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AT&T Are Shit

23 July, 2007

(Sorry, I can’t think of a witty title, because this just isn’t funny…)

About a month ago, a representative from AT&T called round offering me their Uverse service free on a couple of month’s trial.  This is a combined cable TV and internet service, and although I already used AT&T’s DSL service for my internet connection, I’d shied away from the cable TV service as a friend of ours round the corner had had bad experiences with AT&T.  The rep  told me that they had since upgraded their network to fibre-optic, and I’d have an optic cable running right into the house, so everything would be blisteringly fast and the TV quality perfect.  As it was free, and as I’ve been distinctly unimpressed with the TV picture quality from Time Warner, I took him up on the offer.

Two weeks later, the tech support person called round to install it all.  I asked about the fiber optic, only to be told that we didn’t have that in our subdistrict yet.  The fibre-optic cable stops at their interchange (a mile or so away), after which the signal runs over their old copper cables as far as my garden, and then over the standard coax from there to the TV.  Ho hum.  Not a good start, but I gave them the benefit.  They connected everything up and got it working in a couple of hours, although we then found out that I hadn’t been subscribed to any of the promised HD channels, so I had to request them again.  “You’ll have them within 24 hours”, she promised.  It took four more calls, and two weeks, before I finally got them (and even then the HD channels don’t come in at a full 1080 which kind of misses the point of having a 1080i HD TV).

Now, with the Uverse service, your PC gets wirelessly connected to the box under the TV.  In the process of installing the (USB) wireless card and requisite software, the techie screwed something up (which I only noticed once they’d left) that kept throwing up error messages every time I opened Internel Explorer.  I had to download a patch from the Microsoft site to fix this, but at least I could connect to the Internet without having to click “OK” thirty or forty times every time I accessed a page.  I was also getting other odd (and uninformative – “Server is busy”) messages every time I rebooted and at random times during the day, but I just clicked “OK” every time, and continued.

The next day the PC hung entirely.  After a long call to tech support, I got it going again, but then the next day  everything (TV and internet) stopped working.  I called support again, and they told me they’d have to send someone round to investigate, and the earliest they could make it was the end of the week (five days away).  After I politely pointed out that this was unacceptable, they managed to find us a slot two days later.  That’s still a long time to go with no TV and three kids, so I decided to switch the cables back to Time Warner in the meantime.  When I went to do this, I noticed that one of the connectors coming out of the AT&T junction box was loose.  I tightened this up, and voila! TV again.

Over the next week, we had maybe three or four outages, where I had to unplug everything, count to thirty, and then plug it back in.  That usually did the trick, although the set-top-box in the bedroom just refused to come back, so we were down to one TV.  And on the one TV that did still work, the signal would just lose the soundtrack for 10 seconds every so often – normally at crucial points in the plot, or just when the punchline was being delivered. The PC also developed a nasty habit of locking out, then refusing to boot up again.  When it did boot, it rarely found an internet connection, and I had to go through the Windows troubleshooter to get various settings reinstated before I could even get on to check my mail.  Eventually it died completely and I had to take it in for repair – the Geek Squad ran some diagnostics, did some tuning, and had to remve all of the internet connections (i.e. everything AT&T installed) – before I could get it to boot up again.

Eventually, less than two weeks into our two-month free trial, I decided I’d had enough.  I called AT&T and asked them to cancel the Uverse and just reinstate my DSL (as they said they would do if I wasn’t “completely satisfied”).  They said they could do the TV immediately, but the DSL may take “up to 24 hours”.   As soon as I hung up from them I called my wife to forewarn her that the TV would probably go out sometime later that day.  “It just did”, she replied.  Fast work!  When I got home I reconnected the Time Warner cable, and we were back in business (albeit with a cruddier picture).

Of course the DSL wasn’t back within 24 hours.  I called again, and this time they told me that they needed to send someone out to the interchange, and it would be “seven to ten days” before they could schedule that!  No matter how much I insisted that this was unacceptable, they refused to back down.  So I asked them to just re-connect the UVerse in the meantime.  “Oh, you can’t have UVerse and DSL on the same line”.  “But currently I don’t have either!!!”  In desperation, I asked them to cancel the switch back to DSL and just reconnect the UVerse until I had the chance to make other arrangements.  But apparently that would still take three or four days – to reconnect the thing that took them mere seconds to disconnect!  Somehow I get the impression that they are screwing with me just for the fun of it (presumably in retribution for me daring to cancel their service).

So I’ve given up with them entirely.  I’ve told them to cancel the DSL and the Uverse, and I’ve asked Time Warner (who changed their name to Comcast in the meantime) to come round and install a cable modem.  Ironically, they are also saying it will be a week before they can connect me (although they do have to run a new cable to my study), so I’m still without internet for a week.  Actually, I’m still able to access from work (although having to come into the office this weekend instead of connecting via VPN from home was a pain) so I’ll survive, but the kids are going up the wall with worry at the thought of their Webkins having to survive a week without their loving care and attention…

14 August 2007
In a final twist, AT&T tried billing me $84.55 for this ‘free trial’.  I called customer service to complain, and they tried telling me that my service had never been cancelled (but as it was a free trial anyway I don’t see what difference that would make…).  Eventually, they conceded defeat and cancelled the bill.  Which is all well and good, but it does demonstrate that they really don’t have their shit together as a company.  Don’t use them!

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Comments

Comment from burt
Time 28 September 2007 at 10:23 AM

I’ve had uverse for over a week and it has been a frustrating saga. I think we will remain with the service for the moment, but compared to TW/comcast, there are fdefinitely more problems…internet goes out periodically throughout the day, TVs shutoff or freeze a few times now…also it took more than one call to receive the free movies offered for a year as well for us! In addition we had to cancel our original order (long story) about 3-4 times before extra charges were dropped!! Overall they still need to get their stuff together but hopefully that will happen soon and we will not have to switch back to tw/comcast (just because its more expensive, but had no problems like this with them). At the moment, if anyone wants a hassle free service, then maybe they shouldn’t go with att uverse.

Pingback from interrobang » Blog Archive » Radiohead Ate My PC
Time 12 October 2007 at 3:36 PM

[…] However, within minutes of my downloading the .zip file containing the non-DRM MP3s, my PC had slowed to an almost standstill, eventually seizing up entirely, refusing to respond to even CTRL-ALT_DELETE.  As a last resort, Louise used the “BRS” (Big Red Switch) option – as we used to call it at IBM – and powered it off, but then the damn thing wouldn’t power up again!  I checked and rechecked the connections, the power supply, I cracked the case and poked about inside with a screwdriver, but no joy.  Eventually I gave up and took it to Best Buy’s Geek Squad and had them look at it.  They got back to me today and announced that my motherboard had died, and I needed a new one.   No, they couldn’t get one for me, so I had to call Dell myself, order one, and when it’s delivered in a week’s time, I can go back to Best Buy and get it fitted for a fee.  So now I’m without a PC for a week.  Again.  […]

Pingback from interrobang » Blog Archive » Seek And Ye Shall Find…Something Irrelevant
Time 9 March 2008 at 7:38 AM

[…] Another popular destination for search engines is an article I wrote on the Verve’s legal woes over their song Bittersweet Symphony.  In this case I’m actually happy that people stumble upon my site, as I think the world should know what a little shit Alan Klein is.  Ditto an article I wrote on AT&T’s appalling Uverse service – the more people get to hear about this the better. […]

Comment from Bones
Time 13 June 2008 at 8:04 AM

Alright so here’s the deal. I’m a tech that installs uverse and I read all these blogs dissing the tech…WE ARE NOT COMPUTER SPECIALIST!!! I mean come on your computer froze up? what the hell, remove all that extra crap u got on there and I’m sure it’ll start working fine. Secondly…We don’t install anything on the computer during the install. The only this that’s done is there is a cat5 patch cord run from the router to the back of your PC. Unless you’ve got a wireless card, then we use the 2wire wireless manager that’s it. Third…the boxes are preset to display in standard def, you need to set it to HD. The tech probably didn’t do it cuz you didn’t have the HD package at the time of install. And lastly…the box is not a mile away. There is a 3,000 ft max that you can be from the cross box in order the uverse to work anyways. Get the facts straight if your gonna sit here and complain about the service man.

Comment from Dirk
Time 13 June 2008 at 8:51 PM

Um, well the extra crap would be the stuff AT&T installed. And yes, they did install some stuff. There was no CAT5 cable to the back of my PC – it was to the Uverse box connected to my TV (as I mentioned). So they installed a wireless card, a bunch of drivers, some monitoring/diagnostic tools and lord knows what else. My PC worked before the AT&T install, and not after. The only thing that changed was the AT&T install. First thing you learn to ask in tech support is: “What changed?”. I rest my case. I asked for the HD as a conditon of the install. I shouldn’t need to ask again after the install. And 3,000 ft is only 0.6 of a mile. My bad. Still signiicantly further than “the back of your PC” which is what they promised… But I appreciate you AT&T guys responding to my complaints. Shame it only took 11 months…

Pingback from interrobang » Blog Archive » AT&T Suck Ass
Time 10 October 2008 at 11:57 AM

[…] RIM should have given it to another carrier, and I’m sure they’re now thinking the same thing.  Recently (and, tellingly, since AT&T started delaying the bold) that they are giving the Blackberry Storm – the first touch-screen BlackBerry – to Verizon, and are giving both the Javelin (8900) and the Kickstart/Pearl Flip (8220) to T-Mobile.  Even perennial bridesmaid Sprint is getting a bite of the cherry with the new BlackBerry Curve 8350i!  All of these devices were announced after the Bold, but in all likelihood they will all beat the Bold to market.  If it wasn’t the fact that none of these devices completely meets my requirements I’d switch provider just to get one. In fact, if any other carrier in the U.S. gets a Bold before AT&T I’ll be beating a path to their door the day it comes out, and taking my home phone and family plan with me.  If it wasn’t for my pigheaded insistence on having a Bold, I’d have probably jumped already.  Truth is, I just don’t trust AT&T any more.  They talk up their 3G network but can’t deliver.  They announce the Bold but don’t make it available.  They advertise the capabilities of their UVerse offering, but it’s shit. AT&T: All Talk and no Trousers […]

Comment from Christopher John Smith
Time 6 January 2010 at 11:46 PM

I have their 700kbps DSL service, once in while I get a tenth that, usually it’s 20-30 sometimes 5-10. I have to re-register my service every day or two.
Most of all, unlike any and every jackass on ebay or Amazon, they don;t’t have online bill pay. I spent half an hour today being bounced from one login page to one home page to another login page to anoher login page etc. etc. etc., they are a total fraud. I mean, wtf kind of major corporation can’t have online bill pay?????? Unbelievable.

Comment from Daniel
Time 17 August 2010 at 4:04 PM

AT&T has the worst service imaginable. Every 30 seconds the signal goes out, and they can’t even splice the telephone and internet so they don’t interfere with each other. I mean, come on, it took them 10 days just to get the internet up! I can find better service in a number of supposedly “developing countries!” Calling them shit is doing them a favor; they don’t even measure up to that.

Comment from south eastern wisconsin
Time 18 September 2010 at 5:44 PM

97% coverage is plaine horse shit

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