Choose style:

Author Topic: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem  (Read 35075 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline criveraf

  • Peanut
  • **
  • Posts: 15
  • Thanks: 0
  • Registered : 09/07/2014
    YearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYears
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #15 on: July 10, 2014, 02:22:17 pm »
Alright. I did the verifications you suggested and this is what I found:

I connected the ethernet cable to a laptop from the WAN port of the router, and the LED lights started blinking!

I did a cold reset on the Almond, leaving the network cable connected to both devices. After the Almond came back, I looked at the WAN LED and it was blinking.

I disconnected the cable from the laptop, leaving the other end still connected to the router and leaving the router undisturbed (not touching/turning off/resetting/etc the router at all) and proceeded to connect it to the modem. The WAN LED did not blink at all after hooking the cable to the modem.

However, as you guys already know, if I connect the modem directly to my laptop I can browse the internet. So we know that the modem socket is working.

I honestly don't know what to make of these findings and what it means or may mean. I find it really weird! Perhaps you guys would know.

FYI, when I do a factory reset on the modem I don't see anything happening on the modem. Lights on the front of the modem don't change, don't turn off or flash, nothing. And the modem's admin web screen does not give any indication of a factory reset in progress once I click on the button and confirm on the popup box to proceed with the factory reset. I just trust it is doing it, but I don't even know when it's done. I just wait like 5 minutes (in some instances I have waited up to 30 mins just to be sure).

Comcast said they cannot do a factory reset of my modem from their end; only a warm reset and other things. They insist everything looks fine from their end.

What you guys think about these findings and what else to do?

I really appreciate all the help you guys are giving me here. Even though we haven't solved the issue yet, I'm learning a lot along the way.

Carlos

Offline pete

  • Moderator
  • *
  • Posts: 316
  • Thanks: 2
  • Registered : 22/07/2013
    YearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYears
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #16 on: July 10, 2014, 02:36:22 pm »
Good news criveraf!

You have proven that its not a physical issue with the Almond WAN network port.  The Almond WAN port and Motorola SB6141 network ports are not broken.

Quote
The WAN LED did not blink at all after hooking the cable to the modem.

This appears to be an odd auto negotiation issue relating to either the Motorola SB 6141 or the Almond.

Googling "Motorola SB 6141 Gb network auto negotiation problems" does have a few hits and its appearing more in the white SB-6141 rather than the black SB-6141. 

So other folks with Motorola SB 6141 modems are having issues similiar to your issue. 

BTW do you have a category 6 patch cable to use?  Really though it would only help with a Gb connection (blue LED on modem)

I am not sure that it would make any different but it doesn't hurt.

Quote
Comcast said they cannot do a factory reset of my modem from their end; only a warm reset and other things. They insist everything looks fine from their end.

Yes they can.

You can too; might be easier to just do it as described above. 

Quote
FYI, when I do a factory reset on the modem I don't see anything happening on the modem. Lights on the front of the modem don't change, don't turn off or flash, nothing. And the modem's admin web screen does not give any indication of a factory reset in progress once I click on the button and confirm on the popup box to proceed with the factory reset. I just trust it is doing it, but I don't even know when it's done. I just wait like 5 minutes (in some instances I have waited up to 30 mins just to be sure).

Do the re-stuff of the Motorola modem like this:  (also maybe switch to Internet Explorer instead of Firefox).  It will take less than five minutes. Watch the LED lights on the Motorola 6141.  A reboot will always shut them off and on one at a time.

1 - Click on Reset All Defaults
2 - wait a minute or so
3 - Click on Restart Cable Modem

ALL of the LED lamps will go off and then on from the top down.  Meanwhile move your cable from the Laptop to the Almond.  Watch the LED on the WAN port of the Almond to see if it goes on.

You cannot break anything.  I have done it a few times here.  It will take a couple of minutes to do its stuff from scratch.  It should connect up right away.

Did the laptop connect to the Motorola SB6141 at Gb or Mb speeds?   

Another thing you can do (but its a waste of a switch) is to connect a network switch Ethernet cable to the Motorola SB 6141 and a second Ethernet cable to the Almond WAN port just to see if that works.
I am guessing that any old switch will do fine for a test.

OR

1 - Connect your laptop to the Motorola 6141 modem
2 - do the reset of the modem as described above (192.168.100.1 web pages)
3 - while resetting; move the cable from you laptop to your Almond (powered off)
4 - power on your Almond and see if the reset configuration of your Motorola SB 6141 makes the Almond LED blink (look there first).

Googling some more on the Motorola SB 6141 issues and fixes found a couple of more "fixes".

1 - Using your laptop connection tick the auto negotiation piece of the laptops network device "off" then "on". Then move the cable from the laptop to the Almond.
2 - Using your laptop connection hard set the network interface to 100Mbps full duplex and leave it that way; move the cable then to the Almond.  IE: in Wintel its System / Hardware / Device Manager / network adapters / network adapter / advanced tab
« Last Edit: July 10, 2014, 04:42:13 pm by pete »
[img width= height= alt=" width="250" height="52" class="bbc_img resized]http://forum.securifi.com/Themes/Firox_multicolor_by_SMFSimple/images/logo.png[/img]
Pete
Lockport, IL  USA

Offline criveraf

  • Peanut
  • **
  • Posts: 15
  • Thanks: 0
  • Registered : 09/07/2014
    YearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYears
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #17 on: July 10, 2014, 05:19:01 pm »
Pete,

Quote
Another thing you can do (but its a waste of a switch) is to connect a network switch Ethernet cable to the Motorola SB 6141 and a second Ethernet cable to the Almond WAN port just to see if that works.
I am guessing that any old switch will do fine for a test.

What do you mean by "network switch Ethernet cable"? The way you say it seems like it is something different than a regular Ethernet cable. Are they?

Regarding similar issues reported by others, I will google it and see what I can find. Let me know if you find anything I should be aware of.

The laptop connects at Gb speeds with the modem.

My question again, if you know the answer: the modem does not change/turn off lights when I do a factory reset from the admin page (like when doing a normal reboot unplugging the unit). How do I know the factory reset is in progress? How do I know its done resetting?

Thanks,
Carlos

Offline pete

  • Moderator
  • *
  • Posts: 316
  • Thanks: 2
  • Registered : 22/07/2013
    YearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYears
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #18 on: July 10, 2014, 06:11:52 pm »
Quote
What do you mean by "network switch Ethernet cable"? The way you say it seems like it is something different than a regular Ethernet cable. Are they?

Nope.

Just a network switch and connect the Almond and Motorola Modem to the switch with regular network cables.

Quote
My question again, if you know the answer: the modem does not change/turn off lights when I do a factory reset from the admin page (like when doing a normal reboot unplugging the unit). How do I know the factory reset is in progress? How do I know its done resetting?

Typically I lose the network GUI page.   So you would get disconnected if you left the laptop connected while the modem LED lights would go off and start blinking from the top down until it finished rebooting. 

If the lights are not changing then for whatever reason the modem isn't resetting. 

The LEDs on the modem will shut off and go on from top to bottom when rebooting or unplugging the modem then plugging it in or when you are doing a cold reset.

It could just be that the two buttons are disabled in your firmware - just a guess.

None the less; I think hard setting the connection on your laptop to 100Mbps while connected to the Motorola modem might work.  Check to make sure you can surf the web; then remove the network cable from you laptop and plug it into the Almond and see if the Almond LED light goes on.
« Last Edit: July 10, 2014, 07:38:52 pm by pete »
[img width= height= alt=" width="250" height="52" class="bbc_img resized]http://forum.securifi.com/Themes/Firox_multicolor_by_SMFSimple/images/logo.png[/img]
Pete
Lockport, IL  USA

Offline criveraf

  • Peanut
  • **
  • Posts: 15
  • Thanks: 0
  • Registered : 09/07/2014
    YearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYears
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #19 on: July 10, 2014, 11:17:14 pm »
Thanks pete.

Tried hard setting the laptop to 100 Mps trick and did not work.

I keep trying the factory reset button and nothing happens.

Is there another way to cold reset the modem, other than calling Comcast?

This is too frustrating!

Thanks for your help,
Carlos

Offline pete

  • Moderator
  • *
  • Posts: 316
  • Thanks: 2
  • Registered : 22/07/2013
    YearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYears
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #20 on: July 10, 2014, 11:54:17 pm »
Carlos,

Quote
Tried hard setting the laptop to 100 Mps trick and did not work.

Hard set the notebook to 100Mbps and reboot the Motorola modem.  It should connect.  It appears that the modem is stuck at a Gb connection and that is why it will not connect to the Almond.

This is an issue.  The Motorola modem should drop down to 100Mbps speed.

I only know of the GUI way to reset the modem.

I've attached the manual which does say that the reset should work.

« Last Edit: July 11, 2014, 12:01:11 am by pete »
[img width= height= alt=" width="250" height="52" class="bbc_img resized]http://forum.securifi.com/Themes/Firox_multicolor_by_SMFSimple/images/logo.png[/img]
Pete
Lockport, IL  USA

LGNilsson

  • Guest
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #21 on: July 11, 2014, 12:08:22 am »
At this point, you might also want to contact Motorola for support, as if the modem really is stuck at Gigabit speed only, the Almond wouldn't be able to communicate with it, as it's only 10/100Mbps.

Offline pete

  • Moderator
  • *
  • Posts: 316
  • Thanks: 2
  • Registered : 22/07/2013
    YearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYears
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #22 on: July 11, 2014, 06:30:04 am »
Initially on my purchased SB6141 from Amazon.  I did have some issues with it relating to registration to CC.  That said I did go to the Comcast forum and asked a guru 3rd level CC support person on the forum to have a look at my modem.  He did and did make some adjustments to it and its been working fine since.

I also bought the identical SB6141 for neighbors, sisters and sister in law. 

I registered the same said Motorola SB 6141 modems with Comcast with no issues and they are all up and fine today.

The above noted I think what happened is that an ISP (whomever) initially cancelled said order of Motorola SB6141's and they were dumped by vendor on Amazon and Ebay.  Note that these were new Motorola 6141 modems.  Many people purchased them.  It is a stock Motorola modem which will work with any ISP using cable today.

Thinking back I think my original purchase price was some $40 each.

Relating to the use of Motorola modems best non biased posts are here:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/motorola

Relating to fixing your purchased modem by a CC tech look here and post a message relating to your modem issues:

http://forums.comcast.com/

The direction is that they do not really want to touch a modem that is not theirs to touch. (push of renting equipment instead).

The CC techs on the forum are guru's way beyond the folks you call for CC support. 

They can and will help you because its all about customer service.

BTW there is a physical button to reset the modem.

The reset on the SB 6141 is under the plastic gummed to the front. Take it off and it's at the bottom. The plastic cover goes back on well.

The reset "should" fix the network port connectivity issue. 

Note that you may need to reregister the modem. 

If you do that do that with the Almond connected at 100Mbps and connect your laptop to one of the network ports on the Almond.
« Last Edit: July 11, 2014, 07:56:44 am by pete »
[img width= height= alt=" width="250" height="52" class="bbc_img resized]http://forum.securifi.com/Themes/Firox_multicolor_by_SMFSimple/images/logo.png[/img]
Pete
Lockport, IL  USA

Offline criveraf

  • Peanut
  • **
  • Posts: 15
  • Thanks: 0
  • Registered : 09/07/2014
    YearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYears
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #23 on: July 12, 2014, 02:15:02 pm »
Hey guys,

Thanks for all the tips and help you have provided these past days. I had to take a break cause this is exhausting! I'm back trying to get this thing fixed.

Pete said:
Quote
Hard set the notebook to 100Mbps and reboot the Motorola modem.  It should connect.  It appears that the modem is stuck at a Gb connection and that is why it will not connect to the Almond.

This is an issue.  The Motorola modem should drop down to 100Mbps speed.

I should have given more details. What I did was this: I hard-set the network card of my laptop to 100Mbps, connected directly to the modem, the modem turned the "Link" light in front of the modem to amber indicating a slower speed connection to the laptop as expected. Then browsed the internet successfully. I proceeded to connect the modem to the router and the router to the laptop, but the WAN LED on the router did not lit. I was not able to access the internet on the laptop.

Resetting the modem from the admin web page is still not working for some reason.

Lars said:
Quote
At this point, you might also want to contact Motorola for support, as if the modem really is stuck at Gigabit speed only, the Almond wouldn't be able to communicate with it, as it's only 10/100Mbps

Lars, what do you mean the Almond is only 10/100Mbps? It does not handle 1Gbps connections to the modem?

Pete said:
Quote
Initially on my purchased SB6141 from Amazon.  I did have some issues with it relating to registration to CC.  That said I did go to the Comcast forum and asked a guru 3rd level CC support person on the forum to have a look at my modem.  He did and did make some adjustments to it and its been working fine since.

Pete, I'm a bit confused... what do you mean by "CC"? I thought you were talking about Comcast, but then I see you refer to them separately.

Also, can you forward me the names/usernames of those gurus you talked to, if you remember them? I would like to contact them.

Quote
BTW there is a physical button to reset the modem.

The reset on the SB 6141 is under the plastic gummed to the front. Take it off and it's at the bottom. The plastic cover goes back on well.

I took the front plastic halfway off (from the bottom) and did not see any sort of button there... :(

Carlos

Offline criveraf

  • Peanut
  • **
  • Posts: 15
  • Thanks: 0
  • Registered : 09/07/2014
    YearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYears
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #24 on: July 12, 2014, 02:29:33 pm »
It occurs to me now.... the reason I purchased a new modem was to acquire more speed but also because the old modem was kaput... I went on vacation and came back to realize the internet was down at home and after checking the modem, it would not turn on at all. One of my neighbors said a lightning struck one of my trees in my backyard during a storm while I was on vacation. In the past I have learned not to believe everything my neighbor says, and the trees look all fine to me, though, but anyways.... my old modem was dead so his story might be at least somewhat true... I don't know... Now, I kind of don't believe my Almond was affected because it turns on, I can establish a wireless network at home (all devices can see each other fine), LED lights lit on the back as we have tested here, etc. I tend to think that if my Almond router was affected by the lightning it would have fried the device as it happened to the old modem, or at least it would have been noticeable almost right away that it damaged something (like when I said the WAN LED would not flash, but we already tested that it flashes when I connect the laptop to this WAN plug). And, besides, I have tried to connect my old router, which could not have been affected by the lightning (if the lightning really happened) because it was stored away, and the old router cannot see the modem either, just like the Almond cannot see the modem.

What do you guys think...?

Carlos
« Last Edit: July 12, 2014, 02:36:08 pm by criveraf »

Offline pete

  • Moderator
  • *
  • Posts: 316
  • Thanks: 2
  • Registered : 22/07/2013
    YearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYears
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #25 on: July 13, 2014, 09:47:22 am »
Carlos,

Quote
do you mean the Almond is only 10/100Mbps?

Yes.  A hard set of your laptop to 100Mbps with a connection to the modem at 100Mbps and a reconnect to the Almond Plus should have worked.  Having written this and that it didn't work is indicative that the problem your Motorola modem (documented in many forums).

CC=Comcast

Quote
Also, can you forward me the names/usernames of those gurus you talked to, if you remember them? I would like to contact them.

I do not but they are the admins of the CC forum section under the routers subsections.

Quote
I took the front plastic halfway off (from the bottom) and did not see any sort of button there...

Which modem do you have?  The black one or the white one?

Quote
purchased a new modem was to acquire more speed but also because the old modem was kaput.

Faster than 100Mbps is here from Comcast.  But it is mostly with a fiber connection and one tier is over 100Mpbs.

Quote
•Extreme 105: 105 Mbps / 20 Mbps [105000 Kbps / 20000 Kbps] ( DOCSIS 3.0 tier )
•Extreme 305: 305 Mbps / 65 Mbps [305000 Kbps / 65000 Kbps] ( Fiber To The Home / FTTH tier )
•Extreme 505: 505 Mbps / 100 Mbps [505000 Kbps / 100000 Kbps] ( Fiber To The Home / FTTH tier ) **Upgrade

Quote
What do you guys think...?

Lightning damage is in a different world.  Here I have the home protected from surges and good grounding everywhere.  I automate my irrigation using two controllers which did get zapped by lightning some 10 years ago.  It sounds like your Almond Plus is fine as it connects to your laptop at Gb or Mb speeds.  The only thing we have to go forward with is the documented issues with the Motorola Modem as posted on the internet; really though this is probably related to the configuration of modem provided to you by CC hard and soft (configuration and firmware).
[img width= height= alt=" width="250" height="52" class="bbc_img resized]http://forum.securifi.com/Themes/Firox_multicolor_by_SMFSimple/images/logo.png[/img]
Pete
Lockport, IL  USA

Offline criveraf

  • Peanut
  • **
  • Posts: 15
  • Thanks: 0
  • Registered : 09/07/2014
    YearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYears
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #26 on: July 20, 2014, 07:44:04 pm »
Hello Pete,

Thanks for replying to my last post and the info. I was out the whole week on vacation, so this is the first time I read your post.

With regards to not finding a reset button on the front of the modem (behind the front plastic plate) my Motorola modem is the white one. Is it different from the black one (besides the color)? You wouldn't know where the reset button is in this white one, would you?

With regards to the issue being the modem, the one I currently have is a second unit. I initially purchased a white SB6141 on a Monday two weeks ago and exchanged it the next day for a new one thinking that one was bad. So I am under the assumption this second one is not bad. I then also assume that when you say that the issue is the modem you are talking about configuration and not whether it is bad or not.

I really don' t know what else to do. A Comcast guy came here, inspected the connections (to the modem, to the router, to the laptop) and could not find the cause of the issue. He talked to his guys in Comcast to have it registered in their system and, again, there was connection to the internet to the modem and hooked to the laptop, but not when putting the router between them.

I will visit the Comcast web site and open a new question there. Hopefully a guru will answer and I can find a solution.

Thank you very much to you and Lars for all the help. I will still keep this topic in case I have other questions for you guys. Also, if you think of anything else, please let me know. I am receiving new post notifications in my email, so I will check back.

Thanks,
Carlos

LGNilsson

  • Guest
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #27 on: July 20, 2014, 09:09:16 pm »
I'll make sure we get one in for testing as well. We have an engineer located on the west coast, although I'm not sure what service provider he's with.

Offline criveraf

  • Peanut
  • **
  • Posts: 15
  • Thanks: 0
  • Registered : 09/07/2014
    YearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYears
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #28 on: July 20, 2014, 10:30:26 pm »
Thanks Lars.

Here is the link to my post in the Comcast forums:

http://forums.comcast.com/t5/Home-Networking-Router-WiFi/No-connection-between-Motorola-SB6141-white-and-Securifi-Almond/td-p/2239030

I think I summarized everything pretty well. Crossing fingers!

Carlos

Offline criveraf

  • Peanut
  • **
  • Posts: 15
  • Thanks: 0
  • Registered : 09/07/2014
    YearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYearsYears
Re: Cannot connect Almond router with Motorola SB6141 Cable Modem
« Reply #29 on: July 21, 2014, 10:20:32 pm »
Do any of you guys know the instructions to return the Almond to Securifi and obtain a new one in exchange?

 

Page created in 0.127 seconds with 21 queries.