| Failed tech install in apartment Hello everyone. On Friday the 13th 2012 I had my U-Verse tech visit.
I picked TV with 1 DVR and 24mbps tier Internet. Highest Internet available where I live.
I'm here because the install did not go smoothly. Infact the tech left without hooking me up.
He tested the phone jack which at first was not connected.
The: Red,Yellow,Green and Black wires from the wall were not fastened to the phone jack screws on the back. He tested the exposed copper wires with his tools instead.
He told me the signal strength was poor. Then he said very poor. Finally he said there was no signal.
He checked my NID outside and said, " the wires from the NID are a different type than what's inside my apartment."
From what he said the problem lies where the NID wires and the wires inside my apartment meet.
I've Informed my landlord and someone is coming out next week to repair the issue.
However the phone jack has a dial tone. I can only call 911 right now as their is no phone service.
My questions are:
Is having a dial tone an indication of anything? If so, to what?
What can I tell the repair guys to repair if their is a dial tone?
What type of wire is best to go from my NID to my apartment? Taking into account I want U-verse. CAT 5?
Is it possible to receive U-Verse through my coax lines?
Those work as I had Comcast (cable) service before.
How would this connection work? The coax box is locked and not sure if Comcast is the only one with the key.
Is it possible to receive U-Verse at all with the ancient 4 strand wire? Assuming they worked perfectly fine. If so what kind of signal strength is required?
It will be hard next to impossible to gather the AT&T tech and the repair guys from my building. So I have to be the one relaying all information between them. So don't be afraid to toss out complicated terminology.
Thanks everyone for taking the time to read this. |
|
|
|
etaadmin
join:2002-01-17
Dallas, TX
kudos:1 | Did the tech check for sync a the NID? If the signal at the NID was 'poor' or 'very poor' then changing your inside wiring will accomplish nothing.
quote:
Is having a dial tone an indication of anything? If so, to what?
In this case having a dial tone is an indication that the lines can handle a 4KHz voice signal not to be confused with the 8.5MHz bandwidth that is required by VDSL2. Basically it means nothing.
quote:
What type of wire is best to go from my NID to my apartment? Taking into account I want U-verse. CAT 5?
The best cable for a home-run is CAT5 but if your signal is already bad at the NID then a home-run will do nothing.
quote:
Is it possible to receive U-Verse at all with the ancient 4 strand wire? Assuming they worked perfectly fine. If so what kind of signal strength is required?
Yes, assuming you are very close to the VRAD.
Should have stayed with Comcast. |
|
| Thanks for the quick reply etaadmin!
I'm assuming the NID connection was fine because he wanted to drill a hole in my wall to run a new line. That's a big no-no at my apartment building.
I should also point out that about 40% of the people in my building have U-Verse the other 60% have Comcast
Not sure how far away I am from the VRAD. There is one that looks like it about 3-4 blocks from my address. Could be something else though. But it looks very similar to a search of VRAD I did on google images.
I guess it's not relevant since the NID connection is fine. |
|
 CanezoidEnd of line
join:2001-02-16
Powder Springs, GA
 ·Comcast
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| Quad wire (r/g/b/y), while good back in the day and still today for POTS service, is not kosher for VDSL. It will run on it, but it's not trustworthy IMO.
Most apt complexes here in ATL w/ Quad will not allow drilling for homeruns either, sometimes it would be near impossible anyway, so in that case if the VDSL is not kosher on the quad or it just won't hold the VDSL to the apt, the order is cancelled. It'll run 32M, but it was never designed for data usage.
The tech was indicating the difference in wiring at the main terminal connection outside, technically your apt doesn't really have a NID, but an INI can be placed inside where the main feed connects, it's entirely possible that the CO run from outside is indeed different than the apt house wire. This is not uncommon in older apts that were pre-wired that way, unfortunately there's nothing you can do about that.
Just my 2c. |
|
| Thanks Canezoid for the comment it's very insightful.
Well I guess that leaves me with two options
My tech wanted to run a wire from the AT&T box to the Comcast box (maybe 3 meters apart) that way he would bypass the quad wire and use the coaxial cables inside my apartment which work perfectly fine as I ran 60mbps download with Comcast.
My question is what information can you guys give me about this type of wiring/ installation. Is it better , worse or the same? How thick is the wire that will connect those two boxes?
Had I known about this whole headache ahead of time I would have stuck with Comcast. Which might be my only option in the end. |
|
| reply to Conscript_79
Long as the technician does the install well, a Coax home run is just as good as a cat5 home run. As far as the service speeds and capabilities goes, they are exactly the same. |
|
| reply to Conscript_79
One thing to keep in mind is if there are more than one coax outlet in the apartment there may be a splitter in the wall somewhere which will cause problems. |
|
Reviews:
·RoadRunner Cable
 ·AT&T Midwest
 ·voip.ms
| reply to Forosnai
said by Forosnai:Long as the technician does the install well, a Coax home run is just as good as a cat5 home run. As far as the service speeds and capabilities goes, they are exactly the same.
Before allowing the coax to be used, make sure that you have both your landlord's written permission and a statement from the landlord that there is no exclusive agreement with Comcast.
Here in WI, it's common for Time Warner to enter into exclusive contracts with property owners. The property owner retains ownership of the coaxial cable but gives Time Warner exclusive use of the coax for the duration of the agreement. {Note that this does not prevent another company from supplying their own coax to each unit, but they can't use the stuff that's already there. In exchange, the landlord gets free service(s) and if penetration is high enough, they get a commission, too.}
It's helpful to know the inside wiring topology, which can determine your options for getting the telephone wiring fixed. Highrises often use a common conduit from a demarcation point or wiring closet, to a unit riser, often behind the kitchen wall phone jack, and from there the horizontal wire is daisy chained to the rest of the jacks in the unit. Sometimes there is a daisy chain from one apartment to another. It all depends on the type of construction.
I've had good luck cleaning up a lot of this wiring, but it's very labor intensive and requires advance notification to all the tenants whose units the wiring passes through. That has to come from your landlord. Unless your landlord has a low-voltage technician on staff, it's unlikely they're going to be willing to fork over the money necessary for a contractor to do it right. And unless you've primed the building staff with gift cards, desserts and so on, it's unlikely they'll be thrilled about escorting AT&T into other tenants' units, even when advance notification is given.
If you have any photos to post, of the NID/Demarcation, the box or jack where the wiring from the demarcation reaches your unit, and a description of the building type and size, you'll get more specifics.
--
USNG:
16TDN2870
Find your USNG coordinates:
USNGWeb |
|
CanezoidEnd of line
join:2001-02-16
Powder Springs, GA Reviews:
·Comcast
·AT&T U-Verse
| reply to Conscript_79
said by Conscript_79:Thanks Canezoid for the comment it's very insightful.
My tech wanted to run a wire from the AT&T box to the Comcast box (maybe 3 meters apart) that way he would bypass the quad wire and use the coaxial cables inside my apartment which work perfectly fine as I ran 60mbps download with Comcast.
This would not be possible as the RG unit, which translates the VDSL signal is not going to be kept outside. The AT&T line is what brings the VDSL signal in from that point, hence having to use the house wiring to the apt.
Unless there is a common POP between the two networks on the side of the building, which I've never seen on apts, newer condo/townhome complexes maybe, there will be no connections ran that way outside as neither company is tariffed to do so. They dont touch our terminals, we don't touch their's. The homerun for the coax connections to the apt originate from the Comcast terminal outside, coax connections done that way have to be placed behind that terminal connection, meaning from inside the apt somewhere, to which there is probably a coax splitter where the house runs are anyway.
Peace. |
|
| reply to ArgMeMatey
Thanks everyone for your input. This website has helped me a million times more than simply calling AT&T 1-800 number.
I came to the sad realization that my apartment unit is not wired for VDSL or any type of DSL for that matter. I'm about 90% sure my landlord is receiving some sort of kickback from Comcast. I just noticed a ton of comcast pamphlets in the leasing office. Might not mean anything though.
I decided to bite the bullet and go back to Comcast.
Thanks again everyone for your help. |
|
3 edits | reply to Conscript_79
Yea, VDSL runs up to about 12 Mhz so you need good lines. Keep in mind the wires in your house were probably designed for POTS which is .004 Mhz...and the wires probably bleed off anything above 1 or 2 Mhz.
Older xDSl runs over much lower frequencies and is much more forgiving of bad lines. ATT might be able to support ADSL to your Apt.
VDSL flakes out fast on crappy wires. |
|
