Connection dropping since free upgrade to 300

[#1]

Hi everyone. Is anyone else with a Hitron cable modem / Router having random internet loss. Here's what happens to me.

After I exchanged my cable modem (at request of tech support), If I connect the ethernet to the bottom ethernet port on the Hitron, I only get about a 90 mbps connection but if I connect to the ethernet port just above it, I get the full 300+mbps, the problem is after a few hours (sometimes as little as 2 hours) the Hitron signal from shaw stops sending data and like the connection goes dead. I have to reboot (unplug) the Hitron and then everything is fine for another period of time, same thing happened with the old Hitron I returned, but it was doing this more frequently. I've checked all my equipment at my end and everything works as it should. The Hitron is set to "Bridge" mode and all my personal stuff runs fine at gigabit speeds. I've wasted a LOT of time on the help Chat and on the phone with Shaw support just to do the same thing every time, cycle the Hitron modem but anything they've done so far has not cured the problem. I've also connected my computer directly to the Hitron modem but that didn't make any difference. It's almost like the Hitron isn't handling the 300mbps very well and packs it in every few hours. I didn't any problems when I was at 150mbps, I've only been having constant problems since the 5th of December when I cycled the Hitron to get 300mbps. Anyone else having this problem and if you got it fixed..... HOW did you do it or what did the techs at Shaw have to do to make it work reliably?

Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Regards: Jack

[#2]

Anyone from Shaw reading this?

It's been a week now since going to 300 and it's been unreliable ever since, what are the chances of putting me back on the old 150, it was rock solid. Agreed, the extra speed can be nice but these internet freezes (until I reboot the Hitron Modem / Router) is frustrating especially when having to do it multiple times a day. I exchanged Hitron modem last Saturday at Tech support's request, this one is a bit better (longer times between freezes) but is far from being reliable.

When the connection freezes, all the lights on the front of the Hitron stay the same (all green and 2 blue), the bottom light (square with 4 dots) will often stay lit solid when internet freezes. I guess the other thing I could try is for you to put the Hitron into Router mode (in Bridge mode right now) and see if that helps once I connect my network things to the Hitron. Otherwise, I'd much rather go back to 150 and have reliability.

Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

PS: Yes, I have spent much time in the support chat and in phone calls to the support line, everything that was tried didn't make any difference with the internet freeze I keep getting.

Regards:  Jack

[shaw-tamara]

Hi Jack, it's not possible to go back to Internet 150 as that package no longer exists in the markets where we have done the automatic upgrade. It's also unlikely that this is what is causing the issues you're seeing. I had similar problems with my Hitron about a year ago and ended up swapping it for another Hitron, which fixed the issue for me. You might just be having bad luck with the one you have so I'd recommend getting in touch with technical support again. They can take a closer look, and if needed, book a service call so a tech can take a look in person. If the tech finds the modem is faulty, they can swap it out for you. 

[#4]

Thank you for the Reply Tamara.

Here's an example of the problem, internet froze at roughly 7:30pm last night and again at 10:58am this morning, the one thing I've noticed is there's a good chance it will fail while streaming videos (Netflix, Youbute and even Facebook videos). It's not always when streaming but I would say 75% of the time it is. I will get a hold of Tech support next time it freezes, I'll leave it frozen so they can run tests at their end and then go from there. As for a tech to come by my house to check things out, that would be great, but even getting yet another modem, the problem is so sporadic and unpredictable that it may not happen when he's here. lol

Again, thank you for your time.

Regards: Jack

[#5]

Update:

Last night when the Hitron froze, I left it like that and I called Tech support. I asked to see if they could see something wrong, but it seems they could (they mumbled something), they did some kind of reset at their end. I then asked if they could take the Hitron from "Bridge" mode and put it to "Gateway" mode (default setup). I spent about 30 to 45 minutes on the phone, I was told to reset the Hitron with a pin in the reset hole at the back, I did so. I had the one computer (directly connected to the Hitron). Once I was off the phone with Tech Support, I then wired up all my ethernet wired machines by plugging my gigabit switch to the Hitron and went in to the admin part of the Hitron and started setting things up as close as possible to my own router settings (now not being used). So far, all my wired machines are running at 300mbps, I then setup the wifi (2.4g). I can't say I'm impressed with the wifi performance of this cable modem / router for WiFi, weaker signal and slower speeds than my Netgear router. But good enough that I should be able to live with it. So far, it's been a little over 24 hours (1 day 20 minutes) and my internet hasn't frozen once (touch wood). My question is why would the Hitron screw up so bad in "bridge" mode but seems to work well in "Gateway" mode?

I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping this cured the problem I was having with the frequent internet freezes. I'll update again in a few days to see if my internet stays rock solid or not.

Regards: Jack

[#6]

Update #2

Hi everyone, well, it's been just about a week since putting the Hitron into "Gateway" mode and so far everything is rock solid, I've not had any internet freezes since Dec 13th and all my wired machines are getting 300 mbps. I'm just wondering if the Hitron modem/router has problems when in "Bridge" mode?

2 nights ago, I put my personal router back online but this time I set it up as a WiFi AP (Access Point) with no wired machines connected to it. I disabled the WiFi on the Hitron. I get much better WiFi performance from my personal router than the Hitron. So far, everything seems to be working quite well.

Thanks go to Shaw's tech support for helping me figure out the problem and getting my internet reliable once again.

Take care

Regards: Jack

[shaw-tamara]

Awesome, glad to hear it's working well for you again! Thanks for checking in

[thund3rbolt]

Having the exact same problem. Modem freezes up intermittently even though all the lights are on but nobody home till I reboot the hitron. It's been ongoing back and forth for tech support and having to explain it all again in an endless loop going nowhere. I've had a tech come out and replace cable ends and run a direct cable to the modem... and no change. Unfortunately, disabling the bridge/or ip pass is not an option for me. I've asked them to send me an Arris Xb6 as a replacement but they won't unless I upgrade to a 600 plan with a 2 year contract and I'm not about to throw more money at this and get locked in for 2 years in the hopes it might solve the problem. 

I appreciate that shaw has provided me with a free upgrade but at the same time It's frustrating that I've reached a dead end with this and the only other option I'm being offered is to pay more money to "hopefully" resolve it. I didn't ask for 300 nor did I have a choice to stay at 150 so now a free option has just become a headache. In fairness at this point shaw should allow me to swap to the Arris to resolve this without additional money.

[#9]

Hi Thund3rbolt.

I've since connected all my wired machines to my own personal router since the Hitron wasn't very stable as a LAN router, it's like some ports on the Hitron were not keeping a consistent speed, one day they were fast and the next they were slower.

My home router (Netgear) is still setup as a Access Point and everything is still working great regarding internet use, I do speed tests often and am still getting 300+ mbps. I don't know if the Hitron needs firmware updates to fix all the idiosyncrasies that it seems to have, I guess it would be up to Shaw to pressure the makers of the Hitron to get their act together. They need to fix the "Bridge mode" freezing internet connections randomly and the "Gateway" mode to have more consistent LAN speed on the 4 gigabit Ethernet ports. It would be in Shaw's interest to have this fixed since it seems a lot of people are having problems since going to Shaw 300. I can honestly say that I am not a big fan of the Hitron, but then again, there are a lot of complaints about the Arris also, sounds like the increase in speed from 150 to 300 is causing a lot of grief for some people.

Regards: Jack

[gulbransen]

I have the Xb6 and my Internet has been terrible since the December upgrade as well. I have to use WiFi and use to get 135 - 150 but now lucky to get 80 with the upgrade to 300. I can't see how my modem can be the problem.

Steve