Time Warner Router Problems

Time Warner customers have discovered that modems and routers don't always get along.

Technology is rarely trouble-free, as anyone who uses the Internet knows. If you're in one of the 27 states that Time Warner services, you may have had the experience of calling the company to resolve an Internet outage. ISPs often blame third-party routers for connectivity problems and router manufacturers are just as likely to blame ISPs. This creates a catch-22 for customers like you. If Time Warner is concerned about your router, here are some likely reasons.

Security Breaches

Using Time Warner's own modem and router doesn't guarantee a secure connection. Time Warner customers learned this the hard way in October 2009 when 65,000 of them were affected by a security breach that gave hackers access to their Internet service. The problem was in the firmware of the SMC8014 Wi-Fi combo Time Warner offered to new customers. Since Time Warner used JavaScript to hide the router's administrative functions, hackers were able to access these functions by disabling JavaScript in their browsers. They could even download the router’s configuration file to gain access to an unencrypted administrative login and password. With this information any hacker could penetrate every router in Time Warner's SMC8014 series and change DNS or Wi-Fi settings to send customers to malicious sites or steal bandwidth.

Power Surges

Lightning strikes, power line shorts and transformer problems can damage sensitive electrical equipment, including your router. It can also affect ISPs. That's what happened in November 2008 when a power surge knocked out a critical router at Comcast and 40,000 customers lost their TV, Internet and phone service. It might even be why a router at Time Warner malfunctioned and intermittently disrupted VoIP service to Hawaii in December of the same year.

Modem/Router Compatibility

It can be a challenge to get electronics from different manufacturers to play nice. According to RyAnd Computing, Time Warner's Road Runner Internet service triggered intermittent failures in the Linksys WRT54G version 5 router. A firmware upgrade helped to correct the problem.

Time Warner's Arris TM502 and TM402 cable modems also work fine when they're connected directly to a computer but they lose the signal when they're used with Netgear and other wireless routers. This typically happens because Arris modems store the MAC address of the first device they're connected to and have to be reset before they'll work with another device.

Bandwidth Issues

Since Time Warner's Road Runner residential Internet service is intended for single computer configurations, the company warns customers that using a router can degrade performance, particularly when several computers are connected at the same time. Although you're allowed to use routers with Time Warner's service, most ISPs (including Time Warner) monitor where their bandwidth is going to insure that no users tie up excessive bandwidth and affect the performance of others. When you lose your connection many times a day, Time Warner might be forcing you off to free up needed bandwidth. If this is the case, you will notice that your connection typically drops when your Internet activity is high.

References

• Condé Nast Digital: Time Warner Cable Exposes 65,000 Customer Routers to Remote Hacks
• BestofMedia: Fixing Router Intermittent Connection Drops
• RyAnd Computing: Incompatibility Between Some Linksys WRT54G Routers and Roadrunner Internet
• The Hydra: Arris Cable Modems and Wireless Routers
• Advantage Business Media: Router Problem Affecting Time Warner VoIP
• Swift Communications, Inc: Power Surge Knocks Out Comcast Cable

Resources

• Web Exordium, LLC: Review of Road Runner High Speed Online
• My3cents, LLC: Time Warner Cable Consumer Report Overview
• Road Runner Holding Co: LANs on Road Runner
• Time Warner Cable: Operator Acceptable Use Policy
• DSLReports.com: Broadband Tests and Tools