Metrocast

SAMIAM · 07-02-2013, 11:26 AM

Hate to be all negative but Metro is driving me to the bottle.
I have the phone/internet/cable package and for the last couple of weeks the phone and internet cut off intermittently, sometimes for a few minutes, some times a few hours. Problem is my security system is tied to the phone and every time it goes out it interrupts the signal a call goes to the Meredith PD as well as people on my contact list....they are not happy.
To make matters worse, we have a very weak cell phone signal and can't call from the house to report it.
They showed up to fix it on friday and the technician pronounced us all set and left......as he pulled out of the driveway it crashed again.
We made another appointment for monday and they didn't show up or call
Wondering if it might be related to all of the rain, recently.
Anyone else have a similar problem?

Charlie T · 07-02-2013, 11:53 AM

I've got Metrocast for TV and internet, I agree it isn't the most reliable but when you are the only game in town you don't have to be

I had the option of getting the "triple play" with telephone service via the internet but because I have alarms in the house I chose to stay with a "Pots" line ( Plain old telephone service). As high tech as an internet (voip) line is it isn't as reliable as a Pots line. I would never rely on my internet connection for a critical application! As much as I hate to say this I recommend you contact Fairpoint and have a copper line reinstalled!

Good Luck

C T

songkrai · 07-02-2013, 06:41 PM

I have a NetTalk phone. Similiar to MagicJack. Different company.
Crystal clear conversations. But sporadic connections. Customer service is almost non-existent. It is inexpensive though.

I also have a Fairpoint line. Basic service for around $15.00 per month.

I have had Direct TV since the Pegasus days with almost zero problems with TV. But it is not cheap.

There have been many threads about all of this and there is no one clear consensus.

As for cell phone - normally Verizon is better up here. In my neck of the woods AT&T is spotty. Not sure about Sprint or T-Mobile.

A lot of folks are using the internet for cameras and security. What happens - when you are not here - and the modem quits or the router quits?

A good old land line telephone seems to always work. Unless, of course a tree falls on the lines. But if that happens usually everything goes out.

No one easy answer.

Mr. Prop-B-Gone · 07-02-2013, 07:29 PM

We are in Moultonborough, and Time Warner made me an offer I thought I couldn't refuse to switch over from Fairpoint. 2 hours after switching over I canceled TW and had Fairpoint come switch it back. Would have been 2 minutes, but I had to deal with their "technical support" for 2 hours.

For the past 30 years I've had a $3 distinctive ring number that connects to my home line. The different ring tells me it's an incoming FAX, and my FAX machine ignores the regular ring, but recognizes the different ring pattern and picks up to receive the incoming FAX. That disappeared with the TW installation.

Even though they told me they supported distinctive ring, it turns out they were referring to assigning a special ring pattern if a certain friend or family member calls. It took me 2 hours on the phone to discover that they had never even heard of the concept of a second number coming through on the same line! They had absolutely no idea of what I was talking about! When they finally grasped the unique concept of this 30 YO technology, they offered to put in another full price line to replace it!

That said, the TW internet has been fast and reliable, and the guys who do the work at the house show up on time and do good work. If all you need is a basic phone it will probably work OK. We have friends who like their TW phone. Just don't ask TW to answer any technical questions!

IslandRadio · 07-03-2013, 05:16 AM

Even with very reliable cable service, such as we have with Comcast at home, it is not as reliable as a telco-delivered land line. Unless there is a severe physical problem with the line itself (rare), telco lines work.

Fairpoint has deployed DSL in many new places lately as part of a big build out. DSL is available in many places where it was not available last year (like on Rattlesnake and Sleepers Islands, for instance).

For reliability, it is definitely the best answer.

I have no affiliation with Fairpoint or any other telco, just reporting my experiences over many years of deploying and managing computer networks.

SAMIAM · 07-04-2013, 04:20 PM

Yeaaaaa......Back in business.For all of you who were on the edge of your seats worrying about my internet connection,I want to report that Brian,an excellent tech from Metrocast finally found the problem.
It was a corroded connecter on the pole by the street.

TiltonBB · 07-05-2013, 06:56 AM

I replaced my Vonage phone with Ooma. After buying the Ooma box (about $140) all I pay is the monthly tax of about $3.71. There is no monthly service charge unless you get the premium service. The VOIP service is free but they still manage to find a way to tax it!

SAMIAM · 07-05-2013, 08:12 AM

Sounds good TiltonBB....can youkeep your phone#?

Winnisquamguy · 07-05-2013, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TiltonBB

I replaced my Vonage phone with Ooma. After buying the Ooma box (about $140) all I pay is the monthly tax of about $3.71. There is no monthly service charge unless you get the premium service. The VOIP service is free but they still manage to find a way to tax it!

I got the Ooma a few years ago after Don mention it. The tax you are paying for is 911 service which I think is plenty fair.

Diver Vince · 07-06-2013, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Yeaaaaa......Back in business.For all of you who were on the edge of your seats worrying about my internet connection,I want to report that Brian,an excellent tech from Metrocast finally found the problem.
It was a corroded connecter on the pole by the street.

We had the same problem. This is a well known issue with Metrocast. Can't remember the name of our tech but he also diagnosed the same problem after I had them put in an upgraded modem!

BroadHopper · 08-05-2013, 08:38 PM

After three years of MUZAK on the phone, misinformed customer relations folks, and playing the customers are suckers game, I finally demand someone to come to the house. After talking to several powers to be on the phone, almost a half hour later, they agree to send someone.

The technician was suppose to arrive at 8 this morning because I had to go to work, he arrived at 1 PM. He was honest to a fault and told me all he knows. Metrocast is a piece of work and he apologize for the company. He doesn't need to apologize, the company needs to apologize!

What he found out was the 'F connectors' in the drop box was badly corroded and there was moisture in the box. He replace the connectors and he will have the 'field team' come in and replace the box.

Even though I have a good modem, he replace the modem with a new one which will handle the new DOCSIS 3.0 signal. The old one was DOCSIS 1.0.

After a reboot the office replace the modem firmware. I was streaming an HD movie on my Bluray. I could never do this before. The speedtest.net test was 20Mbps when the package I bought was to give me 15Mbps. Before all the fix, I was lucky to get 7Mbps when I paid for 15. Customer Support actually told me to bump up my service a while ago and I complained it never really made a difference. They told me I should not rely on speedtest,net even though they carry it on their website!

Anyway the TV been great with no pixeling and drop outs. I even gain a few more digital channels and on HD channel!

the real test will be the next humid weather with a rain storm. That was when I have no service.

The moral of the story. Don't play their game, insist on having someone come to the house!

SteveA · 08-06-2013, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BroadHopper

After three years of MUZAK on the phone, misinformed customer relations folks, and playing the customers are suckers game, I finally demand someone to come to the house. After talking to several powers to be on the phone, almost a half hour later, they agree to send someone.

The technician was suppose to arrive at 8 this morning because I had to go to work, he arrived at 1 PM. He was honest to a fault and told me all he knows. Metrocast is a piece of work and he apologize for the company. He doesn't need to apologize, the company needs to apologize!

What he found out was the 'F connectors' in the drop box was badly corroded and there was moisture in the box. He replace the connectors and he will have the 'field team' come in and replace the box.

Even though I have a good modem, he replace the modem with a new one which will handle the new DOCSIS 3.0 signal. The old one was DOCSIS 1.0.

After a reboot the office replace the modem firmware. I was streaming an HD movie on my Bluray. I could never do this before. The speedtest.net test was 20Mbps when the package I bought was to give me 15Mbps. Before all the fix, I was lucky to get 7Mbps when I paid for 15. Customer Support actually told me to bump up my service a while ago and I complained it never really made a difference. They told me I should not rely on speedtest,net even though they carry it on their website!

Anyway the TV been great with no pixeling and drop outs. I even gain a few more digital channels and on HD channel!

the real test will be the next humid weather with a rain storm. That was when I have no service.

The moral of the story. Don't play their game, insist on having someone come to the house!

I had the same problem back a month or so ago. The guy that showed up was a "contractor" from Texas. This guy really took the time to check every connection, (and we have a bunch of them as we added TV and internet all over the house) the end result was a great improvement for both internet and TV.

Great advice Broadhopper. I did have to "press" metrocast for a tech, but when I told them I was considering Dish for the TV and Fairpoint for Internet they got someone to the house. We shell out >$200 per month, you would think you wouln't have to threaten them to get some action.

07-02-2013, 11:26 AM	#1
SAMIAM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 2,836 Thanks: 326 Thanked 1,626 Times in 562 Posts	Metrocast Hate to be all negative but Metro is driving me to the bottle. I have the phone/internet/cable package and for the last couple of weeks the phone and internet cut off intermittently, sometimes for a few minutes, some times a few hours. Problem is my security system is tied to the phone and every time it goes out it interrupts the signal a call goes to the Meredith PD as well as people on my contact list....they are not happy. To make matters worse, we have a very weak cell phone signal and can't call from the house to report it. They showed up to fix it on friday and the technician pronounced us all set and left......as he pulled out of the driveway it crashed again. We made another appointment for monday and they didn't show up or call Wondering if it might be related to all of the rain, recently. Anyone else have a similar problem?

07-02-2013, 11:53 AM	#2
Charlie T Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 303 Thanks: 248 Thanked 178 Times in 84 Posts	Pots is the way to go I've got Metrocast for TV and internet, I agree it isn't the most reliable but when you are the only game in town you don't have to be I had the option of getting the "triple play" with telephone service via the internet but because I have alarms in the house I chose to stay with a "Pots" line ( Plain old telephone service). As high tech as an internet (voip) line is it isn't as reliable as a Pots line. I would never rely on my internet connection for a critical application! As much as I hate to say this I recommend you contact Fairpoint and have a copper line reinstalled! Good Luck C T

07-05-2013, 06:56 AM	#7
TiltonBB Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Gilford, NH and Florida Posts: 2,897 Thanks: 644 Thanked 2,153 Times in 900 Posts	Another Internet Phone I replaced my Vonage phone with Ooma. After buying the Ooma box (about $140) all I pay is the monthly tax of about $3.71. There is no monthly service charge unless you get the premium service. The VOIP service is free but they still manage to find a way to tax it!

08-05-2013, 08:38 PM	#11
BroadHopper Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Laconia NH Posts: 5,512 Thanks: 3,118 Thanked 1,090 Times in 784 Posts	finally won the battle After three years of MUZAK on the phone, misinformed customer relations folks, and playing the customers are suckers game, I finally demand someone to come to the house. After talking to several powers to be on the phone, almost a half hour later, they agree to send someone. The technician was suppose to arrive at 8 this morning because I had to go to work, he arrived at 1 PM. He was honest to a fault and told me all he knows. Metrocast is a piece of work and he apologize for the company. He doesn't need to apologize, the company needs to apologize! What he found out was the 'F connectors' in the drop box was badly corroded and there was moisture in the box. He replace the connectors and he will have the 'field team' come in and replace the box. Even though I have a good modem, he replace the modem with a new one which will handle the new DOCSIS 3.0 signal. The old one was DOCSIS 1.0. After a reboot the office replace the modem firmware. I was streaming an HD movie on my Bluray. I could never do this before. The speedtest.net test was 20Mbps when the package I bought was to give me 15Mbps. Before all the fix, I was lucky to get 7Mbps when I paid for 15. Customer Support actually told me to bump up my service a while ago and I complained it never really made a difference. They told me I should not rely on speedtest,net even though they carry it on their website! Anyway the TV been great with no pixeling and drop outs. I even gain a few more digital channels and on HD channel! the real test will be the next humid weather with a rain storm. That was when I have no service. The moral of the story. Don't play their game, insist on having someone come to the house! __________________ Someday may never be an actual day.

07-02-2013, 06:41 PM	#3
songkrai Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 725 Thanks: 35 Thanked 145 Times in 98 Posts	I have a NetTalk phone. Similiar to MagicJack. Different company. Crystal clear conversations. But sporadic connections. Customer service is almost non-existent. It is inexpensive though. I also have a Fairpoint line. Basic service for around $15.00 per month. I have had Direct TV since the Pegasus days with almost zero problems with TV. But it is not cheap. There have been many threads about all of this and there is no one clear consensus. As for cell phone - normally Verizon is better up here. In my neck of the woods AT&T is spotty. Not sure about Sprint or T-Mobile. A lot of folks are using the internet for cameras and security. What happens - when you are not here - and the modem quits or the router quits? A good old land line telephone seems to always work. Unless, of course a tree falls on the lines. But if that happens usually everything goes out. No one easy answer.

07-02-2013, 07:29 PM	#4
Mr. Prop-B-Gone Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 106 Thanks: 4 Thanked 30 Times in 17 Posts	We are in Moultonborough, and Time Warner made me an offer I thought I couldn't refuse to switch over from Fairpoint. 2 hours after switching over I canceled TW and had Fairpoint come switch it back. Would have been 2 minutes, but I had to deal with their "technical support" for 2 hours. For the past 30 years I've had a $3 distinctive ring number that connects to my home line. The different ring tells me it's an incoming FAX, and my FAX machine ignores the regular ring, but recognizes the different ring pattern and picks up to receive the incoming FAX. That disappeared with the TW installation. Even though they told me they supported distinctive ring, it turns out they were referring to assigning a special ring pattern if a certain friend or family member calls. It took me 2 hours on the phone to discover that they had never even heard of the concept of a second number coming through on the same line! They had absolutely no idea of what I was talking about! When they finally grasped the unique concept of this 30 YO technology, they offered to put in another full price line to replace it! That said, the TW internet has been fast and reliable, and the guys who do the work at the house show up on time and do good work. If all you need is a basic phone it will probably work OK. We have friends who like their TW phone. Just don't ask TW to answer any technical questions!

07-03-2013, 05:16 AM	#5
IslandRadio Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Mirror Lake - Full time resident Posts: 398 Thanks: 70 Thanked 156 Times in 61 Posts	Even with very reliable cable service, such as we have with Comcast at home, it is not as reliable as a telco-delivered land line. Unless there is a severe physical problem with the line itself (rare), telco lines work. Fairpoint has deployed DSL in many new places lately as part of a big build out. DSL is available in many places where it was not available last year (like on Rattlesnake and Sleepers Islands, for instance). For reliability, it is definitely the best answer. I have no affiliation with Fairpoint or any other telco, just reporting my experiences over many years of deploying and managing computer networks.

07-04-2013, 04:20 PM	#6
SAMIAM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 2,836 Thanks: 326 Thanked 1,626 Times in 562 Posts	Yeaaaaa......Back in business.For all of you who were on the edge of your seats worrying about my internet connection,I want to report that Brian,an excellent tech from Metrocast finally found the problem. It was a corroded connecter on the pole by the street.

07-05-2013, 08:12 AM	#8
SAMIAM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 2,836 Thanks: 326 Thanked 1,626 Times in 562 Posts	Sounds good TiltonBB....can youkeep your phone#?