On Tuesday, 5-15-2018, I noticed a severe decrease in speed on my internet connection. I subscribe to 400 Mbps download / 30 Mbps upload. Since Tuesday, my download speed is now diminished to a mere 10 Mbps download or less. The only explanation that I have is that another Suddenlink tech who doesn’t know what he is doing decided to attach another line from the D-mark of their service point which is running across my property and connected to house two doors down around the Cul de Sac where I live. Now I must run over this cable every time I leave the driveway, and my neighbor also runs over this cable every time he leaves his driveway. I called to inform Suddenlink that my services were severely degraded on 5/14/18. I went through the usual procedures of resetting both my modem and wireless router, but the speed did not improve. I was told that someone would come out and check the cable running across my driveway which needs to be buried, and why I’m only being supplied with 10 Mbps of download speed. Again, I must wait for service.
I tried to escalate the service to Suddenlink service supervisors on both occasions, but to no avail. I even left a message marked important to a CEO of Altice, USA, and still did not receive a response. I then filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
I will update this post with the actions of Suddenlink when it happens.
5-12-2018 – Internet Speed is NORMAL at 400 Mbps download using the speed test app.
5-14-2018 – Called Suddenlink again to inform them that my internet speed is severely degraded and phone technical support told me that someone would check and see why the cable running across my driveway is not buried.
Suddenlink is also to determine why my speed is now severely degraded.
5-15-2018 – 08:25 AM CT- Cable is not buried and my internet speed running at around 13 Mbps download per the speed test app.
5-15-2018 – 08:27 AM CT – I verified the speed of internet connection using the Suddenlink OOKLA application. The picture below is the results of the test which show 14.61 Mbps download and 23.99 Mbps upload. I am paying for 400 Mbps download and 30 Mbps upload.
5-17-2018 – 10:30 AM CT – The issue is resolved, but the problem was not found at the D-MARK or in my home. The issue turned out to be what the tech called ‘a blown port’ that was elsewhere, and it was propagated to my services when another incompetent tech decided to run a cable on top of the ground to a neighbors home two doors away, crossing my driveway and another neighbors driveway. That installation was very unprofessional and dangerous.
In an attempt to fix an issue for my neighbor two doors down, the tech ruined my services, and I had to live with less than 5 Mbps download for two days, thanks to what Suddenlink calls – VIP service. It is the 2nd month in a row that Suddenlink created the issue, and I had to wait two days each time to get my issue resolved.
Last Result:
Download Speed: 14607 kbps (1825.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 23995 kbps (2999.4 KB/sec transfer rate)
Latency: 12 ms
Jitter: 2 ms
5/15/2018, 8:27:14 AM
*****
Today is June 12th, and time is 12:15 PM. It was exactly one month ago today, and the saga goes on. My internet speed is now next to non-existent. The download speed is .046 Mbps download and 42.56 Mbps upload. My subscription is for 400 Mbps download and 30 Mbps upload. The rate varies. It is now the 3rd month in a row that my internet connectivity to Suddenlink communications has either been lost entirely or is reduced to almost nothing. Last month, a service agent finally came by my home and tested the line from within the house, using a Suddenlink modem that he brought with him. It was discovered that the internet service to my home was degraded, and the culprit seemed to be what the tech called a ‘bad port,’ outside of my house. Nevertheless, it took Suddenlink Communications two days to get the issue resolved, when the problem was located outside of my home and was confirmed to be a Suddenlink Communications equipment failure. After finding out that the problem existed, Suddenlink service was able to get the issue resolved within 30 minutes, as it took only that long to fix, but instead, I had to wait two days for someone to come out to my home to verify the problem.
I am about to call Suddenlink Communications for service again today, and I will document all communications with the representative on the phone. I fully expect that I will receive the same sorry treatment that I received for the last two months. I will continue to document service interruptions like this on this medium so that others can see how Suddenlink handles their issues, which become their subscriber’s issues.
The time is 1:10 PM, and I have contacted Suddenlink Communications with the immediate problem as stated above. I informed the representative named Reggie that the call is being recorded. A complete text of our conversation is immediately below.
Ring… Thank you for calling Suddenlink Communications. To ensure quality service, your call can be monitored and recorded. Pause… Welcome to Suddenlink. Longer pause… If you are calling about recent changes to your bill, press 1. pause… Main menu. You can say – Make a payment, billing, technical support, add or upgrade services, I’m moving, appointments or more options.
Customer – “Technical Support”
Which service are you calling about today? Internet, phone or both of these?
Customer – “both of these”
Pause…
To better assist you, please say or enter the four digit pin or access code found on your Suddenlink bill, one digit at a time.
Customer – ‘provided that information by tapping out the 4 digit code on the phone keypad’
_ _ _ _ is that right?
Customer – “Yes”
Let me transfer you to a Suddenlink representative for assistance. Pause…..
“Thank you for calling Suddenlink. This is Reggie. Whom am I speaking with?”
Customer ” Hey Reggie, my name is _ _ _ _ _, my last name is _ _ _ _ _. Did I talk to you a second ago? I don’t know, as I was cut off.
Reggie: No sir..
Customer: “Well anyhow, this call….” ‘Interrupted by Reggie’
Reggie: “Can I have your address real quick?”
Customer: Gave the requested information.
Reggie: “OK, go ahead. How can I help you?”
Customer: “Yea, this call is being recorded” (This was the first chance I was given the opportunity to tell the representative on the phone that the call in being recorded.)
Customer: “Um, I’m having an issue with my internet connection. This is the third month in a row now that the speeds have dropped below one mip. I’m paying for 400…”
Reggie: Interruption by Reggie, “meg?”
Customer: “Meg, I’m sorry”
Reggie: “No, you’re fine.”
Customer: “And I’m paying for 400 and then 30 upload. And…
Reggie: Interruption by Reggie, “OK”.
Customer: “The speed, I mean this happened exactly one month ago today’s date, and again, one month ago prior to that. And the problem last time turned out to be a blown port which was not even in the home, but it took em’ two days to come out here and find that out, then 20 minutes to fix the problem, and it wasn’t even in the home. So if you can see if there is any problems that you know about, and if you can see what can be done to get this thing resolved A.S.A.P., I would very much appreciate it.”
Reggie: “OK. Um. So give me a moment and let me take a look at the previous appointment that you mentioned. That was in mid-May it looks like, and yes, the issue was at the tap, so yes, like you said, not on your property, but on the outside. Um, it shows that you have an online connection, but as I look at the download reading levels, that kind of supports what you are expressing, and so the level range is going to be between a positive 15 to a negative 15, and I can see how it kind of gradually increased since mid May, alright, but it still in the negative. OK. so…
Customer: Interrupted Reggie : ” Do you think you can get somebody to check this and figure out what is going on, cuz, this has been an ongoing issue?
Reggie: “Yea, I can um, Right… So as it stands right now James, that the intermittent connection that you are experiencing in your home, like are you having to reset it possibly to keep it online or…
Customer “No, This time I just noticed slow speed, so what I did was, I unplugged the modem, powered down the router and actually pulled power from everything, turned the power back on, check it again and the speed connections are still very poor, so I don’t know what else to tell you.
Reggie: “No, you’re fine. And that’s good information. And like I said, what I’m looking at supports what you’re experiencing. The modem itself looks fine, so what I’m going to do James is I’m going to take a look at appointments, times for a line technician. Um, now…I can schedule for a service tech to make sure that no other small issues on the inside of the home, alright, cuz there’s points to check. There are variable overall other than just the tap, um but that’s up to you so. Let me see what we have.
Customer “I don’t care. I’m paying for in-home service, but the problem is this. I would say that 99.9%, the problem is not in the home. So what I expect is that somebody check it outside of the home because the last time they were here, the last time that somebody came, they did come into the home, hooked up another modem, still had the same problem, they left the property with it not being fixed, and then within ten minutes, less than ten minutes, I mean he left the house, and it was almost by the time he left the front of the property, everything started working again. And it turned out to be a blown port, and it wasn’t even on my property. So, I would think somebody needs to check and verify since this is a repeated issue, that there is no issue inside of my home, and I shouldn’t have to wait two days for service, for that particular kind of service.
Reggie: “Ok, give me one second, so… pause…
Reggie: “Right, so I’m going to recommend that we schedule for a service call, the reason being as I look at the line tech availability in that area, I don’t have anything until July, so what we want to do is schedule to have a service tech come out. As you mentioned, you do have the Safeguard coverage on the account, you know it covers you for the issue if it happened to be anything other than our equipment and wiring. Um, but that’s going to help expedite everything overall, ok?”
Customer: “Ok”
Reggie: “Let me see what we have. This number we are speaking at right now, it that the best number a technician can reach you at?
Customer: Confirmed the information with Reggie
Reggie: “Alright, I’ll check the front page of this account as well, and see that it;’s even notated on this account.
Customer: “Alright, I appreciate it. If you can try to get somebody scheduled out here or at least… I mean they don’t even have to come out as long as they could just check and see what, I mean they can come out. If someone has to be here that’s fine but, the issue has always been for the last three months now, it has been outside of my home. So…
Reggie: “I do have to schedule a time and it is for an in-house tech, so the service date I have it Thursday, this Thursday, I have an 8 AM to 12 noon, or 1 to 5 PM.
Customer: “Uh.. 8 AM to 12 noon, but again I’m going to wait two more days for service.”
Reggie: “I’m sorry, That’s the first time that I have available. Um… Give me a second Sir, let me submit something to my dispatch department.”
Customer: “Sure”
Reggie: “And if there is something available, they will contact you, ok.. If not, the appointment’s going to stand as is for that date and time, OK?
Customer: “Sure”
Reggie: “Give me one second to complete that for you.”
Customer: “Sure”
Reggie: “One again, I’m going to list this number we’re speaking on as the contact number so if you are contacted, it will be from our dispatch department, and let’s see…. long pause… All right sir, I have that submitted for you as well. The normal turn around time is 24 to 48 hours. Like I said if there’s something earlier, and we’re able to get somebody out there, then we will contact you on this number as well.”
Customer: “OK”
Reggie: “Alright. Other than that. Once this issue is actually corrected, you can give us a callback and we can apply credit to the account for the time-frame that it wasn’t working properly.”
Customer: “OK, appreciate that.”
Reggie: “OK, other than that I have everything submitted so you’ll get automated phone calls and keep you updated on the appointment time, OK?
Customer: “Alright man, thank you so much for your help. Appreciate it.”
Reggie: “Your welcome James. Thanks for choosing Suddenlink. You have a good day”
Customer: “You too”
Random Online testing using ‘SpeedTest’
- June 12, 2018 – time 3:00 PM– Internet speed still confirmed to be now 1.52 Mbps down and 36.04 Mbps up. I am waiting for a possible return call from a Suddenlink tech that may either fix my issue remotely or can confirm that I can receive earlier service.
- June 13, 2018 – time 7:30 AM– Miracles do happen. The internet speed is now back up to standard and slightly above. The speed test download is now at 432.6 Mbps and 47.0 Mbps upload. These specs are well above the speeds that I’m paying for. Still, I had next to no services yesterday. So what caused the outage this time? Whoever put that band-aid on the issue this time, I thank you. It took only 19 hours to fix instead of two days. But I have very little confidence that it will stay fixed. If scheduled outages persist, I would expect the next internet outage on or before Friday, July 13th, which may last throughout the weekend. The standard policy for scheduled repairs with Suddenlink Communications is between 24-48 hours.
- June 13, 2018 – time 1:30 PM– I guess it wasn’t a miracle after all. The internet speed is confirmed to be severely diminished again. The speed test download is now at 7.97 Mbps, and the upload is 45.38 Mbps. A scheduled appointment has been made with Suddenlink Communications and their arrival time is sometime between 8 AM and 12 PM tomorrow.
- June 13, 2018 – time 3:05 PM– Internet service is back up – Speeds – 439.89 download07 upload. Unfortunately, due to the reliability of Suddenlink Communications Internet services, I fully expect this speed to not stay within specs.
- June 13, 2018 – time 10:15 PM– As expected, the internet speed is again very sluggish. A speed test shows 66 Mbps download and 25.93 Mbps upload. I received no calls from Suddenlink Communications to resolve this issue any earlier than the scheduled arrival time between 8 AM to 12:00 PM tomorrow – June 14th.
SCHEDULED REPAIR TIME – 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM JUNE 14, 2018
- June 14, 2018 – time 5:50 AM– A speed test shows 66 Mbps download and 36.43 Mbps upload. It has now been two days since I have informed Suddenlink Communications of this problem. A tech is scheduled to come on-site to find out if there are issues within the home, but I consider this a stall tactic as they already know that the problem is not in my home. This is the third month in a row that I have been plagued with Suddenlink equipment problems not related to ANYTHING in my home. NOTE… I fully expect that after the tech leaves my home, finds nothing in the home causing the issues, that the service will again be working. But I will also predict that the service will fail within hours later, and I will again have to wait a minimum of 24 to 48 hours before I get service. For the last 3 months now, in each of the 3 instances, I had to wait 2 days for service. This is what I consider an extremely poor example of customer service, and actually I consider this service a grave injustice to not just me, but to other subscribers that are continuously plagued with Suddenlink Communication services and must put up with an extremely slow response time and the inability for their technical department to fix ongoing issues.
- June 14, 2018 – time 8:35 AM– Still no show from a Suddenlink tech. A new speed test shows a download speed of 7.15 Mbps and an upload speed of 30.66 Mbps. I received a call from a Suddenlink dispatcher at 8:15 AM informing me that a tech is on the way.
- June 14, 2018 – time 10:05 AM– A Suddenlink Communications contractor named Mark arrived at my home after 9:00 AM. When he arrived, he wanted to see how and where I was testing the speed. We walked to my computer and performed a speed test. The speed test was normal, at around 423 Mbps download and 37 Mbps upload. We tried at least 4 or 5 times to see if it would fail and it would not at that time. Mark claimed that he had to see the symptom before he could fix it. After chatting a few more minutes, I tested it again, and it was now showing below 20 Mbps download. He then went to his van and grabbed a signal meter to check the signal at the modem. It appeared OK, but it would not check out OK at the computer. He mentioned that there may be an in-house splitter somewhere in the home, most likely in the attic. The attic was checked and sure enough, there was a signal splitter on the Suddenlink cable. He removed the splitter, and then we tested it again after rebooting the modem and router again for the second time. It was tested using the Suddenlink speed application and the Okla Speedtest application. Both checks were not the same, but the last check on 6/14/2018 at 10:17:22 AM was 38 Mbps download and 41.67 upload on the Suddenlink app and 65.06 download and 46.50 upload on Speedtest. The service tech claimed that the modem and router had to settle a little before correct speeds could be obtained.
He left the premises without resolving the issue.
- He claims that he will create a work order. I plan to take a snapshot once an hour and will send the shots taken directly to him so that he has the proof of the ongoing issue.
- June 14, 2018 – time 12:38 PM– I took another Speedtest snapshot. Using the Suddenlink OOKLA app, the presence of the internet is nearly non-existent. The download speed is now 4.22 Mbps and the upload speed is 30.22 Mbps. No-one has called since Mark with Suddenlink left at around 10:00 AM. He was to create a work order so the issue can be further investigated.