Crappy Comcast Conversations And Connections

1. When I lived in Bloomfield on Thomas St., I never had a problem with my Comcast connection. Now that I have moved to Essex Fells I have connectivity problems with the internet almost daily, just as you described. The only diiference is that recently Comcast started offering voice service. I think they may have jumped the gun and started installing the service before they worked all the kinks out. You are just a guinea pig. I would demand a rebate for you testing their new services….

2. When I lived in Bloomfield on Thomas St., I never had a problem with my Comcast connection. Now that I have moved to Essex Fells I have connectivity problems with the internet almost daily, just as you described. The only diiference is that recently Comcast started offering voice service. I think they may have jumped the gun and started installing the service before they worked all the kinks out. You are just a guinea pig. I would demand a rebate for you testing their new services….

3. Constantly have connection problems with our internet. Haven’t tried the phone…thinking about DSL.

4. F-I-O-S

5. One word: Vonage. I’ve had their service for better than four years, and it’s awesome. And cheap.

6. Raindog — whats the deal on Vonage? How much are you paying and whatya get?

7. I have not had problems with Comcast internet here in Bloomfield, and don’t use their phone service, but my cable service has been horrible. I end up in shouting matches with Comcast customer service reps at least once per month. Their response to any problem is, “we’ll send a signal.” My favorite line, which I repeatedly get from Comcast reps, is “On Demand service is free, so we can’t give you a credit for it not working.” Why else would I pay a premium for digital cable service? My cable service was recently completely dead for a week before they had any available technicians to come and fix the problem. Now I have to waste more time on the phone with them asking for a credit for the week I was without service.

8. I have AT&T Callvantage which rides over my comcast high speed internet and have never had a problem (except when the power goes out)

9. Ive lived with breaks in my internet service for 4 years with Comcast, and your right each time (14 in all) its a different answer- go figure, its absolute hell waiting a week or days for them to fix the problem. I’ll never understand it. Ive come do undertand thats just the way it is?

10. And its seems that in the last couple weeks Ive had more disruption then ever before maybe the new phone service did srew something up

11. Here in Glen Ridge also signal gets droped on cable… maybe ten times a day maybe once a day no clue at comcast whats wrong they say modem and line are fine….would never try phone ….

12. Comcast and Cablevision have ideas of being these huge telecommunications giants. In a very real sense they have succeeded; they offer high speed internet and VoIP phone service. But many of us know the emperor has no clothes. I mean, before you offer any other service, get your main service correct. In both cases this has not been accomplished. In fact, it reminds me of the Decider standing on an aircraft carrier in a costume glibly stating “Mission Accomplished!” NOT!
    Both services have failed miserably as cable providers. They used their huge cash flow to provide an endless stream of free programming for their weak cable channels, all the while on the prowl to keep telephony from horning in on their virtual monopoly.
    I’ve got news for you; Verizon’s in play now, but don’t think it will get any better. Verizon is the company that believes you get the same customer service experience from a machine as you would a live human. Who knows, they may be right!

13. Both Comcast and Verizon serve as vivid reminders of the despair of human existence. Thank goodness at least they’re messing in each other’s business. It can’t get worse.

14. Had Verizon DSL. It sucked. Couldn’t connect to Bloomberg and other services that require a continuous connection, not one that drops you for a millisecond every so often. It was odd, I could get on the internet, but every connection that required VPN gave me trouble. Not a technophile and don’t know why it didn’t work, but Verizon could not fix my problem for over a year. Switched to Comcast. everything works. Yes, i lose internet connectivity periodically, but not as often as with Verizon DSL and, at least when it’s on it’s on.

15. Had Verizon DSL. It sucked. Couldn’t connect to Bloomberg and other services that require a continuous connection, not one that drops you for a millisecond every so often. It was odd, I could get on the internet, but every connection that required VPN gave me trouble. Not a technophile and don’t know why it didn’t work, but Verizon could not fix my problem for over a year. Switched to Comcast. everything works. Yes, i lose internet connectivity periodically, but not as often as with Verizon DSL and, at least when it’s on it’s on.

16. Had Verizon DSL. It sucked. Couldn’t connect to Bloomberg and other services that require a continuous connection, not one that drops you for a millisecond every so often. It was odd, I could get on the internet, but every connection that required VPN gave me trouble. Not a technophile and don’t know why it didn’t work, but Verizon could not fix my problem for over a year. Switched to Comcast. everything works. Yes, i lose internet connectivity periodically, but not as often as with Verizon DSL and, at least when it’s on it’s on.

17. I have comcast, and love the service. The service that I have is for internet, not phone. I have lost service a few times (very few), but it’s not a problem. I would say that Comcast HSI is much more reliable than Verizon DSL (which I had prior to Comcast)
    A question that I would ask is: Is anybody using Comcast for internet coupled with Vonage or SKYPE or some other non-comcast VOIP phone service, and are they having the same problems.
    If Comcast HSI customers using Vonage are not having problems, then the problem is with Comcast’s implementation of the VOIP , and not the broadband connection.

18. Also……Everytime you get a break in service, call Comcast and get a credit for the outage. If everybody does this, they will be more inclined to keep things running smoothly.

19. Where were all of you broadband whiners on the Municipal Wifi post a few weeks ago ?

20. I guess I can’t technically be a broadband whiner… I use Comcast broadband, and like ru486 I have no complaints. I lived in CT for 14 years and had Cablevision. When they started their broadband I got it, and it pretty much stayed online. But this shouldn’t be a surprise. They use their cable system as a network; when you get their broadband, you become a node on the network, so to speak.
    I’m not a big fan of their cable TV service, (7,000 channels and nothing’s on!) and while I have a landline and a Cellular phone, the idea of paying more for VoIP is ludicrous. You used to be able to do that yourself, and keep the middleman out of the picture. Vonnage and Skype may be great, but I’m against putting my “eggs” all in the Comcast basket. I have a hard enough time giving them my money knowing one of their highest paid employees is Allen Iverson, the thug wannabe for the Philadelphia 76ers.

21. Comcast and Verizon are both EVIL EMPIRES – I use them both, and have been fortunate that service is usually consistent, but then it goes out for whatever reason, their customer service is horrible.

22. Lee Blair – Allen Iverson is a “thug wannabe?” I don’t think there’s any “wannabe” associated with him, and I think he could easily give you a beatdown without thinking twice. But you know what? He’s blazing fast, leaves other guards planted like they have cement shoes, can score 30 ppg, and at 6 feet 175 lbs, is man enough to drive the lane and take abuse from men 1 foot taller and 100 lbs heavier and still get up to score on them again. “The Answer” (his moniker) is NICE (and very entertaining).

23. RE my earlier post about Vonage: I pay a little more than $20 for complete phone service through them, although I do connect through Comcast broadband. Never had a problem with the service.

24. I have comcast for cable and high (?) speed internet.
    We have had problems with both, but not monthly, more like quarterly. I think our internet connection is too slow a lot of the time, but I always DREAD making that ever-lasting phone call…it rots my brain.
    We have VONAGE for the phone which rides over the comcast internet connection. For the most part, it has been great. Great low price, late 20’s early 30’s for unlimited phone calls in the US.
    I would never choose comcast for phone. I only have them for tv and internet because they have the monopoly for my area.

25. We were without High Speed Internet (we dubbed it No Speed Internet) for 6 weeks. I finally filed a complaint with Comcast’s Corporate Offices and, low and behold, my service was restored! The corporate number is 215-665-1700.

26. I have to comment on the off-topic comments on Iverson above(I can’t help myself).
    Lee Blair is correct….Iverson is a thug. He’s a gangsta, non role model for kids, 42% career shooter, never won it all player.
    We should all fire Comcast for keeping him 🙂

27. Oh my! I’ve been having consistent issues with my Comcast Digital Phone over the past several weeks. I won’t take bandwidth here to complain about the numerous past issues including Cable Modem breakdown, terrible Cable TV upgrades and sloppy service.
    I’ve experienced the same dropped call issues. I’ve had two different very frustrated servicemen at my home over the past two weeks – both having no ideas how to fix the call dropping out. After talking to the service department at 800-COMCAST, I was told by a supervisor that if the issue is not in the ‘home’, then it’s a Line issue outside the home. I was told that only the in-home servicemen can schedule or request an outside ‘LINE’ technician – and apparently neither of the servicemen that visited me have made such a request.
    So – I’m stuck with NO satisfaction via customer service or the in-home servicemen.
    There are numerous postings on the Yahoo Montclair Watercooler group regarding this issue – as it appears many people in the Montclair area are experiencing issues after the recent bad weather/microburst.
    Yes, Verizon is terrible and it’s obvious Comcast is enjoying their ‘big fish’ status. I recommend that those of us who are having issues should continue being squeaky wheels – with continued calls and emails to COMCAST – and registering complaints with the NJ Board of Public Utilities.
    Check out the NJBoPU :
    http://www.state.nj.us/bpu/home/complaintForm.shtml
    Stand up!
    thanks
    bb

28. Oh my! I’ve been having consistent issues with my Comcast Digital Phone over the past several weeks. I won’t take bandwidth here to complain about the numerous past issues including Cable Modem breakdown, terrible Cable TV upgrades and sloppy service.
    I’ve experienced the same dropped call issues. I’ve had two different very frustrated servicemen at my home over the past two weeks – both having no ideas how to fix the call dropping out. After talking to the service department at 800-COMCAST, I was told by a supervisor that if the issue is not in the ‘home’, then it’s a Line issue outside the home. I was told that only the in-home servicemen can schedule or request an outside ‘LINE’ technician – and apparently neither of the servicemen that visited me have made such a request.
    So – I’m stuck with NO satisfaction via customer service or the in-home servicemen.
    There are numerous postings on the Yahoo Montclair Watercooler group regarding this issue – as it appears many people in the Montclair area are experiencing issues after the recent bad weather/microburst.
    Yes, Verizon is terrible and it’s obvious Comcast is enjoying their ‘big fish’ status. I recommend that those of us who are having issues should continue being squeaky wheels – with continued calls and emails to COMCAST – and registering complaints with the NJ Board of Public Utilities.
    Check out the NJBoPU :
    http://www.state.nj.us/bpu/home/complaintForm.shtml
    Stand up!
    thanks
    bb

29. I’ve had Earthlink DSL for years with only 2 problems. Sometimes the little guys try harder.
    In grad school the prof warned us to never use Comcast as our ISP.

30. I had major problems with Comcast and a VPN connection. I was dropped numerous times a day. The tech department at my company said that Comcast is constantly reclaiming their IP address so if there is no activity for even for a short while, Comcast drops your connection. The company installed another software (Nortell) and I don’t get dropped at all. Don’t know what it does.
    As for Verizon, since the day we moved in eight years ago, we have had numerous problems with noise on our phone line, especially when it rains. We called repair several times a year. Since I work from home, it was a real problem. I finally sent an email to the CEO at Verizon. I had a reepair truck at my house 2 hours later to fix it and was given the phone # of a regional VP and supervisor if I had further problems. While the day to day customer service may be questionable, an email to the CEO was certainly treated exceptionally.

31. I’ve got broadcast TV and AT&T dialup service.
    Doesn’t cost much. Everything works all the time.
    I get 3 PBS channels & with the small # of network offerings that interest me, there’s more than I have time to watch already. Why the heck do I need cable?

32. if you have to ask, then you don’t need cable.

33. crank, TCM, Larry King, Bill Maher, and those interesting FX series.

34. Greg,
    So, I’m not the only one who has noise on my Verizon line when it rains. Do you still have that CEO’s email?

35. Oh, goodness, this strikes a chord. We started having miserably inconsistent Comcast service a few months ago. We finally had a service call, and the guy came out and changed out some parts on the line outside to strengthen the signal (he said). We have an older modem and a wireless router, which a tech based in Canada said could be hindering our connection. So far, we’ve had pretty consistent service after the phone call, but there are still some frustratingly spotty days. We’re absolutely thinking of switching to DSL. I will say, however, that I had Comcast in Jersey City for about five years, and I never had a connection problem, either for cable TV or modem.

36. Yes cable has it’s good side: TCM, The History Channel, various discovery channels, Independent Film Channel and good reception on all PBS channels.
    I hate the idea of paying for television, but I also hate the idea of having to watch “American Idol” because it’s pledge drive week.

37. Greg/PAZ — my Verizon landline in the Brookdale area is a better forecaster than the Weather Channel — when the humidity reaches 50.001% the buzz and the noise gets horrendous. It has not seemed to affect my DSL, but I am not online all the time so I can’t really tell. Email me that CEO’s email address — I have never gotten through to a thinking human being at that company since I started using them.

38. On e-Mailing CEOs:
    In the late 90’s my company was having an enormous amount of trouble getting WorldCom to admit that they sold us a monstrous lemon of a communications system. Eventually, I composed and sent a scathing e-Mail to Bernie Ebbers, WorldCom’s CEO, accusing him of being a goniff, a fraud, and many other not so nice things. Our system never got fixed and we switched to another provider. But today, Bernie Ebbers is in jail for what appears to be a long, long time, for being a goniff and a fraud. God is good.

39. I have Verizon DSL and have had no performance problems ever. I occassionally get a “stuck” IP address which renders the connection useless but that is a client-side problem, not Verizon-side. And Verizon’s customer service walked me through the process of resolving this problem, me a Mac user no less! I am very happy with Verizon DSL and, considering the complaints about Comcast in the area, I wouldn’t switch until their service becomes more reliable.

40. This original post was about Voice over Internet phone service (Voip). It has degenerated into a disorganized general bitch sheet against various other types of service (i.e. cable tv, cable internet, DSL (telephone line broadband) from communications companies. The same relevancy and logic (lack thereof) generally shown on social and political issues.

41. Geez, Byron, do all your conversations go in a straight line? Maybe you’s be happier “chatting” on the Montclair Watercooler where Mommy and Daddy are always listening in on the line. ‘Bye!

42. Interesting article in today’s Boston Globe business section about how Verizon is trying to appeal to Gamers to use their new integrated systems.
    https://www.boston.com/business/personaltech/articles/2006/08/30/verizon_aims_to_lure_gamers_with_a_free_online_system/

43. What few people realize is that VOIP and reliable internet service are tightly related. Without a reliable upload and download connection you won’t get a reliable VOIP serivce.
    Now, cable and DSL are in my personal experience unreliable services due to physical issues like trees and poor service in general (Cable being worse than DSL)
    I have some hopes for FIOS but I am very wary at the same time because the lines are on poles again and therefore subject to the same issue which plagues us today.
    SideNote: Our phone & DSL service failed yesterday and the verizon can send a guy fixing the wires next sunday the earliest….

44. We have comcast for our internet connection. Almost every day, there is a period of time when we can’t log on or someone’s connecton is interrupted in the middle of doing something. Lasts from a few minutes to one hour +. There doesn’t seem to be any problem with the tv connection.

45. Unforunately we have Comcast for cable, internet and phone service ( sometimes. We came back from vacation recently to find that our phone service was out for a week. Callers were getting a recording saying our service was disconnected. Nice. We could dial out but no one could call in. Of course Comcast had no idea what the problem was and took three more days to get service back.
    Now when we are on the phone, occassionally the other person cannot hear us.
    I would love to change providers but since I got my original phone number from Comcast, they cannot switch me without assigning a new phone number.
    It’s comcastic!!!

46. I have Sunrocket VOIP via Comcast cable, and ru486 – yes – I have been experiencing this exact issue for the past few months. Mid-conversation, the line drops. It will return several seconds later. Internet service also dropping for a few seconds at a time, but not as annoying as losing a call.

47. a consideration should be the reliability of the 911 service of a voip line. your tax $$’s are used to assure timely response to emergency, while voip may save $ on phone service, the most important call you may ever make will be handled by a work in progress. but you saved a nickel that month – spend it wisely, you get what you pay for…

48. I just got Comcast DVR and everything we record has that digital static every few minutes. Has anyone experienced this?

49. hrhppg,
    Similar problem with a TIVO DVR. They replaced the recorder and problem was solved.
    Anyone who has not carefully read the post by “I” (or is it “J”) should go back and reread it. It raises a very valid issue with VOIP and 9ll. It will be quite a while before 911 will be reliable on the internet phone systems.

50. We had VOIP in our office and our tech team figured out that our dropped calls and problems with customers hearing us were happening only when someone was downloading large files in the office, it’s like a drain on the phone line and you can’t use them at the same time, even though they claim you can. We’ve since switched back to regular phones.

51. did not intend to post my reply to hrhppg anonymously.
    Kappy, I did not know that the VOIP numbers are not subject to the portability requirement. This is worth checking

52. Let me preface this statement; I’m not advocating Comcast or Verizon’s services, i’m just stating the facts. People may experience the same trouble with their comcast voip because everyone in the neighborhood shares the service. All of comcast’s subscribers are tapping into the same “pipe”. The more people access the “pipe”, the slower the connection. Plus with everyone sharing, viruses may be more prevalent. Verizon has its own dedicated facilities terminating to the house or business-no sharing. nevertheless, comcast is faster than DSL, but more expensive (you get what you pay for). However FIOS is coming, and it’s faster and cheaper then cable. Fios consists of fiber optic facilities being fed right to the house; this means when it rains you will not experience noise or humming on the line. This noise is caused from water making contact with the traditional copper facilities that are presently being used.

53. Let me preface this statement; I’m not advocating Comcast or Verizon’s services, i’m just stating the facts. People may experience the same trouble with their comcast voip because everyone in the neighborhood shares the service. All of comcast’s subscribers are tapping into the same “pipe”. The more people access the “pipe”, the slower the connection. Plus with everyone sharing, viruses may be more prevalent. Verizon has its own dedicated facilities terminating to the house or business-no sharing. nevertheless, comcast is faster than DSL, but more expensive (you get what you pay for). However, FIOS is coming and it’s faster and cheaper then cable. Fios consists of fiber optic facilities being fed right to the house; this means when it rains you will not experience noise or humming on the line. This noise is caused from water making contact with the traditional copper facilities that are presently being used.

54. Let me preface this statement; I’m not advocating Comcast or Verizon’s services, i’m just stating the facts. People may experience the same trouble with their comcast voip because everyone in the neighborhood shares the service. All of comcast’s subscribers are tapping into the same “pipe”. The more people access the “pipe”, the slower the connection. Plus with everyone sharing, viruses may be more prevalent. Verizon has its own dedicated facilities terminating to the house or business-no sharing. nevertheless, comcast is faster than DSL, but more expensive (you get what you pay for). However, FIOS is coming and it’s faster and cheaper then cable. Fios consists of fiber optic facilities being fed right to the house; this means when it rains you will not experience noise or humming on the line. This noise is caused from water making contact with the traditional copper facilities that are presently being used.

55. Bryon,
    It was Verizon that informed me that I cannot move my phone number as it was never ” in their system” I will do some more investigating.

56. while we are talking about troubles with technology:
    the comment software — or whatever it is — for Barista sucks. Way too slow. That’s why people post the same thing over and over. Keep hitting “post” in frustration.

57. Amanda, regarding the dropped calls in your office:
    When using VOIP you need a router which can handle Quality-Of-Service (QoS) enhancements. This buzz word indicates that some IP traffic gets higher priority (like VOIP) and other IP traffic like donwloading, websurfing, email transmissoion gets a lower priority.

58. diversify. i have comcast internet but have chosen broadvoice.com as my voip provider. i’ve found them more inexpensive and with more features.

59. I use Comcast for my broadband connection and Verizon’s VoIP service (VoiceWing) for telephone service. I’ve had less than a dozen cable/broadband outages in the 2 years that I’ve had cable service, so I consider myself lucky. I’ve had some weirdness with my Comcast DVR box and some issues with the VoiceWing router, but I nothing I consider major. My biggest complaint right now is the expense of Comcast services. I am seriously thinking about switching over to Verizon if it’s going to be cheaper and just as reliable. I guess I’ll have to keep my fingers crossed on the reliable part.

60. I’ve split my services, too. I have Comcast internet and cable, but Verizon VoiceWing for VoIP service. That combination seems to work. My biggest complaint is how expensive Comcast is. I’m really thinking about going all Verizon if it’s going to be cheaper than Comcast.

61. Call comcast, and threaten to disconnect your Internet. You will be transferred to account retention, and will be offered a rate for 35/month (last year they offered 29.95. It will be good for a year, and you can whine again then. Maybe FIOS will be available, but, i would not set expectations of a Verizon service to be better than Comcast. Right now you can get cheap DSL from Verizon but the bandwidth is 768k vs 5mb from Comcast. Verizon has higher bandwidth offerings, but it becomes around the same (or even more) than Comcast for the same BW.

62. Thanks, RU486! I will definitely try that. I have really had it with the expense. If it doesn’t work, I’ll live with the lower bandwidth from Verizon.

63. I use verizon.. phone and internet (dsl) .. great service!

64. I live in Verona and ever since we added the Comcast Voice to our existing internet and cable, none of them seem to work properly. The phone will not connect to certain numbers in Morris County, and the internet needs to be reset at least 3-4 times a week. The cable was out a couple days ago in the middle of the yankee game. Boy was I pissed. And of course when it comes back on they say it is fixed but it continues to happen. I think you guys are right, Comcast may have jumped the gun on rolling out voice services.

65. I live in Verona and ever since we added the Comcast Voice to our existing internet and cable, none of them seem to work properly. The phone will not connect to certain numbers in Morris County, and the internet needs to be reset at least 3-4 times a week. The cable was out a couple days ago in the middle of the yankee game. Boy was I pissed. And of course when it comes back on they say it is fixed but it continues to happen. I think you guys are right, Comcast may have jumped the gun on rolling out voice services.

66. Ahh…the heady temptation of technology…and the heartbreak of broken promises.
    As someone who works with technology users (no, I don’t mean technology is a drug, “users” is just how we refer to y’all) for a living, here√¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s a little perspective that I hope will prove helpful.
    Regarding VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
    Comcast, Verizon, Vonage, Skype, Time Warner, and others all provide this service. It is probably the way of the future for phone service but is relatively new as a mass offering. Vonage was one of the earlier entrants to the field, Skype has a setup that offers free long distance (read the fine print), and the other 3 offer you a bargain bundle. I personally have Vonage which I use in 2 locations (running on Comcast and Time Warner Cable). I’ve had relatively few problems but still make sure I have one land-line phone…’nuff said.
    Regarding Problems
    For VOIP to work, you must have an internet connection and sufficient bandwidth. That said, there are myriad things (read hundreds) that can go wrong. The signal must travel over cables, around networks, through routers (wired and wireless), be received by various devices and converted to sound. Something could go wrong anywhere along the line. The good news – it often works beautifully.
    Regarding Customer Service
    What was it Charlie Brown used to say?…√¢‚Ǩ¬ùArghhhhhhhhh√¢‚Ǩ¬ù. Unfortunately customer service is pathetic in most sectors related to technology. The market rewards whoever gets the product out first and debugging, training, and service are the first to suffer when time runs out. And this was even before most tech support was outsourced to folks for whom English is a second language.
    Sage Advice
    So what to do…? Here are my general guidelines:
    Don’t be an “early adopter” (a little more jargon for you). Unless you have time and energy for the hassle, wait until the dust settles.
    When dealing with tech support, be assertive, ask many questions, and get a new person to help you if the first is incompetent. Usually there are several tiers of tech support – ask for the problem to be escalated if it is not resolved. Never apologize for your lack of knowledge – that isn’t your job. On the other hand, don’t vent your frustration on the person trying to help you – they are just trying to do their job and probably weren’t trained well. Worse – they may write you off and not make the effort to help you.
    When there is a problem, call immediately and ask for a credit for the downtime.
    Do a little homework on the product & service records (of course, you will need a working internet connection for this…) and weigh the pros and cons of trying something new.
    Take up yoga and meditation. Breathe.
    Good Luck!

67. Comcast has had a lot of issues for me and others in my neighborhood in Bloomfield. For someone working from home it was completely unacceptable to loose your connection every two hours. The IP adress would become invalid, which is clearly something they were doing on their side. I was able to renew the IP adress manually after about 10 tries, but that is not what I pay $50 a month for. My neighbor switched to DSL in lieu of not being able to get FIOS, and he said the service is much better and faster too. I am waiting for FIOS personally, simply for the lower price.

68. For those of us in West Orange, I think Comcast is our alternative. As long as our cable TV is working, usually our broadband is working. Is our only redress to this choice a political one?

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