Intermittent loss of connectivity.

[gaotis]

I'm experiencing intermittent and frequent loss of my connection. I have DSL with AT&T, and am currently using a new 2Wire modem/router (recently bought in an attempt to fix the issue I'm having). AT&T keeps telling me that the issue is not on their end, so, okay - I'll take their word for it. The loss of connectivity has absolutely no pattern to it. There are also no ping spikes prior to the disconnection.

If I do a constant ping on google, I'll range from 1 to ~12 timeouts in a row every couple minutes or so. Seeing as how I've tried different cables and outlets, along with buying a new modem/router, I don't believe it's a hardware issue. I ran a virus scan on all three computers of my network, and - nothing. I've tried changing the frequency of the connection, and - nothing. For security I use WEP 64-bit, and disabling it did not seem to help.

ANY insight on what could be the possible solution here would be greatly appreciated!

Additional Info:
One of the computers on my network runs Windows 7 with all recent updates. The other two are running XP with SP3. All three are experiencing the same issue of intermittent connectivity.

 

[devans]

Your service provider might not see anything at the exact moment they are checking it.

Couple things you can do to confirm it is not on your end though.

1. Ping the "localhost" and see if any of the packets are lost.
2. ping the router and see if any of the packets are lost.
3. make sure the power cord adapter matches the voltage listed on the modem.
4. check the DC voltage coming out of the power cord with a voltmeter (should be within 10% of whats listed on the power cord). Be careful.
5. check the AC voltage coming out of the electrical outlet (should be somewhere around 120 volts). Be very careful. If you've never done this before, then don't start now.

If all those things check out, schedule a service call and have the tech hook his laptop up to the modem and run a ping test. For fun, you can simultaneously run ping tests on all of your computers to compare packet loss.

 

[gaotis]

Thank you for the insight, Devans - much appreciated.

Just ran a constant ping test for about an hour now and the connection seems to be doing well. Turns out there was a "region-wide outage" in my area. Funny how it took over 13 calls to their tech support spanned over 4 days before they finally admitted it was on their end. Geez. Would have save me alot of trouble.