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rothman9
join:2001-04-01
Signal Mountain, TN

rothman9

Member

[Modem] Do I really need a new modem??

I have been having speed problems.

I called tech support to see if they could run a line check to see if there was any trouble. They learned that I had an Alcatel Speed Touch Home modem from my bellsouth days from 2002. Their solution was to send me a newer Motorola with newer firmware, blah blah....I guess they dont support Alcatel anymore.

I havent hooked it up because my speed has returned...and while Im still not getting my reliable speed of 2700 Kbps..it is better than it was.

Do I need this new modem?

any opinion would be helpful...thanks
47717768 (banned)
join:2003-12-08
Birmingham, AL

47717768 (banned)

Member

I do not think it is the Modem AT&T always have had problems with speeds.
dave006
join:1999-12-26
Boca Raton, FL

dave006 to rothman9

Member

to rothman9
No you don't need a new Modem but if you want support you need to use one of the supported Modems.

Did the rep mention a charge for the new Modem?

You could always just keep the new Modem and when you have an issue with service just verify that the "supported" modem has the same issue.

Is it possible that you line stats have changed as that might be an indication of why you speed has dropped from your "normal" 2700 Kbps...

Check your stats, you can use this FAQ entry if you need instructions: »AT&T Southeast Forum FAQ »How do I find the synch rates and line stats for an Alcatel SpeedTouch Home?

Dave

NetFixer
From My Cold Dead Hands
Premium Member
join:2004-06-24
The Boro
Netgear CM500
Pace 5268AC
TRENDnet TEW-829DRU

1 edit

NetFixer to rothman9

Premium Member

to rothman9
I can think of one very easy way to find out if the new modem will improve your connection. Connect it and try it out.

If you are only connecting to your existing Alcatel STH with one PC, you will probably want to change from using a PC based PPPoE client to using DHCP on the PC, and doing the PPPoE authentication in the new "modem" (this is the default method used by the Motorola "modem").

If you currently connect to your Alcatel STH using a router, then you probably should setup your new Motorola "modem" to bridge mode: »AT&T Southeast Forum FAQ »How do I set a Motorola 2210 to Bridged Ethernet mode
rothman9
join:2001-04-01
Signal Mountain, TN

rothman9

Member

Yea its router pppoe.

Ill look over the info..I only call tech support about 4 times every 10 years, But I may still unpack the new modem (was going to send it back). They charged 15 bucks shipping thats all.

Thank you all for pointing me to the tools and the documentation on all this. Great info!

Doug

DaniCali
@bellsouth.net

DaniCali to rothman9

Anon

to rothman9
I personally find the Motorola modem to be a pile o'crap.
The STH is a MUCH better modem.
However, if your line is marginal and you have ADSL2/2+ available, using the Motorola might give you a better sync.
inoudo
join:2002-01-19
Marietta, GA

inoudo to rothman9

Member

to rothman9
I'm still running an Alacatel STH modem too. About 4 years ago BS insisted that the modem was the problem and I bought a Westell. Guess what? It wasn't the STH. I still have it in service working with a Linksys router. The westell was/is configured for a single computer for BS support. I don't think it is supported by att any longer. :-[

I've seen the ASTH as having 8Mbs speed capabilities somewhere on this site. I'm running mine until it quits or most likely go to Comcast for higher speed.

OPsDad
@bellsouth.net

OPsDad to rothman9

Anon

to rothman9
I had the Alcatel until just recently. They MADE me use their modem to get "hooked up", so I gave it a try. It dropped constantly and had speed issues.

So, I put the Alcatel back in, it worked, had no speed issues, so I sent the 2wire piece of garbage back. Used the Alcatel with my own Hacked Linksys G router. Like I say, speed was great (6.6 meg on a 6 meg circuit, down speed).

BUT -- dropping was still a problem. So I picked up a refurbished WIC-1DSL card for a Cisco 2600 router I had laying around, and bang. 6 weeks, not a single drop (I just rechecked the logs to be sure) AND speed is still 6.6 on a speed check. I'm a very happy camper, and I think this illustrates that AT&T / "BellSouth" DSL is solid, but their leased premise equipment isn't so. Just my $0.02.....

DoctorDave
Premium Member
join:2010-02-22
Denham Springs, LA

DoctorDave to rothman9

Premium Member

to rothman9
OPsDad is me. I just forgot I had a registered account and wasn't logged in.
Tier2
join:2009-11-05

Tier2 to rothman9

Member

to rothman9
Yes you need a new modem or a modem router which should be an AT&T support modem like mot2210,westell 2200,2100, netopiawestell versalink,2wire2701hg-b for that matter since that is an old modem which bellsouth users rarely using.

You can order modem router at a discounted price or for free by calling our retention department and they provide it for you!