Help: WAN frequently disconnects, Verizon tech says nothing wrong
EthanMoJunk
Enthusiast - Level 3

I've been dealing with this issue for the past 2 months. I've called tech support numerous times, and I'm desperate to get this fixed with remote classes and remote work. If anyone can help, I'd really appreciate it.

 

I've had the Gigabit FIOS over the past few years. This only started happening a couple months ago. I would lose internet connection, and when I checked my router, WAN keeps disconnecting. A technician stopped by twice. They've replaced the router and the ONT inside the house. I've also tried with my own non-Verizon router.

 

I got tired of tech supporting wanting me to try a new router, so I even tried it by connecting the ethernet cable from the ONT directly into my computer. I recorded a video of it here:

 

Directly connected to computer: https://youtu.be/tK1lSGCAZPs

Connected to my router: https://youtu.be/MU7mzSRsy58

 

This used to happen daily, but after they replaced the ONT, the frequency has dropped to maybe once every 2-3 days. Whenever I call tech support, they run diagnostics and then tell me nothing is wrong. Is this normal? Do I have to reset my ONT every few days?

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Re: Help: WAN frequently disconnects, Verizon tech says nothing wrong
EthanMoJunk
Enthusiast - Level 3

Today was the first day in a couple of months that my internet didn't mysteriously go down. And it was glorious not being interrupted mid-meeting and not having the whole family yell at me to fix the internet.

The issue was not related to anything faulty at home. I couldn't hear the full technical detail from the tech over the bad phone connection (I was helping the tech via the phone by reading out the status lights on the ONT as he was working on addressing the issue from somewhere across the street from my place), but the gist was a degraded signal and something about the central office.

I'll keep my eyes on it over the weekend, but all signs indicate it being fixed for good.

As a parting note, support was incredible after being escalated up the chain of command. But something seriously needs to be done at Verizon to help paying customers resolve difficult issues like this beyond running the standard suite of tests and providing a canned response, "Everything looks fine on our end. There is nothing we can do."   Two months of this is unacceptable. Too much wasted time, energy and money. The feeling of helplessness was too real.

I have a follow up call with executive relations this coming Monday, so I'm planning on inquiring about the proper escalation steps. Getting in touch with executive relations feels like an exceptional step and not part of the normal tech support process.

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Re: Help: WAN frequently disconnects, Verizon tech says nothing wrong
gs0b
Community Leader
Community Leader

Welcome to the forums.  You're chatting with other users here.


ONTs do not normally need to be reset.  They will run for months or years without issue.  Mine has been running for several months.  It could have been running longer, but a power outage lasted longer than my battery backup.

When the outages occur, check the lights on the ONT.  If the NTWK or MGMT lights are out, that indicates an issue with the Verizon system.

If you've been calling them, try their social media support team.  They are often more helpful than the phone support people.  Tweet @VerizonSupport or post over in https://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzdirect.  Both go the the same team, choose based on your preference for tweets or posts.

Re: Help: WAN frequently disconnects, Verizon tech says nothing wrong
Cang_Household
Community Leader
Community Leader

Can you use a packet capturer to capture the DHCP transaction between your host (computer or router is fine) and Verizon layer 3? I think something may be wrong with the DHCP transaction. Does your router's log distinguish between layer 3 (network) disconnection and layer 2 (link) disconnection? From the video you posted, it looks like a layer 2 problem too. Do you have more than one devices connect to the ONT at the same time?

Re: Help: WAN frequently disconnects, Verizon tech says nothing wrong
EthanMoJunk
Enthusiast - Level 3

Just a quick update in case this helps anyone else searching for this in the future.  I asked around in other places and someone suggested that it may be a problem with the ethernet cable from my ONT to my router (or computer). 

So today, I replaced the ethernet cable. It turned out that my ONT was actually outside my house and not inside like I thought, and the hole that was drilled outside in the brick was not big enough to fit the RJ45 connector. I had to cut the ethernet cable and then splice it together again after fitting it through the hole. It was a bit more than I bargained for, but fingers crossed!

I can't be certain if this is the fix until I wait 2-3 days, but internet is connected and speedtest is good. One thing I noticed is that under "System Monitoring, WAN DHCP Log", I see lot less stuff there. I used to see entires like "eth1: carrier lost" but now I only see log messages like below. Hopefully this has fixed it for good. But I will report back here in a few days with an update.

Apr 6 00:15:38 2021dhcpcd[20510]info<134>eth1: IPv4 renew in 3600 seconds, rebind in 6300 seconds, expire in 7200 seconds

 

 

Re: Help: WAN frequently disconnects, Verizon tech says nothing wrong
Cang_Household
Community Leader
Community Leader

Do you have plain Cat5e cable that is not terminated? If so, you can just fish the cable through the wall first,  then terminate the ends with RJ-45 connectors. I won't recommend you to simply splice a pair of cut wire together. It would create more issues down the road, such as moisture and etc...

Re: Help: WAN frequently disconnects, Verizon tech says nothing wrong
EthanMoJunk
Enthusiast - Level 3

Very disappointed to say that swapping the ethernet cable didn't fix it. Started getting disconnects again this morning. Keep getting this in the logs repeatedly when it happens:

Apr 6 13:30:02 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[13544]: eth1: deleting default route via 74.xx.xx.1
Apr 6 13:30:02 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[13544]: eth1: deleting route to 74.xx.xx.0/24
Apr 6 13:30:02 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[13544]: eth1: carrier lost
Apr 6 13:29:55 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[13544]: eth1: adding default route via 74.xx.xx.1
Apr 6 13:29:55 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[13544]: eth1: adding route to 74.xx.xx.0/24
Apr 6 13:29:55 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[13544]: eth1: IPv4 renew in 3600 seconds, rebind in 6300 seconds, expire in 7200 seconds
Apr 6 13:29:55 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[13544]: eth1: leased 74.xx.xx.225 for 7200 seconds
Apr 6 13:29:51 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[13544]: eth1: rebinding lease of 74.xx.xx.225
Apr 6 13:29:50 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[13544]: eth1: IAID 00:00:00:01
Apr 6 13:29:50 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[13544]: eth1: IAID 47:3b:55:a3
Apr 6 13:29:50 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[13544]: DUID 00:01:00:01:23:06:e6:cd:20:c0:47:3b:55:a2
Apr 6 13:29:50 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[13544]: dhcpcd-7.0.2 starting
Apr 6 13:29:46 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[20510]: dhcpcd exited
Apr 6 13:29:46 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[20510]: eth1: stopping interface
Apr 6 13:29:46 2021 local0.info<134> dhcpcd[20510]: received SIGTERM, stopping

Re: Help: WAN frequently disconnects, Verizon tech says nothing wrong
gs0b
Community Leader
Community Leader

I agree with Cang_Household - splicing Ethernet cables is not a good idea.  That's why professionals don't splice cables, they terminate them with proper jacks or connectors, then patch them together.  It is still possible you have a cable issue.  The repeated "carrier lost" messages in the logs are consistent with a marginal cable.

Check the status lights on the ONT during an outage.  They will give you and us clues as to what is going on.

Re: Help: WAN frequently disconnects, Verizon tech says nothing wrong
EthanMoJunk
Enthusiast - Level 3

Ok. I will try again with a properly terminated cable. 

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Re: Help: WAN frequently disconnects, Verizon tech says nothing wrong
Cang_Household
Community Leader
Community Leader

When the disconnection happens, does the NTWK and/or MGMT light go out on the ONT? If so, I believe something wrong is with the upstream wiring. You might need to request a line tech, as opposed to a field tech, to check the wiring from the central office.

Re: Help: WAN frequently disconnects, Verizon tech says nothing wrong
EthanMoJunk
Enthusiast - Level 3

@Cang_Household wrote:

When the disconnection happens, does the NTWK and/or MGMT light go out on the ONT? If so, I believe something wrong is with the upstream wiring. You might need to request a line tech, as opposed to a field tech, to check the wiring from the central office.


Thanks @Cang_Household! I will check the ONT when my internet goes out again. 

Is there a special way to have Verizon send out a line tech? Will Verizon send out a line tech if I simply request it?  So far, they've only been rebooting my router and something on their end every time I called. I've called about a dozen times now, and I wasn't offered to have a line tech come out yet.

I ordered an ethernet cable and some RJ45 connectors so that I can do it right. I'll try it one more time with the new cable, and if it doesn't work, I'll try calling tech support and request a line tech.

If that doesn't work, I'll have to just switch to Cox. I''m not looking forward to switching because Cox is subpar compared to FIOS, but oh well.