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Wh is the UVerse tech support system so broken
Why is AT&T so functionally incompetent? AT&T can't seem to fix the root of the problem, only the symtons, taking well over a month to diagnose. The techs that came out were great people. They're just hampered by the functionally incompetent AT&T corporate structure. The CEO & upper management are at fault for implementing a system that causes repairs to take over a month.
I know what the problem is, but they insist on jerking me around with tier 1 & tier 2 service techs that can't fix the root of the problem. My ADSL2 line had been functioning for a good 10 months without issue until a router or switch was replaced at the C.O. Ever since then, I lose internet for 10-30 minutes at a time. This suggests the router is at fault, yet they insist on sending out line techs to "fix" the problem. All they're doing is putting a bandage on the issue, not addressing the main issue of correcting the settings on the switch or router. The line noise has reduced, and I don't get disconnected as frequently, but this only suggests that the new router or switch is freezing up because of overloaded logs in RAM and is resetting itself periodically, or some 1d10t low level tech is watching zabbix, ganglia, nagios, or some other monitoring software and resetting it, without fixing it. I saw no service issues until the equipment was replaced.
Here's my notes of the downtime. I left off some details to keep the lenth down, but it's a month's worth of details.
AT&T Outage Monday, July 29,approximately 2:30 pm. DSL went down.
Rebooted Modem twice,
red lights on Service.
Broadband remaind green
Power Green
Wireless Blinking Green
Called AT&T 1 800 288-2020 - The automated message had me reboot the modem again and wait 10 minutes before calling back.
Called AT&T again after 10 minutes and was on hold for about 30 minutes. The actual conversation lasted about 8 minutes. The CSR scheduled service tech to come Tuesday, July 30, between 4-8 pm
Tuesday July 30, approximately 3:300 pm. Automated call form AT&T with a message indicating the line was up again. I immediately call AT&T because the line was still down. This time I see
No light on Service
Red Light on Broadband
Green Light on Power
Wireless Blinking Green
The CSR doesn't know what was happening. - Maybe their database wasn't updated. I continued to wait for the tech to arrive between 4-8 pm
At 6:17 pm, I went out briefly, while the rest of the family was home, and saw an AT&T truck down the street at the intersection.
On the way back around 6:25, I stopped and asked the tech if he was coming to my home. He said he was going to different address and that he was on a break.
I waited until 7:30 and saw no tech yet, so I call AT&T again.
The tech said he reset the port and my line is up until Wednesday, July 31, at approximately 7:10 pm. Internet comes back at approx.
The tech said he reset the port and my line is up.
Wednesday, July 31, at approximately 7:10 pm, the line goes down. Internet comes back at approx. 7:20 pm.
Just before 10pm, the service light went red. I call AT&T.
They appear to be working on the line, but the tech can't do anything since the 4-8 pm service was never cancelled. I give him the history of the week's down time. The line continues going up and down during the call. After the call, the line remains stable until 10:28 pm. It comes back at 10:33 pm. For about a week, I continue to lose service around twice a day and the line resets.
I called AT&T nearly every day, this first week. They eventually schedule a tech on the weekend, and discovered a "tip to ground" connection on my line to the C.O. This requires a different line tech to be sent out. I'm apparently get numerous bad packets, which is what's supposedly causing the problem. I already explain again that the problem isn't the line, but in the replacement equipment. I still get the same service interruptions and keep calling to have my line or port reset, to reduce the outage from 10-30 minutes down to 5-10. The outage frequency also drops from twice a day to once a day.
Another week goes by and a new tech comes out to put in a new splitter and the line is cleaner. It seems to fix the problem, but a few days later I lose connection. With a cleaner line, there are fewer bad packets, and the problem span drops from a day to 2-3 days. I think this tech may have disconnected my alarm line when he added the splitter, but I don't notice it until the alarm company calls me during their monthly check.
Friday, August 23, 3rd Tech Replace the line to the home seems to be ok.
Tuesday Sep 3, 10:13 pm Internet is down for 16 Minutes. A 3rd tech had already come out. AT&T keeps trying to fix the line to the home, but my line was in worse condition and it had worked just fine on the older router/switch. It's now out to 10 days between outages. This points to a problem at the router or switch. It has nothing to do with the line.
Cleaning the line only extends the uptime, but if a line experiences any issue, the router accumulates the errors and disconnects. I can't get any of the functionally incompetent techs to go beyond their script to fix the issue. I don't care if I get a 10% improvement in line speed, if I get frequent 10-30 minute downtimes. I use my internet to connect to work. I can't afford to get disconnected when I'm configuring a server, firewall, or switch.
This last tech wants to run more tests on my line and take the DSL offline for hours to a day to test my connection again. These tests do not solve a problem. AT&T needs to have real techs, not script readers. I've fixed my own tech problems, so I only call AT&T when it's a problem directly with AT&T. I've diagnosed and recommend fixes to the techs that have come out to fix my DSL lines whenever I've moved. The techs that install lines frequently messed up and miswire the connections. This case is similar. I don't need my line speed to improve by another 1%. I want it to be up 24/7 as advertised and not cut me off if I happen to be doing something important.
AT&T needs to be broken up again. It does not care about real service. It only cares about lip service. No matter how nice and great the CSRs and Technicians are, it can't make up for the fact the company is structurally deficient and I can't get them to fix the known root of the problem.
willchen
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147 Messages
11 years ago
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willchen
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147 Messages
11 years ago
The nvg510 modem that they swapped is no longer ipv6 capable. I wish I had the old one back with the ipv6 options available. I was testing ipv6, but now, I can't do it from home anymore. 😞 This is a full step backwards.
Everything was working before their equipment died at the CO. The market needs to be opened up again.
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willchen
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147 Messages
10 years ago
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willchen
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147 Messages
10 years ago
Added my own 70 foot Cat5e Line to extend access to my home, and moved the Broadband modem to a better location.
Time it took me and my 12 year old: about 2 hours on Saturday, mostly for pulling cable attaching cable cleanly, with less damage to my drywall than AT&T or Comcast ever did.
Total broadband downtime 5 minutes, because it took that long for the connection to come back up when the cable was quickly swapped. Ethernet cables come up within seconds when I swapped both ends simultaneously.
Where's my promised Fiber Optic connection? That money went into the pockets of the AT&T executives during the 1990s.
Time it would take AT&T:
1 Week minimum for appointment setup.
4 hours to wait at home, either to take off from work or partially work from home. Most of my appointments showed up at towards the the end of the 4 hours and took about 2-3 hours.
Last year's repair likely took 30 hours out of my work week. The initial problem was their service failing. The new circuit must have been much more sensitive to the older lines on my home, and they should have known and tested that ahead of time. They should have that information in the database to just come out and fully fix the line in one visit. Instead they've wasted just over a month of multiple visits.
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willchen
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147 Messages
10 years ago
AT&T Work line Fiber Optic Service upgrade from 50 Mbps to 100 Mbps. Being the only service in the only commercial building in a 5 block radius, and since AT&T really doesn't want the residential sector to get it, we should be offered at least gigabit speeds.
Time taken from Approval to implementation: About 3 Months.
It took 3 Calls to check our existing configuration during the first month.
It took 2 service visits to verify the line and add the newer equipment during the 2nd Month.
They then sent me equipment and told me to wait until the call from he final tech before I could mount it. If I didn't mount it myself, it would likely take another week to schedule another AT&T tech.
After racking it, I then had to schedule another week for downtime for the configuration and circuit swap.
Also, why did we need new equipment to handle 100 Mbps? It's the same fiber optic circuit converted to a copper line going to Cisco equipment. 100 Mbps copper lines have been around since the late 90s. Copper Gigabit first came out back then. AT&T could have just toggled the configuration, since 50Mbps should have been a configuration setting. Why are the service calls and visits stretched out so far apart? Why can't they just finish in a week? Why must there be so many calls and visits so many days or even weeks apart? Isn't AT&T's equipment and layout already in the database? Doesn't AT&T keep records? It should not take this long. That entire process could have been streamlined.
Another company in the same building wants to start a new line. They were told it's going to take 90 days. We now officially have 2 lines in the building. The old line is supposed to go away, but I haven't been contacted about returning the old equipment. The new company should be able to just reuse that line and split another circuit out from that. It should not take 90 days to get service, when AT&T has already done all the preliminary work.
Does AT&T even want new business? Why does it take 90 days? Does AT&T not know how to communicate internally and coordinate properly? That's a very ridiculous time frame to get someone up and running when the line and equipment already exist at the location. AT&T is horrendously inefficient. The fiber optic lines should be opened up to competitors that will actually provide service in a timely manner. AT&T was given tax breaks (basically heavy subsidies) in the 1990s to put them in place. They've recently asked for more tax rebates to actually do the job that they didn't do in the late 90s. That means taxpayers have paid for them twice. The lines should be public. AT&T should not be lobbying to prevent competition.
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EDITED to fix formatting.
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willchen
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147 Messages
10 years ago
http://snltranscripts.jt.org/76/76aphonecompany.phtml
Here's a look back into history. I wonder if anything's improved.
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jhillsmo
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1 Message
10 years ago
I read with great understanding all of your post. Substitute Central office or any form of dial tone for DSL in your post and it fits exactly. The repair sytem, their IVR, whatever thay call it is way broke. I have to call them five or six times a day to report lines or circuits and it is the most horrible experience ever. I waste, spend two or three hours a day reporting and rereporting issues becasue they will close them no problem found. I have even had our sales rep tell me to quit calling them with issues because it is not required they manage it under the tariffs. I would rather eat glass than talk to them. I calculated over a year i spend almost a month, 1/12th of my life, listening to there crap with nothing to show for it. NOTHING. I wish they would go under.
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willchen
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147 Messages
10 years ago
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willchen
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147 Messages
10 years ago
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willchen
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147 Messages
9 years ago
Upload speeds are a joke too. https://forums.att.com/t5/General-Account-Questions/Internet-upload-speeds/td-p/3398537
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