Wondering if anyone can help or at least enlighten me on this recurring problem.
My Internet connection gets flaky, sometimes only slow but often no connectivity at all. It will come and go but generally once it starts flapping access deteriorates over a period of a few hours to no access at all until I reboot both modem and router. Once I do this Internet access will be fine for a few days to a few weeks.
Rebooting only the router does not fix it. Rebooting only the modem does not fix it. I have to unplug power to both, plug in the modem and wait until it finishes booting then plug in the router.
When the connection is down the router looks normal, and I can access the router console no problem, but the link light on the modem is flashing at a rate of about 3 times per second. All modem lights are green.
I currently have a Cisco DPC3008 modem and a Linksys EA6100 router. The router is about a month old, and the symptoms did not change from the previous router, a LinkSys E2500. This problem has existed for several years now, and the Cisco modem is about 18 months old (with no change to symptoms). The ISP adjusted the signal level to the modem so it's in the middle of the desired range a couple months ago, but this made no difference to this problem. They even replaced the drop cable a couple of years ago, again with no change in symptoms (but it was old and weathered so it was worth it anyway).
The modem and router are on a UPS.
My public IP does not change when I reboot the modem and router. It does change every few months, but there seems to be no interruption in Internet access when it happens. (There must be at least a brief loss of access at that time, but I've never noticed it.)
I had an ISP tech here again today and he told me my problems are typical (in other words, don't bother calling about this trouble again) and can only be fixed by (an upsell) to an integrated modem and router, to which I would have limited configuration access.
It would seem to me this is some kind of compatibility issue between the modem and the router, a thought strengthened by the tech's assurance that the problem will be fixed by an integrated modem and router. If this is the case, instead of my opting for the ISP's solution, can someone recommend a router that won't have this problem? Does anyone else have this model of modem and router and it's running without problems? Is there anything else I can do to make my connection more reliable?
