"Randy" == Randy Cole via WLUG <wlug@lists.wlug.org> writes:
Randy> When we had a customer-owned Motorola Sharkfin-style modem, Randy> which was either Docsis 1.0 or pre-Docsis, Charter Randy> Communications dba Spectrum started deliberately screwing Randy> with the connection; It would go down about once a day, Randy> right around like 8PM or midnight, and you would have to Randy> powercycle it and it would work. Finally called them, they Randy> wanted us to upgrade to one of their cable modems, which Randy> they provide for "free". Didn't send an email or a letter Randy> like a normal company would but forced you to call them!! I too used to have one of those, and it worked great for years, then they forced us to use their own modem. Randy> In our area they give you a www.hitrontech.com Docsys 3.1 eMTA Randy> EN2251 PC15 modem with two telephone connectors and a Randy> theoretical battery-backup connector (does anybody use the Randy> battery backup or have their cablemodem on a UPS? Does it even Randy> work?) It's physically way larger than it should be. All web Randy> pages, configuration, logs are disabled so the customer cannot Randy> troubleshoot anything themselves. Can log in to your Randy> MySpectrum app and "check the connection" which sometimes can Randy> wake the thing up when it is disconnected. This is what I've got right now too. Next time there's an outage, I'll check if my phone (via charter) is also down or not. If it is, then that points to a HiTron or cable issue. I did have my outside cable replaced a few years ago due to noise issues, but they took care of it. Randy> I've read on the internetzzz that you can have problems such as Randy> failing analog amplifiers in their cable plant cause hard to Randy> diagnose intermittent problems, and also that Docsis 3.1 is Randy> more sensitive to line quality than Docsis 3.0. My biggest Randy> concerns include the rising price of their internet service. Me too, I'm getting ready to dump all but internet service since all we mostly get is spam calls on the land line. Why pay for it when we all have cells? But... it's the number everyone knows about for almost 20 years. It would be a bit painful unless I got it turned into a virtual number that rang my cell. But then I'd get tons of spam calls. So next time it happens, I need to try the land line and look at the cable modem lights (only two on there, fucking hate that box) and then start escalating with Charter. Assuming I can get someone on the line. I'd even be willing to buy my own, instead of paying their fees.