MoCA network good, internet in 3 rooms but not 4th room

[lomarican]

I am totally stumped and at the end of my rope (or maybe it should be at the end of my coax)…

I live in a rural area – no cable available and my internet access is a very slow (5 Mbs) DSL connection via the landline. Television shows come in on an OTA antenna that delivers a very strong signal and I have split out the DSL signal from the landline using a dsl filter / splitter. The DSL and the OTA enter into a distribution box that also includes the modem and router. Both are connected to an Actiontec 2.0 module and the output goes into a MoCA splitter that feeds 4 rooms. Each room has its own individual coax run.

All 4 room MoCA modules indicate the resulting network is good – all lights green. The OTA signal is strong and gives good strong pictures on all 4 televisions. The in home network works because I can use the computers in each room to send a print request over the network to the single hardwired printer in room #4. The problem is, I have internet connectivity in 3 of the rooms but not the 4th room. My first thought was to replace the MoCA module in room 4 but nothing changed. Even though the 3 other rooms work perfectly, I even replaced the module at the distribution point with no change. Thinking maybe there was a problem with the computer in room 4, I ran an Ethernet cable from the module in room 3 to the computer in room 4 and I had internet connection back so it’s not the computer.

I am really baffled… If there were no signal at all in room 4, I would guess the coax to that room had been damaged but again the OTA signal is strong and my other rooms can “see” the printer, the NAS, etc.in room 4. Please, anyone, what the heck is going on and most importantly, how do I fix this? Thanks in advance for any thoughts…

 

[degrub]

Sounds like the MOCA signal is blocked/reduced at the splitter port for the 4th room. Try switching the cable from room 4 at the splitter to the port for room three and see if that changes things.

a network connection sketch with every device would help us diagnose.

 

[abailey]

Also, how are your devices connected to the MOCA in room 4? Is there a switch in the mix?

 

[lomarican]

Thanks for both replies... Took a bit of time to switch at the splitter but it made no difference - room 3 connected to splitter at room 4 still connects to internet... There is a switch at room 4 but I tried eliminating the switch and connected directly from the MoCA mod to the computer with no change

 

[degrub]

is the pc getting an IP address when connected in room 4 ?
How about room 4 connecting through the room 3 port ?

 

[degrub]

Wait a minute. The network may be fine. Since you say you can print to a printer in room 4 from the other rooms - does the driver allow you to check the printer media/ink status ?

Can the PC in room 4 see the other PCs and other local devices on a network map (Network and sharing - nework map) ?

What is the result when you run CMD Ping (router address) ?

Do you have the IP address set by DHCP or as static ? is it in the same address set as the Router ?

 

[lomarican]

Yes

 

[lomarican]

The MOCa at the distribution point in 2.0. The original mod at room 4 was 1.1 but I tried a 2.0 with no difference so it's back to a 1.1

 

[lomarican]

The other rooms are all 1.1

 

[degrub]

"The DSL and the OTA enter into a distribution box that also includes the modem and router. Both are connected to an Actiontec 2.0 module"

how are "both" connected to the AT module ?
Is it DSL Modem ----Router----AT modem ?

 

[degrub]

Yes

"yes" to which ?

 

[lomarican]

DSL Modem to Router to Actiontec 2.0

 

[lomarican]

Sorry, yes both mods get an IP address...

 

[lomarican]

Sorry again, I did not see the post with all the questions. Please give me a few moments to check all of that out

 

[lomarican]

Sorry for the delay... I am running up and down stairs to access each room

I hope you are still with me

Re: Printer, I did not install the ink monitoring software - only basic drivers so ink status cannot be checked from room 3
Re: Network - yes both room 3 and room 4 see all the other pcs and moca connected devices
Re: CMD ping - room 3 shows consistent results 47
Re: IP address is set via DHCP and the address set contains the same first sets XXX.XXX.X are the same

 

[lomarican]

Forgot room 4 nothing - times out

 

[lomarican]

Please forgive me, I am not much more than an amateur with this stuff, but if all the other rooms are working properly, how does the router setting affect just room 4?

 

[degrub]

Forgot room 4 nothing - times out

what are you telling me ? pinging from room 4 times out or pinging from other rooms to devices in room 4 times out ?

 

[degrub]

Please forgive me, I am not much more than an amateur with this stuff, but if all the other rooms are working properly, how does the router setting affect just room 4?

that ping time for room 3 bothers me. Usually it will be in the <10msec range.
Can you take a picture of the splitter that shows the model number and all the ports and post it here, please ?

do you have any un-terminated ports on the splitter ? If you do, get the correct termination cap - 75 ohms at your local home depot, lowes, or possibly computer store. They will be in the video cable or TV section of the store.


in any event, let's try the following test.

power off the PC in room four. connect its ethernet cable directly to the MOCA modem.
power off the router.
power down all the moca modems.
power on the router. Let it come up fully. make sure all the port lights are as expected.
Connect the cable from room 4 directly to the moca modem serving the router, ie bypass the splitter completely.
power on only the moca modem in room 4, then the one at the router.
power on the PC in room four. make sure the moca modem lights are good on both ends.

what IP address does the PC have ? use CMD IPCONFIG /all to get the full report of all network interfaces in the PC. Look for the physical ethernet adapter.

try the ping test to the router address from the PC in room four.
what do you get ?

If that works,
then power down the modems and reconnect the splitter. Power up only the room 4 modem and the router moca modem. power down the router and the PC. Turn on the router until fully up and then power up the PC.
Does it still work ? What do the CMD IPCONFIG /all report and the ping test report ?

if it does,
power up the modem in each room one at a time and verify room 4 is still working (as well as that room)

 

[lomarican]

I apologize for the delay but I had to work this morning…


First, thank you for taking the time to put together a trouble shooting procedure. It is much appreciated.


To answer your first few questions, all coax runs within the home are terminated correctly and all the ports of the splitter are used so no termination needed

Re: the splitter – I couldn’t get the camera to focus down to read the writing but it is a BAMF 4-Way Coax Cable Splitter Bi-Directional MoCA 5-2300MHz and can be viewed at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017T9KF1S/?tag=snbforums-20


I followed every step as you outlined:


I started by disconnecting all four MoCA room runs from the splitter leaving it initially with nothing connected to it. I then connected room 4 coax directly to the router - MoCA module downstairs and the room 4 coax upstairs from the MoCA module directly to the computer. All lights green, ping showed 2, 1,1,1 ms.


Next connected room 4 downstairs coax to the splitter and ran the splitter “in” to the router -MoCA module. Upstairs room 4 remained unchanged. All lights green, ping showed 1,1,1,1 ms


Next connected room 1 coax to splitter and checked room 1 MoCA connection. All lights green and ping showed 2,1,1,1ms. Room 4 remained working and pinged at 3,2,2,2


I did the same thing for rooms 2 and 3. Room 2 is connected to a streaming device and a receiver so I didn’t perform a ping test. Room 3 all lights green, pinged at 3,4,4,4; Room 4 remained working and pinged at 3,4,4,4.


Finally, I put the switch in room 4 back into the mix and all 4 rooms remained connected and working and all pinged at 3,4,4,4.


The computers in two of the rooms are now off and the room that started all this, room 4, my main network location, is up and running. I am of course thrilled but truly at a loss at what might have happened. What I worry about is this happening again for no apparent reason and of course it will happen when I most need my main computer and NAS accessible to the net. I think it’s a law or something…


Please accept my sincerest thanks for helping me out. I was really ready to give up on the whole mess when you stepped in. Happy Holidays and thank you so very much…