Wednesday, October 8, 2014

FUBAR Belkin!

I had no TV this weekend for 3 days, but that is OK Comcast will not credit me for the days of no service. IS there no SLA to the consumer?

Then late last night there was no wifi. I learned later that I was the victim of the lack of a Belkin hearbeat.

I know that when I call Xfinity customer service, I'll get someone that thinks TCP/IP is a veneral disease ( STD for you youngins )

After troubleshooting everything as a certified Solaris Sys & Network Admin can.

Reboot router.
Reboot modem.
Reboot router, then modem.
Factory reset router.
Reboot modem, then reboot router.
Repeat all of the above several times.
Grab MacBook, plug in USB ethernet dongle, connect directly to modem, reboot modem, turn off MacBook wifi.
Got connection... Share connectio, add wifi pw, test connection... unbelievable slow!

I called Comcast / Xfinity, though their automated system sent the modem a reset signal.

I called and tried to talk to customer service, agreed to answer a survey after the call, then was hung up on.

I called, the first 2 people I talked to did not know what DHCP was. I asked to talk to a higher level tech and got a lateral pass & had to go through identifying myself for the third time, because the automated system does not pass the info to the techs. The second tech double talked me. I asked her, do you know what DHCP is? It is a simple yes or no question, she finally answered no.

I was told that the Motorola Surfboard DOCSIS 2.0 was end of life, there are no more updates, it will start to work infrequently and I need to upgrade, and there is a speed increase. THE SPEEDS WERE IDENTICAL!

I bit the bullet, drive down to Xfinity, get this thing bigger than a VCR, when I ask if I am providing the neighborhood with WIFI, I got a bit of double talk & then was told yes.

I went online to Walmart.com, ordered a Motorola SBG6850, it is a modem / router combo. I am notified that my order is ready for pickup. I go to Wally World, I am in the back where the Site to Store pickup is. It says that I should push the touch screen card payment terminal for assistance. An employee leaves the lady room, I say hello, she looks at me like I Said something obscene and walks away silently. The next women passes by, I say hello, she looks at me oddly. I ask if a reply of hello costs too much. She said no. She then asked if anyone was helping me & said she would find someone to help me because she was not on the clock. A younger woman then passed, beat me to the punch, proactively asked if I had been helped yet & said she would find someone. She circled back and checked up on me. A young man from electronics came back, said he would help me, asked for ID. Of coarse, I replied that it was racist! He did not get it. After what I would have thought too long to be picking off the shelf a product with my name on it came back and asked if I wanted to return it here or up front. I said no, it is what I want...

I was able to set it up without calling Comcast. Although, the instructions said that the username is admin & password is password. I tried 3 times, it told me wrong username / password. I call the 800 number, go though the menu, I am told all circuits are busy! I go online, apparently the credentials are admin motorola!!!

The Motorola is dual band, but not at the same time! It does not have a guest wifi either. By now the Belkin is working, so I set it up on 2.4 GHZ only and turn the Motorola on with 5 GHZ.

I then ordered the Motorola Surfboard Extreme SBG6782-AC DOCSIS 3.0 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16825390004 from Newegg with ShopRunner 2 day shipping. It has simultaneous dual band & a guest network.

Next installment Thursday or Friday!

Speed on old Motorola Surfboard Modem: http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3814789583

Down 29.64Mb/s UP 6.03Mb/s

Speed on new Comcast modem: http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3815185543

Down 29.65Mb/s Up 6.08Mb/s

Speed on Walmart Motorola:

http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3815989120

Down 29.41Mb/s UP 6.12Mb/s

PC World article on Belkin workaround

TechCrunch article

BTW, I have to buy or rent this new modem. And I am sure it uses more electric, so I am paying for other people ti use my wifi & power.