# Proof that Comcast lies about their service



## Batou1986 (Mar 6, 2010)

So here's the deal after the last few months of constant problems with my service from Comcast in the Baltimore region, i finally gave in and grabbed one of there cable modems to make sure mine was not faulty.

Well no surprise here it still didn't work unless it was hooked directly to the main line and even then it would loose the upstream link this has been the case for quite a while now.
Now here's where it gets interesting after im finally able to get enough signal for the modem to connect, i find that im presented with a redirect to comcast's activation system though firefox.

Now i have two options either download some bs comcast software to my system which has to install some crappy pc doctor crap or login as a technician, obviously i click the tech.
All i had to do was enter my account number and a Captcha verification and i was able to proceed to activate my modem.
That's when i stumbled on this 

Now the entire time ive been dealing with comcast about this issue every time i call or had a tech out they said they had a good signal.
They could find no real problems the replaced wires that where not bad just to be sure, a few splitters added a signal booster and none of this remedied the problem.
Me thinks its time to contact the BBB


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## Hybrid_theory (Mar 6, 2010)

What it looks like might be wrong here is the MAC of the modem. Some ISPs record the MAC of the connected device to your account. Does the modem you have have MAC spoofing capabilities so you can change it to the one on the modem they had?


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## Batou1986 (Mar 6, 2010)

No that is the old one i didn't bother activating the new one but notice the fact that the modem and the cableboxes are reporting low upstream signal.

It did recognize that i had a new modem on there at one point and i bet if i hooked both of them up i could have activated both of them at the same time.

Not to mention i was able to get into there activation system as "technician" and activate my modem and any other devices i wanted to that SS is just part of the menus i was able to browse through


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## Flyordie (Mar 6, 2010)

My advice to you- Blot out your IP.


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## Batou1986 (Mar 6, 2010)

That was its pre activation ip anyway


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## CrackerJack (Mar 6, 2010)

You shouldn't had to go though "Technician" to do that. I just had to un-plug router, plug everything up then good to go. 

But i'm kinda lost on how you think comcast lies about there service...


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## overclocking101 (Mar 6, 2010)

they said they saw nothing wrong with his signal but that shows that the signal is rediculously low


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## Batou1986 (Mar 6, 2010)

The fact that ive called comcast at least 35 times in the last 3 months had 4 technicians out all the while they maintained there was no problem yet now im able to prove with there own networks tools that im not getting a good signal which is causing my internet and on demand not to work for 3~4 days a week.



overclocking101 said:


> they said they saw nothing wrong with his signal but that shows that the signal is rediculously low


Finally someone who understands all that tech talk


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## CrackerJack (Mar 6, 2010)

Batou1986 said:


> The fact that ive called comcast at least 35 times in the last 3 months had 4 technicians out all the while they maintained there was no problem yet now im able to prove with there own networks tools that im not getting a good signal which is causing my internet and on demand not to work for 3~4 days a week.
> 
> 
> Finally someone who understands all that tech talk




lol thats where i got confused at  Comcast here would of told you those signal ARE WAY TO HIGH. If my UP is above 40dBmV I get alot lag spikes. Which your seems ok, but the DS is... 40?!? Mines only 1, Anything above 15 and it gets pretty nasty.

My signals


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## newtekie1 (Mar 6, 2010)

Yep, I get similar readings without issue:




And I get great speeds, better then the plan I actually am paying for:


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## AsRock (Mar 6, 2010)

CrackerJack said:


> You shouldn't had to go though "Technician" to do that. I just had to un-plug router, plug everything up then good to go.
> 
> But i'm kinda lost on how you think comcast lies about there service...



Router you can but a new modem you have to phone them so it can be reactivated and it's been this way for years now.  And if he don't activate it he'l; never know if it was the modem as the new one has not been fully setup.

And the activation is done by the tech on his own phone giving the other person on the other end the details required to get it activated.

When my line goes weird i talk them on chat on their site and end up getting discounts till it's sorted .

He could all so try 3D Traceroute to see what server is possibly coursing the issue.   or you could try GT's http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=104625&highlight=3d+traceroute


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## FordGT90Concept (Mar 6, 2010)

> http://noc.ashlandfiber.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27
> 
> *Downstream Signal to Noise Ratio* - Decibels of coherent signal for each decibel of noise on the downstream QAM-256 stream, as measured by the cable modem. Larger numbers are better. Should be above 35 dB. Modems at 33dB and above operate very well.
> *Downstream (Rx) Power* - Downstream signal level measured at the cable modem in decibels per millivolt. Target level is 0 dBmV. Values between -10 dBmV and 5 dBmV are acceptable.
> *Upstream (Tx) Power* - Upstream signal level, as sent from the cable modem, measured in decibels per millivolt. DOCSIS specifies a range of 8 dBmV to 58 dBmV for QPSK modulation. Levels between 30 dBmV and 50 dBmV are best.  If this number is at or above 54 dBmV it indicates a serious problem.


34 DS SNR is alright but lower than the recommended lower limit.
14 DS RX is bad (hence the exclaimation point).
48 US TX is alright but close to the upper limit.


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## CrackerJack (Mar 6, 2010)

AsRock said:


> Router you can but a new modem you have to phone them so it can be reactivated and it's been this way for years now.  And if he don't activate it he'l; never know if it was the modem as the new one has not been fully setup.
> 
> And the activation is done by the tech on his own phone giving the other person on the other end the details required to get it activated.
> 
> ...





Batou1986 said:


> So here's the deal after the last few months of constant problems with my service from Comcast in the Baltimore region, i finally gave in and grabbed one of there cable modems to make sure mine was not faulty.



the way i read that, was he already had a modem. was just checking to see if his was faulty.... 

About the router- I just reset and un-plug router. cause my router is dumb and take forever to renew the ip. I also never called comcast when i bought a new modem... just plug it up and was good to go


@Batou1986
When my signals where all out of wack, it took them almost 2 weeks to fix. after about 20 phone calls everyday. And two techs. Finally figured it out, they had put a in-line booster on the line which cause my signals to be to high. About every 2-5min i was getting disconnected. well that work for a few days... then all the damn sudden it starts doing it again. we never could figure it out, just went away after a few days


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## newtekie1 (Mar 6, 2010)

FordGT90Concept said:


> 34 DS SNR is alright but lower than the recommended lower limit.
> 14 DS RX is bad (hence the exclaimation point).
> 48 US TX is alright but close to the upper limit.



Makes you wonder why mine works so well...

14 DS RX is better than mine...


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## AsRock (Mar 6, 2010)

CrackerJack said:


> the way i read that, was he already had a modem. was just checking to see if his was faulty....
> 
> About the router- I just reset and un-plug router. cause my router is dumb and take forever to renew the ip. I also never called comcast when i bought a new modem... just plug it up and was good to go
> 
> ...



But if you do not activate the modem with comcast you cannot correctly test as you be diverted to one comcast page.

@Batou1986
Any chance you live in a appartment as a friend of mine from IL and he always gets bad connections but tend to start when there is and after a storm.


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## niko084 (Mar 6, 2010)

Comcast techs are retarded $8 an hour employees... What do you honestly expect?

Any time I have a serious issue with them I drive down to the local office and start a storm, they get it fixed quickly almost every time, especially when I start talking about calling qwest in their offices.

Best of luck to ya, they can be a real annoyance that's for sure.


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## CrackerJack (Mar 6, 2010)

AsRock said:


> But if you do not activate the modem with comcast you cannot correctly test as you be diverted to one comcast page.
> 
> @Batou1986
> Any chance you live in a appartment as a friend of mine from IL and he always gets bad connections but tend to start when there is and after a storm.



I'm aware of that... i just said i never called


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## Batou1986 (Mar 7, 2010)

Well i had connection from 10 pm last night to 11 am today then it was out,now its back on.

I already have a line booster i live in a house and have 4 other neighbors on my side of the street that all have the same issues mine is worse because im the furthest from the pole which runs 4 lines across the street to the hub.

Ive had this problem for a few years now previously they ran some heavy gauge RJ8 to my house 
done all sorts of bs and its been getting steadily worse.

My real question is would i have a valid complaint to the BBB about this now that i have proof that comcasts own systems acknowledge a problem which they refuse to resolve.
I get told that one of the higher ups in there customer service will give me a call about the issue me and my father have both been told this on separate occasions yet no one has ever called.
Not to mention every time i call the next day i get a BS automated message saying "Comcast has fixed a problem in your area recently and if i would like to cancel my service call" when they obviously haven't fixed a damn thing.
Even the techs have told me that its likely the main hub across the street going bad a few times but they have never actually taken a look at it


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## Master Wolfe (Mar 7, 2010)

Go to DSLReports.com, and talk to someone on the Comcast Direct Forum. DSLR is moving servers right now, but give it a shot tomorrow.


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## FordGT90Concept (Mar 7, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> 14 DS RX is better than mine...


You want 0 DS RX. 1 (what you have) is far better than 14 (what he has).  There's a very good chance that is the reason why he is getting intermittent service.


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## newtekie1 (Mar 7, 2010)

FordGT90Concept said:


> You want 0 DS RX. 1 (what you have) is far better than 14 (what he has).  There's a very good chance that is the reason why he is getting intermittent service.



Look at it again, don't know where you are getting I have 1 from, mine ranges from 16 to 14.5 across the 4 channels.


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## FordGT90Concept (Mar 7, 2010)

Oops, that was CrackerJack's picture.  You might be doing fine because you have four individual channels.  As long as one is connected, you still have a connection.  It appears he only has one channel so there's no redundancy (if it drops, there's no connection anymore).

Then again, he might be getting a lot of fluctuations in that value while you aren't.  It's hard to say but the Downstream (RX) power level should be under 5 dBmV.


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## Batou1986 (Mar 7, 2010)

Exactly and the screen shots that i got are when i final got the cable modem to squeak a connection out connected directly to the main line with no booster or splitters hooked up.

Obviously i don't want to have to chose between cable tv or internet, usually the main line is runs through the amplifier then to a 2 way splitter that go's to the cable modem and to another splitter which gives all the cable boxes service.
Another thing once i get the cable modem activated i can no longer check the signal levels it gives me a message saying these features have been disabled by your service provider:shadedshu
Im going to make a post as suggested on dsl reports about this as even going up to the local office and complaining i wasnt able to speak with anyone who even knows anything about signal levels etc.


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## FordGT90Concept (Mar 7, 2010)

Have you told tech support that the Downstream RX value is 15 dBmV or greater?  Have they tested your lines?


They'd have to setup are repair ticket most likely (the people that do the services have to be at least somewhat familiar with what is expected--people on the phone, not so much).


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## Batou1986 (Mar 7, 2010)

The techs usually come out and say well its not a good signal but it appears to be working now so they cant schedule a work crew to come out and inspect the lines and equipment on the poles ect.
Its real fishy that it always works by the time they get a tech out 3-4 days after the call.

The part that really irks me is some times like this morning i can un plug the cable from the modem for a few minutes and plug it back in and it will connect for a while before going out again, this is not always the case tho sometimes it gets really bad and nothing i do will fix it including hooking directly to the main line.


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## newtekie1 (Mar 7, 2010)

You shouldn't need a booster in your house, thats for sure.

Call them and raise a real storm, they will fix the problem.


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## FordGT90Concept (Mar 7, 2010)

Call and tell them that.  If they refuse to setup a line repair, demand it.  There's always a chance that the problem is your house wiring but if you aren't certain the signal reaching your house isn't good, you need that first and foremost.


If they still refuse, tell them that if they don't set up a line repair, you'll go to the BBB with nothing good to say.


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