Cogeco ISP system, dependability problems in Lindsay.

[ssfc72]

I was very close to calling Carrytel about switching my ISP from Start.ca (both use the Cogeco system), but then just recently I had the Cogeco system go down at my house, right at 12 noon, while I was in a Zoom group video chat.  The system did not come back until about an hour or 2 later.  This must have been a deliberate outage by Cogeco, for it to occur at precisely 12 noon.
I also had another outage that lasted for a few hours, during the day about a month ago.

So now, I am beginning to wonder if I should consider looking at getting the Bell ISP service, to get a more dependable service.  The Cogeco system seems like it is starting to have dependability issues, here in Lindsay.

[ssfc72]

Yikes, I just checked Bell's pricing for their Fibre service.
$50/month for 15 Mbps download speed and 100 GB Limit plus $60 Activation fee.
Fibre 50, is $80/month for 50 Mbps download and upload, unlimited monthly usage, plus $60 Activation fee.

Guess I am stuck with the Cable, Cogeco system. :-(

[Jason]

Yep, Bell and Cogeco are quite expensive compared to the others.

The issue you were having could have having to do with Start. The independents still control their routers that they control before the connection hops onto the main network (i.e. cogeco's lines). They also use their own DNS servers. Did you check to see if it was a DNS issue when you went down?

[ssfc72]

My browser was just complaining that there was no internet.  My Ooma voip phone service was also down.
How do you check for a DNS issue, when there is no internet service available?

[Jason]

In the terminal, you ping a known URL like this to test if DNS is working:

ping -c3 plugintolinux.ca

If that works, it's the website and not the dns servers you're using. If it doesn't, do this next:

ping -c3 8.8.8.8

That's one of Google's dns servers. If it works, then the problem is with a DNS server you're using and not your overall connection to the internet. It means that address translation (what DNS servers do) isn't working. If it doesn't work, then your internet connection is entirely down.

Now, since Ooma isn't working, too, that would suggest it is a connection problem to the internet because it probably uses different DNS servers unless you have DNS set up in your router and you're using it to resolve addresses for both. In which case, they would both be down if the problem was with a DNS server. However, I think DNS servers are just used in TCP/IP protocol and Ooma may use UDP for communication in which case I think it just goes straight to IP addresses.

If the problem is with a DNS server, reconfigure your network settings using an icon that is probably in your lower right in Cinnamon, MATE or Plasma. DNS servers are under the IP4 tab. Seperate DNS servers with a comma. I recommend trying OpenDNS at https://opendns.org. The addresses to use are the bottom of the main page. As a side effect you may find that their DNS servers are a lot faster than your ISPs resulting in faster loading times.

[ssfc72]

Thanks Jason, that info is good to know.
I remember, ages ago, changing the DNS servers on my computer to try and get better performance.  That may have been on a notebook computer that I probably don't use hardly at all, any more.  Or it may have been in the router.  I should check the router.

Another indication of whether the ISP internet is down is probably to look at the indicator lights on the ISP modem. On my modem there are 5 LED's that are powered and usually 1 LED  is blinking.  When my internet goes down, there are usually only a couple of LED's powered/lighted.

[Jason]

Good point about the lights. I check that, too. You probably tried this but I'll ask anyway: did you power cycle the modem when you had the issue? I find that you can't just turn it off and turn it on after 10 or 20 seconds. You need to wait a full minute. On my modem, when you do this, you see a lights move from one side and then the other to indicate it's re-connecting to the network. I used to have to do this a lot with Start, although by "a lot" I mean maybe every couple of weeks. But I was also doing a lot of torrenting back then. And torrents often bring down modems.

The other thing to check is that if you're using PIA (Private Internet Access) and have the killswitch enabled and set to "Always", and PIA is disconnected but not completely off (i.e. it shows in the tray), you will lose your connection by design. And if it can't reach the assigned or chosen VPN server you also won't be able to connect even if your internet is "on".

[Jason]

I think that Start will also send you a new modem or at least run you through various tests to see how your modem is doing. Even if they say it's okay, I might be pushy and ask them to ship you a new one anyway. That could be why your friend was fine when your internet went down.

[Jason]

I don't know if it's available in your area but I noticed that Start has an ADSL service, too. It's not super fast at 15 Mbps and has a 300 GB cap but it might be an alternative for you. It looks like it's $40/month. That speed would definitely be adequate for Ooma or any VoIP service and fine for online video up to 4K, I believe. You'd have to decide if you can wait the extra time for downloads.