Can't access any SoE website or game service!

[Pskl]

Yep, I seem to be having this problem too. My ISP is Shaw, in Canada. Connection type is cable internet, dynamically assigned IP addresses. I have been playing Planetside 2 since the beta test back in November (?) and have not had any problems with connectivity. This problem started on April 18th, 2013, between ~4:00 pm and ~7:00 pm (MST), and it is now April 22nd, 2013. All internet accessible devices in the home could not access SOE-related websites/services. Troubleshooting steps attempted so far were:

- pinging www.soe.com, which resulted in 4x ping timeout.
- tracert, stopped at "demarc1.soe.switchnap.com [216.115.64.74]" (no response from or past that server). Got a friend who is on the same ISP, and could still access the game/websites, to do a tracert. That's how I found out the name/IP of that server.
- added a device to the DMZ on the router, no effect.
- rebooted router to factory default settings, no effect.
- changed DNS servers on router to Google's public DNS (8.8.8.8 , 8.8.4.4), no effect.
- Plugged a computer directly into the cable modem, was assigned a new IP address and could suddenly access the site/services (!). Plugged back into the router, assigned old IP address, back to not being able to access the websites/game.
- Changed MAC address on router (to the same address as a computer in my home), was assigned new IP address and could access the site again! That worked for about a DAY: played PS2 most of the night and a few hours the next day, got off. Got back on the computer ~4 hours later (in the evening, around the same time as when I first found out I had lost access), could not access websites/game again (was still using the same IP address, the one that was working, I checked!).
- Plugged computer directly into cable modem. Because the computer had the same MAC address as the router, was assigned same non-working IP address, and still could not access websites/game.

All through these troubleshooting steps, I've been bouncing between my ISP and SOE, each blaming the other for the loss of connectivity (ISP: "It's your router that's the problem", SOE: "It's your ISP that's blocking you", ISP: "We can connect fine, so SOE is the one that's blocking you", SOE: "Nuh-uh! They are!"). Very frustrating indeed! I'll update this post if I manage to find out exactly what was causing the problem, and I hope these troubleshooting steps that I've listed can at least be of help to the next person to find this thread. Good luck!

EDIT: Also, there was a thread on the official PS2 forums about this problem, here is the google-cached version, text only: Page _1_-_2_. Unfortunately, they were unable to find a solution before the thread was locked.

EDITEDIT: Oh yes, also tried flushing my DNS as one of the troubleshooting steps, no effect.

UBEREDIT: Downloaded, installed, and ran a full scan with Malwarebytes, and ran a scan with my currently-installed virus scanner, Microsoft Security Essentials (I know, I know..), no viruses found. Also, Windows is up-to-date (Windows 7 pro, all important updates installed), so.. yeah.

ANOTHEREDIT: Don't bother trying to contact Switchnap (aka Switch Communications Group, the folks that maintain the server "demarc1.soe.switchnap.com") yourself: according to them, they have no control over the servers themselves, they just "keep the power on". Any troubleshooting with them would have to be done from SOE's end.

FINALEDIT: Welp, one week later, and it seems that my original IP address is able to access the websites/games again. No idea what caused the problem originally, still not sure what the problem was, and no idea what to do to prevent it from happening again. The SOE support representative that I have been talking to has sent my support ticket over to the networking guys, and they're going to have a look at it. Maybe they might have some additional input on what's going on.

EDITEDIT: Problem occured again (05/06/2013), same IP address as the one that first started having problems. Changed MAC address, obtained new IP address, I'll see how long this one lasts. Haven't heard anything from SOE support yet about it, though the rep I talked to said something about not holding his breath. Nothing interesting in the Windows Event Logs, and the only thing I could find in the router's logs was something about a lease update for my IP address (occurred about 10-15 minutes before getting back to my computer and discovering SOE websites were inaccessible). :\

EDITAGAIN: A week after the above (05/14/2013), changed back to original MAC address, got the original IP address back again, and the problem is gone. Eh...