Short answer: tighten the coax connections and restart the modem, then read its signal levels. Xfinity’s early troubleshooting steps include tightening the coax cable as much as possible at both the wall outlet and the modem. If the levels are outside your modem maker’s ranges, or the drops continue after these checks, the cause is likely on the cable line, in your home’s coax wiring or in the modem. Record what you see and contact your provider with it.
Is it the modem or the Wi-Fi?
If devices drop off Wi-Fi but the modem’s online light stays on, the modem is probably holding its connection. See Wi-Fi keeps disconnecting instead. This page is for a modem that loses the connection itself. What your router and modem lights mean helps you tell which one you’re seeing.
Check the connections and restart
Xfinity lists these first steps for its service:
- Make sure every cable is plugged in, and tighten the coax cable as much as possible at the wall outlet and at the modem.
- If you use your own modem, check that it’s compatible with Xfinity Internet.
- Unplug the modem’s power, wait one minute, and plug it back in.
With another provider, check its own compatible-modem list instead.
Read the signal levels
This page covers power levels, the figures NETGEAR documents. For its own modems, NETGEAR says to open a browser on a device connected to your network, go to 192.168.100.1, sign in, and select Cable Connection. NETGEAR’s ranges for good levels are -7 to +7 dBmV downstream and 38 to 48 dBmV upstream.
Those ranges are NETGEAR’s, for NETGEAR modems. If you have another make, look up its own support pages for where the status page is and what ranges it gives. Take a screenshot while things are working, and another soon after a drop.
Rule out your own wiring
What to tell your provider
If your provider says the line is fine and the modem itself is old or no longer on its compatible list, see whether to rent or buy a modem and the best cable modems.
