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intermittent internet connection in hot weather
Whenever the weather gets hot, my internet disconnects several times a day. During cold weather, there is no issues at all.
when it disconnects, I check the modem and the “online” light is off. I have called customer service several times and they don’t see it getting disconnected at all. Not sure how to prove it and show them it’s related to the hot weather.
this is going to be the second year that I am having this kind of issues. The weather just got hot (100 Degrees) and I started having issues again.
Answers
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Hi @HJSimpson! Welcome to our community.
Changes in temperature will cause metal to expand and contract, so temperature extremes can definitely cause connection issues especially if there are any loose fittings. I recommend rebooting your modem by removing the power cord for 30 seconds then plugging it back in, and making sure the coaxial cable is firmly connected to the modem and wall outlet. If the problem persists after this we may want to schedule an appointment with a technician to check the rest of the fittings.
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Your upstream path may be a bit noisy. The modem will start stepping up power trying to compensate until it reaches a threshold where it will start rebooting. This is sometimes a byproduct of compromised ground planes, as this is crucial to your return path.
If you can view the signal stats, check the upstream dbmv levels. If you see it approaching 52+, then start looking for things like compromised shielding, crimped cables, loose/corroded connections, standing water--anything that could compromise the quality of shielding/grounding along any of your cables (including any connected devices).
It can be rare, but even motors or electronic devices that can produce abnormal EMF being too close to cables can add additional noise as well (unshielded speakers, fans, flourescent lights, microwaves, LTE devices--and yes, cell phones have been known to monkey with signal in some markets If they are too close to modems or cable boxes).
2 -
I second @William_M 's recommendation regarding the equipment reset,
When the days got hot, and if you have another disconnect contract customer care for what is called a "Signal and drop line test." A tech will be dispatched to your residence and will check the quality of your line drop and signal strength for loose fittings. Sometimes these problems will be visable to the naked eye like corrosion due to aging, or weathered wiring. Other times, they may need to run a trace to see where the problem is originating.
Did you know that you can set up free signal monitoring for your Spectrum equipment? If you get a hot weather week forthcoming, you can call Spectrum for a 30-day monitoring of your equipment, You might want to consider this sometime in summer months like July and August if you get a tech out originally and this does not get resolved. Sometimes the excessive weather is needed as evidence to run signal traces if the tech is not seeing something with his naked eye.
Spectrum could still come out to do a signal and drop line test to also check your cable and wire fittings. But I would recommend signal monitoring if this issue still comes back in hot summer months.
Satch
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