Finally, a Resolution to Comcast’s Connectivity & Latency Issue Nightmare
Comcast is slowly training their loyal customers to embrace what many are calling the end of the free, neutral, Internet. Several individuals, myself included, continuously experience a diminishing quality of service from Comcast. A couple examples include: DNS servers randomly become inaccessible, selling their customer’s phone number(s), and employing phone technicians that simply refuse to troubleshoot anything.
“NO. I WOULD NOT LIKE FOR YOU TO SCHEDULE ANOTHER TECHNICIAN TO COME TO MY HOUSE, RUN HIS TESTS, PUT A SPLITTER IN THE LINE, REMOVE A SPLITTER, AND TELL ME EVERY THING’S FINE. I WILL NOT TAKE ADDITIONAL TIME AWAY FROM MY JOB TO ACCOMMODATE SUCH RIDICULOUS AND UNJUSTIFIED BEHAVIOR. MY CABLE MODEM IS NOT RECEIVING A REPLY FROM YOUR DHCP SERVER, DESPITE CONTINUOUS EFFORTS TO RECEIVE AN IP! HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED YOU’RE THE ONE THAT NEEDS A POWER CYCLE?“
And after all this, the poor girl replied with,
“I’m sorry sir, we don’t have DHCP servers, but we can try to power cycle your modem again if you think that’ll help.“
Yes, I’ve personally heard a Comcast technician say the phrase cited above. I’ve also been told Comcast doesn’t have DNS servers. After hearing all this non-sense, switching to DSL crossed my mind several times, but claiming defeat doesn’t come that easy.
Convinced Comcast is throttling my bandwidth, I started looking for ways to resolve the problem on my own, and here’s what I’ve come up with. Linksys routers, and presumably most others, have what’s known as a MAC Address Clone function/capability. Comcast assigns their customers an IP based on not the cable modem’s MAC address, but the MAC address of the device next in line within a network.
To confirm the previous statement is true, plug your cable modem directly into your computer’s NIC, power cycle (HAHA) the cable modem and make note of your IP address. Now, insert the router back into the equation by unplugging the Ethernet cable from your computer (the other end is plugged into your cable modem) and plugging it back into the WAN port on the router. Reestablish the connection between your computer and router, and finally, power cycle your cable modem. Your IP is different.
Login to your Linksys device and find the MAC Address Clone link somewhere within the navigation menu. In the drop down menu, change Disable to Enable. The text input boxes become active. Type in a random series of letters/numbers within 0-9, A-F. Here are a couple examples.
00-1D-FF-21-DF-ED
12-DE-18-FF-AC-2B
Once you’re satisfied, click the Save Changes button toward the bottom of the user interface. Your router will not have an IP address from Comcast at this point, so you’ll need to power cycle your cable modem, again. That phrase [power cycle] is hilarious.
Here’s a screen shot, with highlights:
This trick doesn’t mean you’re deceiving Comcast, they still own you. Your Cable modem’s MAC is associated with your account information, so don’t think of this as a way to conceal your identity or anything - you just get a different IP, potentially from a different gateway.
Twelve hours since implementing the suggestion above and my tunneled remote desktop session has yet to drop. I’ll continue using this MAC address until outgoing packet loss starts occurring again. Expect an update in the near future.
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Here’s what happens at Comcast when you call 1-800-Comcast…
Navigate prompts, get through to customer service to complain…you reach a girl who was recently arrested while on the job for dealing drugs after work…she explains to you in mumbled English that she’ll transfer you to the right person. On hold, you patiently wait and eventually get in touch with an individual who considers you to be an annoyance, but will tolerate you for the next few minutes and complain about you later.
The person will go through the Powercycle, check connections, etc options, as always, because you’re thought of as incapable of doing this yourself before you called. Now that this routine is over, he’s the part where they make your modem reset from the office. If your reply isn’t “WOW!” or “How’d you do that?”, they know you’re someone that needs to hear that a field tech needs to see what the problem is.
Once your Field tech is scheduled a week from the present day’s date, you get a few calls confirming the appointment, then a call from a contracted tech, not a Comcast employee. They call at 8am, hoping that you will not answer so that they can cancel the appointment because you weren’t there. They’ll say they stopped by and even go so far as to slip a note on your neighbor’s door, pretending to have actually given it a try.
If you’re lucky enough to get an actual Comcast Field Tech, you’ll find they’re as worthless as the people on the phone because they’ll track mud all over your floors, cut a few wires and leave small copper pins from the coax in the carpet for your kids to step on, and then make you sign a paper freeing them from responsibility and the company from having to accept the fact that it’s their own fault your connection is bad.
Tell me I’m wrong. I’m not. I lived in that world for two years and refuse to go back. I don’t like DSL and really don’t care for Dish, but Comcast’s special programs, such as the RETENTION DEPARTMENT and the FORGIVENESS PROGRAMS, cost YOU the real working Americans, all of your hard earned money, because you’re paying FULL PRICE to cover for people who don’t pay their bills and for the extremely wealthy who receive a 10% discount on their cable bills for living in what Comcast refers to in their memorandums as a “PREFERRED” area.
Give that some though next time you want to give Comcast another chance.