Since switching to GFiber, my connection briefly drops or becomes nearly unusable about once an hour. It usually sits around 20 ms, may rise to 80 ms, and then suddenly jumps anywhere from 1,000 to 9,000+ ms before recovering after a few seconds. I've watched the optical jack, router, and switch lights but haven't noticed anything obvious. We've already replaced hardware, flushed DNS, tried different Ethernet cables and Cat5 outlets, and tested different rooms. The provider has also sent an extender and a replacement router, but the issue continues. I'm not sure whether the problem is inside the home or somewhere in the provider's network, and I'd rather not start opening walls or replacing hidden wiring without evidence. What should I test next, and how can I get the ISP to investigate properly?
4 Answers
Start collecting evidence before contacting them again. Run continuous pings to your router, your ISP’s first-hop gateway, and a reliable internet address, then record the timestamps when the latency spikes. If the router stays responsive but the first ISP hop or everything beyond it spikes, that helps prove the fault is outside your home. Keep a written log of every support call and the troubleshooting already performed.
This sounds more like a problem with the provider’s equipment or an upstream network node than your in-home wiring. Ask for a technician to check the optical signal and the equipment serving your address, not just swap the router again. Be persistent and request that the issue be escalated to network maintenance if the first technician finds no local fault.
The fact that the provider has already replaced the router and added an extender without solving the problem suggests the issue may be farther upstream. A technician should test the fiber signal, street-side equipment, and the path to the local network node. Don’t replace walls or hidden cables yet—first test with one device connected directly to the main router or gateway and compare that with the wired room connections.
If normal support refuses to investigate, escalate through the provider’s executive support or your state utility commission’s complaint process. Include your ping logs, dates, ticket numbers, and a clear explanation that the connection is periodically reaching thousands of milliseconds. Having documented evidence often gets the issue in front of someone who can inspect network hardware instead of repeating basic router troubleshooting.
I’m hoping it doesn’t get that far, but after several unsuccessful calls, I may need to escalate formally if the next technician visit doesn’t find anything.
I’ve contacted them several times and they keep saying there are no faults on their end. I’ll start keeping logs so I can show exactly when the outages happen and how severe they are.