jmerola

Q: Airport Extreme / Motorola Surfboard 6141 Disconnecting

I am having intermittent (very frequent) issues with the intenet being disconnected.  The issue started a month ago, out of the blue.  Any help would be much appreciated.  Cable company can't seem to figure out what's going on.

 

ISP - Time Warner Cable

Modem - Motorola sb6141

Router - Airport Extreme (most recent firmware)

Computer - iMac

 

Internet seems to drop and reconnect after a minute or two.  Happens multiple times per hour.

When disconnected, the Airport Utility shows the Internet as "Disconnected"

 

Lights on Motorola Modem show:

 

Power - green solid

Upload - blue solid

Download - blue solid

Internet - green solid

Connection - blue flashing

 

Light on Router:

 

Solid green

 

THERE ARE NO CHANGES IN THE LIGHTS WHEN THE INTERNET DROPS.

 

Thanks very much for any advice on how to fix.

 

Jason

OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on May 20, 2013 5:31 AM

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Q: Airport Extreme / Motorola Surfboard 6141 Disconnecting

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  • by btdpi007,

    btdpi007 btdpi007 Jun 30, 2013 7:46 PM in response to jmerola
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 30, 2013 7:46 PM in response to jmerola

    Any updates... I have very similar issues.

  • by Nolig,

    Nolig Nolig Jul 13, 2013 9:45 AM in response to jmerola
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 13, 2013 9:45 AM in response to jmerola

    I too changed routers yesterday from a Cisco router to Surfboard 6141 and right away started disconnecting randomly once or twice every hour or so. What worked for me was to reset the AE to factory defaults (while the modem is powered up and connected), setup my network and AE prompted me to reset my modem in the middle of setup. It has been 3 hours and I have yet to experience a disconnection. Fingers crossed...

  • by gtperk,

    gtperk gtperk Aug 5, 2013 9:37 AM in response to jmerola
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 5, 2013 9:37 AM in response to jmerola

    I have heard of people having this problem and it is happening for me as well. I am with Comcast but I have the same SB6141/Airport Extreme setup. At first I thought it was signal levels but the comcast tech fixed them and the problem persists. I have scoured the internet for solutions and I found a thread with people claiming that the problem started once IPv6 became available in their area and they found that if they set the AEBS to IPv6 it fixes the problem. I cannot try this because my airport Extreme is an older generation which I have found does not connect properly via IPv6. I am hoping that someone on this thread can try this as a solution and let me know if it works as a solution. If so then I am willing to spend the money to upgrade to a new gen AEBS. Please post results, if any!

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Aug 5, 2013 10:23 AM in response to gtperk
    Level 10 (105,079 points)
    Wireless
    Aug 5, 2013 10:23 AM in response to gtperk

    We have seen a number of posts from users about problems with the Motorola SB6141. I have had issues as well.

     

    Based on nice test reports, I purchased an SB6141 about a six weeks ago for use on Time Warner's cable service. Things worked OK for a day, and then I began to have constant Internet drop out problems.  Replaced the modem....same problem after only a few hours.

     

    When I returned the second modem to the store, the computer area manager told me that they had seen "a lot" of returns of the Motorola model and he suggested that I try another brand or model. He did not provide details when I asked what "a lot" might mean.

     

    I decided to try a Netgear modem, model CMD31T. Solid as a rock for the last month. Not one disconnect.

     

    So, maybe the SB6141 is just not the right match for an Apple router, I cannot say. Other users will likely post to say that their SB6141s are working just fine.

  • by Klaatu1947,

    Klaatu1947 Klaatu1947 Aug 5, 2013 2:34 PM in response to jmerola
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Aug 5, 2013 2:34 PM in response to jmerola

    A week ago I installed a Arris/Motorola SB6141 and a Airport Extreme 5th gen.  The installation took just a few minutes, waiting for Comcast to change serial number and MAC address.  I have not encountered s single problem to date.  My family has the usual Apple hardware iPhone 4 and 5. Two IPADs and a MacBook Air and a Nest thermostat.

     

    The only thing that torks me off is the SB6141 bright, bright flashing lights.  You could use the device as an airport warning light.  I covered the lights with a couple of layers of electrical tape.

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Aug 5, 2013 3:16 PM in response to gtperk
    Level 10 (105,079 points)
    Wireless
    Aug 5, 2013 3:16 PM in response to gtperk

    I found a thread with people claiming that the problem started once IPv6 became available in their area and they found that if they set the AEBS to IPv6 it fixes the problem.

    I forgot to mention that I also tried an older "round" AirPort Extreme that I had which has no iPv6 settings....and experienced the same disconnect problems that I did with a 5th Gen AEBS.

     

    Klaatu1947 mentions that he has a 5th Gen AEBS.

     

    As I guessed, it did not take long for someone to post to say that he was having no problems with the SB6141.

     

    If it were me, I would try another SB6141 if possible. If you continue to have the same problems, as I did, it is probably time to try another brand.

  • by gtperk,

    gtperk gtperk Aug 5, 2013 5:16 PM in response to Bob Timmons
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 5, 2013 5:16 PM in response to Bob Timmons

    If it were me, I would try another SB6141 if possible. If you continue to have the same problems, as I did, it is probably time to try another brand.

    This is definitely the next plan on my long list of attempted fixes.  I have been hoping to resolve the problem without swapping modems as I am well outside of the return/exchange policy from Best Buy (My whole setup worked flawlessly for over a month before problems began!)...but I am going to take it down there and see what they can do for me.

     

    I'll post results once new modem is in place!

  • by gtperk,

    gtperk gtperk Aug 6, 2013 2:24 PM in response to gtperk
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 6, 2013 2:24 PM in response to gtperk

    Brand New SB6141 installed last night and the internet has done its little on again.. off again.. crap. Haha Best Buy here I come!

     

         This time I'm not walking out of the store with another motorola product. They have served me well in the past but their DOCSIS 3.0 line of modems seems to be just too sensitive to signal abnormalities. I think I may go for the Zoom Modem as I have seen comments that it functions properly where the SurfBoard has failed for others.

     

    Wish me luck!

  • by fotomamajau,

    fotomamajau fotomamajau Aug 14, 2013 3:33 PM in response to Bob Timmons
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 14, 2013 3:33 PM in response to Bob Timmons

    Hello, Bob -- I have the same intermittent problems with my Airport Extreme / Motorola  SB6141 and ISP Time Warner.  I saw your Aug. 5th post about the Netgear modem CMD31T.  Today, I installed the Netgear modem...so far the connection is good.  

     

    Can you please give me an update on your Netgear modem?  Any intermittent problems since your last post? 

     

    Thank you!


  • by Happy_Pappy,

    Happy_Pappy Happy_Pappy Aug 14, 2013 3:47 PM in response to jmerola
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 14, 2013 3:47 PM in response to jmerola

    I too had tons of issues with the SB6141 and 6th gen AE. It would drop connection 4 to 5 times a day. After an hour and a half on the phone with Xfinity tech support, I gave up and went back to my trusty Arris CM820A modem.

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Aug 14, 2013 5:25 PM in response to fotomamajau
    Level 10 (105,079 points)
    Wireless
    Aug 14, 2013 5:25 PM in response to fotomamajau

    Can you please give me an update on your Netgear modem?  Any intermittent problems since your last post?

     

    The Netgear cable modem has been flawless.

  • by fotomamajau,

    fotomamajau fotomamajau Aug 14, 2013 5:39 PM in response to Bob Timmons
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 14, 2013 5:39 PM in response to Bob Timmons

    Thank you for the update, Bob.  So glad to know!  My Netgear modem is doing great so far today.  

  • by fotomamajau,

    fotomamajau fotomamajau Aug 19, 2013 12:29 PM in response to Bob Timmons
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 19, 2013 12:29 PM in response to Bob Timmons

    Today, I has the first disconnection problem with my new Netgear modem.  I had to restart this new modem and it's working ok now.  It was working solid since the first day I installed it on Aug. 14th.  Puzzled why this brief disconnection occurred today.

  • by Jay Yoo,

    Jay Yoo Jay Yoo Aug 25, 2013 7:41 AM in response to jmerola
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Aug 25, 2013 7:41 AM in response to jmerola

    The Motorola SB6141 is not compatible with the Airport Extreme. Equally frustrating is that the Netgear CMD31T will not register with Time Warner even though the boot file from the server loads.  The modem is listed on their site as being compatible but is even worse than the SB6141.  Don't waste your time with Time Warner techs trying to get either to work.   They finally gave me a Ubee and it works like a charm.  No latency or drop off what so ever. Ask for this modem if you want Time Warner to work with your Aiport Extreme.  Here is another post with links to techical support beyong tier 1 and 2.

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