ladytonya's profile

Teacher

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30 Messages

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011 3:37 AM

Installation tomorrow

I have my installation appointment tomorrow and have read all the documents on getting ready for installation and am still wondering what to expect. I live in an apartment and called the building manager on Friday, she told me that she had never been asked about getting U-verse installed and that she knew several people in the complex have that service. I had read somewhere that I had to have permission from the apartment to get the installation.

 

I am also wondering about the jacks in the walls and if they will just use those or if they'll have to install new jacks of some kind. Currently, I have Charter Cable with HD and DVR. The only other jacks in the apartment are telephone but they've not been used in the year we've been here because we don't have a land line telephone. So, does the U-verse service run through regular cable connections or through telephone jacks? I've read here and it gives all the technical names for the jacks or cable, not sure which, but I have no clue what that all means. If I am understadning correctly, one is ethernet cable, one is cable tv cable, and one is telephone cable.

 

One other questions I just thought of. Everything I read said not to disconnect your old service provider until the U-verse is installed and working, but how does that work if it is the cable connection that they are using for the U-verse services? The more I read, the more confused I am getting! While I am fairly proficient on a computer and have even set up my own WiFi network in three different living situation, I don't know the names of all the different cables and connections. Any explanation for what typically happens with internet and TV installation in an apartment would be greatly helpful! Thanks!

Guru

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1.1K Messages

13 years ago

Don't worry about it, everything will be fine.  If the installer can use your existing coax cable and/or telephone cable he will.  If not he may have to pull some ethernet cable.  The main thing you need to decide is where you want everything placed.  There is no software to be installed.  The signal will come into your apartment via a wire to be plugged into the RG (residential gateway).  That is a device that is a combination modem and router.  Wires will run from the RG to each of your connected tv's.  One tv will have a DVR (digital video recorder) and the other tv's will each have a STB (set-top-box).  A wire will also run from the RG to your desktop computer if you want it to be hardwired.  Your printer can be hardwired also or wireless if it's a wireless printer.  Finally, your laptops and smartphones can connect wirelessly via WIFI.  During the install, he will disconnect the Charter cable modem.  He may or may not use the same coax to deliver the U-Verse signal.  After you are satisfied U-Verse is working properly, you need to call Charter to discontinue your service.  Your HD tv should be basically the same as with Charter.  Some people seem to thing Charter is slightly better, some say they are the same.  I doubt you will notice any difference. 

Guru

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1.1K Messages

13 years ago

...and when I say telephone cable, I mean for the tv and internet install.  I realize you are not getting telephone service.

Guru

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1.1K Messages

13 years ago

Just as an example.  I have a total coax install.  They were able to use all the same coax wiring I had for Charter cable to install U-Verse.  I have 8 individual coax cables running from the side of my house to 8 separate rooms.  I put the RG in one room and have tv's in 3 other rooms.  Therefore, they used 4 of the coax cables for my installation.  At the side of the house where the 8 coax cables originate, they made all the necessary connections.  It sounds complicated, but it's pretty simple actually.

Mentor

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27 Messages

13 years ago

Ideally no they will not need access to anything except your existing cable connections. Your hook up is similar to mine. No phone line as we were not getting voice. And I would not want dsl which is what the phone line provides. The most they will need to do is switch the lines outside. Once they are pointing to att they just have to hook it up inside. Unless you have some very old bad wiring, nothing more should be required.

The good thing about the Internet is that it is consistent, whatever speed you are supposed to be getting you pretty much always get it regardless where with cable it can fluctuate. The downside is IMHO cable is faster. Where I lived before they had bonded channels and I was getting 56mbs down and 8up, where with att the most I get is the 24down, 3 up which is all that is available right now

Just curious how old is your building? Ideally if you were getting hd service already with your cable then it should be straight forward

New Member

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25.7K Messages

13 years ago

ladytonya, ATT has to use phone to bring in the connection from their box to the box on the side of the apartment building, so that the gateway that feeds the set top box and dvr, can receive a signal. Only in houses and some condos that are built like a home, where there is coax on the outside of the structure, they would do it.

But being that you live in an apartment building, they need access to at least one phone jack in the apartment as I stated previously, so they can get the U-Verse service to the equipment that you will be using to watch tv through U-Verse on.

Teacher

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30 Messages

13 years ago

Okay, so Sammie and Jim say no phone line need be involved. Greg says phone line involved. I guess I'll find out in a few hours but dang, why does this whole process have to be so complicated? I spent hours yesterday reading this forum and uverseusers.com and couldn't really find a definitive answer. I was originally looking for which was better, the existing cable coax (yes, I think I've finally figured out that cable = coax) or ethernet (I'm assuming at this point that cat5 = ethernet?). I can take apart several old broken computers and build a working one from the usable parts. I used to do tech support for a former dial-up ISP in the early 90's when a 4,600 kbs modem was considered fast. Wow have times changed!  Why has it been so hard for me to comprehend this installation? Ugh!  🙂

 

At this point, I am just hoping that the tech pays attention to the notes and calls me!  My install is scheduled to start between 1 and 3 and I am at work. I asked them to have the tech call me because I can be home in 5 minutes but I didn't want to go home and sit there beginning at 1 and have the tech show up at 2:55, I plan on taking a late lunch and leaving here when the tech calls.  Right now I am thinking (hoping?) that Jim is right and all my worrying is for nothing, that the installation will go flawlessly and I will leave to come back to work an hour or so after the tech arrives at my apartment with working U-verse TV and internet service, and I can set all the things that are on the list the my husband gave me to record tonight. I'm hoping since I have this list that the tech can go through with me how to set up the recordings.

 

Okay, to end this rambling post, I do have a few more thoughts/questions regarding internet speeds.  Currently with Charter we have the 18 mbps plan so that is what I signed up for with U-verse.  I know that my Charter speeds beat anything that I previously had with AT&T DSL.  Is the U-verse faster than DSL?  Should I expect just 18 mbps with my U-verse setup or are faster speeds possible?  Sometimes, my speedtest.net tests on Charter come back at 22 mbps, but then sometimes it comes back at only 16.  I read somewhere that with U-verse, if you have the 18 mbps plan then 18 mbps is the absolute fastest you will ever receive.  Is this correct?  Will I always get 18 or will it sometimes be slower?  When I signed up, I figured I would start at 18 and if that doesn't suit me than I can go up to the 24, but financially it would be much better if 18 works!  

 

Okay, yet again I've rambled on way too long but at least I'm typing on a keyboard and not laying in bed trying to type on the useless touchscreen keyboard on my Nook Color!  Thanks for all the input that was given so far, I really appreciate all the help trying to make my old blonde brain understand all this new technology! LOL!

New Member

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25.7K Messages

13 years ago

It is not complicated. You are making it more complicated than it actually is. Coax is used inside the house to distribute the video signal from the RG to the boxes for the TV. Telephone wire is the delivery system from the VRAD, to your residence, so you can receive the U-Verse service, since it is VDSL. This is not something like Charter. It is a whole new type of tv & Internet, using telephone wiring as the delivery format.

 

As for speeds & number of HD channels, it depends on how far you are from the VRAD.  You can get 18 for Internet, but only have 1 HD channel, if really far from the VRAD.

Guru

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1.1K Messages

13 years ago

I have the U-Verse 18 mbps down and 1.5 mbps up.  If I use a wired connection to the RG, it always test around 16.6 down and 1.4 up.  It NEVER test faster than that.  If I unplug and go wireless, it test lower.  However, this speed is plenty fast for anything you want to do.  I stream HD Netflix movies with my Roku with no problems.  I also use a Slingbox to view my tv on my laptop or Droid when I travel and have no problems.  If I was you, I would go home and wait for the technician to show up.  Expecting him to call in advance might be expecting a lot.  You don't want to miss your appointment because he didn't call you.

Teacher

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30 Messages

13 years ago

Wow, if I only get 16 I will have to upgrade to 24. That is not going to make me happy!  I am used to what I am used to, and if I can't do what I'm used to doing at the same speed or faster I am not going to be a happy camper!  😞  I always run my speednet tests from my laptop, our desktop is my husband's so I only connect wirelessly through either my MacBook Pro or my iPhone.  

 

I just got off the phone with web sales and she assures me that the tech will call.  I have to work for a living, I can't just go home and sit there twiddling my thumbs for 2 hours.  If I'm not at work, I'm not getting paid and that's not good for the ole checkbook!  LOL!  Anyway, Anita in web sales assured me repeatedly that I would be contacted when the tech picked up the order.  She says that as of right now the dispatch screen doesn't show that my order has been picked up by so there is no way someone will be there at 1:00.  I just wish there was a way to check the status accurately online because I just held for 20 minutes to even get Anita on the phone. So, I guess I sit and wait until he calls.  I will be home in a little over 5 minutes from when he calls so that shouldn't be a problem, but not knowing doesn't help me with scheduling the rest of my afternoon. I have a conference call at 2:00 that I might or might not be able to attend and then I have a client appointment at 4.  I thought that if he got there right at 1 I might be back in the office by 4 and would only have to beg out of the conference call.  On the other hand, if I don't get that call until after 2 I can at least make an appearance on the conference call and then leave when I have to and cancel my 4:00.  Ugh!  Sometimes I think it would have just been easier to stick with Charter, definitely less stressful!

Guru

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1.1K Messages

13 years ago

There is nothing that you could be doing that will need 24 mbps.  You probably will not be able to order 24.  That depends on your distance from the VRAD (big U-Verse box down the street).  Do what you want, but if you miss the appointment, good luck beyond that.

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