Forums > Specific Focus > Technical Mexico

bola_blanca

May 20, 2006, 9:33 AM

Post #1 of 9 (3652 views)

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Mexico Wireless and Router, Blame the Router

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If anyone is using this ISP and is having trouble with the quality of the service and your router is being blamed as being defective, then I invite you to join me, and a friend of mine who is having this problem, at the Monday morning computer group meeting at 11 a.m. in the LCS gazebo.

My friend has installed a new router and the problem re-occurs, so the router is not the problem. I have another friend, who will not be at the meeting, and the same thing is happening to her. Her router is being blamed and I'm convinced it is not at fault. So two people are having the same problem with no resolution so far.

If any representative from MW would like to be there to discuss this that would be helpful. Lets get this situation out in the open and get it resolved.

"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and he spends all day in a boat drinking beer."

Rolly

May 20, 2006, 10:32 AM

Post #2 of 9 (3646 views)

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Re: [movingto_nica] Mexico Wireless and Router, Blame the Router

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Can you describe the problem(s) for us?

Rolly Pirate

bola_blanca

May 20, 2006, 11:43 AM

Post #3 of 9 (3638 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Mexico Wireless and Router, Blame the Router

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Sure, when the connection from the rooftop antenna is made directly into the computer everything works fine, but when the connection is then switched to the router the signal degrades and eventually dies. The router is configured with the same ip addresses as the computer has and the computer is then changed to obtain an ip address automatically.

The strange thing is that the routers of both of my friends worked fine before the isp was sold and a new owner/management team took over the company. It seems strange to me that all of a sudden two routers which worked perfectly fine before are all of sudden causing a problem. I'm curious to find out if anyone else is also having the same experience.

To further explain, there is an ethernet cable that runs from the rooftop antenna into a junction box, which also has a power cable, and then a cross-over cable runs from there into the computer. I've tried using a straight through cable also when connecting to the router since it is possible the Lan/Wan port of the router performs this function automatically. Neither way works.

I guess it would be also curious to know if anyone is using this ISP with a router and not having any problem.

"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and he spends all day in a boat drinking beer."

sfmacaws

May 20, 2006, 3:02 PM

Post #4 of 9 (3622 views)

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Re: [movingto_nica] Mexico Wireless and Router, Blame the Router

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No real answers for you but I do have a couple of questions you might want to ask the company. What brand of router are they using? The wireless company will have a router at their end as well and if they switched brands when they bought the company, that might be your answer. Several brands of routers do not work well with each other and this is what your problem could be. It would be interesting if all the customers routers that are having problems are the same brand. It could also be a change in the configuration on their router or a change in the firewall configuration on their router that is causing you problems.

I would also ask them for a detailed print out of their recommended settings on a customers router. If you get that but no help from the company you could try having someone go through your configuration at home to make sure it matches their requirements.

I agree that if this started when they bought the company you deserve more support, but if they are the only option you have then you have to figure it out with or without them.

Send them a list of questions, here's a start:
~Brand and model of their router
~Has the above changed?
~Have they changed or replaced their firewall?
~Are there configuration requirements on your side that the firewall requires?
~Detailed description of all configuration parameters on a customers router.
~Do they have any other customers successfully connected with the same brand of router that you have? If so, ask for their phone number to compare configurations.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

bola_blanca

May 21, 2006, 5:19 AM

Post #5 of 9 (3602 views)

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Re: [sfmacaws] Mexico Wireless and Router, Blame the Router

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I agree with what you say and these are factors the isp needs to consider in its customer support efforts. They are supposed to be the experts, not me and my friends. We just want it to work. The two routers in question are from 3Com and Cisco. My feeling is that if you are an isp and you can't get your service to work with name brand routers, you should not blame the customer's router in an attempt to deflect attention from the real problem. Forcing your customers to have to figure out what your problems are is a bad business practice IMHO.

But I will make a note of your suggestions and if anyone from the isp shows up at the meeting will pose them to that person. You comments are appreciated.

With respect to you last suggestion though, I will be real surprised if they have a list of the routers each customer is using. Their attitude is we get the service working to one standalone computer and then customer you are on your own and if you use a router you might really be screwed because then we can use it as an excuse whenever our service does not work. Such a deal.

"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and he spends all day in a boat drinking beer."

joemango

May 28, 2007, 11:38 AM

Post #6 of 9 (3534 views)

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Re: [bola_blanca] Mexico Wireless and Router, Blame the Router

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When a router signal degrades the problem is usually "runts" That's right....I said runts. Your router is still moving the same amount of information, most of it is useless and is being discarded. Runts are incomplete or damaged packets of imformation that clog your bandwith. The only creator of runts that you can do something about would be heat. The hotter the router gets the more runts it will produce. Check things like;
Is the router standing upright? Most routers position the circuit board verticly for cooling. Is there anything close to the router that would block airflow? Is the room temp. higher than 80 degrees? Anything you can do to cool it down will help is heat is the culprit.

johanson / Moderator

May 28, 2007, 7:16 PM

Post #7 of 9 (3509 views)

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Re: [bola_blanca] Mexico Wireless and Router, Blame the Router

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bola_blanco: I can hear the frustration in your posts. I just configured and connected a Linksys G router to my Comcast modem here in Seattle. Just for the heck of it, I called a Comcast technician today and explained your problem (She happened to be in a Comcast service center in Canada) she said we could send out a technician and MAYBE (just MAYBE) he would fix a problem like yours and that there would be a charge of $49.50 in Seattle for example. She further stressed that router problems are not the responsibility of the Internet Service Provider (ISP). She recommended that the user call the manufacturer of the router. And that is not very satisfying to a user who can’t use his/her router.

But that is the way it works. The electric, water and telephone utilities are responsible for providing their services to your residence and are not responsible for distributing then throughout your residence once they get there. And that’s the way ISPs look at it as well.

Do I know what I am talking about? Kind-of-sort-of, I am an unpaid volunteer and give tech advice at the other wireless ISP when in Ajijic. I know quite a bit, but I am by NO means an expert about routers. Whenever possible I refer router questions to others who know more than I do about the subject.

My gut feeling is that your problem is not originating at the ISP, but resides at your end. If I were you I would do as you are doing, you know try to make it work myself, but if I failed, I would seek the advice of a networking expert. I would guess that your ISP could send out such an expert for a fee. Or you could go to one of the several good folks in your area. One person I recommend whose offices have apparently just moved from San Antonio to Ajijic is Juan Barbosa. His cel # is (045 if from a landline) 333 137 5364. His San Antonio # was 766-3361. He may still have the same # in Ajijic.

Good luck to you and let us know what the problem turns out to be

(This post was edited by johanson on May 28, 2007, 7:19 PM)

RickS

May 28, 2007, 7:42 PM

Post #8 of 9 (3501 views)

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Re: [johanson] Mexico Wireless and Router, Blame the Router

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Joe and Pete,

bola_blanca posted that info in May of 2006.....

johanson / Moderator

May 28, 2007, 7:55 PM

Post #9 of 9 (3500 views)

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Re: [RickS] Mexico Wireless and Router, Blame the Router

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Rick, do I feel like a fool. Thanks for the update. So much for paying attention to what I do or do not read.