dropped precipitously, and it took the skills of a great maintenance tech to spot the root cause and fix it.  This impacted all Rogers services in my area; legacy services and Ignite services.

@PhilP  If you have signal issues with your cable modem, open a ticket to get that fixed.  Support techs probably have a script that suggests switching to Ignite Internet... but that will not fix the problem.  If you have any friends with Ignite TV, have them check the signal levels on their Ignite gateway.  If they are also not to spec, ask them to open a ticket with Rogers to get the problem fixed; they will get immediate escalation.

As for the maintenance in ticket in your area, it may not have been for an outage.  Crews could have been removing amplifiers as a precursor to upgrading your area for a mid-split configuration, and possibly to also increase your upload speeds.

If your current problem only affects Digital TV, you may have an uphill battle on your hands.  Rogers is still obligated to provide you with a working service but they may also reach a point where they can no longer deliver Digital TV in your area.

[PhilP]

All boxes were good on multiple channels. I sent a detailed complaint through "share a concern", next day all channels were back

[dklaurin]

i have ignite & have had problems with screen going black numerous times, lasts approx 39 sec to 1 minute numerous times during day, also picture locks up
have restartedgateway numerous times but continues to lock up many times during day
could this be a modem problem

[57]

Since you have IgniteTV, open the Ignite WiFi app on a tablet or phone and you can do troubleshooting like checking the equipment connection, etc, or the overall health of your system at home.

Are you connected by Ethernet or WiFi?  Can you temporarily connect the box by Ethernet?  Here's a link on WiFi troubleshooting if Ethernet is not possible:

https://www.rogers.com/support/internet/optimize-your-home-wifi

[PhilP]

In my case switching to ignite is not really an option because since the big outage our internet has become very flaky, going out multiple times a week, often for an hour or more. On November 14th it dropped for most of the day, as also did our TV and home phone.  I have a "ping monitor" running on my system that pings google.com and DNS 8.8.8.8 every few minutes, and its uptime bar graph for November shows these outages clearly.

[RogersTony]

Hello, @PhilP

I can imagine how frustrating it is dealing with an inconsistent internet connection.

We definitely want to look into this for you. Can you provide us with the details below.

• Do you notice issues on both Ethernet and Wi-Fi?
• When the connection drops does the light on the modem change colour?
• Have you attempted any troubleshooting steps like rebooting the modem when the issues occur?
• Does it happen during a specific time of the day or is it random?

We look forward to hearing from you!

RogersTony

[PhilP]

I don't use the modem's wifi, I use ethernet to a wireless router.  When it happens I often try restarting the router, to no avail.  Most often the modem lights do not change, all appears normal.  The last time I tried restarting the router my laptop reconnected fine, shows as "internet access", but there is no actual internet.  When that happens then a restart of the modem often restores connectivity, but sometimes the "head-end" light takes much longer to come on than if all is normal, sometimes 5 to 10 minutes.  As for time of day, it is most often late at night and/or early morning (6am to 9'ish).  So I'm almost inclined to suspect the modem itself/ethernet connection.  I have a server connected to the modem too by ethernet, next time it happens I'll check through there.

[Datalink]

@PhilP from your previous post, indicating that you have not switched to one of the Ignite modems, that means that you have a white Hitron CODA-4582, or a Hitron CGN3xxx modem.  Those modems are shown on the following page:

https://www.rogers.com/support/internet

The starting point here is to look at the cable signal levels.  At the present time, you can't log into the CODA-4582 when its running in Bridge mode.  You can either reset the modem back into Gateway mode for a period of time, or call tech support and ask the tech rep to run a signal check on the modem.  Be prepared for a hard upsell to the Ignite modems.  I absolutely, unequivocally, do not advocate doing so until all of the cable issues are resolved.  So, if the tech rep gives you a hard time and refuses to run simple signal check, please post that in a new post.  You should be able to get the tech rep to switch the modem back into Gateway mode if you desire.  That will cause a reboot and reset the modem back into Gateway modem with its previous settings intact.  That is not a factory reset, and it should not be misinterpreted as a request to do so. 

To reset the modem back into Gateway mode yourself, press the recessed reset button at the back of the modem for 30 seconds and release it.  That will initiate a factory reset, and reboot into Gateway mode.  Unfortunately, you would have to set the modem up from scratch again. 

If you have one of the CGN3 modems, I believe that you should be able to log into the modem using 192.168.100.1 as the login address.  I haven't seen any reports of problems logging into a CGN3 modem. 

In both cases, for the CODA-4582 or the CGN3 modems, navigate to the DOCSIS WAN tab, where the signal tables are found.  Park your curser just in front of the "Downstream Overview".  Hold down the shift key and scroll all the way down thru the tables, to the right, until you've reached the right side of the very last bottom right character in the bottom table.  Release the shift key and with the tables still selected or highlighted, use Ctrl c to copy the data.  In a new post, use Ctrl v to paste the tables into the post.  You should end up with all of the tables pasted into the post, just as they appear in the modem's user interface. 

As you've already seen, restarting the modem does appear to resolve the issue for a period of time, but, it doesn't fix the underlying problem.  That indicates that you have an external cable and/or connector issue.  The signal levels should point to that. 

If you have a white CODA-4582, the factor reset and reboot back into Gateway mode will have the same effect.  So, let the modem run until you see the same problems come up.  Then, log into the modem using 192.168.0.1 and follow the above procedure for posting the signal levels.  You will end up running in a double NAT situation for a period of time until you can copy the signal levels when the modem behaviour has degraded.  That can't be helped at the moment due to the inability to log into the 4582 when its in Bridge mode.

If you have a CGNG3 modem, wait until you see the problem behaviour come up, then log into the modem and copy the signal levels and paste them into a post. 

It would be a good idea to log into the modem just after a reboot to copy and paste the data as a "before" data set, then paste in the data when the modem isn't behaving properly.  Its possible that you might see signal issues just after a reboot, it just depends on how bad the cable is.  

[PhilP]

Happy New Year !!

My modem is a CODA-4582, so on the third try the modem finally factory reset, other than securing the wifi there was no other setup since the router is still connected via ethernet.  I now have access and everyone else's wifi is unchanged.  Yesterday afternoon is when I restarted, later that evening internet went out again.  So reconnected wifi to the modem instead of the router, access to 192.168.0.1 was good, but still no internet.  So I that eliminates the ethernet as the problem source.  This morning internet was still out, so I restarted the modem and everything came back.  This time after rebooting I captured the signal levels as a base and will see what happens the next time.  In the meantime your statement about a hard upsell is a bit of an understatement, it is flat out refusal to troubleshoot and now going as far as to blame the house for generating noise.  A tech came to the house, opened the box in our yard and pointed "that is your problem", pointing to a line filter/conditioner that was put in place 15 to 20 years ago when we were having other problems, no signal checking or anything, except the usual "upgrade to ignite and all your problems will be gone".  As you pointed out, if the signal is bad/intermittent then no upgrade will fix that.  So when the problem happens next I'll capture those levels again and post the results.

[Datalink]

@PhilP have a look at the current firmware version that is indicated on the STATUS page.  The version that you might have loaded is  7.2.4.1.4b15.  If so, you can't log into the modem when its in Bridge mode.  The latest version is 7.2.4.7.1b4.  That version contains a fix to the Bridge mode log in issue.  So, you can use 192.168.0.1 to log into the modem when its in Gateway mode and 192.168.100.1 when the modem is in Bridge mode.