Charter DHCP problems? Warning: Major Geek content...
 

For the past couple weeks, my router has been losing it's DHCP address after 8 hours which is the lease time. In theory, it should renew it after 1/2 the time, or 4 hours, but it doesn't. It just expires... If I wait 4 more hours, it renews it, and works again for 4 or 8 hours, I can't remember which.

Nothing on my router changed....

I'd try another one of my routers, but they do not have DDNS support even though they are newer...

Anybody elese having any weirdness with Charter?

Occationally our router has issues where it won't re-aquire an address. Usually cycling the power on the router *and* the cable modem takes care of it... but I've got no explaination as to why the DHCP server on Charter's end is refusing the renewals, or why a power hit seems to fix it.

I get this too on a regular basis, as scott said, you just have to bounce your modem /router/anything else that is a dhcp client.

I have just come to accept it as part of the experience that is dealing with charter's crap. Right now those tardlets won't send me a bill, so every month I have to go in and bitch that I haven't gotten a bill, then they print one out for me and I pay. Next month, no bill again! I am sure they are just setting me up so that they can put a bad mark on my credit rating or kill my dhcp or something.

OK, I just called Charter and gave them hell. suggest others do the same... If you use the right technical words, you will quickly overwhelm the first two people you talk to, and they will actually open a ticket for an engineer who if he sees enough of these might actually fix it.

The key is that the Charter routers are correctly forwarding the broadcast DHCP packets that are sent with an initial request which is the case when you have no DHCP address as well as when your lease expires, and you try and renew, and a directed request to the last known DHCP server does not generate results.

Their routers appear to be eating the directed renewal requests that start at 1/2 the total lease duration, and are addressed, not broadcast, to the last issuing DHCP server. These just appear to dump in the bit bucket somewhere.

The weirdest part is that about 4 hours after it stops working, I have seen my link come back up. Which in the DHCP world doesn't make much sense unless my router is going out and trying again for the heck of it.... Don't mention this last part...

Oh, and tell them you are the technical guy in your neighborhood, and everyone else is having the same problem, as well as people who live elsewhere in Reno that you talk to at work...


775-850-8555 and follow the menus...

I've got a 53 cent bill from AT&T Wireless sitting on my desk (aka bedroom floor). I'm waiting for a second notice so I know for sure they've spent more than $0.53 on postage before I pay it.

Although I agree with you 100% in principle, in reality if a missed bill results in a bad mark on your credit report, it will probably end up hurting you more in the long run than it hurts them

I personally haven't had a problem with Charter's DHCP, although my router is an old computer running debian linux... *ducks*

Oh, and I got around the whole bill thing by just letting Charter auto-charge my credit card. I'm not stoked about the arrangement, but they've always paid themselves on time.

I have Charter, it also sucks. Always loses connection and I have to unplug the DSL box and reset it. Everytime I call they say that all I can do is keep resetting it cause it's a problem with the wiring in the house, and I'd have to pay for a service call if I want them to come look at it. I'm sure it's a bullshit story, but I'm not gonna pay them crap so I just live with it.

SBC DSL isn't much better. I have "connectivity issues." It drives me nuts sometimes.

Our SBC dsl had some problems but that was because they switched something and our router became obsolete, other than that no problems.

When I had Charter I told them to auto charge my account . I guess things got lost in paper suffle because finally 8 months later when I called them after the windstorm to fix my cable modem they did not have me listed as a customer anywhere!

8 months of free dsl: $0

Screwing over SBC for like 180 bucks: Priceless

Weren't you screwing over Charter?

OMG!...yeah I mean screwing over Charter!

well played!