Purchase Our Own Modem for Spectrum?

[Klueless]

Even if you owned your own, you could still plug into the modem and start ruling out the rest of your equipment. Yours, theirs, doesn't matter the results are still the same...

That's true but if "I" rule out my equipment then I'm left trying to convince the ISP it's not me and not my modem. Between the car lots, friends, family and me our ISPs have replaced numerous modems only to find it wasn't the problem. What they do on their dime is their problem but I'd be a tad grumpy if they made me needlessly replace a modem on my dime.

When the OP said the ISP replaced four modems I became uh suspicious.

 

[JoBo]

Have had TW now Spectrum for over 20 years and knock on wood have never had a modem problem. When TW raised the monthly fee for modems to $10 as I remember I bought my own and in 9 months I saved the cost of my Docsis 3 modem. Since I also have phone service the original modem is now free for the phone connection.
So if any testing was needed I'm guessing they could use that.

 

[Rolo]

That's true but if "I" rule out my equipment then I'm left trying to convince the ISP it's not me and not my modem. Between the car lots, friends, family and me our ISPs have replaced numerous modems only to find it wasn't the problem. What they do on their dime is their problem but I'd be a tad grumpy if they made me needlessly replace a modem on my dime.

When the OP said the ISP replaced four modems I became uh suspicious.

A few corrections:
- I don't have to convince my ISP that my modem is good; they have to show me that it is bad
- Replacing a modem isn't only on their dime; it takes my time also, which, to me, is infinitely more valuable
- They can't "make" me do anything

One reason I chose the SB6183 is that it has a spectrum analyzer (browse to the modem but to port 8080) in addition to the normal diagnostic page with signal levels and error counts.

The biggest problem with cable is garbage installs: bad terminations, bad bend radii, bad bonding/grounding, and I see no evidence that any cable installer has heard, "dielectric grease" or "drip loop".

I do keep my old DOCSIS 2 modem around for troubleshooting (and yes, its MAC is bound to my account) as proof that my modem is not an issue (proof to me first, then them).

 

[Klueless]

A few corrections:
- I don't have to convince my ISP that my modem is good; they have to show me that it is bad
- Replacing a modem isn't only on their dime; it takes my time also, which, to me, is infinitely more valuable
- They can't "make" me do anything

One reason I chose the SB6183 is that it has a spectrum analyzer (browse to the modem but to port 8080) in addition to the normal diagnostic page with signal levels and error counts.

The biggest problem with cable is garbage installs: bad terminations, bad bend radii, bad bonding/grounding, and I see no evidence that any cable installer has heard, "dielectric grease" or "drip loop".

I do keep my old DOCSIS 2 modem around for troubleshooting (and yes, its MAC is bound to my account) as proof that my modem is not an issue (proof to me first, then them).

I must admit I do agree with everything you said and that I would hate to ever get in a bar room brawl with you. But the fact is some ISPs will bully their customers and some customers can be bullied. No, I don't think they're evil per se, it's just once they reach the end of their expertise they conclude it's not "them" so it must be "me".

Across town my nephew has three viable ISPs; he simply switched and has no problems. Here we have one and, until recently (they were recently bought out), it's always been a "take it or leave it" attitude and I was always left feeling that I brought a knife to a gunfight.

 

[Rolo]

I must admit I do agree with everything you said and that I would hate to ever get in a bar room brawl with you. But the fact is some ISPs will bully their their customers and some customers can be bullied. No, I don't think they're evil per se, it's just once they reach the end of their expertise they conclude it's not "them" so it must be "me".

Across town my nephew has three viable ISPs; he simply switched and has no problems. Here we have one and, until recently (they were recently bought out), it's always been a "take it or leave it" attitude and I was always left feeling that I brought a knife to a gunfight.

Oh, I completely agree with you, which is why one must be armed with truth and leverage truth to get to the person who can actually deal with the problem. Being nice also helps (a tough one for me when I'm aggravated) and it's the right way to be.

I'll let the CSR run their checklist--it's their job--but not blindly. Also, eliminating unnecessary truck rolls is in their best interests as well, not just mine. Show that your objectives and their objectives are the same: resolving the problem as quickly and cheaply as possible.

My experience is that an overseas call center is more limited and you'll have to stick with, "I understand this may be outside your scope of responsibility; if you are unable to help me, can you connect me with someone who can?" to go through the fodder. Where policy and/or language isn't a barrier, I can explain the facts to the non-technical person (teach them the pieces-parts and how they work together) in a way they can use to handle the ticket most effectively. You want to be their ally, not their adversary, and vice-versa.

We have to understand that most problems are user errors and support is designed to deal with these primarily, with actual problems being the exception rather than the norm. (That's been my experience also; people are a real headache.)

re: Monopoly. Yup. We have AT&T fiber here and its tempting but their hijacking browser traffic is one big thing that keeps me away and the price is another, so there's only one appealing choice for me.

 

[Klueless]

We have to understand that most problems are user errors and support is designed to deal with these primarily, with actual problems being the exception rather than the norm. (That's been my experience also; people are a real headache.)

Very well put. The dichotomy been an issue for, what, over two decades now and, with ever increasing user demands & expectations, it's only going to get worse.

ISPs have tried to respond by providing WiFi to customers but, alas, it's not a one size fits all world. It's almost like there's a niche market for a 3rd/neutral party to come in, find & fix the problem then bill either the consumer or provider as indicated.

My new ISP has me optimistic. The tech came in and replaced my DVR but, here's the fun part, while he was here, he took his WiFi analyzer and checked out various locations in my house. He wrote down his readings, kept a copy and gave me one; he said looks good but if you ever put a computer in this or that room you might run into trouble. He also suggested a "better" location for my router. Yeah, I know, not perfect but he did give me a feeling that we were in this together.

 

[TonyH]

That's true but if "I" rule out my equipment then I'm left trying to convince the ISP it's not me and not my modem. Between the car lots, friends, family and me our ISPs have replaced numerous modems only to find it wasn't the problem. What they do on their dime is their problem but I'd be a tad grumpy if they made me needlessly replace a modem on my dime.

When the OP said the ISP replaced four modems I became uh suspicious.

That is the problem with front line techs. coming out to your home or CSR back at their support center. They don't have in-depth knowledge
with the system. Few weeks ago I had a problem with our TV on cable(we have a bundle subscription, TV/Internet/Phone). Symptom is channel
2 lost voice. When I called in to support center, as usual they tried to download f/w on the STB which failed. Then I was unable to watch anything on TV while phone and Internet still working fine. Error code on the STB was No IP. Knowing what it meant I requested to talk to supervisor who
let their duty engineer to look into it who knew what this error code meant and within less than 15 mins. problem was solved vs. "We'll sent out a tech tomorrow afternoon to check it out" Engineer phoned me to let me know the next day's tech. visit to my house was cancelled. Being retired as a Sr. system support engineer in a similar field I was able to help them and myself.

 

[Klueless]

I requested to talk to supervisor who let their duty engineer ...

<lol> Happy to hear! One of my problems; I've never been able to get the front lines to move me up to the next level, It's almost like they're measured and paid by how many calls that they do not pass on or up. Or by how many calls they can process in an hour.

Having been through the drill I try to save them time by shutting everything down, unplugging, waiting and starting everything up but, no matter, they tell me to do it again and then dispatch a tech who does it all again. One time I even offered the name and IP address of the ISP router that was failing but they still wouldn't pass me up. They had me reboot the modem and dispatched a tech. A couple days later a tech arrived, rebooted the modem, replaced the modem and then told me it must be my problem; maybe a bad Ethernet board in one of my PCs.

I changed the subject to local events, bars. restaurants, etc. and was rewarded with his boss' business card. Gave him a call, he was surprised but pleasant. That location has been problem free ever since (over two years now).

 

[Biggupp]

Thank you, all for the input. I installed a TP-Link TC-7610 8x4. May upgrade in the future when specs warrant. Activation was with a Spectrum tech went pleasantly and smoothly.
Prior to purchasing the TP-Link, FWIW, I also visited the Spectrum forums and engaged in a discussion with a tech there. He was very helpful and looked at the modem logs and the signal strengths. The data indicated all was well within spec. I do wish, tho, that these data could be measured over a longer period of time in effort to see trends that might correlate to events.

 

[Klueless]

I installed a TP-Link TC-7610 8x4 ...

Would be very interested to hear how things are a couple of months from now ... wishing you success!

 

[scjr]

Yes, "free" for modem, $5 for WiFi.

I signed up for 60 Mbps. Based on Time Warner I was expecting about 40 <lol> but got 70 right out of the gate! A month later I was getting 120. What a great way to start a new relationship!

Currently using the extra bandwidth to "shrink" cable. Those Rokus are working GR8 (with my new router : -) Saving $21 per month on HD boxes already.

Just got my speed upgrade. I was able to move over to Spectrum and actually ended paying little less than my current package. Thought it was going to go up, so pleasantly surprised. The new speeds are great!

 

[Klueless]

Just got my speed upgrade. I was able to move over to Spectrum and actually ended paying little less than my current package. Thought it was going to go up, so pleasantly surprised. The new speeds are great!

Very happy to hear. Can I ask what your old deal was / new deal is? Did you negotiate at an office or over the phone? I've family and friends under the old TWC contracts who are pretty frustrated to be paying more for so much less and they don't seem to be getting anywhere with Spectrum. (Could be because Spectrum is the only show in town around here or, it could be because my friends are storming in with major cases of attitude?)

 

[scjr]

Very happy to hear. Can I ask what your old deal was / new deal is? Did you negotiate at an office or over the phone? I've family and friends under the old TWC contracts who are pretty frustrated to be paying more for so much less and they don't seem to be getting anywhere with Spectrum. (Could be because Spectrum is the only show in town around here or, it could be because my friends are storming in with major cases of attitude?)

Called them by phone.

My old promo, with TWC, was increasing next month to $140/mo for TV/Internet/Phone. I was able keep everything as is, only changes were the faster Internet speeds (Yay!) and instead of Epix/Starz included in package, the package has Showtime/Movie Channel included. $130/mo now.

We have Netflix and Amazon Prime, so the switch in premium channels didn’t really matter. In the end nothing really changed, but the price and faster internet speeds.

 

[FatherLandDescendant]

(Could be because Spectrum is the only show in town around here or, it could be because my friends are storming in with major cases of attitude?)

I've always had good experiences with TWC and now Spectrum.

 

[Klueless]

I've always had good experiences with TWC and now Spectrum.

Thank you for that, I'll chalk it up to my friends' attitudes ... their frustration is palpable. They pay upwards of $200/mo. for TV, phone and 30 Mbps Internet. They see Ad campaigns that new customers get all that (plus 100 Mbps Internet) for $90/mo. Then they see a campaign that "free TV" will now longer work and that they will have to rent converter boxes for the rest of their TVs. Yeah, I'm pretty sure my friends weren't as gracious or as knowledgeable as SCJR when he cut his new agreement with Spectrum.

 

[FatherLandDescendant]

They pay upwards of $200/mo. for TV, phone and 30 Mbps Internet.

Wow

They see Ad campaigns that new customers get

I had a TWC account and called them sometime back to see what my up/down load speed was suppose to be. During that call the rep offered to switch me to a Spectrum account if I wanted to increase my bandwidth. Of course all I have is an internet connection so no bundles, why pay for services I won't use. I get offers from them all the time in the mail, I throw them away, even $30 IF I bundle my internet with TV and phone would have me paying more to Spectrum than I do for just internet. Your friends might want to see if they can be moved from TWC to a Spectrum account.

Then they see a campaign that "free TV" will now longer work and that they will have to rent converter boxes for the rest of their TVs.

I don't know about this, depends mostly on the TVs they are trying to use, but it sounds like they are just trying to charge for equipment. I can still tune in "free" TV channels if I split my coax to my modem, but my TV is only a few years old. For those RARE times when I want to watch local news after work I still can tune in basic cable TV signals. They usually put a filter on the line, most often at the pole, that filters out the signals they pipe down the line. But I live in an apartment so the filters go on in the demark panel outside on the side of the building behind our dumpster and the lock on that was busted off a long time ago. They don't even bother to unhook cable in this building when someone moves out, of course their techs have to drive over an hour as they have no office in this town.

 

[Klueless]

Thank you very much for your time!

Your friends might want to see if they can be moved from TWC to a Spectrum account

I agree and scjr's post confirms that. It won't be the "new guy" special but it'd be better than what they have.

but it sounds like they are just trying to charge for equipment ...

Which is what is infuriating them. Spectrum is phasing in "all digital" across the country. I'm not sure what "all digital" means. It's hard to believe that they're still running analog a decade after the government mandated all digital over the airwaves a decade ago. Maybe it means "switched digital video". Anyway their stated goal is to free up bandwidth for more channels and faster Internet.

I was skeptical until I read they did it in a neighboring city last year. Their cut over here was last week and all my "free TVs" quit overnight. Even the old TWC converter boxes didn't work and had to be replaced with newer converter boxes.

Myself, I'm happy. I am getting faster Internet. In preparation I upgraded my router (on sale) for better WiFi throughout my house and installed Roku sticks (on sale) on my "free TVs" (on two anyway; one was already a "smart" TV so I simply enabled it). On the day "free TV" quit -and it really did, even on the new TVs- I simply showed my family how to use the Rokus and they are loving all the extra features and programming. Faster Internet meant I could now save money by streaming TV.

 

[ai-apple]

Thank you everyone on the info. I was able to switch from TW to Spectrum with the same phone/internet/TV package, with the exception of internet speed. Spectrum is giving 400MBPS comparing to TW 70MBPS, and $52 saving. I'm bringing TW cable modem and cable boxes back to TW/Spectrum local office tomorrow. I'm wondering what new Spectrum modem would be?

 

[Internet Man]

Thank you everyone on the info. I was able to switch from TW to Spectrum with the same phone/internet/TV package, with the exception of internet speed. Spectrum is giving 400MBPS comparing to TW 70MBPS, and $52 saving. I'm bringing TW cable modem and cable boxes back to TW/Spectrum local office tomorrow. I'm wondering what new Spectrum modem would be?

Spectrum gave me an Arris TM1602A which had already been unlocked to 24x8. This modem has the Intel Puma 6 CPU and suffers from the well known latency issue. I don't notice this issue in daily usage but I'm not a gamer and I don't use VoIP.

 

[Klueless]

Spectrum gave me an Arris TM1602A which had already been unlocked to 24x8. This modem has the Intel Puma 6 CPU and suffers from the well known latency issue. I don't notice this issue in daily usage but I'm not a gamer and I don't use VoIP.

Very interesting (I have the TM1602). I recently upgraded from a 6 Mbps DSL service to 100 Mbps with Spectrum. I am enjoying obvious improvements like being able to stream multiple TV shows.

But, since the switch, I've been puzzling as to why simple things, like browsing at 4AM with nothing else on my network, seem to have just a little more lag, latency and outright failures than my old low speed DSL service.

For me, since I'm not a gamer, the greater good far outweighs the minor anomalies but that could change when my grandson gets into gaming.

A quick "google" seems to confirm what you said and there's even a class action law suit against Arris.

Intel has confirmed the defect, stating that the company is "aware of an issue with the Puma 6 system-on-chip software that impacts latency," but after numerous months, has failed to release any update that fixes the issue.

According to The Register, "The problem appears to be that the x86 CPU in the modem is taking on too much work while processing network packets. Every couple of seconds or so, a high-priority maintenance task runs and it winds up momentarily hogging the processor, causing latency to increase by at least 200ms and, over time, about six per cent of packets to be dropped. It affects IPv4 and IPv6 – and it spoils internet gaming and other online real-time interaction that need fast response times."

Even users who do simple web browsing may be affected by the momentary high spikes in latency, causing websites to feel sluggish or not load.​