In this thread I bitched about my come-and-go cable modem service. Since I posted that originally, the modem has been out 4.5 of the last 7 days. Today the cable guy comes out and checks out the situation.
Modem: check
Line/signal into the house: check, but replaced the connector
Box outside the house: check
Box on top of the utility pole: not so check. It was full of splitters and incorrect traps which severely degraded the signal. This was not the work of cable pirates, but Comcast themselves. Rather than re-wire the box with proper connections, they cut corners. Way to go guys!
Anyhoo, the cable guy fixed my connection and things are back to normal.
I also have been the victim of this sort of stuff from Comcast. As a matter of fact, the other day we noticed we weren’t getting all the cable channels we pay for. We have satellite too, so the problem went unnoticed for awhile, but the problem was a filter someone had placed on our line. In another incident, our internet was cut off, and it took them four days to come out and remove that filter. The cable TV people don’t talk to the internet people, and I think the auditors (the folks who drive around to place filters so nobody gets anything they don’t pay for) don’t talk to anyone.
Everything is fixed here, too, for now. Until the next time one of their auditors feels we shouldn’t be getting all of the channels or the internet we pay for.
Comcast internet is crap. The (crappy RCA) modem loses connection at least a half dozen times a day, forcing me to unplug it and reconnect it. Of course it doesn’t TELL me it’s disconnected. The little happy blinky-lights on the front cheerfully inform me it’s still sending and receiving data–I have no idea from where; it’s certainly not sending anything to my computer. This morning it wouldn’t connect at all until I lost my temper, unplugged it, beat it severely and reconnected it. That after trying the normal power-down/power up sequence several times.
Hey Mr. Blue Sky, glad to hear you’re back on Comcast’s big fat pipe. Any update on the credit you’ve requested?
Q.E.D.: are you running a firewall of any sort? I’m running a Motorola modem on Comcast and have been literally FLOODED with packets this morning. Crazy. What say ye?
Hmmm. I’m behind two, actually. I’m con.ected through a router which has an built-in hardware firewall, and I also have Zonealarm running on my PC, just in case. I can’t access the router to determine what it’s blocking if anything. My roommate is out for the day, so I’ll disconnect the router connect my PC directly to the (crappy RCA) modem, and let Zonealarm handle the security. I’ll report results later.
Well, it’s been about an hour, and I’ve only had about a half dozen of so connection requests that were blocked by Zonealarm. Nothing at all out of the ordinary, and in fact, quite a lot less than I was expecting. shrug
First off, are you sure that Comcast actually put all those splitters in there? Not sure where you’re from exactly, but in my area, Comcast has ate up all the smaller cable companys.
My point is that maybe they aquired all the bullshit of the previous company, I’m mean they did correct it for you right?
I’m not really fond of Comcast either, but unless they know of a problem, they probably won’t go out and proactivily (God I hate that word) check all the connections in the area unless something is reported. It took a couple of trips, but they found it, so that’s good.
As far as my HSI connection, it fuckin’ flys! Maybe, maybe %3 downtime in a year, that’s not too bad. I remember the days of dial up, man that sucked ass. Just about everyone I know that has Comcast is also flying and has no complaints of HSI service. Now the cost, that’s what I hate about Comcast. I’ll come right out to my buddy and tell him that the company he works for are ripoff artists. But that’s for another thread, I suppose.
I guess it depends on your area and previous cable company screw ups that are messing your connections up.
There’s only been one cable company in Savannah since the mid-70s. It’s changed ownership a few times since then (Cablevision of Savannah>Jones Communications>Comcast), but it’s still the same outfit essentially. Cable modem access has only been available for a couple of years now.
They have always sucked, but they’re the only cable game in town. A few years ago, another company tried to come in, but the parent company got caught up in some kind of financial scandal and the deal fell through.
Another Comcast user with a Motorola modem. On the 14th I got almost 1000 hits from one Comcast user (about 150 hits from everywhere else, more or less normal). The next day I got about 200 from the same guy. I finally complained and haven’t had any further floods.
You know, I agree with you, somewhat. I’ve come across cable snarls so bad I’d swear I was standing in the attic of a fraternity house. The thing is, if Comcast were a cheap, no-frills ISP, I’d cut them some slack. A guy pays a premium for Comcast.
Further, if a cable company inherits the copper into my house, they best be giving me a little extra for that $100 setup fee and $59 bucks a month. I expect a competent technician to come to my house, inspect all the local junctions and set up my service. No soft drink, no potty break.
The other big problem I’ve had with Comcast is how they deal with customer abuse. rowrrbazzle, perhaps you have a bit more pull with them than I do. I have reported pages and pages of logged IP addresses, all from within Comcast, to their Abuse Department. I have actually spoken to real humans. No joy. Can you give me some pointers on contacting them?
I’m fortunate I guess. Comcast replaced the somewhat flaky RCA modem 2 years ago with a motorola unit and service has been pretty good overall. I got tired of renting the modem for 3 a month and bought a new model (SB5100 Motorola) via Circuit City for 50.00 after rebate. I’m preety close to the local university so I’ve got seriously beefed up capacity in my neck of the woods. I can practically pull elephants through the wire if I need to.
Any update on the credit you’ve requested?