AT&T DSL Drama - Part 1June 5, 2008
I decided to blog about the drama I’ve been experiencing with my newly-installed AT&T DSL, mainly so that I could have a record of my current situation. In my experience, things that begin as minor technical annoyances can escalate over time to the point where you find yourself asking, “How did I get here?”
So let me begin at the beginning. I was an early adopter of cable internet, one of the first in our neighborhood to have it installed, in fact. In those days, Time Warner was king in Houston, and we were all very happy. I enjoyed better-than-advertised download speeds, and uploading files was at least somewhat faster than the alternatives.
As a web designer and graphic designer, I upload files constantly. Whether I am sending a print-ready PDF to a printer, or uploading PHP files and graphics to my web server, my work depends on decent upload speeds.
Fast forward to last year. Comcast took over all of Time Warner’s Houston assets, and things got ugly very quickly. Their tech support was an absolute joke, and after months of unresolved service issues and being treated like an incompetent idiot, I reluctantly decided to switch to AT&T DSL.
For the first two months, things went very well. The download speeds were not quite as fast as the Roadrunner service, averaging only 5,100 Mbps. But the upload speeds were WONDERFUL… 600-700 kbps, nearly double what I was getting on the the “new and improved” Comcast network.
Then about 10 days ago, I noticed that it was taking longer for my files to upload. Uploading a 1 MB file now took 3-5 minutes, which is an eternity in web design hours. A quick speed check revealed the following:
Repeated speed tests, using several different services confirmed the slow upload speeds. The plan I am on with AT&T promises 6Mbps download and 768kbs upload. We’re nowhere close to that!
My Mac is set to backup nightly to an offsite disk, part of my .Mac service. That backup has failed the last four nights, timing out somewhere during the process.
This morning, I have spent a total of three hours on the phone with four different tech support personnel. We have “power-cycled” everything in the house repeatedly. I think they even had me turn the microwave off and on again. We’ve tried every trouble-shooting technique in their “script”.
The modem configuration page reveals 6,016 kbps downstream and 800 kbps upstream, although “real-world” speed tests tell a much different story.
Currently, I have a 50-ft. phone cable plugged directly into my phone box outside, and connected directly to the modem. Took one of my three computers—a different computer than the one on which I first experienced the problem—and plugged it directly into the modem. Exactly the same speed results.
So we’ve got another tech guy coming out tomorrow. I’ll post the update.
With a fresh 2-year commitment to this product, I’m really hoping to get this resolved. I can’t afford to spend hours of billable time waiting for uploads to complete.
Ayone else had a similar experience? Is AT&T practicing bandwidth throttling, akin to what got Comcast in hot water a few months ago? I don’t use P2P services, and almost all of my file transfers are conducted via FTP, with the exception of the aforementioned Apple .Mac sync services. Am I being “throttled?”
More tomorrow.
I have the same exact issue as we speak. I’ve been a happy DSL customer for 5 years with SBC now AT&T. I usually have Direct TV thus is why I do not have comcast instead.
This year (2008), I’ve noticed that my download speed had some issues for a while. I’m paying for the $30 Pro package which guarantees the following:
Downstream Speed: Up to 3.0 Mbps
Upstream Speed: Up to 512 Kbps
My download speeds on average with Speak Easy speed test is pretty good at an average of 2.5 mb download. I had a while where it was down to only 200 kbps! this year but that was short lived.
However, my upload speed has remained an issue for 6 months now. My upload speed is not near the 512, and usually averages around 50-70kbps, sometimes goes up to 200kpbs and that’s it.
I upload a lot to elephantdrive.com, upload a ton of other stuff like files, etc for other things.
I have put about 3 complaints (cases) into tech support. The technicians have verified 3 times that yes, we see sir that you have an upload issue after doing our tests.
Had a tech come out to my house last week. Of course it was one of those rare times the upload speed was good. So he saw no frigging problems. Go figure. He said to me “usually we have to come out 5-6 times before we actually find or see the problem”. Wonderful, just my luck. Cause usually it’s lousy. Only when he comes out, it’s doing fine after I remoted in while he was at my house to confirm that yes, speak easy was showing 400 kpbs or so.
I told support and this onsite tech about 5 times, it’s inconsistent. That usually it’s horrible. That I’ve never had a problem until 2008.
I’ve tried changing modems/routers, even bought a new 2wire. Same issue. Tired another computer. Same issue. Reinstalled my OS (Vista), same issue. Recycled the router/modem, same issue. Tried to remove electrical devices around the line and my box, Same Issue.
So obviously if my download speed is fine and upload is not, this is an AT&T issue. But as far as they say, they see my line is fine. Clearly, I am not stupid. First off, I had 3 technical support reps and technicians do tests to tell me I was right. Second, I know when my uploads are not well. If it takes me days to upload something that took me hours, hello, what does that tell you. If speak easy is telling me my download speed accurately and I know it is, but upload horrible obviously it is accurate. AT&T tried to take me for a fool and tell me it’s not an accurate site. But then another tech, the one who came on site says that’s the site they use. Hmm, contradiction in your own fing department?
So, now, if they do not fix my problem, I’m changing. Or I’m asking for a refund and doing whatever it takes to get a discount back. Furthermore, the techs keep saying (because legally they say they have to) that there is a possibility you will be charged when we come out.!! wtf! I told them I am not paying sh**. You fix my problem or I want some money back because this is false advertising and I’ve checked everything on my side and you guys have tested and verified this problem 3 times. Then the technician on site here at my house proceeds to tell me oh, those guys over the phone can’t test it like I can. So those 3 tests are BS. I tell you what, YOU ARE BS RIGHT NOW!
I don’t want to hear that bullshit. Just fix my fing line. So, you are not alone. This is false advertising, or this is careless and we are paying for this as customers. Furthermore we have to sit here and listen to their own contradictions.
I’ve liked SBC/AT&T for 5 years but now, this is a huge problem. I’m not going to sit here and pay for 50-70 kpbs on average upload speeds when they are promising AT THE LEAST 512.
so, let me know what the hell you come up with because man, this is a huge issue for me as well right now.
Also, one more point. My router’s site also shows that that I’m supposedly getting 3 mb download and 512 upload. That’s bullshit. Just like you said, it’s a fake number they throw into the hardware on the front page of your admin site. The reality that shines through are actual tests, accurate tests such as using speak easy. So you know exactly what you are getting in terms of speed.
I am tired of AT&T giving excuses, or blaming the customer or acting like their own support is incompetent. I want results, I wnat this fixed and fix it now. Otherwise move to Comcast if you can, or do whatever you can to take it to the bank to get a refund back. They cannot false advertise and cannot charge you for fixing something that they are not ensuring. I cannot believe they are threatening to charge me if they come on site to fix the speeds I’m guaranteed.
Again, I’m not using cable, and I am not about to switch form DirectTV, I like it.