Cheers mate

Now you know one!

I'll do the update asap and see if it fixes my problem, otherwise it may well be something else causing it.

Yep, but as I mentioned, the nature of the problem doesnt initially suggest cablecom to be the culprit, since to any normal observer, the internet appears to be working ok.

Know your customer.... as of Feb 2011 in switzerland mac osx has a 17.6% market share, and I am pretty sure that it has grown even further since then. Hopefully UPC do care about one fifth of their customer base

Just for the hell of it: How do I see what version my modem is on with my mac?

Another thanks

The mac updates failing have been confusing me for a while now, I was able to install Mountain Lion though. Will give this a shot tonight.

Just type the IP address of the modem into any web browser, MAC or PC doesn't matter. By default the IP address should be 192.168.0.1 The user is left empty and password is "admin"

fyi.. Asus Dark Knight is the best wifi router in the world.

Its funny how obsessed the Swiss are with Apple, i mean most people are, but i guess its because of Apple's proven QA. Then again i guess its ok to have strict animal laws, food laws but not a concern about how a company sources its labor to build the products.

Funny enough, ipad is cheaper in CH vs the US. No worries, Roman Empire = Apple.

Based on what ?

I assume you mean residential and not commercial, and 802.11a/b/g/n and not 802.3ac etc etc

Netgear , Zyxel and Draytek have far better reputations, peformance, reliability and experience.

anyone have the problem that their modem is often resetting? Sometimes you can be using your computer for an hour or two and nothing happens. Other times, my modem resets every 5 minutes

I have the latest thomson FW (1.5). I called to complain and cablecom sent me a new one. It too is having the same problem. This has only started happening since the beginning of August.

I never had those problems ( losing connection or resets ). Perhaps there are other factors to consider:

a) Wireless interference between your device and the wireless router ( microwave for example )

b) Faulty power brick for the wireless router

c) Faulty cable connection from wireless router to the Cablecom distribution point. ( Might need to report to Cablecom )

Try using an ethernet cable and see it the problem(s) can be replicated.

If using WiFi see the previous post

If it is resetting when using an Ethernet connection, then it is possibly a problem with the cable modem signal levels being too low - and thus causing too many errors. Ring upc cablecom and ask them to check the signal levels (they can do it while you are on the phone).

I want my old package back!

Previously:
20MB + cablecom modem + 5 year old cheapest possible netgear wifi router = speeds of up to 17mb on wifi and can use devices upstairs, outside in the garden, wherever

Now:
50MB + new combo modem/wifi router = connection keeps dropping and when it's up, speeds are only about 23mb and have to virtually sit next to the router to use it - have put a brand new windows laptop 3ft away from it and only getting 4/5 bars

they also appear to have added a 49chf 'activation fee' for this wonderful service
I don't recall seeing that in the special offer leaflet

the complete set of b@stards

Remember: the wifi is the weakest link

On my 100 Mbps upc cablecom connection, with the white Thomson WiFi router, I get 100 Mbs on my PC, connected with an Ethernet cable.
And I get about max 25 Mbps over WiFi on any WiFi device.

Why? Due to the nature of WiFi, the throughput speed is always limited

You saw the same on your old 20Mb subscription, except that the subscription speed was closer to the WiFi speed, so you didn't notice the WiFi bottleneck

Now you notice the WiFi bottleneck.

As for WiFi range:
Install the WiFi router at least 1.5m above the floor, and away from any metal shelving, and cordless phones, or other wireless devices. That improves the range a lot.

I should add that I checked the firmware and it is indeed v1.5

I've read that wifi can knock off around a third of the speed and their router claims to support up to 75MB.

Previously I could use phones, laptops, computers, wlan radios etc in other rooms/in the garden

Now with this "5 years further down the track" technology, I have to have a line of sight within a couple of metres or the routers

that cannot be right

I have asked them if I can switch back as the new package I have is useless
(drops connections, can't connect due to weak signal, not really any faster)

Check what WiFi channel the new router is on.
Maybe it is on a channel with 10 other routers?
Maybe your old router was on another channel?

Get a Windows laptop with InSSIDer installed (free) and see who is using what WiFi channel in your house. Choose an empty channel - or one that has the weakest interferring signals - for your own router.

Remember: what the WiFi marketed bandwidth is stated as, and what the actual measured throughput is, are two completely different numbers

It is very common for WiFi router manufacturers to say things like "300 Mbps" radio speed, but the measurable throughput using speed test websites is often maximum 25 Mbps.

I've used many devices, Windows and Apple, mobile and notebooks, on older Netgear routers and the newer Thomson router, and the Thomson router offers the fastest speed.

If you really want to use the speed to your desktop PC, then you should fit an Ethernet cable, as the Thomson router has a 4 x 1Gbps Ethernet switch ports (this is what I do)
I thus have 1Gbps between my NAS and my PC, and thus my LAN cabling is not a speed bottleneck.

If you are using Encryption, kindly ensure you are using AES and not TKIP.

It's a mac...not a pc, but am also having problems with PC (laptop) having dropped connections, wlan radio (not able to connect due to weak signal) and phones struggling to connect

Where I am is so far away from any other routers that I can't actually see any(!)

Here's the tech blurb from the wlan/modem itself
Interface
Wireless MAC Address:blahblah
Output Power: 100%

802.11 Band: 2.4ghz

802.11 n-mode: auto

802.11 N Support Required: off
Bandwidth: 20 mhz

Sideband for Control Channel
(40 Mhz only) Current : None
Control Channel 1
Current Channel:1 Regulatory Mode: off
Pre-Network Radar Check:60
In-Network Radar Check :60
TPC Mitigation (db): 0 (off)
OBSS Coexistence
:1 (enabled)
STBC Tx: auto

alas network engineering isn't something I do so I can't be sure
but
the mac is telling me this
Channel: 1
Country Code:
Network Type: Infrastructure
Security: WPA2 Personal
Signal / Noise: -66 dBm / -96 dBm
Transmit Rate: 39
MCS Index: 4


and also this
Supported PHY Modes: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Supported Channels: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140

so it looks like the network type and the channel in use matches perfectly
not sure what the "bandwidth" might do..or even if I should change it

Current Channel:1

Change to: Channel 6, 10 or 11 and see if it is better.

Side Note:

I think Cablecom issues only up to 2 public IPs if the CC modem / router is used in Bridge mode. If the device is indeed in Bridge mode, the 3rd and later wireless device may not be able to obtain an IP.

I got them to switch it back to the old package, all working fine now