Michael Vanyukov

Thank you, @PinkElephant, @mackid1993, @Kheldar321, and everybody who helped to identify the source and solve the problem.

Since I last posted, everything went back to norm without any response from Evernote or notification from Comcast (Xfinity), my provider. It was clearly the latter's blocking evernote.com, and I submitted a request online to unblock and called them more than once. Finally, it's my calls and their "escalating" the problem to their level 2 support that did the trick.

Just now, mackid1993 said:

The point is this is an issue with your ISP, going through Evernote support or Evernote forums won't help you more than the advice we've already given.

The solution would be to work with your ISP on a resolution. This is an issue with their network.

Got it.

11 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

Same answer as above: Tried an alternative network, by a different provider ?

Working ? Provider issue. It’s that simple.

Right. Switching to the cellular connection from a different provider fixes the problem, so, as you say, it’s the provider. Who is telling me to buy equipment to enable the use of a single app instead of fixing his own blocklist.

18 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

Just FYI: I had problems today connecting to "Evernote.com".

Since I run some IT infrastructure, I knew where to look: I have a Pi-Hole on my network, shielding it from advertising and tracking. Somebody had added "Evernote.com" to one of the blocklists that control the filtering (in total it filters 1.85 million sites), the list had downloaded, and now it blocked EN. I whitelisted the URL with a click, and could connect.

It is possible your ISP is running a similar filtering, just on a larger extend (I am pretty sure he does, but not to keep ads and tracking away from his clients networks). If Evernote.com get's added there, it will prevent connections. But the customers can't easily whitelist it. That's more or less what I think is happening to you.

@PinkElephantI just find it strange that Evernote is the only site/app that is affected with any DNS glitches. I am still not sure it's not Evernote itself that limited access from Pittsburgh PA, for whatever reason: nothing else has changed and it had worked with no problem until 1.5 weeks ago.

17 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

Just FYI: I had problems today connecting to "Evernote.com".

Since I run some IT infrastructure, I knew where to look: I have a Pi-Hole on my network, shielding it from advertising and tracking. Somebody had added "Evernote.com" to one of the blocklists that control the filtering (in total it filters 1.85 million sites), the list had downloaded, and now it blocked EN. I whitelisted the URL with a click, and could connect.

It is possible your ISP is running a similar filtering, just on a larger extend (I am pretty sure he does, but not to keep ads and tracking away from his clients networks). If Evernote.com get's added there, it will prevent connections. But the customers can't easily whitelist it. That's more or less what I think is happening to you.

Would you know how to approach them to delist Evernote from any such filtering?

1 hour ago, Kheldar321 said:

Ouch, without getting too “techie”, those seem to be odd choices with what they want you to do. I did some more digging and it looks like you can turn off advanced security, which “should” fix the blocking issue.

Below is an article on the xfinity site which tells you how to disable the advanced security. I figure it’s worth a shot before dropping extra money. I also read that support can disable it for you.

For what the advanced security does, I personally don’t find it that exciting and just adds extra cost to your bill. Now that’s my opinion, take it as you may.

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/using-xfinity-xfi-advanced-security

I hope this helps! I know it’s frustrating but I feel getting around this now will help overall in the future. 

Advanced security is not enabled.

2 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

„Bridge“ is just another state of operation for your current ISP provided router.

It means the router will in the future only convert the signal on the carrier (fiber, TV cable, DSL landline, just to name a few) into a regular Ethernet signal. It will stop providing other services. (The routers you mention are cache routers - meaning they replace the existing one and have the conversion kit internally).

For the router I think you should look around a bit. We all rely a lot on good WiFi connections. There are now mesh WiFi setups that will make devices always connect to the best access point. If your place is above say 50-70 square meters, a mesh will improve WiFi connectivity.

But this only works within the same brand. You can’t easily mix different makers into a homogeneous mesh setup. So maybe check in reports on the web which is a good mesh networking brand, and choose a router from their range.

Thank you for the detailed explanations. I run a mesh, Deco. No problems with WiFi. There have not been any with anything before 1.5 weeks ago, when it started with Evernote. Now, I am concerned if there will be problems with WiFi as well if I change the router.

17 hours ago, Kheldar321 said:

With the bridge option you will need to purchase a router and reconfigure your current ISP modem. You may also have to configure WiFi on the new device.
 

It may be worth it to check your circle of friends and see if someone knows a tech that would be willing to help. 

Xfinity recommended buying my own router and use bridge, whatever it might be (they are supposed to help with that). Their recommended ones are Arris G36 or Netgear CAX80.

28 minutes ago, Kheldar321 said:

Oh I’m very aware how to do it, what bridge mode is, and networking in general. I also agree that most off the shelf routers are better than the isp stuff.

 Most techs like to think it’s simple and forget the regular person is not always comfortable with technology. What’s easy for you is not always the same for others.

I definitely am not comfortable. I’ll try to get to the ISP tomorrow again. If that doesn’t work, I’ll try to take that “bridge”, but i am out of my element there. Know nothing about any of that.

On 3/21/2024 at 12:45 PM, Kheldar321 said:

Well it shows you are not the only one on Comcast having the issue! Maybe just change the DNS on your computer temporarily so you can keep the network speed and work on EN. At least you have a definitive answer, you don't always get that in IT. 😉

Changing DNS on the wired desktop to the https://one.one.one.one/dns/-recommended values does not resolve the EN problem. VPN does, but not on my work-provided laptop, where VPN interferes with GlobalConnect and crashes. I had a long and fruitless conversation with Comcast yesterday: after an hour of various tries, I was told that I'd be contacted with the solution in 2 hrs. Never was. Will try again. They could not change the DNS on their end either - I was told they have the same interface as I do.

3 minutes ago, mackid1993 said:

@Michael Vanyukov You can set the DNS manually on your device until Comcast fixes it. I sent you Youtube videos for Mac and Windows in a prior post. Instead of choosing ethernet choose your WiFi adapter and follow the same steps.

will try.

39 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

I would simply tell them that you can’t reach Evernote.com, that it works when you use a VPN and that a lot points into the DNS resolution of the address being the root cause.

They should know how to check then.

I’ll let you know the result.

5 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

Usually it means if you put a router behind it, you can configure it as you want / need to. The ISP box then switches into a bridging mode.

But not sure about your specific ISP / legislation. 

You can continue to use the VPN permanently. Or open a ticket with Comcast support to correct their bad DNS listing of Evernote.com .

Thank you very much. Is there a more technical term to talk with Comcast, or “bad DNS listing is commonly used”?

I found this: "If it's a Comcast supplied gateway device, you can't change the DNS servers."

1 minute ago, PinkElephant said:

No idea - I don’t know the ISP or the router model. Maybe somewhere in „Advanced“.

Xfinity. And the modem/router is also theirs. 

7 minutes ago, Michael Vanyukov said:

Easy for you to say.  I have no idea how to get to the router and its DNS settings. The 1.1.1.1 instructions seem to be for wi-fi, but my desktop is on a wired connection. Any advice? 

I've got to the router settings, and it shows 

14 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

You log into the Router surface. If your device has the address xxx.xxx.xxx.123 (123 being any number), your router should be xxx.xxx.xxx.1 . You type this into your browser.

You need a username and password to access the router software. If you don’t know it, it is often printed on the devices sticker.

Once you are in the software (it is a Webserver running on the router, so it behaves as a website) you find the DNS setting, and change it. Like 1.1.1.1 as primary and 8.8.8.8 as secondary. Save, exit, restart the router..

Usually the new setting should communicate itself in the whole local network. Give it some hours.

Then try again to connect to Evernote.com from a browser. Delete the cache before, the bad old DNS entry may still be there.

I logged in, and it DNS are listed, but I don't seem to have access to changing them. Or I don't know how to get there.

16 minutes ago, mackid1993 said:

Just change your DNS servers. It's harmless and will probably speed up your browsing too. See if it fixes your problem. It takes 10 seconds to do. 

Easy for you to say.  I have no idea how to get to the router and its DNS settings. The 1.1.1.1 instructions seem to be for wi-fi, but my desktop is on a wired connection. Any advice? 

Just now, PinkElephant said:

As posted several times before, this doesn't look like an app related problem. It looks very much like a network induced problem.

The VPN test (which takes out the influence of the ISP) sort of confirms it.

Now the question is what the ISP does wrong to block EN. DNS looks for me like a promising approach. But there may be others, like the ISP blacklisting EN for some (mostly stupid) reason. Who knows ?

Shouldn’t i then call Comcast? And what do i tell them, that an app stopped working? Sorry for my ignorance.

1 minute ago, mackid1993 said:

It seems like an issue with your ISP. Not Evernote. The VPN proves that. 

Why does  it then interfere only with EN?

10 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

As long as you have access to your PC and Router, you can change DNS, and can always change it back.

Since you mention you use a VPN (I am not aware you mentioned it before), this can well be at the root of your problems to connect. That it works when the VPN is enabled doesn't say it wouldn't mess up networking when it is disconnected.

To find out you should completely uninstall the VPN software from one of the computers where you use it. Then try again.

I only installed vpn after the recent suggestion, and EN then ran with no problem.

13 minutes ago, mackid1993 said:

@Michael Vanyukov These instructions may be of help as well: https://1.1.1.1/dns/

Scroll down to setup.

@mackid1993Ill try my best, but i just winder why Evernote doesn’t care, so i have to waste days on solving an app-specific problem. It’s time to migrate, I guess, after 14 years of use.

Just now, mackid1993 said:

That's why I'm suggesting you try changing your DNS.

Will I then be able to disconnect from VPN and keep my speed. Can there be any problems with changing DNS? I have a Comcast (Xfinity) internet connection. Is IP address Im have permanent, to be able to change DNS? Thank you!

4 hours ago, mackid1993 said:

A VPN would have the same effect and resolved the issue. The issue is his network that's clear now. DNS is pulled from DHCP but can be overridden on device to test. 

If that resolved the issue then I suggest @Michael Vanyukov connect to their router and change their DNS servers. 

Based on the errors I'm seeing and my networking experience this appears to be a DNS issue. 

On disconnecting from Proton VPN, the message  "Syncing temporarily paused. You can continue editing while Evernote reconnects. was immediately back on. On reconnecting, it disappeared again.

23 minutes ago, mackid1993 said:

@Michael Vanyukov Evernote uses Google Cloud Platform. What region are you in, perhaps Google is having an issue in the datacenter nearest to where you are located?

Edit: It could also be a peering issue with your ISP. Have you been able to try using a VPN to see if that would work. That would get you around any ISP related peering issues.

So it looks.  and they are not fixing that issue for almost a week now.