Question Internet randomly pauses for 10 to 15 seconds.
Question Internet randomly pauses for 10 to 15 seconds.
Hi there! New to posting here, have read a few answers on this forum before. Not super knowledgeable about networking, but have decent tech literacy.
My internet cuts out for a few seconds at a time randomly. It's pretty consistent across devices. TV, phone, wifi laptop, ethernet desktop, Switch. I've had this internet setup for 2 years now and didn't have issues until recently.
Router: Deco W7200 (new - issues began before purchasing this router)
Modem: Netgear CM500 (a few years old - maybe 3 or 4?)
ISP: Xfinity, 150 Mbps internet
# of Devices: 9-10 on average (3 active at time of writing - the internet speed and modem/router should be able to handle that no issue)
I've tried pinging my router, my modem, and the Google DNS I see listed on these forums (8.8.8.8).
For the router, I consistently get this (IP removed):
Reply from [IP]: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
For the modem, I get this:
Reply from [IP]: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=63
Until
the internet becomes spotty and instead I get this:
Reply from [different IP???]: Destination host unreachable.
That error repeats until my internet returns.
For Google, it's the same result as modem, including the mysterious different IP that doesn't match my modem or Google's DNS. Not sure where that IP is coming from.
I had an Xfinity tech come out today. He said that he added a filter or something outside and that should fix any issues? Shortly after he left the issues returned, so I'm turning to y'all before I bring back the Xfinity techs. What steps should I take next? Any details would be appreciated, as I don't tinker with my router/modem settings ever, so I'm not familiar with how to.
My thought is that the Xfinity tech simply replaced a splitter (also known as a filter). What that device does is accept one incoming signal (coax) and divide the signal into 2,3, 4, or even more outgoing signals to different locations as applicable to the installation environment and requirements. Splitters are cheaply made and thus can and do, falter and fail. The tech may have seen some improvement in signal strengths and quality but the underlying intermittent cause was not discovered. Splitters are very small - especially if just 2 or 3 ports.
On your computer run "ipconfig /all" (without quotes) via the Command Prompt. Post the full results - you should be able to copy and paste the results without needing to retype everything. The diagnostic results will provide more information about the computer and network configuration. Some error or errors may stand out. E.g. having a wired and wireless network adapter enabled at the same time. Or some strange DNS configuration. Lease time or IPv6 issues. TBD depending on the ipconfig results.
Another thought is that there may be an IP address conflict: with multiple devices it becomes increasingly likely that there may be a duplicate IP address causing confusion and delays/cut-outs.
That all said, if all devices are being affected then there should be more attention paid to the modem, router, and connecting cables. Any switches any where? Or AP's?
Starting with checking the applicable router logs (if available and enabled).
Who has full admin rights to the router and perhaps even the modem? You will need help from that person.
Here's the ipconfig log from my wired desktop:
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Natasha
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
Ethernet adapter Ethernet:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe 2.5GbE Family Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : F0-2F-74-CB-5F-79
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Ethernet adapter Ethernet 2:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel® I211 Gigabit Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : F0-2F-74-CB-5F-7A
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : [IP]
Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : [IP]
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : [IP]
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : [IP]
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.252.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, October 28, 2025 10:59:40 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, October 28, 2025 2:31:02 PM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : fe80::f2a7:31ff:fe97:5a09%21
192.168.68.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.68.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 284176244
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-29-1F-45-73-F0-2F-74-CB-5F-79
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 75.75.75.75
75.75.76.76
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled
Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 160MHz
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 68-54-5A-D3-A1-7B
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Ethernet adapter Bluetooth Network Connection:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 68-54-5A-D3-A1-7F
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
We don't have any switches, but we do have a mesh system, if that's what you mean. One router and one satellite. We had these same internet issues before installing the mesh system on both wifi and ethernet.
I've got access to the router and modem logs. There are some errors, such as:
- Unicast Ranging Received Abort Response - Re-initializing MAC (and then a whole bunch of numbers)
- Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance opportunities received - T4 time out
- Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out
- No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
The logs were mostly from yesterday and stopped around the time the Xfinity tech replaced the filter. They resumed at 2am today. There are no more logs from this afternoon despite having more issues.
I did find from playing Marvel Rivals that it's mostly an outgoing packet loss issue. Rivals was experiencing upwards of 80% out loss when I was trying to play just an hour ago, while it had only 0-5% in loss.
I really appreciate the detailed response and instructions!
From the "ipconfig /all" output:
There is nothing wrong with displaying the IP addresses. These are private IPs often used in many small networks.
Additional notes:
https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-priva...ss-2625970
= = = =
In summary, here are four quick actions to consider:
1) Verify the IPv4 subnet mask is correctly set to 255.255.255.0, not the displayed value 255.255.
2) Turn off IPv6, as it may cause more issues than help.
3) The DHCP IPv4 lease duration is only 3 hours and a half; increasing it to at least 7 days (168 hours) would be better.
4) Update DNS servers to use Google's addresses: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
Ah! Good to know, thank you. I updated the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. Did you mean to turn off IPv6 on my desktop? It seems my router already has it disabled. I decided to disable it on my desktop just to be safe. Regarding the lease time, my router doesn't offer this as a setting. From the Deco forums, I tried Address Reservation for my desktop, which reportedly worked similarly. I switched the Google DNS to 8.8.4.4 – the results were quite similar when checking. It's stable for a while, but then it randomly times out requests for about 30 seconds at a time.
Modem and Router - is it correct?
Connection path matches the diagram where ----> stands for an Ethernet cable.
ISP (Xfinity) === (coax, DSL, fiber) ===> CM500 Modem ---->[WAN Port] Netgear Router [LAN Ports] ----> Wired network devices
and ~~~~> Wireless network devices
Adjust the line diagram to fit your network setup.
Pay close attention to the overall network environment.
If it’s generally stable, focus on identifying changes when the internet goes down.
Intermittent issues can be hard to pinpoint.
Observe any patterns and record outage details.
Examine all incoming cables, connections, splitters/filters.
Check for signs of damage, corrosion, rodent activity, nail/staple marks, etc.
Replace coax and Ethernet cables with known working ones.
Apologies to anyone who comes across this in the future - my approach to this issue was changing ISPs. AT&T offered fiber gig internet at a lower monthly cost than Xfinity's service, so I chose that option and have experienced no problems so far. It might be an issue with Xfinity's side or with the cables outside the house that AT&T isn't using.
Xfinity seems really confused. Although ATT increased their prices slightly, Xfinity has raised theirs much more, making them more expensive than ATT. It’s hard to see why anyone wouldn’t switch to ATT. Perhaps there are some better deals for those wanting cable TV.
I’ve used ATT fiber for nearly five years, and I also had Xfinity for business purposes. Xfinity has experienced many outages, and I believe they had two, one of which was scheduled. I also noticed Xfinity doesn’t have backup power lasting over an hour. Once my UPS ran out, it stayed on for 11 hours. I think ATT likely has better backup power since they deliver copper phone lines over fiber, while people expecting landlines should always be safe regardless of power issues.