Ok people - need some clarification if you can please. First, since I'm in IT, I'll provide the specs on my LAN:
Device: Cisco DPC3825 DOCSIS 3.0 Gateway
Location: Alabama
Plan: $79/mo. Internet Only
When the installer came out, I informed him he can simply drop it off and I'll take care of the rest.
Setup was easy enough. Wireless configuration consists of WPA-2 Personal - TKIP+AES encryption for compatibility's sake with device's on the LAN such as PS3, among others. I've configured Port Range Forwarding under Applications & Gaming to allow SSH connectivity to a few of the hosts on the LAN. I have a total of 14 hosts on the LAN; 9 of which connect wirelessly. I don't have MAC filtering enabled. The SSID is not broadcasted.
Up until a week ago, wireless has been working great. Then, I started noticing that the radio transmitter simply stops. I can scan for wireless frequencies and get zero coming from the Cisco device. Oddly enough, it comes back up as soon as I reboot it. Then, another day or so and it's the same issue.
Just a few minutes ago, I got off the phone with Mediacom (apparently a call center in the Philippines). The first rep I spoke with was nice enough, but asked me to provide her with my SSID AS WELL AS MY PASSWORD FOR THE WIRELESS NETWORK. I asked her what possible help could that be to resolve my issues. She explained that Mediacom requires this information to sync their side with mine so that wireless will work properly. They mentioned something about a "Clear Access Control Panel" that should contain this information and admitted that the information should've already been populated and that somehow I must have slipped through the cracks. Furthermore, as they were asking me questions to verify my account information, she asked whether I could give her my SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER to update the account, to which I replied, hell no.
Ok, so I'll admit that I keep up with technology fairly frequently and it's entirely possible that perhaps new technology may have arrived that somehow allows an ISP to send a signal to the wifi router for whatever purpose. However, I've never heard of this being the reason behind whether wireless would continue to work or not, all of a sudden. If anyone brave enough that works for Mediacom would please help confirm any of this information, perhaps I'd be a little more understanding and maybe even buy into the bologna a bit more. As of now, I can't possible begin to understand why it is that Mediacom won't allow my wireless functionality to operate UNLESS they have my settings stored on their end. I understand the necessity for them to have the MAC address of the device to put my line into an allow list and, thus, allow internet connectivity because of the MAC address being in their list, but I've never heard of wireless functionality working or not working based on whether or not the company has my information stored on their end.
Personally, I believe the problem is that the device I'm using is having hardware/firmware/software-related issues and may need to be replaced before things will go back to working as they did before, but it seems my only recourse for solving this issue is a personal visit to the store where I'm still not sure I'll be able to speak with someone that understands the fundamentals of networking enough to know how or why my symptoms are happening. The hope is to simply swap the device with another, run through the setup again, then things are as they were.
Anyone
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