We're still settling into our new house.
Spectrum was the best option for internet service, as some of the others were slower, or much higher cost for the same speed.

We're on the Spectrum Ultra plan, which is supposed to be 500mbps
Speed test last week & again today shows that I'm only getting 75 down / 20 up
Lots of buffering when streaming, and my work VPN drops a lot.

I've got a bit of a daisy chained setup: Modem run to a Dell SonicWall Soho router, to a 12-port switch & then to a Ubiquiti AP.
Didn't realize that their modem only issues a single IP, and wasn't going to lease one from the ISP, so took advantage of a spare router we had at work that was unused but fairly newer.
Ruled all of that out by direct connecting to the modem & got the same speedtest results as being at the end of the chain & hardwired into the switch.

Called CS to get it resolved, after numerous automated prompts, finally get through to the most apathetic CS agent.

She ran a speed test on her end & confirmed that it's on their end & we need to dispatch a tech to resolve.
I'd mentioned that I was getting dropped from my work VPN a lot on days I work from home, she responds that it's not packet loss but that she isn't going to get into the specifics of what the issue is

Soonest they can get someone in is next week
That's all well & good. Then she says, paraphrased, don't waste time & call back, you'll get the same result & a tech must resolve the issue. Also, that 75d should be fine until it can be resolved.

Their 'survey' at the end didn't really give any option to give real feedback, just yes/no and 1-5 scale answers.
One of the questions did ask if I'd want to use the same agent if I called again, really quick to answer No to that one.

FWIW when calling them, cut off their prompts and ask for "retention". That should get you to someone who kinda cares.

I have Spectrum residential service at home and business class at the hangar (the airport is not zoned residential, so business service is the only choice).

I do not know how much my home internet service costs because it's bundled with basic cable TV and the bill is not broken down, it just shows some sort of undefined "package."

The hangar service is internet only, business service. $64.99 / month including all taxes and junk fees.

They are both "Spectrum" but they might as well be two different companies. The business service department is VERY responsive, any problems are taken care of very promptly; they are so good that I might switch to business class at home.

I have business spectrum too V, both phone and internet. I have been very satisfied.

Other than the slower than expected speed, it's been fairly consistent, just was put off with the CS rep's apathy/response to the issue.

It really was the "don't call back, you'll get no change in the issue until a tech can get there in person", and the "it's not packet loss, but I'm not going to get into what the issue is".

I got a phone alert that "your connection has been restored, do you want to cancel your scheduled tech appt?"
Speeds are better, but still 25% of advertised.
Last check was 120d/20u
So, no, I would not like to cancel.

It is a bummer when their actual speeds is a lot slower than their advertised speeds.

Be prepared for their techs not even any better than the one who took your call. The part where she says she isn't going to get into specifics means she doesn't have a clue as to what's going on but better to try to make you think she's the expert and you're just a dumb customer. A lot of insecurity on her part.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
It is a bummer when their actual speeds is a lot slower than their advertised speeds.

Be prepared for their techs not even any better than the one who took your call. The part where she says she isn't going to get into specifics means she doesn't have a clue as to what's going on but better to try to make you think she's the expert and you're just a dumb customer. A lot of insecurity on her part.

Being in IT, software side more than infrastructure, I was curious if she was blowing smoke or just lazy & not wanted to explain.

We'll see what the tech can manage & I'll suffer along at reduced performance.
But it's ok, because the CS rep told me that 75 down is sufficient to get me along until then.

Brother, I can understand your frustration, but at least your CS representative spoke English. I am with Suddenlink and their CS is in India? Their answer to every issue is "We will send a technician to your house. Is Monday between 8 and 5 alright?" I JUST TOLD YOU, lightning hit the pole outside and the pole is laying on the ground and all the cables are broken. "We will send a technician to your house....."

Tech came out today
He was here almost 3 hours

His tech device was showing 467 down / 25 up
This was after replacing the modem with a new one.

Apparently, you can't change what is plugged into the modem without power cycling it.
Multiple power cycles & adding a device at a time.

Still only getting 200d/20u on my computer over wifi. New computer without an ethernet connection.

Will have to do this shit show again after we get back from vacation.

The speed is half what I'm paying for, it's fine for what it is for now, but it's not stable. I was getting repeated drops on my work VPN all day yesterday, which almost more annoying than the reduced speed.

Those of you with Spectrum may benefit by closely examining your services and charges/ fees. For me, the charges/fees would increase from month to month by varying amounts, with no increase in services rendered. Over the period of a year my bill increased by 15 bucks. I only noticed this when I ran a payment history search on my bank account. Similar to slowly boiling a frog!
For all practical purposes, its a money making scam. When I called them, Spectrum said "it is not unusual for our fees to vary from month to month". BS!

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

Apparently, you can't change what is plugged into the modem without power cycling it. Multiple power cycles & adding a device at a time.

When I arranged for Spectrum business service at the hangar, I was very specific when I told the service rep that I wanted a modem only. Just a modem. NOT a modem / router.

Of course, the tech who came out for the install brought a modem / router.

I insisted on a modem only, they ordered one for me and I picked it up the next day at the Spectrum store.

I find it much easier to deal with things when I have all the router & WAP functions in my own device, not in a device controlled by the ISP.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

Apparently, you can't change what is plugged into the modem without power cycling it. Multiple power cycles & adding a device at a time.

When I arranged for Spectrum business service at the hangar, I was very specific when I told the service rep that I wanted a modem only. Just a modem. NOT a modem / router.

Of course, the tech who came out for the install brought a modem / router.

I insisted on a modem only, they ordered one for me and I picked it up the next day at the Spectrum store.

I find it much easier to deal with things when I have all the router & WAP functions in my own device, not in a device controlled by the ISP.

Same here, partly because I'm cheap & we had spares at work.
Commercial grade routers, configured by our network guru at the office.

Bit of a daisy chain here, though.

Coax to the modem
Modem to the router
Router to a multi-port switch
Switch to wifi ap & other devices

I know this is no help to you but we’ve had Spectrum internet for nearly 10 years here in North Richland Hills (DFW). There have been a few times over the years when I’ve needed a tech to come out, but 95% of the time it’s fast and stable. Hope your issues get straightened out

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

Bit of a daisy chain here, though.

Coax to the modem
Modem to the router
Router to a multi-port switch
Switch to wifi ap & other devices

That’s part of your issue, the daisy chaining. Best bet would be a latest and greatest WiFi router that has LAN ports. Commercial grade doesn’t mean what it used to. I deal with this shit everyday and the more devices I can eliminate along the path the better. Our leftover shit at work for this type of thing for routing, switching and especially WiFi, well I wouldn’t install any of it at home. A switch is no big deal but I want the router providing WiFi, not an AP, but that’s me. I just want separation between modem and router.

WiFi speeds are never what the modem will pull or via layer 1 Ethernet direct connected. It’s always slower. I have gigabit fiber as my primary ISP (ATT), and Spectrum coax for backup ISP. I just did a speed test from my master bedroom from my phone. Got 355/305. If I go into my office where my router is located, the speeds obviously increase. Same device 476/561. Tablet from office next to router, 512/481. Now if I boot up my pc, which is connected via Ethernet to my router I’ll pull something close to 900/900. Just how it is. WiFi sucks. I could speed up other parts of the house by using mesh and I have my old router which supports it but I can’t be bothered. It will improve but nothing meaningful to me and not worth the hassle. My router is near latest and greatest too. I spent a lot of time before I bought it and it wasn’t cheap. It did solve the edges of the house where I was dropping signal and spared me from having to install WiFi extenders, etc.

You can try changing channels on your WiFi on the odd chance a neighbor or something is using the same channel. It does help sometimes especially if you are picking up other WiFi signals from neighbors. I would suggest eliminating the daisy chaining and getting a better router. If nothing changes you can take the router back and get all your $ back. In many cases the more you pay, the more elaborate the setup, the better WiFi signal gets.

As far as directly connecting to your modem, I mean straight Ethernet into a PC. If you are getting half of the advertised speed something is up. DB is off. Your coax run may be too long. Local node could be oversubscribed or over utilized. Or just old and need of newer gear. Coax is shared by everyone around you so you got a bunch of neighbors pulling data 24/7, your speed takes a hit. But a tech should have been able to tell you wtf he or she did like say signal strength Also, the modems the ISP provides, always suck. Cheap crap. Doesn’t matter if it’s ATT, Comcast, Cox, Spectrum, Frontier, etc. Always best, just like the router, buy quality shit. A modem you buy is going to be a lot better than what the ISP provides. They are giving you the shit free because it’s not that hot.

The drops you are getting over WiFi could be so many things and not necessarily ISP related. That’s why it’s process of elimination. Buy new fancy router eliminating switch, AP. If same results, it’s your ISP, the coax they provide, something. Also I would try whatever the LEC offers in your area. If it costs more it costs more. If it ends up being reliable and no issues, it’s worth it. You can only utilize so much bandwidth anyways unless you got 6 kids, they are all streaming video or games at the same time, as well as the wife, even then 200 Mb should be sufficient. And the LEC may provide you a symmetrical service where coax is asymmetrical. Upload always sucks over coax. ISP service is also a regional thing. I’ve got Comcast broadband feeding some sites and never any issues. At one site it’s always fucking up. That Comcast node needs to go and they likely know it but supply chain issues hit ISP’s like it does everyone else.

I work from home many days also and since I cut the satellite off for cable, well I run dual ISP’s for a reason and pay the fiddler. Together with UPS backups of the modems, router, etc, internet remains up, as well as surveillance cameras and home alarm. Buys me 8 hours if power is cut. Last thing I want to deal with if my primary ISP fails or power goes out is having to drive into the office or miss a meeting. If you work from home I would suggest doing the same. Paying for it sucks but this is life. Internet has become that important. If my work depends on it, then fuck the money, I’m paying it.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
I got a phone alert that "your connection has been restored, do you want to cancel your scheduled tech appt?"

Must be an ISP norm. I get exactly the same thing when I've scheduled a tech appointment with Centurylink. Within 15 minutes of scheduling it (for something I know is a local problem) I get the text message saying "it is fixed!, do you still want the tech or cancel now". Of course it is never fixed, because it is something that requires onsite work by the tech, not something they can fix by "refreshing" the modem from their central office.

RE: Prefontaine

A bit more detail.

I don't know the brand/spec on the modem, can get that later when I'm home.

Router is a Dell SonicWall Soho
When I set up the Spectrum service, I didn't realize the modem was a single IP device, and we had a few leftover Sonicwall routers at the office. The Soho was practically new, but doesn't support 2FA so it got returned to our office from the field.

Simple 5 port switch downstream from there, feeding hardwire to the TV & one on the indoor cameras, and the Ubiquiti AP.

The Spectrum tech's 'handheld' was able to hit 467d/22u when directly fed into the modem.
I didn't have a computer with a hardwire connection at the house (just got a new machine at work & it's wifi only)
Bringing some hardware home tonight (new docking station) so I can hardwire into the modem & see what speeds I can get.

Spectrum only lists 'up to' speeds on their plans, apparently their 400 plans is 'up to 500 down' with no listed up speed, which is apparently around 20
Not sure if their gigabit service is still 20up or if it's improved.

No fiber in our neighborhood, unfortunately.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
I got a phone alert that "your connection has been restored, do you want to cancel your scheduled tech appt?"

Must be an ISP norm. I get exactly the same thing when I've scheduled a tech appointment with Centurylink. Within 15 minutes of scheduling it (for something I know is a local problem) I get the text message saying "it is fixed!, do you still want the tech or cancel now". Of course it is never fixed, because it is something that requires onsite work by the tech, not something they can fix by "refreshing" the modem from their central office.

Except, in this case, after 3 hours with the tech at my house, we're back where we started.
He pretty much shrugged & said "I've got 2 more appts, good luck" and left. At least things were back to square one at that point.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:

the modems the ISP provides, always suck. Cheap crap. Doesn’t matter if it’s ATT, Comcast, Cox, Spectrum, Frontier, etc. Always best, just like the router, buy quality shit. A modem you buy is going to be a lot better than what the ISP provides. They are giving you the shit free because it’s not that hot.

You don't always have a choice.

I have Spectrum internet service at two locations:

Residential service at home, and

Business service at the hangar.

For the residential service I can choose to provide my own modem, or I can use one provided by Spectrum.

For the business service, I do not have a choice. Spectrum will not allow me to provide a modem; they require me to use theirs. It is included in the flat-rate fee, $64.99 / month including all taxes and junk fees. This is for internet service only, no TV, no phone, just an internet connection.

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