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Question

What could cause sudden drops in internet speeds?

Oct 25, 2013 6:42AM PDT

I have been having issues while gaming on Xbox Live with freezing/stuttering on multiplayer. I also get kicked from other games that must be more sensitive to speed constants.
To try and trace the problem, I ran a speed test while playing the game and at the moments of the stuttering, my speeds bottom out really close to zero then return to normal (about half a second). To eliminate Live from being the culprit, I did the same thing while downloading Quicktime from Apple (figured that would be a good contrast compared to anything having to do with Microsoft). Same thing. Some days it's pretty bad and sometimes it's about every 15-20 seconds.
This started to happen about 3 months ago after coming back from vacation and having my modem off and unplugged for a week. My ISP has been looking into it for a while but they finally said everything is fine on their end.
Any ideas on if this might be a modem problem (Sagemcom 1704) or something that I can trace down myself?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
The usual.
Oct 25, 2013 10:28AM PDT

1. Don't use WiFi for the link.
2. Don't share your internet link during gaming.

About the modem problem. Give there is rarely access to troubleshooting tools we test the modem by swapping it out.
Bob

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Thanks
Oct 26, 2013 1:27AM PDT

My Xbox is hardwired to the modem and there is nothing else accessing the my internet other than the speedtest thats running on my phone.
I will try to get a replacement modem from my ISP but I wanted to know if there have been any known issues with the Sagemcom 1704 where sudden drops occurred.

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Then only one thing.
Oct 26, 2013 1:57AM PDT

since it is wired, disable wifi for a test run.

Keep in mind that services such as Netflix have hit all time highs and some providers buckle under the strain.
Bob