Suddenlink Cable Internet SUCKS!

We've had cable internet here for 5 or 6 years. Our original provider was Charter and they were great. Suddenlink bought them out about a year and a half ago and there are no other high speed providers in our area, so we're stuck with them. Ever since they bought Charter out, we've had nightmarish connection problems. When we're connected, the speed is an adequate 1500kbps, but the problem is staying connected. I would venture a guess and say that we go 2-3 days a month without internet for the entire day and for the other 20-something days, the internet is only functional for about 12-15 hours a day... none of which seem to be when I need them. I've battled with Suddenlink over this issue and they keep promising they'll take care of it and the reason we have so much trouble is because Charter's old equipment is faulty. Their stories just don't add up. 1 - We didn't have ANY problems with Charter. 2 - No one else in our area suffers from these outages. They've replaced our cable modem once and replaced some old splitters. They claimed once that our outages were because we were accidentally placed on the wrong node, so they switched us. The last time we called, they said they were going to send their "expert" tech to get the issue resolved immediately. This was on Wednesday of last week. Since then, the internet has been out 2 days. He said our problem was because the original cable drop was so old. He put in a service call for a drop replacement and said they would be there later in the week. That time has come and gone and still no sign of any Suddenlink workers to replace the drop.

I've been instructed time after time by their customer service department to reboot the modem. This results in no change. I've tried 3 different computers to rule out my network card and nothing. I've hooked the cable modem up from different sources within the house and still nothing.

Does anyone have any idea what could be causing such a problem? I've been given just about every excuse in the book by Suddenlink as to why we're having trouble, yet the "solution" never fixes the problem.

Is there some sort of program I can use to automatically generate a log of whats going on and where/why the connection drops?


"Seldom"link's slogan is, "We're Connected". I think it's time for a new ad campaign.

 

We had the same problem with a local cable internet provider. Problem is 75% of the time on their side, they just don't want to admit it, because then they would go out of business, so they always "investigate" to make it sound like they're working on a fix.

It sounds like they just don't know how to manage cables. I'd say, tell them you want an immediate fix, or your switching providers. That might start the fire. We did the same, and had the best service ever for the last 2 weeks before we switched to dsl

 

I've tried threatening them with switching, but like I said above, there are no other high speed providers in our area. Suddenlink has a monopoly here. I even went as far as filing a report with the BBB that ended without any action being taken. It just doesn't make sense that we lose connection this frequently. We never have any trouble with our TVs and it's all coming through the same line. It has to be something trivial that just keeps getting overlooked.

 

Yeah the best way to get their attention is to cancel internet service (and sign up with a competitor) - but that's out of the question.

Ask some friends near you about their internet reliability. If they think also experience sucky connections you could:

1) Get everyone to ask Suddenlink to re-wire the whole street
2) Organize a boycott (And possibly share access via wifi and split the bill? Some high-gain antennas sound like a better buy than continuing to pay for flaky internet).
3) Get dial-up? Broadband that doesn't work most of the time isn't much better.

 

Contact the city mucipility that control them. Report to the city, they will come down on them. Most have minimum requirements they are required to meet. This will get there attention real quick. Also if you have a local new that does community problems, will get them hopping too. The will not like the public new of poor service.

 

Sadly, I live in a rural area. My only neighbors are my grandparents, whom don't even own a computer. Because I like to online game, dial-up is completely out of the question.

I think my next step is to find out the requirements they are required to meet and then call them out on it... possibly with the attorney general's office?

So does anyone know of a program that logs your connectivity?

 

X6StringerX,

I'm the VP of Corp. Communications for Suddenlink. It sounds like your account is located in either W.Va., Ohio, or Virginia -- the states where we purchased cable systems from Charter. In an effort to resolve your issues to your satisfaction, please email me at [email protected].

Thanks.

Pete Abel

 

talk about luck

 

Wow. I'll admit that I was hesitant to email this guy because it could just as likely be a prank, but after checking things out with Google, I think this guy is the real deal. He gets a ton of props for actually caring about his customers.

Mr. Abel, you've got mail.

 

Let us know how it works out. Sounds like you have the right person to get your problem resolved.

 

Thanks for all of the comments everyone.

Mr. Abel has assured me that he has contacted the appropriate people to get the ball rolling on a fix. I'll try to keep the thread updated with info.

 

Well, we found out that the scheduled drop replacement was for the 28th. A Suddenlink representative called us today to cancel that appointment and send someone out today instead. A supervisor is supposed to come with the tech to oversee things. Hopefully this is the light at the end of the tunnel. Stay tuned.

 

Update:

So far everything looks pretty promising. Two field techs, Paul and George, came out today and checked into some things. They said they found several pretty big issues a couple miles away and that a night crew would be sent out to take care of things that are out of their range. They replaced our cable modem with a newer model and checked out some connections on our pole. Apparantly, some past work wasn't done correctly and some of the connections were loose outside. Our signal is within range now and even our TV channels have improved in terms of clarity. They didn't replace the line drop, but that might not have been the issue anyway. One of the techs left his cell number so I could get around the hold times if another problem arises. They also said they would give us a call tomorrow to get an update on the connection stability for the rest of the evening. A speedtest showed a 200kbps improvement in our downstream.

 

Good news, Alway nice to have contacts in high places.

 

So far, everything has been great. I haven't had any dropped connections since the last tech visit. Hopefully, this will continue.

 

Sounds like they have a handle on it. I wonder what the odds of this seneiro happening again ??????

 

That's good to hear I've had very good service from my cable ISP, Cablevision. Once in a while, they update my modem and I have to power cycle it, but the only two real outages were both caused by a truck (or other tall vehicle) hitting the line going from a utility pole to my house.

 

The odds must be slim to none. I've searched for months trying to find someone else that had the same problem. While I could find people that dropped connection often, their problem always seemed to be solved by a new modem. I traveled that road and it just took me back to where I was.

 

HughesNet.

 

Satelite internet if fine, if the only alternative is dial-up. But compared to DSL, satelite internet is slower in both bandwidth and latency, more expensive, and you need a clear view of the sourthern sky. It's fine for e-mail and browsing (500ms+ does cause a tiny delay), but things like online gaming, skype, and webcam use will be laggy.

 

I am going through something similar. I have a brand new house, with brand new cables with new wiring direct to the pole, and yes they ops check good! I am on my 3rd modem (this one I purchased myself). Well its not the modem,, heres the deal... My internet is so freaking sparatic! Its up and running this minute, but tomorrow or for even 3-4 days (no matter how many modem resets I accomplish) it will not connect, if it does, its short. This has been going on for a year now. The over the phone techs don't fix much. When a cable tech comes out, it gets fixed somewhere done the line for a day or two, then I am back to this intermitent hell. Well I am beggining to count all my calls it appears I have called them about 20 times in year! The terrible thing, is the online techs do not expect you to understand any of the info and sometimes treat you like you dont know anything. However I do,,, I have set up over 500 PCs, LANS, and Networks in foreign countries too. I about to commit to DSL, even though its pricier, only for the hope that an actuall service I pay for will be provided.