For the past few weeks I have had connectivity problems. I called,and called and called. Nobody could find the problem inside or outside. Then it hit me. Maybe the modem is getting hot. Why did I think of this? Well last month when I was paying my bill, a fellow in front of me had his modem and it had caught on fire. Yes on FIRE! It was melted and had he not been home who knows what may have happened.
Well today was the last straw for me. My RCA DCM425 cable modem no warmer to the touch than usual went off again. So I thought, it might have a safety knock off switch inside that acts just like a Breaker or Fuse in your house does when overloaded and becomes hot. It Knocks itself off to prevent a fire or damage to the device.
So I took the modem and Put it In the Freezer to cool it down for about 15 minutes. After the 15 mins, I reconnected it and booted it up. It has know maintained its connection. I elevated the modem instead of it sitting on the desk so air could circulate through it better. I also placed a small fan blowing directly on it keeping it that much cooler. So far this seems to have solved the problem.
The problem NOT SOLVED and there are many people unaware of it is, The Modem Overheats and May cause a fire in your home while you are Not there or sleeping. I pull the Power plug on mine at night, when not in use or I'm not home.
I do not think going to your provider will solve this, as they will only swap it for another just like it.
In my personal opinion, the RCA DCM425 is defective.
What can you do: [NOTE: Do this at your own risk. I will not be held responsible.]
* Do as I explained above to keep your Modem cool.
* When Not in use, unplug the modem. Do not use the Power button, this only puts it in standby mode.
* Go and BUY a different modem from your local store and replace it. If you do this, be sure to let your Internet Service Provider[ISP] know about this so you can give them theirs back. This will also reduce your Bill a couple of dollars.
* You may have to have them come out to your house and reconnect the service, if they have a WALLED GARDEN and you don't know how to access it to reconnect. **There may be a service charge for this**.
I'm going to use mine for a couple more days like this just to see for sure if this was the problem. It's been 3 hours now and no problems. Either way, in the next couple of days I will go buy one and replace it. I will post an update later this week letting you know if this solved the problem or whether it was just a temporary fix.
