New DSL starts today

[Barbedweir]

I switched to AT&T the other day....dumped the local guys that just read manuals to try to help fix problems....ReConfig my hard-drive - ya that will fix my connection problem.

AT&T said my modem should be in today and that they are turning me on today. My previous provider is to turn me off this morning. I have my fingers crossed that my modem is at the house when I get there. I went with their top plan hoping for better speeds than I was getting with the locals. Its the same phone lines etc but cutting out the middle man I hope helps out.

[ThaMan]

Good Luck ;)

[Barbedweir]

it cant be any worse than what I had....

[Freejack]

Not to be a negative Nancy, and I hope your problems are all fixed, but if this is a problem with the line between you and the switching center, I don't think changing providers is going to help at all.

What bothers me is how reluctant companies are to check or even admit that there could be an issue with the network. Good luck!

[Barbedweir]

The outfit I have been using rents their lines from AT&T and has a max of 1m downstream.
With AT&T its a max of 6M downstream... I doubt that mine will be that good since I am out in the country and rural...just hoping cutting out the middle man eliminates some of the clutter and ups me some. While playing BF2 my ping will jump from 32 to over 1000 at random times....plus if it rains my dsl goes out which makes no sence.

[Freejack]

Just thinking out loud here, but water can impede electricity, which is what the signal is. Maybe a box somewhere (even the one connecting the line to your house) isn't waterproofed. If you really are out in the boonies, it's very unlikely your connection will be very good. More than a mile or two from the switching center and you're going to lose signal quality very fast. That was always one of the severe downsides to DSL.

[Barbedweir]

I dont think there is much chance of me being within 10 mile of a SC. I will check the phone box on the house to make sure its still well sealed.....its raining today so will be able to check for moisture easily.

If this dosnt pan out I can always switch to Cable as we do have a local provider "NewWave"...but they are the only cable provider in our area.

[Barbedweir]

I was so eager to get home yesterday to get home and setup the new modem and get online......but alas the modem was not there.

The lady on the phone said it should be here Monday, Tuesday at the latest....so I am hoping for today now....or tomorrow or Fri.

I was going to call AT&T but the 1-888 # is on the interntet so couldnt get to it. Going to write it down and call if the modem isnt there when I get home.

[ThaMan]

I dont think there is much chance of me being within 10 mile of a SC. I will check the phone box on the house to make sure its still well sealed.....its raining today so will be able to check for moisture easily.

If this dosnt pan out I can always switch to Cable as we do have a local provider "NewWave"...but they are the only cable provider in our area.
The maximum that AT&T will install DSL is 18,000 feet from the CO. Even after 15,000 feet, your signal will degrade, but it will still connect.

[Barbedweir]

Once I get it going is there a way to see where my signal is going etc.

I have heard people talking of running a trace to see where in all it goes but never investigated doing that.

[Freejack]

Well, you can check your route to a destination by opening a DOS window and typing: tracert www.lostorder.net (or whatever address you want to trace to) and that'll show you every hop on the route there and the ping to each hop.

[Barbedweir]

TY for the info... will try that hopefully tonight.

if my modem isnt there when I get home you may hear me yelling at an At&t rep without an interntet connection.

[Methus]

I have dsl from att and i have similar issues. Whenever it rains my connection goes to hell. I have the cell phone number of one of the ATT guys and every few months he goes in and checks out the the big box down the road from me. a few times my line was moved to a crappy card and he's moved it to better location. too many people getting in that box for my liking. Always see a different person down there. One time my line was connected to a point that was sitting in a puddle. wtf

I never expect it to be permanently fixed just because of all the different techs that go in there but its what I can afford for now. I much prefer cable internet but it got crazy expensive.

[Barbedweir]

10M cable internet is $42 a month here... a bit more than the $35 for the 6M At&t.... but not too sure on the reliability of the cable

[ThaMan]

That's not too bad for cable actually. Here we pay $57 per month for cable.

By the time you factor in the cost of the land line, you are over that with DSL. I have VOIP with my cable, so I don't even have a land line any more.

[Barbedweir]

Still no Modem...
Called At&T - No record of my call last week.
But shows that someone was on my acct and trying to make changes but never saved them.
Then they said my old dsl never sent a disconnect order.

Call my old DSL provider - Ask why I was not disconnected...no record of my call at 10:18 for 3 Mins and 1 sec according to their records.
So they know when and how long I called but the guy never put in the Disconnect order.

So there is no telling when I will have internet at the house again....the locals are SUPPOSED to send in the Disconnect Order this morning and AT&T is SUPPOSED to call me when they get it to confirm everything. I wasnt a happy camper on the phone with these idiots.

[Freejack]

But isn't it comforting to know the idiocy is universal and not attributed to one single entity?

[Barbedweir]

ITs a matter of geting through the idiots to find one employee that actually has some clue of what to do without referncing through manuals and is usually on the wrong page.

[Namoric]

I go through crap about once a year with my DSL from ATT ... I call, hang up on the one that doesn't speak english, and try again.

After 2 or 3 calls, I usually find someone that knows what they're doing. Actually had one guy out here that was REALLY good and I'm actually getting over 8 mb down.

just don't tell anyone.

[Barbedweir]

I got the 6mg ...but am hoping once/if it works that I get at least 3meg....but not holding my breath for it.

[Namoric]

We tried cable for a bit, but everytime the wind blew and the sun or other stars where shining, or if it was overcast and raining, it would go out.

It'd go out if a the neighbors were breathing, sometimes, too.

[Barbedweir]

Sounds like my old dsl.

One time I sneezed and it was out for an hour.

[ThaMan]

Sounds like my old dsl.

One time I sneezed and it was out for an hour./signed

[Barbedweir]

Guess I get to call AT&T this afternoon to see if the Disconnect Order came in from my old dsl provider....or if when I call nobody seems to remember to do anything.

I have got to start writting the names down of the people I talk to....or moving up the ladder to somebody who can get something done.

[ThaMan]

Guess I get to call AT&T this afternoon to see if the Disconnect Order came in from my old dsl provider....or if when I call nobody seems to remember to do anything.

I have got to start writting the names down of the people I talk to....or moving up the ladder to somebody who can get something done.Record the call, and post it on the net. Then give them the address. That will get their attention.

[Barbedweir]

Called Friday to see what was new with AT&T.

Kept asking to move higher up the ladder. After 3 transfers got to a guy that knew what was going on. Ended up he is only 45 miles from where I live. Seemed like somebody who had higher than a 5th grade education so I tried to be a bit more rational. Told him everything that had happened since the beginning... he opened up all my stuff and said "Here is all is the last 2 people that tried to do this made notes." Ends up their fatal flaw was that they never brought on the 3rd party to confirm my order etc. Got the guys name his # his supervisors name and # as well. Everything is supposed to be in and up and running Tues. He is also supposed to call Tues. to confirm it is all working.
/Fingers Crossed

[Barbedweir]

If that Effn Modem isnt home when I get there I am pretty sure I am going to prove that Spontanious Combustion is possible.
Need to have the wife set up a vid camera in case.

[Barbedweir]

Got home NO MODEM... called AT&T...where is my modem??? She gives me a tracking # for UPS... run next door to find out where my modem is.... Invalid Tracking #.

I was dialing ready to explode on someone and tell them to forget the whole EFF'n order I am done.... when my wife calls and says it just showed up.

So I am all better now, setup and sitting at my desk at home... my DL speed is just over
5M.... now if I had a beer I would drink it.

Now to figure out why X-Fire isnt working

[ThaMan]

Gratz on the modem, finally ;)

[Barbedweir]

had to restart my system to get Xfire to work..derr