Modem question

SteveZul

Does the Spectrum modem have a software switch (or the like) that specifies whether the output goes to a router or directly into a computer?

James_M

Hi & welcome!

If you are bypassing the router and connecting directly to the modem, restarting the modem should re-establish connectivty. Let us know if this solves the issue or you have any other questions.

SteveZul

Thanks for your response. I do realize restarting the modem will re-establish the connection. I will try to explain my problem in more detail.

1) When I connect the modem directly into my computer I have no issues with internet connectivity. Everything works well.

2) When I connect the modem into my router and then connect the router to my computer I DO have internet connectivity issues with the computer ONLY. I sometimes (not always) get an error message:

Hmmm.... can't reach this page

Server IP address could not be found

3) All my other devices (2 phones, a tablet, and my TV) work fine via WiFi. No issues at all. Just the computer gives the above error message (sometimes).

4) But if my computer has a problem, why does it work perfectly fine when I connect it directly from the modem (bypassing the router)?

5) And if my router has a problem, why do all my other devices work perfectly well?

All I can think of is something with the modem itself is causing an issue. I appreciate any thoughs. Thanks so much.

James_M

Which modem and router are you using? Are you connected on 2.4GHz or 5 GHz?

SteveZul

The modem is the one supplied to me by Spectrum. On the bottom is says Hitron Technologies. DOCSIS 3.1. It has three blue lights labeled: "Power", "Online" and "Voice". There's a reset button on the bottom.

The router is one I purchased. It is a NETGEAR Nighthawk X6, AC3200 Tri-Band WiFi Router, Model 8000.

I do not understand your second question. The computer is connected to the router directly with an ethernet cable. My other devices connect up via WiFi using "Smart Connect" which picks the best bandwidth for the device. But I have no issues with the WiFi.

James_M

Hmm, so is the modem broadcasting wifi in addition to the Netgear Nighthawk?

SteveZul

No. The modem is just a modem, no wifi. When I connect my computer to the modem directly (bypassing my router), I have no WiFi. So this is not a viable solution. I only did it to see if it would solve the internet connectivity issue (server IP address could not be found) with my computer, which it does.

Providing more info, the internet connectivity problem with my computer is intermittent. When I reboot the modem or the router or the computer, the problem goes away, for a while. Sometimes hours, sometimes days. It appears the problem is solved, but then it just comes back. I again get the message "server IP address could not be found".

James_M

Thanks. Sounds like it could be an equipment issue with the modem. You can swap the modem for a new one at a local store. If the issue continues, then you will likely want to schedule a service call to investigate further.

SteveZul

I tried a service call but they told me the modem is working fine and that because the router is not Spectrum equipment I'm on my own.

Renee_T

I totally get the frustration. It looks like up until a few days ago there were some timeouts being registered on the modem, but there haven't been any since 7/31. It looks like there has been some maintenance done further up the chain in the area over the last few days, so it's possible that there were issues that were further up the line that were addressed with the maintenance.

Since you mentioned that you're using a Netgear router, if you haven't checked already, I'd make sure there aren't any pending firmware updates. We do see sometimes that Netgears in particular can get a little strange if there are pending updates. Have you reached out to Netgear's support yet? Sometimes there can be a setting that needs to be turned on or off that could be creating an issue or IP reservation may need to be turned on for the computer. Also, have you checked the network card on the computer? I've had some odd things happen on my PC that reinstalling the network card fixed even though it didn't seem related.

SteveZul

Thanks for the detailed response.

SteveZul

If I were to have a Spectrum router installed, and the problem still existed, would service be more willing to help fix this problem?

James_M

Swapping out equipment, including trying a Spectrum router would definitely help identify if the issue lies solely with the Netgear router. I would suggest contacting Netgear support first to see if there are setting adjustments they can recommend.

SteveZul

Thanks