Internet drops while downloading stream vids, but ok when just surfing

Well I have stayed on the phone while it kicked me off... and then they asked me to plug it back in all while still on the phone. When I was disconnected, they couldn't receive any signals whatsoever... and when I restarted the modem, all was perfect.

It's also affecting another modem account in the house, so now I really doubt it has to do with my computer and modem.

This has been elevated from level 1 tech to senior tech, now to maintenance and to a higher dept.

This is frustrating as heck.

Good - that is exactly what they needed to see:
...the modem working and
...the modem failing and
...cycling power temporarily fixes it.

Now for the really bad news: they might not be able to fix the issue anytime soon. It is probably a design flaw in the modem. You should ask for free service until the issue is fixed. (It doesn't hurt to ask.)

Oh, I'm right ahead of you on that one! I was downloading something very important yesterday and my connection just died... and lost it... so I called them up, they gave me 15$ credit and a full refund for the days I'm out of service. Big whopping 9$ for 3 days... I'll be able to retire on that now!

But one tech said that someone probably put a very cheap dollar store splitter and that is what is causing the "noise" on the line.. so it's affecting everybody on the street.

Like you said, if they don't fix this soon... I'll just get a dsl provider instead.

I doubt that it is a splitter. That would not account for the repeatability that you are seeing. I think that it is heat related.

...on second thought: noise on the line combined with heat changing electronic components' values slightly could cause these modems to try and compensate (put out more power)... which adds more heat. A viscous cycle leading to lockup.

I'd just like to add that if you do decide to give DSL a try, don't get rid of your cable just yet. Find out if you can get some sort of trial month to see if you'd like to switch. Its certainly possible that you can get more reliable speeds/service with DSL, especially if a lot of people around you are sharing that cable line, but its also possible that you absolutely hate DSL too. It may be worth biting the bullet and getting the problem fixed instead of cutting it off completely.

Just my two cents. Good luck going forward, it seems like you're going to need it.

In regards to the heated modems, that's one tech support agent told me that it probably fried itself. But then another tech said that wasn't the case. To be honest, I've been told so many theories, I don't know which is which. Until I get the final results, I think nobody has a clue as to what is going on.

As for the DSL, I'll probably try it for a month like you stated because I need to give a month's notice before cancelling my cable net. I guess I'll give it a try during that month as to finally decide which is better. At least with DSL, I wouldn't be affected by other people's problems.

Thanks for your help!