What to say to my ISP?

[Rob52240]

Just throwing this out there, the provider I contract with will usually call customers who cancel their account within a day or two and offer them a kick bellybutton price to change their mind.  To my understanding, FCC allows your ISP 7 days to do absolutely nothing when you call to cancel your account and they will take full advantage of this.  In my case, we use it as our window to retain customers.

[xcom]

@Tigger29
I tryed that, HTC won't give me a trial account to test if my new configuration work, this means i have to pay for a full month in order to see that the new fix my ISP did isn't working.

@Skuzzy
If the DA works and the MA doesn't work... is that a problem with my local connection or is it a problem with the HTC servers? it seems to me that if there is a problem with a specific server than the problem must be of the server specificly... this is what logic tells me but ofcourse theres nothing logic about the internet.

@semp
I requested the ISP to open those ports and they did... so now i'm looking to find out where else can the problem be.

@Rob52240
I got no idea what that has to do with this post...

[fuzeman]

Use better logic.

[Rob52240]

With a lot of ISP's, telling them you're cancelling will get you a better deal.

[The Fugitive]

With a lot of ISP's, telling them you're cancelling will get you a better deal.

He doesn't want a better deal, he just wants a service that works.

[Skuzzy]

xcom, if the problem was with the server, EVERYONE would have the same problem, without exception.

It looks as though specific ports are being blocked.  That is my best guess.

We (HTC) actually has no control over whether or not anyone can get connected to a server.  All we can do is make sure the server and local network are functioning properly.  I can assure you, they are doing just that, or it would impact everyone equally.

[Delirium]

That ping plot is a clear indicator that it isn't Hitechcreations is that causing the problem, if it was, you'd be far more likely to see errors towards the end of the plot than at the beginning.

It is akin to giving a local store the redass about the bent tire rim you received when you went to their store. Mind you, the store's parking lot is pristine and newly paved but all the roads heading there look like the moon. That store (HTC in this case), can only ensure their 'lot' is well maintained, anything beyond that is out of their control.

[xcom]

Thanks for the persistance to assist, i hope this will be solved soon!

I got a few more questions that don't fit to this tag line of blocked ports...

1. i had just managed to play online for an hour or 2 (Main Arena) without being disconnected, how is it possible if my ports are still blocked? i ran ping plotter just after and i had same result.
2. It seems i can connect and play online in the main arena only at about this hour everyday, how does this hour change anything? (I tryed to connect like 4 hours ago but it did the same thing - host connection lost)
3. i can connect to the DA and fly there, how can it be its working for this server and not for the main arena server? Aftert all, blocked ports should be blocked ports.

Hope this will shed some more light on the problem.

Thanks,
xcom

[The Fugitive]

If I remember right the game doesn't use ALL the port ALL the time. It uses a random set of ports at different times. So if your ISP isn't keeping ALL those ports open ALL the time you might it open ones and play for a bit and then slam into ones that aren't open.

[clerick]

1. Do you connect through a router?
2. If so, is it wireless?
3. How many computers are connected?

I used to do tech support for a major ISP.  We would often have issues like this when people had a router or a high S/N ratio due to buggy wiring.  The causes varied, but ranged from neighbor(s) using an unsecured router to download from a P2P site, to big brothers disease ridden porn box and one of the most common things I'd hear was "I know it's not my stuff because..."

[Skuzzy]

Every arena has its own set of ports to use and out of those ports you will get a random port number to connect to.  The range is 2000-7000, inclusive, for all the arenas.  However, each arena will only use a subset of ports in that range.

It may not be blocked ports.  That was my best guess given what has been said.  It simply could be problems with your ISP.  Your ISP is the only one who could answer that as they are the only ones who could actually analyze your connection for issues.

Your Ping Plots are the most bizarre I have ever seen and I have been doing this for a really long time (>20 years).

[Softail]

Thanks for the persistance to assist, i hope this will be solved soon!

I got a few more questions that don't fit to this tag line of blocked ports...

1. i had just managed to play online for an hour or 2 (Main Arena) without being disconnected, how is it possible if my ports are still blocked? i ran ping plotter just after and i had same result.
2. It seems i can connect and play online in the main arena only at about this hour everyday, how does this hour change anything? (I tryed to connect like 4 hours ago but it did the same thing - host connection lost)
3. i can connect to the DA and fly there, how can it be its working for this server and not for the main arena server? Aftert all, blocked ports should be blocked ports.

1: they are probably blocking the Pings from the looks of things.  Many "businesses" do block ICMP to keep bandwith up and reduce exposure to pings/arps/rarps etc.   The fact that you have 100% packet loss BUT you CAN connect to the Game (aka application) is key here.   No ping but UDP/TCP is allowed.

2:  Is you ISP "throttling" your bandwidth?   Many "businesses" set up a Quota on the amount of data you can push/pull through the network.  This allows them to service more customers....and keep the "Net Hogs" (aka file download/sharing/youtube/streaming media) users from dominating their network.

3:  My only guess would be...see #2.  In general there are less Pilots in the DA hence less traffic back to your machine.   

I would ask your ISP if they are  1:  Blocking/Limiting ICMP
                                            2:  is there any bandwidth quotas enforced per user?
                                            3:  are they "Proxy-ing" your traffic?

        (#3 means that they have a server that takes your request..scans it...and forwards it to the destination for you (under the proxies IP not yours).  Then when it gets a return packet it forwards it back to YOU after scanning it again.   This is great to protect the network from hackers/virus/spam/trojans etc...and it works well when the users are surfing the net, checking emails, transferring files.... but it SUCKS for interactive game play especially when that proxy server gets really busy.

         Your symptoms point to your ISP, your router or your machine.....especially the 100% packet loss on pings and the fact that you can connect "sometimes."   

         For giggles and kicks....try ping plotting  MSN.com or YAHOO or any other web site....if ICMP is filtered/blocked....then they should also come up at 100% packet loss.


Good luck!


   AKSoftail

[xcom]

Thanks for the replys,
I went and changed my ISP, but with new ISP comes new problems unfortunetly...





I see there are packet loss at 2 points, should i call up my new ISP and ask them to check that out?
or is there a diffrent procedure you guys can think of?

[Skuzzy]

That is some pretty hefty packet loss over that sample size.  You need to contact your ISP about it.

[Softail]

Definitely tell your ISP...    make sure to send them the pingplotter output

Stay cool over there ;-)