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AT&T U-verse
Sir Carcass
I have been shown the end of my worldRound Rock, TXRegistered User regular
I have been shown the end of my worldRound Rock, TXRegistered User regular
We're currently Time Warner subscribers and have been for many years for cable, internet, and phone. We're going to be moving next month and are thinking about switching to AT&T U-verse since we can upgrade our current service for similar to what we pay now, and Time Warner's prices at the high end are kinda ridiculous, especially all of their terms relating to their bundle (promotional rates expiring, etc).
I'm mainly wondering just how people like their service overall. Any weird terms or problems I should be aware of? We would be getting their U450 TV service and the Max Plus internet. I currently use a Linux internet gateway and network server. Would there be any issues with that?
Also, this promotional rate expires after 24 months. Is it pretty easy to get it to continue by calling them? I know with Time Warner it's pretty easy to do. Is their customer service good overall? I'm kinda hoping Google Fiber will make its way to our neighborhood by then, but who knows.
Just looking for stuff like this to help us make our decision. Thanks!
I'm mainly wondering just how people like their service overall. Any weird terms or problems I should be aware of? We would be getting their U450 TV service and the Max Plus internet. I currently use a Linux internet gateway and network server. Would there be any issues with that?
Also, this promotional rate expires after 24 months. Is it pretty easy to get it to continue by calling them? I know with Time Warner it's pretty easy to do. Is their customer service good overall? I'm kinda hoping Google Fiber will make its way to our neighborhood by then, but who knows.
Just looking for stuff like this to help us make our decision. Thanks!
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Be aware that the Uverse modem they send you doesn't seem to work with routers out of the box. From what I read online, it can be done, but I was just visiting her and didn't feel like messing around with it. It's not like she'd be able to enjoy Netflix on her Wii at those speeds anyway. The Uverse modem does function as a router with wifi, but I would have preferred using her trusty ol' Linksys WRT54GL.
That being said, her mom has Uverse and seems to enjoy it.
My Backloggery
As for continueing to get a cheap rate, i wouldnt push your luck. However if you downgrade after the fact they may offer you refunds for improving things. Every now and they they send me an offer for a refund if i increase the level of my internet or cable (unfortunately its already at the top). I pay about 190 bucks a month for a land line, 450 tier of cable, i think im at 9/mbs internet speed.
I've not had any serious outages, the two times it was acting flaky i reset the router and it was fine. When i wanted to add devices, i just went into the router settings, which are pretty easy to manipulate.
I guess my main concern with their service in regards to my network is how their modem/router would work. As long as I can get an ethernet cable into my linux box, it should work. Does it just need to plug into a cable jack? In our current house, our "office" (actually the family room/dining room) is basically hugging one big exterior wall, so they weren't able to install a cable jack in it. I have the cable modem in the cable panel in my closet, with a Linksys WAP in there set to bridge mode with another one at my server. It works pretty well and I can continue that setup if necessary, but I would kind of prefer to just plug directly into it from the modem.
Does their modem have a built in wireless router? Could I use both (the router and my server) at the same time?
The modem they bring in is a 2-wire wireless router with 4 or 5 LAN (RJ-45) ports (one will be used by your digital tv box). I don't use it with APs or other routers but I don't think there would be an issue.
So then I guess it'll have to be by the TV? I guess that's okay, I can just use a similar setup to what I'm using now.
The cablebox will be, but the router can be wherever there's a phone jack, then run Cat6 to the TV.
Our service is OK, Internet seems a little slow over big downloads but TV is good. Actually trying to get rid of it all together since we got a Roku. Proabably keep the Local lineup and get rid of DVR.
Working with their router is a pain in the ass though. It's possible, but you're going to get frustrated. Seriously if you've got a big setup at home you might want to rethink them for custom router stuff because they keep that pretty locked down. It was a pain just to take their router and set it up for port forwarding the way I wanted it because when I tried running their router through my linksys I just couldn't get it to work, period.
I don't guess it's possible to not use their router at all? I just need the internet connection, even just wired.
The router and the modem are the same unit.
Are you sure your fiance signed up for uverse and not just at&t's crappy dsl service? I ask because uverse does not send you a modem or any installation kit. They need to run new lines to your home, as this network is not part of your traditional cable or phone lines.
Well, she tried to order DSL for them and they told her it wasn't available in her area, but Uverse was. For what it's worth, she ordered Uverse without the TV service, and I suspect that could make things different. Whatever this service is, it still uses the phone line. The modem/router hybrid cost her $100.
My Backloggery
That's good to know. :?
This house currently has U-verse, so it's at least already wired for it. When checking out on their website, there are about $250 in activation fees that they waive, I guess for the bundle, so that's good at least. I'm hoping there are no hidden fees they didn't mention there, but I saw stuff like modem rental and HD tier, so maybe not. I was looking at Time Warner's website to upgrade our service and their advertised $160 plan ended up being about $185 after all the fees that weren't mentioned. And that was only for the first 3 months, where discounts would start expiring. I didn't see anything like that on the U-verse site.
If a phone jack is involved, that isn't uverse. It sounds even more like their terrible dsl service though.
There are going to be monthly local taxes/connection fees/etc. that you are going to get no matter who you get your service through.
1. The Gateway that they send you is not very friendly with other forms of routing or access points. They recently changed the model of gateway that is installed with new service and it is no longer user-friendly. If you need to put it in passthrough or bridge mode, you must call them and it will be done over the phone.
2. The services are prioritized by the gateway. If you have TV service, it receives 60% of your overall speed. So if you're paying for 18MBPS internet AND TV service, you will notice a severe drop in speeds if you have more than one TV on while the internet is trying to function. If you have their VOIP phone service, you will notice a heavy delay in placing calls as well as some slight static if the network is under heavy load.
3. The TV Set-top-boxes use the same operating system as the gateway. It's a simple Windows CE interface that handles all of the routing. If the TV is taking a very long time to change channels, the only thing you can do is factory reset the box. If you have a DVR in said box, you will lose everything. (Also, this process takes anywhere from 30mins to 2 hours).
4. The gateway acts as a digital converter for the HPNA (Home Phone Networking Alliance) network that they run to your house. Most installs get their actual feed via a coax cable or RJ-11 cable. Coax is preferred as it has a larger pipe that can handle the information. The distance of the network from the NID/DSLAM near your home/neighborhood and your actual gateway is the determining factor for your speeds and reliability. Customer service can see exactly what the distance is as well as any errors located on the lines inside and outside the home.
Just ensure that you're actually getting U-Verse service and not DSL or IPDSLAM service. Sometimes the sales associates can confuse the 3 and set you up with something completely different.
Thank you for this information. It is very helpful!
Looks like what she has is specifically called U-verse High Speed Internet, which is, indeed, completely different from regular U-verse. It appears to be that IPDSLAM service mentioned by @StrifeRaZoR above.
So yeah, @Sir Carcass, make sure you know what you're getting. Don't get what my fiancee got.
My Backloggery
There's U-Verse, there's DSL, and there's U-Verse Internet.
Uverse internet only is high-speed DSL.
The only way to get "real" (non-IPDSLAM) internet is to subscribe to the TV service as well, IIRC.
Well that sucks. For me, there's a fiber node on the telephone pole in my backyard and they ran about 50 feet of cat6 to my house.
Cat6 cable is a rarity. It depends on how close you are to the actual NID. It doesn't really dampen your performance, but it's not as sturdy as coax. In the north-eastern US, they even have some residential areas where they run fiber directly into the home. The NID is actually in your house and there's a very short coax or cat6 cable run to the gateway. It's super rare, but it happens. The fiber NID is behind lock and key. I think you have to agree to some extra terms for them to do that.
Specifically:
Anyone know anything about that? I wouldn't mind a Nexus 7, and if we're switching to AT&T anyway....
I don't know what Time Warner's prices are, but AT&T ended up being the same price near me as the cable options and it was slower internet. The rep said I could get the 10mb/s version, but because of some geographical distance bullshit I only could get about 6 or 7, and that's after the rep came over and messed with the wires (because originally I was getting 56K speeds) and then they tried to charge me for fixing the wires. And then they tried to charge me for 10mb/s service when it wasn't even possible in my range.
It took me a few weeks and multiple calls/online chats to get all my shit refunded. Lots of time wasted for shitty internet. I just signed up with RCN (cable modem) and no hassles since. My vote would be stay away from AT&T if your primary concern is internet. The Uverse TV stuff is pretty good, but meh TV.