I read the string of comments here a few days ago about Qwest internet problems, and thought I’d add an update.
After two in-house technician visits, a couple of trucks in the street removing 130′ of spare cable and about 15 related phone calls, my problem of super low speeds between the hours of 5pm and 11pm hadn’t changed. I pay for 7Mbps. I work at home, and the speed is fine basically all day–the only trouble pops up in the evening, when it’s so slow it’s impossible to view the ‘Instant Watch’ Netflix movies. In a whole world of things that need fixing, it’s pretty low–but still annoying.
Qwest told me today that it’s a known neighborhood-wide issue, and that the infrastructure is on their list of things to upgrade, but won’t give even an approximate date for this to happen. I decide to investigate getting out of my two-year contract…at which point their “Loyalty Specialist” gives me 50% off my bill for the next three months. After that, if it’s not been fixed, I can call a direct number and apparently re-up for discounts in three-month intervals. If you haven’t called Qwest and jumped through the tech support hoops a few times, I don’t know if this will work. Still, figure it might be worth posting the direct number I was given today, I don’t see it on the company website. 1.888.590.3416
Paying $21/month for inconsistent internet feels decidedly less annoying than paying $42. And maybe if everyone on the Hill calls for discounts, fixing it will become a higher priority.
I’ve been having that same problem. I’ll try calling Qwest and asking about the neighborhood upgrades.
Thanks, will try. I thought I just had a slow computer, too many people on the connection, or someone hacked into my internet and is downloading porn for hours on end.
Glad to hear it’s not just me. I’ve already at least two hours on the phone with them over the last few days, and they claim no issues on their side. They’ve tried blaming everything from my modem (I’m on my third) to my anti-virus software.
BTW, does this occur no matter who your ISP is? Or is it only for those who use Qwest.net?
I had the same problem the last few days but it seems to be fixed.
I was getting 150k for a few days then around 300k (uploads were always around 700k). It seems now to be back around 1200k (I guess close enough to the 1.5mb being paid for).
I switched ISPs in an effort to get it fixed, from serv.net to msn. It didn’t make a difference to the speed, but it may have helped in finally getting the real answer and the discount. And I was able to track it really specifically to a time of day.
Still: 15 calls over two months to get a real answer. It seemed easier than trying a cable modem.
Well I wrote before how it has been fixed.
Not so.
I called tech support and they suggest these things:
Move modem at least 5 feet away from speakers & fax machines..
filter is bad (its not but they are are sending me a new one)
Don’t plug modem into surge protector.
Make sure modem is plugged into a separate wall jack from your phone.
I doubt any of these things are going to work as the modem has been set up the same way for years with no problems.
Tech would not say it is a system wide problem.
frustrating.
When you upgrade to Qwest broadband from dialup, you’ll wonder how you ever managed on your old, slow connection. Qwest internet offers speeds up to 20 Mbps, which means Qwest broadband can be more than three hundred times faster than dialup.Even our lower priced high speed internet offerings allow you to surf as fast as you can click. You will be amazed at how quickly web pages come up using Qwest broadband. As high speed internet becomes more common, some sites can’t be accessed at all with dialup unless you are prepared to wait several minutes for each page to load.As files have gotten larger, the need for fast Qwest internet has increased. You might be using your high speed internet to download high-resolution photographs of your grandkids, patches for software, or a game you’ve bought online. With Qwest broadband, files that used to take hours or even days are now finished in minutes. Faster Qwest internet connections allow you to watch movies and television programs seamlessly, without constant hiccups and pauses for buffering.. People rely on the internet. And when people have no internet, they lose access to a lot of the information they depend on – whether it is their work, their financial information, or an application for an online payday loan. Since so much of daily life now revolves around a computer, it seems like all life has come to a stop if you can’t surf the web. This is the reason why so many of us shell out for better internet service, and wireless utilities. It’s worth a payday loan to keep one’s self from having no internet