Need suggestions for router (modem?) to replace TWC garbage (Speed: transplants, rental)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Most northern transplants here miss bagels and pizza. What I miss more than anything else is FiOS. I moved down here and for a complete package I was stuck with Time Warner Cable. I am a telecommuter, so I need reliable internet. I have had four outages since I've been here (that's in two months), three of them involved modem problems. I am 100% wireless because the installer said that he would have to drill through the concrete foundation and floor in my home office for wired connection and it would be a hassle.
Each time it goes out, I unplug the modem and the connection, wait 30 seconds, and plug it all back in, to no avail. Then I have deal with Time Warner's so-called tech support, which inolves 10 minutes of useless automated "troubleshooting" before you get to someone in India who insists on reading a bunch of friendly stuff from a script. I have gotten so I cut them off at the pass on this: "I am fine, we are not friends, I want this fixed and fixed NOW." The one time they couldn't fix the problem, I was told that I should go to TWC and swap out the modem. So in the middle of my workday, with a teleconference in a half-hour, I had to drive over to TWC to get another of their crappy modems. Then when the new one didn't work either, I had to literally SCREAM at the rep to connect me to someone local in the US. Turns out that the labeling on the new router didn't fully match their system.
Oh, and on both modems, the connection from the cable to the modem is really, really hot.
I simply cannot have this. For one thing, I do not like the person I become when I am yelling at these guys in Bangalore who are simply trying to earn a living. For another thing, I need reliable internet for my job. I've been told that Google fiber has been set down in my neighborhood but it could be 2-3 years before we have service.
Would I be better off with a third party modem? And if so, what would be the easiest one for me to install?
If it's not a modem issue, as MikeJaquish mentions, you may just need to tell the customer rep. that you've reset, turned off and on equipment, etc. over and over and that accomplishes nothing, and insist on having a technician come out to make sure the modem's the problem. I had a similar situation and it turned out deterioration of the outside line was causing the signal issue.
If it is the modem, I've used a Motorola Surfboard 5101, and it has worked well for me. The main reason I use my own is because Time Warner used to provide the modem as part of the service, but started charging a couple dollars a month until it finally went up to about $7.00 (if my memory is correct). It was pretty easy to setup from what I remember and I've had it for several (3?) years. I think I bought this for $20.00 used.
I would recommend buying one from ebay to save some $$$.
We went through all this with TWC for 6 months. Tried everything you mentioned and more, including multiple service calls. They never could resolve the issue and it was most decidedly them since we've had other providers for internet at this house. Now we switched back to AT&T and they came out last week due to slow internet speeds (NOTHING like the problems we were having with TWC) and it turns out that something is wrong with the cable running from our house to the box. They are going to have to dig it up and replace. It is simply AMAZING what you have to do to get a problem resolved these days because people are so lazy at their jobs. Can you really not get ATT where you live?
I've had three diff models of modem (purchased myself) as the speed increases. After the most recent jump we lost most of our download speed somehow. They had to come run a new coaxial cable from the street to house. After that it's blazing fast. Could just be old wiring so have them send a tech out. They had it working in 15 minutes once here. Good luck
I am 100% wireless because the installer said that he would have to drill through the concrete foundation and floor in my home office for wired connection and it would be a hassle.
So? Who cares if it's a hassle. Sometimes being an installer is a tough job. Tell the installer to run the damn cable.
you will have to call TWC yourself to set up the modem, and it can be a PITA. As others have said, wired is better than wireless. I know you have said your problem is your modem, not your router, but I listed two routers also. Everything uses the 2.4 ghz band, so you get more interference. Try and use the 5 ghz band if your device supports it.
I would recommend contacting TWC Social Media Team, I have much better luck with them and they are in the US. Let them know that this issue is intermittent, you have done the reboot procedure and that the connection itself is very hot. You can reach them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/twc/and Twitter TWC_Help. They also have an email address TWCable.Help@twcable.com.
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