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----------- UPDATE 2012-11-27---------------- Will be cancelling my AT&T DSL tomorrow after switching to DSL Extreme. --------------------------------------------------------- Over three years into DSL at my current location and I have no real complaints. Billing is easily confused with any changes to the account. Also, DNS stinks, so I set up my own DNS server and everything works fine. Now on Expert or whatever they call 6M/768k these days. ----------- ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW----------------. One week ago today we moved to a new house, with a new phone number. When we ordered POTS, the SBC rep told us that we could not order DSL until the phone service was connected. I was a little concerned that I would not be able to get DSL from SBC but then found out one of our neighbors in the new subdivision had SBC DSL. After the POTS was installed on Wednesday, May 19, I immediately called SBC to order DSL. The initial rep asked if we were sure the number we gave them was an SBC number. After a couple transfers, we spoke to a very helpful guy that said he would get the order through and to give him until Friday. On Friday, he called back to verify the order information. The following Tuesday, May 25, I received the new modem (5100b) and filters, and today, May 27, the DSL was activated. 5 days early and 2,511 down/296 up on the 3MB package without any tweaking on a static IP. Special thanks to John on phone support for walking me through the merge of my previous DSL turned dial-up turned DSL again account. member for 21.8 years, 4892 visits, last login: 1.1 years ago updated 11.3 years ago
(Feb 29, 2004) Week 1: Checked if line is qualified for DSL. Ordered DSL online with "self-install" kit, specifically the Expert Plus package (1.5-6.0mbps/608kbps) with dynamic IP for $44.99/month plus FUSF for 12 months. Being cognizant to the fact that the alarm system is somewhat connected to the phoneline, called the alarm company and asked if it's ok to have DSL. They said it's ok as long as it's connected to a filter. Sounds ok to me. Week 2: Modem arrived early, including micro filters for telephone devices. Checked if modem will sync .... not! Week 3: D-day. DSL line is now active. Time to install filters. Modem can only sync up to around 1mbps downstream, but upstream is great with at least 500+kbps. Registered and created account anyway. Immediately called support. Got informed to call again the next day, as the "broadband tool" is down. Another call to tech support turns moot, they said everything looks ok. Got transferred to a Tier 2 tech. He checked everything and can't understand why I'm getting a slow downstream speed. He then arranged for somebody to call me after "testing" my line. Never got that call. I made another call to follow up the so-called test. Damn voice support (overseas rep. ???), she can't explain clearly what's going on. Obviously she's relying on what she's reading without fully understanding what it meant. Eventually, I got somebody booked me for a technician visit. Sent an IM toToasterk2 over here at BBR/DSLR to seek some help. Toaster2k is great and was able to answer all my queries. Hats off for being so patient answering my questions. He told me that I'm just 2500 away from an RT, my profiles are correct at the router, and configurations at the redback are all correct. He also verified all my questions regarding my options for the upcoming technician visit. I mentioned to him that we have an "alarm system", and he speculated that it might be the only thing that's keeping me from getting the max sync rate. Hhhhhmmm, nobody from voice support mentioned that it's a possible problem. I went ahead and researched DSL on phonelines with alarm. I found out that it requires a different and a special type of filter. Went ahead and ordered it so it'll be ready when the technician comes. Found out that there's another option ... the use of splitter (to separate voice and data) right at the NID. Toaster2k again confirmed this, and even recommended this route. End of Week 3. Appointment for technician visit, scheduled for saturday (8-12pm). Usually on weekends, I don't get up until noon ... I jumped out of bed before 8am in anticipation of the tech. After an hour, I thought it would be wise to call the 1-800 "dispatch" number to verify my appointment. And Lo and Behold!!! Got informed that my trouble ticket got cancelled !!!! wooohooo. Since the appointment was made on tuesday, they won't hold a trouble ticket that long to last the saturday appointment. I got mad .... really mad. I almost turned green, fortunately I wasn't transformed into a hulk. The rep. (Myrna) was so nice, and she immediately created a trouble ticket for a 1-5pm appointment on that day. The technician eventually arrived late ... after 6pm. So much for a nice saturday, I just stayed home. Hmp. The tech tested the quality of our line from the wall jack, and found out that I'm getting a low signal. And again, I volunteered the information that we do have an alarm system. And he immediately said that it could be the problem. So we discussed our options, and we decided to go with a splitter, and run the data/dsl line thru the house wiring's line 2 bypassing the alarm/voice which is in line 1. It worked great! We don't have to run a dedicated wire to the modem's location, which is ugly. And this is so flexible as I can move the modem to any room. The tech. didn't initially get what I wanted, but eventually understood when we went to the NID. I'm happy, as I got what I need. Tech. did a good job. Now my modem is sync. at almost 6mbps down and 608kbps up. But speedtest results are just 4+mbps/500+kbps. I'm sure I can tweak this. If this speed goes on ... I can ditch my Comcast HSI with 3.3mbps/256kbps. Overall, I'm happy with my DSL. I'll update this review as time goes by ... we'll see if I'll get a steady connection. *** Update (May 14, 2005) *** What else can I say ... I' m still happy. For 44.95+FUSF a month, it can't be beat by anyone. My DSL still synchs at 6016/608 , I'm so glad I was able to jump on this plan. I probably won't know this if I haven't read it from the SBC forum here at BBR. Very reliable, I seldom got any problem. Being close to an RT probably is a plus. *** Update (Jan. 9, 2007) *** Since May 2006, my monthly is down to 27.99, for the 6016/768 package. *** Update (Aug. 14, 2007) *** After the 1 yr term was over, the rate went up to 34.99. Even though at&t no longer require a 1 yr term, I went for another year, to get the latest Speedstream 4100b modem, free after the rebate. I'm still a happy camper, DSL is still reliable, and a lot cheaper than Comcast HSI. For 6016 kbps up / 768 kbps down, it can't be beat. Now I'm just waiting for U-verse to come, I hope it will be available soon. We'll see. *** Update (July 2009) *** Cancelled account. Elite is too slow, and Uverse still not available. Signed up to Comcast HSI, with a promo 19.95/month for 1 year! *** Update (2012) *** I no longer subscribe to AT&T. Uverse or whatever is still not available. Alas, even 6mbps is no longer an option, just 3mbps. AT&T dropped the ball by not going fiber all the way. I'm not in CHSI promo anymore, and Xfinity is charging an arm and a leg ... I'm still staying though. member for 20 years, 2837 visits, last login: 241 days ago updated 11.3 years ago
unstable connections, DSL price but dial up speed. Contacted their so call Executives but was told problem not fixable. member for 12.1 years, 13 visits, last login: 11.5 years ago lodged 11.5 years ago
After nearly 20 years of att dsl I'm about to pull the plug. Service levels are terrible now and have been degrading for the last few years. The latest nightmare is intermittent disconnects and extremely slow speeds. So slow in fact that I can't even run dslreports speed tests or att speed tests without timing out. I have opened trouble ticket after trouble ticket to no avail. Well at least I can dump this extra voice line that the dsl was on and move over to cable. (review was emailed from domain pacbell.net) lodged 11.6 years ago
I had a bad experience with Verizon and since they own the phone lines here they have been bugging me to try and get their FIOS but when I fired them as a cell phone provider I vowed to never use their services again. I am pretty hard headed as well. Initially when I had ATT installed here it was SBC. It has been so long ago that I don't remember exactly how long it took to hook it up. I have had a Speedstream 5100 modem for about 8 years until tonite when one of their techs suggested that I purchase a newer modem due to the connection problems that I have been having. They are supposed to send someone out to check phone lines tomorrow. I have got it working tonight unless I switch over to use Firefox browser and then it crawls. Their line test today showed an extreme amount of line errors. It would really bite if I have to wait until 3am to get a good connection. Anyway, I got to get to get to sleep. I have considered switching to cable modem but do not want a slower connection or one that is affected by the weather. I tried Clear modem this past weekend and could not not get enough of a signal to even get started. member for 15.8 years, 41 visits, last login: 4.3 years ago updated 11.7 years ago
I was one of the first to sign up with PacBell for dial-up, back in the day, and have been with them ever since. Migrated from dial-up to DSL in 98 or 99 and recently took advantage of a promotional offer to upgrade to the PRO service. In general, everything has gone smoothly all these years. Installs and upgrades done on time and without any drama, no major billing problems, etc. Speeds have been as advertised and connection reliability has been excellent except for one incident. Starting about a week before xmas 2004, I began to have major slowdowns from 10 PM to 10 AM. This was a sync-no-surf condition that ended up lasting thru Jan 2005 and trying to find a solution to the problem is what got me to become a member at BBR. Long story short, SBC never admitted there was a problem and it was never resolved despite the excellent help I got from the techs in the SBC Direct forum. Eventually the problem disappeared and I haven't had any more issues, but the experience has left me with permanent bad feelings about SBC. My days of bragging to my friends who have cable about the stability of my service are over. Oh yeah, about that Yahoo thing - IT SUCKS. I was furious when SBC dumped that on me, but I've learned to ignore it and hope it goes away. To sum it up, I guess I'd probably recommend SBC to others in my area given the horror stories I've heard about Time Warner cable around here. Update 12-06: Haven't changed my opinion of what is now att yahoo. I've moved up to a faster speed tier which went smoothly, the snyc-no-surf problem re-occurred once for a few days, but haven't had much to complain about this year except Yahoo constantly, and I mean constantly, futzing around with the mail system. Oh yeah, the Att Yahoo home page loads slooow. Could be worse. Update 9-07: Nothing has changed much since my last review. Connection has been working flawlessly. No problems of any kind with my account. At present, I'm a happy camper. Update 9-07 Well, I spoke too soon. Today my connection was down for three hours. Completely down. No sync at all. This is the first time this has ever happened with this account, but I'm still angry about it. Additionally, Yahoo is in the middle of one of their incessant bouts of meddling with the mail system, so logging into my mail has been problematic all week. At present, I'm not a happy camper. Update 8-08 No problems of any kind during the last year. The price for the service is higher now that at&t no longer offers promotional rates in exchange for signing a contract, but that's about extent of any changes. I'm fairly happy with my dsl right now. Update 5-11 About two years ago I transitioned over to at&t Uverse VDSL service from at&t PPPOE DSL. The transition went flawlessly and only took the tech who came out a few minutes to make the changes. There have been no problems with the service or billing over the last two years. Likes: faster speeds than are available with at&t DSL, VOIP, excellent television. Dislikes: the new usage caps, but at least they are higher for Uverse users. In summary, I'm happy with Uverse, just not as happy as I was a month ago before they instituted the usage caps. Update 7-12 Nothing new to report about my Uverse service. I've had no problems with service or billing since my last review. member for 19.1 years, 4151 visits, last login: 6 years ago updated 11.7 years ago
DSL Reports: Couldn't be worse. Here is a basic overview of communications regarding my Internet going down 6 X over a 2 week period. It seems it is all because they never provisioned my service correctly. This does not include my service being disconnected, my land lines going down and much more. Please start from the bottom of the emails up. These emails were sent to a sympathetic customer service person.. TO say I have spent hours on the phone and waited for service techs with no resolution is just the way they work. A disaster. I am giving them a last chance after 2 weeks of this but monopolies limit my options to Comcast or AT&T. Previously I had AT&T DSL, solid. U-Verse and the division of the service from regular POTS service is a disaster. See below: To Customer Service: Thank you for your kind understanding. After I sent you the email I got a call from repair service saying that nothing could be done and that there was no one at the CO. (not true, I got a call from CO telling me they had to get an order before they could change it to a shared line). After the Tech left, Repair called to inform me that there was a DISCONNECT order pending for Monday. I will spare you the dialogue. I was asked if I wanted to speak to Customer Service to cancel the cancellation order. I just finished with that and was assured the service would be straightened out on Monday. I'll see what happens on Monday. If this is not resolved by Monday or this scenario repeats, of course, I will have to terminate all my ATT services. While one customer is only a flea on ATT's back, the only way I can vote is with my $. Obviously, my experience is symptomatic of a much larger problem. It's truly a shame. Regards, Tom From: ] Sent: Saturday, June 16, 2012 3:15 PM To: Tom Subject: RE: Internet/U-Verse Issue Hi, Tom. Well, I'm admittedly disappointed for you. I'll check back again on Monday if that's when they're telling you they can fix the issue, and I'll obviously look into credits. If it can't be fixed, then we'll need to go forward with some of the options we previously discussed.such as DSL overrides to get that service back. I agree, that is unacceptable. I am truly sorry. Please keep me posted on Monday. Thanks. K From: Tom Sent: Saturday, June 16, 2012 3:19 PM To: Internet/U-Verse Issue Importance: High Hi: Thanks for all your assistance this morning with my recurring U-Verse Internet service interruption issue. The Tech arrived and said he could not do anything since the Central Office did not have an order to create a shared line with my primary phone: 708-XXX-XXXX So, again after many hours, talking to various levels I am nowhere. I also spoke to Tier 2 support and they said all the orders were put through but the Tech said the C.O. had no order and that they couldn't make the change without it. TO say that I am livid over this is an understatement. This is either the fourth or fifth outage of my service since June 1 and it was out again on June 15th. Again I have spent hours repetitively on the phone and waited for Tech's to arrive only to be told nothing can be done. This the last time before I take my business elsewhere. I cannot believe that A.T. & T., once the gold standard of corporations has fallen to junk level. It is very sad to see a great American company decline. After the Tech left I called Tier-2 back and "pleaded" with them to try to get something done. They just called me back & said the order got "pushed through" but no one is at the Central Office" to handle it so the best is that it should be fixed Monday.. completely unacceptable, in my opinion. Thanks again for your time and understanding. If there is anything further you can do at your end it would be most appreciated. Tom member for 15.6 years, 18 visits, last login: 11.2 years ago updated 11.7 years ago
Have had the service for 3.5 years and it is still a great value. Speed test show I am getting about 8830 Kb/s down and 1359 Kb/s up on service UP. member for 21.4 years, 10097 visits, last login: a few hours ago updated 11.8 years ago
I subscribed to att via the chat service and two days later my line was active. The tech was helpful and told me the distance to the CO was such that there would be no prob to get 6.0. With about two hours of effort my broadmax/linksys setup was provisioned on the network. It was then I noticed that 6.0 service was not available for me without a 2wire professional install. The price point of $240 for tech support to change the service made my decision to stay at the 3.0 easy. Thanks to all the uverse forum posts, they were informative. I'm going to call at&t today and ask why I'm being charged $19.95 a month for the 6.0 line. Wish me luck. UPDATE: It has been 4 months and I've had two power cycle my modem twice, the speed has held at 3.0 up and 1.0 down. I'm not changing a thing. member for 24 years, 1325 visits, last login: 1.1 years ago updated 11.8 years ago
--{Updated 05/15/2012 @ 08:41 AD CDT}-- We switched to AT&T Uverse 12MBit Down / 1Mbit Up back in February. This was a complete f****** nightmare! We placed the order online for just U-Verse for a Self-Install only, 2 weeks later a Tech shows up at our house and switches the connection over from ADSL to U-Verse. In the process he disconnects our POTS Telephone Line (yes we're old school and had a analog land line), even though we did NOT request to disconnect this service. We called AT&T and they said that the tech made a mistake and they would send another tech out to reconnect our analog telephone line within the next 2 business days. No problem. 2 days pass, no tech. A week passes, still no tech. I call AT&T, they hadn't schedule a tech to come out and in fact they still showed we had telephone service, never requested it to be disconnected in the first place and they were not sure why I was calling to begin with... WTF? Left hand, meet right hand!? At that point I told them to disconnect my POTS Line since they couldn't get their act straight. We now have VoIP through OOMA and couldn't be happier with that service. The U-Verse isn't bad either. We consistently see 11Mbit down and .8 to .9 Mbit up. --{Updated 02/15/2011 @ 12:14 PM CDT}-- Last year had our Elite service changed to the Pro Speeds... without warning and then was told by SBC Internet Services Customer Support that my area no longer had Elite. That's funny, I've had Elite for the last 4+ years! I had to get one of the DSLReports AT&T Techs to resolve this. Finally after approx. 2 months Elite was back. I am still considering Time Warner though. --{Updated 02/27/2009 @ 12:56 PM CDT}-- Still same great service! Had a few service issues last year. The problem was not with our equipment according to the Techs here on the forums. Still better than comcast! --{Updated 04/09/2007 @ 2:10 PM CDT}-- Still same great service! No problems with it in the past year. --{Updated 02/14/2006 @ 5:57 AM CDT}-- Still same great service! Not one problem! --{Updated 05/19/2005 @ 4:07AM CDT}-- We've had SBC DSL for approx. 14 months now and we are still more than pleased with the service. We had a couple of outages late last year, but neither one last for more than a couple of hours. Speeds are still 5Mbit down and 520Kbit up and the price has not changed from $44.99/monthly. --{Updated 08/21/2004 @ 5:58PM CDT}-- We've had SBC DSL for approx. 5 months now and still am more than pleased with the service. We have not had a single outage since it was turned on! A+ in my book! Speeds are still the same, appox. 5Mbit down and 520Kbit up. Not too bad. --{Original Review]-- We cancelled Comcast Pro Service last week and ordered SBC DSL on the 23rd of February. Received the 2Wire DSL Wireless Router on the 25th of February, service was active this morning at 8:00am. I'm getting roughly 5Mbit downstream and 506Kbit Upstream, so far no problems... oh I'm 10580 feet from the CO in Blue Springs MO. member for 23.2 years, 3677 visits, last login: 141 days ago updated 11.8 years ago |