US Telco Support > AT&T > AT&T U-verse > Is U-Verse really that bad

Is U-Verse really that bad

I've only had it for a week - but its been pretty good so far. Depends on what you are looking for. Its a great deal for the money, at least from my perspective. Yes, the video quality is a bit lower than cable. Not so much as you'd notice though for the most part. I have noticed a few breakups once and a while, but nothing outrageous. Internet service seems to be running ok... I'm on the basic speed package though..

There's no contract - so if you can get it, try it out - see if it meets your needs.
--
"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us.... We are far too easily pleased." C.S. Lewis

reply to CharlesJ
Think twice.
Wait 1 more year.
Then think twice again.

I left a reliable company for a joke of one.
No one knows what they are doing at AT&T and until they do and offer some decent (non-windoze) boxes...I am gone.

reply to CharlesJ
I have had it for about 2 months. I like to watch TV, but I am not a fanatic. I do not have HD. Besides the the outage yesterday it has been good. Hell for $40 cheaper a month I will put up with it.

reply to CharlesJ
Uverse could be a whole lot better in a hurry if they'd adopt the concept of what I call flexible bandwidth to the home.

Why put limits on the hsi speeds when there's a 25Mb pipe sitting there waiting to be used IF you're not watching TV?

Or..why put limits on TV service IF you're not going to be using the internet at the same time?

Using exactly what is here today in terms of the bandwidth, AT&T could say to their customers..here...you decide what to do with it. You decide what you want this to be at any given moment in your home.

IMHO, it's this kind of thinking and creativity that could put the spin on this service that AT&T desperately needs in order to increase customer adoption.
Because simply saying here..here's your 6Mb service to people like me who see 3x's that now with comcast simply isn't going to cut it at all.

We're laughing at it..and will be laughing even more when docsis 3.0 comes out.

But yet..there that 25Mb pipe sits that many of us could drool over. Waiting to be had. But AT&T puts the limits on it..saying you can't have it.

I don't know about anyone else, but I rarely watch TV when I'm using my hsi connection. And, if I was, I could certainly deal with 5 or 6Mb HSI.

If I wanted more, I'd simply shut off the TV. Wow. What a concept eh?

AT&T could spice up this service in a heartbeat to make it more attractive even to the techie types here at BBR.
The price is compelling..and clearly could give the cable co's some competitive pressure.

If they were to do this..combined with the lower price..I think quite a few people would be more forgiving of the early adopter headaches that is coming along with it.
--
The Coyote captured the RR! Roadrunner Rick is now Comcastic!

I couldn't agree with you more, Rick!!!! Give me the 25mbps pipe! I don't want the TV part!!!

reply to CharlesJ
I think the "I should get to use all the bandwidth, and have even more if I live closer to the VRAD" is pointless, and opens AT&T up to lawsuits. If you cant live with 6MB of downspeed, you need assistance.

Is U-verse top notch service? No. The DVR has failed on me a few times, rebooting the gateway takes forever, and I've gone through a few outages since Ive had it in May. Their automated phone and computer help is also for shit. Their address database is riddled with errors, and their voice-prompted phone service sucks ass. The WiFi from the gateway is also lousy (although I have not had it replaced yet, so it could just be me).

Given that, the cost is significantly less than having these services through Comcast. U-verse doesnt force me to keep landline phone service, which is a HUGE plus. It works enough of the time to keep me as a customer, as opposed to shelling out much more for Comcast.

Now, if I had FiOS in my area, Id jump on that shit in a hurry.
--
You're so vain... I bet you think this post is about you.

regardless... I'd like to see Uverse demo'd before I actually think about purchasing.

The nearest place to 'demo' is 300 miles north of Los Angeles.
What kind of joke is that.

»uverse1.att.com/un/launchAMSS.do
--
Canada = Hollywood North

Rest assured, the demo will work perfectly. Demos are useless when worrying about real world performance.
--
You're so vain... I bet you think this post is about you.

True, but I'd like to see what's actually being offered, and if I want it. (i.e. HD channels, try out the DVR / menus, VoIP, etc.)
If I'm going to have someone come in and rewire cat 5 / 6 through my house and kill a day, I want to see / try what I'm going to be getting.

I'm sure the demo would work perfectly.
--
Canada = Hollywood North

reply to CharlesJ
I have had a horrendous, nightmarish experience with UVerse and would discourage anyone from signing up if they have a choice. I really hate Comcast, but they are tremendously better than UVerse. I've never dealt with a company as horrible as AT&T. The only reason I have UVerse is that I don't have a choice in my area. It's been nothing but a nightmare.

Don't have a choice as in, you can only get U-verse but nothing else?

reply to nb

reply to CharlesJ
No, I have had if or a month and a half now here in San Antonio, and I have had little to no problems. I have it connected to my HiDef tv in my living room and looks great!!! ( i must say though that i have FTTP, I SAW THE FIBER GO FROM THE dirt to the BOX!!! once inside my house i had them connect my boxed using CAT5 cable... i hear many people complaining about how it looks bad and service sucks... Like i said it looks great...
Wish internet was faster, and DVR has problems recording HiDef stuff but have not trouble shoot it yet... I say if test it out for 30days if you dont like go back to he other monoply Cable company... hey the may offer you even more of a discount. LOLZ.
cj

reply to CharlesJ
Over the years we have had comcast, Dish and now we have Uverse (a little over a month). They have all had issues at some time. With comcast we had allot of artifacting and went through 4 DVR boxes within one year and awful customer service and the cost was relatively expensive for what we got. Getting service appointments could also be quite a challenge. With Dish we had one bad box on a continuous basis and several outages. With Dish just like Comcast and Uverse we received empty promises regarding what to expect with the service when we signed up. We quit Dish for Uverse as we were getting frustrated with the HD box having to be continuously reset. We really liked the DVR and it seemed to be pretty stable. With Uverse things have gone fairly well although we would be much happier once they have multiple HD streams, whole-house DVR, etc., but we knew we would not have access to those features for awhile. Customer support for us has been better than Dish and Comcast, however they did not generate a whole lot of fans with the recent Nationwide outage (hopefully they will learn from it). It is still early but so far we have enjoyed our experience. There does not appear to be any magic service at this time, they all have their issues and your experience may vary. To answer your question, no Uverse is not that bad but competitive with the others at least that is our short term experience.

reply to CharlesJ
I live in Indianapolis and have been with U-Verse for about 3-4 months. At first, it wasnt too bad, but recently, we keep having our TV's freeze up, sometimes for a few seconds, sometimes for several minutes. Occasionally, we have to reboot the whole system. It is really getting old.