SERVICE ISSUES WITH SUDDENLINK INTERNET
June 1, 2020 – Between 2 and 5 PM – The Suddenlink/Altice technicians arrived, and would you believe that they finally managed to get my internet service running as it should be. My internet speed it terrific. The last speed check was right after they had left after they completed the work and I checked it again now at 11:30 PM. I can hardly remember when I was able to receive the service at 400 Mbps and it seems to be reliable.
Presently, the speeds are consistent, at or above 400 Mbps download, and 43 Mbps Upload. The issue appears to have been prevalent in my home since the cable lines were both ran back in 2013, when my home was built. The drop from the internet D-mark or hub in my front yard to my home was bad. Also the cable running from the outside to the attic was also bad. The technicians worked for approximately 1.5 hours and re-ran the line to my home, and installed another line running to my modem . I have had a multiple of problems for the last 7 years, and obviously all can be contributed to bad lines to and within my home. I cant even begin to log all the countless hours of frustration that I’ve had with my internet service.
My hopes are that I can finally put this issue to rest here. I will be monitoring the issue for the next few days, and expect to finally put this issue behind me.
I would like to give a shout-out to the two technicians that actually had the ability to find the issues and resolve them.
What is very re-assuring to me is that the cable service running to my home is now proven good. For the first time, I finally have some confidence in the service that Suddenlink/Altice provides.
I am extremely grateful for their professionalism and their methodology for actually finding the issues and resolving them. I will update this issue and completed successfully when I’m able to speak with Naomi- from the Customer Relations office.
June 1, 2020 – 12:30 PM – I knew it was too good to be true. The present internet speed is
37.20 Mbps download, and 37.34 Mbps upload.
Gee, you know that something must really be wrong when the upload speed is higher than the download speed. Hopefully, the technician that comes out today between 2 PM and 5 PM will be able to figure this mess out.
June 1, 2020 – 8:38 AM – Something must be happening.. The speed is back to normal.
432.61 Mbps download, 43.45 Mbps upload.
This should rule out any such issue with my equipment. It sure would be nice to know that a problem was found and it was fixed.
June 1, 2020 – 7:20 AM – A new month and the first check on my internet speed early in the morning. My download speed is 182.32 Mbps download , 43.17 Mbps upload. Where is the elusive 400 Mbps? Again, very sub-par speeds for the service that I subscribe to and pay for. A 3rd Suddenlink representative/senior technician is to arrive today between 2 and 5 PM to check on the same reported issue. So apparently at this time, the company hasn’t been able to find anything as of yet outside of my home and would require this trip. If they even knew of an issue affecting my speed, you would think that they would have come forward and said that they found the issue and that my problem is resolved without coming to my home.
This recent problem has now been going on for over 2 weeks. I am hoping that it can be resolved today, and I would be able to report to Naomi, the Suddenlink/Altice customer relations executive that the issue is resolved, and I am finally satisfied that the service is running normally. I surely hope that she tries to reach out to me, instead of me trying to reach out to her after this exasperated problem because she told me that she would. Also, good customer service should never have to depend on the Better Business Bureau to become involved for it to be provided. As I mentioned to her on a phone call, if I were to have provided the customer service that I have received at this point by Suddenlink/Altice representatives while working for IBM during a 25 year tenure, I would have been fired. Most reputable companies will provide surveys of their service to their customers. I could understand why this company may not want to do so.
May 31, 2020 – 12:30 AM – A new day but no real changes in reliability of my internet services. My download speed is now presently 169.18 Mbps download and 34.48 Mbps upload. The download speed is not even 50% of my subscribed speed and is not acceptable. So now it has been 2 full weeks of unreliable service and the issues is still not resolved. Stay tuned for more reports.
May 30, 2020 – 7:00 PM – Checked the present internet speed and it is presently 99.82 Mbps download, 32.96 Upload. This is day 13 of subpar services by Suddenlink/Altice communications. Also within the last 30 days, primarily in May, the internet service has been down totally for a minimum of 8 hours for two days in May and there were several other days in April and in May that are not recorded here of subpar internet services. Since the download speed is so low already today, I am contemplating even slower download speeds later this evening. Yet, I am paying for 400 Mbps download speeds. But I must also admit, that this provider does have the capability to supply 400 Mbps speeds as I’ve received up to 430 Mbps when things are working correctly. I’ve considered subscribing to 1-Gig download speed as my DOCSYS 3.0 modem will handle the speed, but it is obvious that Suddenlink/Altice could never reliably provide such speeds. As they only guarantee 50% speed, subscribing to that service for the added cost is out of the question. The first technician that came out claimed that all service trunks running in the communities are running at 200 Mbps and that the modification for faster speeds are done remotely from their office, as specific commands are sent to the modem to create needed speeds. That is a function of the DOCSYS modem. If I am not receiving what I subscribe to now, who’s to say that I would ever receive higher speeds reliably if I subscribed to a faster speed? For a Gig download speed, I would be lucky to receive even 500 Mbps download and most likely it would drop below that to slower speeds that I subscribe to now. On Monday, June 1st, I have an appointment set with a Suddenlink senior technician in the afternoon to come out with advanced test equipment to further determine what the issue may be, and hopefully he will be able to FINALLY resolve the issue, although I have absolutely no confidence in the service personnel of Suddenlink/Altice Communications. It remains to be seen. I’ve had so much experience now with the service personnel, that I can almost predict the outcome and here is what I predict.
1st, my hope is that Suddenlink/Altice resolves my present problem. Whether the problem is fixed or not, I was told by Naomi, who is an executive working in the customer relations office, that I will receive a call from her to find out where things stand. If she does call me back, that would be a first for Suddenlink/Altice Communications. Not one person associated with the company has EVER called me back to check on how things are going with my present issues, or that the problem was found or not found and that another appointment needs to be scheduled.
2nd, Suddenlink/Altice communications may blame my equipment, but since they are not responsible for my personal equipment, they will not test it according to Naomi – the executive in the customer relations office, so they can provide no proof that what they say is actually what the cause is for the problem. That would be an easy out, and I would still be provided with sub-par services. In this case, I would further update the Better Business Bureau with my experiences with Suddenlink/Altice Communications. Again, I would wait to hear from Naomi – an executive from the customer relations office to contact me. If no contact is made within a reasonable time, I will re-contact the BBB.
3rd, my hopes are if the representative determines that ‘most likely’ the problem is an issue with my equipment, that they will hook-up a Suddenlink device and prove that my equipment is defective, because without proof, I cannot believe a word that the technician says, especially when he may claim that the problem I’m experiencing is mine, not theirs. Since they are not obligated to check my own equipment, I’m sure nothing can be done on this front. I hope that I am wrong. The reason for them doing this may be two fold. First, they may want me to either purchase a modem from them that only can be guaranteed for one year, according to Naomi- an executive of customer relations or rent one from them at $10 per month. So their charges have doubled for their modem/router device. Make note that when the service was installed a few years ago, I was paying for one of their modems that I had constant problems with for only $5 a month. When I switched it out at the local office almost 50 miles away, the replacement modem was used and defective, as it would not even power up. I had to wait and schedule another visit for someone to come out. In the mean time, I had no internet.
4th, Suddenlink did not find a problem and the tech claims that the problem is in an amplifier somewhere and leaves the premises without fixing anything.In that case, I would hope that Suddenlink/Altice communications sets up yet another appointment (#4) and continues to work on the issue until it is resolved. The problem with my hope here is that the first two technicians claimed that they would follow up on my problem and let me know what the issue is or at least set up another appointment. But in both cases, neither was done by both technicians.
I just checked my speed again, and it has dropped even further to 88.24 Mbps download and 29.73 Mbps upload. I am not receiving the internet speeds that I am paying for.
As I finished writing this post, I checked my internet speeds again, and the speeds are now up from 88.24 Mbps. They are as follows:
325.73 download 38.81 upload
201.41 download 42.51 upload
221.85 download 41.76 upload
303.87 download 39.50 upload
Even though the speeds are considered within acceptable limits to Suddenlink, no-one at this point yet has explained the difference in download speeds and why I need to pay for speeds or services that I do not receive. If a credit for the sub-par days is given to me, I would update that outcome here.
May 30, 2020 – 3:15 AM – I have just checked my modem speed again this morning. Presently, it is 73.96 Mbps download, 41.72 Upload. This again is not normal or acceptable. I was told that it would be natural for the speed to drop during busy times. My question is, at almost 3:30 AM, would this be a busy time? Obviously not.
Noted in this log, issues started to really get unacceptable around May 18th. So now it’s been 13 days and counting.
May 29, 2020 – 11:00 PM – Before going to sleep tonight, I thought I would check my internet speed, using the SpeedTest program located on my Suddenlink page. As expected, the internet speed has diminished to an unacceptable speed. What I am receiving at this time is 53.52 Mbps download, and 42.35 Mbps upload. So this is just another day of not receiving the services I am paying for. This speed is far below what the customer representative told me that would be acceptable for my download speed. So what am I supposed to do? Call Suddenlink on the phone and have them reset my modem yet another time? For some reason, I don’t believe that Suddenlink/Altice believes that my speeds are drastically impaired each night. When I see the technician on Monday June 1, 2020, I will ask if I can have access to a technician that can respond to my issues I’m having at night. Also, I will ask if I can “BORROW” a Suddenlink modem/router to replace my own personal modem to see if the speeds act the same. If it is determined that the issue is with the modem, then I will have it replaced, or rent a modem from Suddenlink. I do not have much confidence that any of this would be done by Suddenlink/Altice Communications.
May 29, 2020 – 11:00 AM – I checked my internet speed again, and it is above the 50% threshold which a Suddenlink agent claimed was OK for what I subscribe for. I pay for 400 Mbps download, and the following is what I am receiving at the moment in time. I made several checks in a row to see the outcome.
264.62 Mbps download / 33.40 Mbps upload
296.20 Mbps download / 35.47 Mbps upload
265.88 Mbps download / 38.93 Mbps upload
213.92 Mbps download / 39.97 Mbps upload
242.51 Mbps download / 37.93 Mbps upload
258.68 Mbps download / 38.96 Mbps upload
Notice that the 4th reading above is very close to the 50% threshold that Suddenlink/Altice claims is acceptable.
The internet speed is all over the place. In the evenings, there are several instances, sometimes overnight that the speed drops way below 200 Mbps (50% threshold), and my service is not usable. It will go down as low as 5 Mbps download speed. During some instances during the last few months, my internet service just completely stopped. It was down totally for an 8+ hour time-frame and throughout the night.
Also, this is now the second time in a row, when an agent came out to my house. The last service representative claimed that after he checked the line at my modem, that there seems to be an issue outside my home with providing services to my home, and that someone would take care of the problem within the next few days. I haven’t received a call from anyone. There are no upcoming service appointments according to the webpages, and there are no reported outages in the area. But for whatever reason when I call to report an issue, the automated messages say that there IS a problem in my area, so the website page provided to me is not reliable.
May 27, 2020 – 8:55 AM – I checked the Suddenlink.net webpage and looked at my account. Presently, there are no other appointments set. I am waiting for another phone call by the company to see if they want to set another appointment, even with the present download speeds.
May 27, 2020 – 8:50 AM – The 2nd Suddenlink Representative arrived around 8:30 AM and left at 8:40 AM. He stated that the signal coming into the home was weak and that he would send someone else out that could amplify the signal. He tested the line which appeared to be a large, fairly complicated testing device.
A speed test was made after he had left my home. The speed is very normal at this time.
433 Mbps download / 43.28 Mbps upload / Ping 10
Obviously, with a report such as this, I should be happy, and I would be if it would stay that way. It does not fluctuate at this time, except maybe for a Mip or two. It is extremely stable. Here are the following 10 repeated checks in a row done in rapid succession just after the technician left. They are all download speeds.
434.38, 432.91, 432.63, 432.85, 433.54, 433.24, 433.17, 433.88, 433.54, 433.35.
WOW, I should say that I’m kind of impressed. Suddenlink/Altice is capable of supplying speeds that I subscribe to.
At this point in time, I don’t see what another visit would do in my home. If there is a continued problem, it surely doesn’t appear to be inside my residence. It would be great to know why a visit still may be necessary. I would home to receive another call from Suddenlink/Altice with an explanation.
Prior to his arrival, the following speeds were observed on the following dates.
May 25, 2020 – 3:00 PM
185 Mbps download / 40.0 Mbps upload / Ping 17 / Jitter 1
May 26,2020 – 8:oo PM
14 Mbps download / 33.4 Mbps upload / Ping 19 / Jitter 5
May 27, 2020 – 5:00 AM
300 Mbps download / 41.2 Mbps upload / Ping 5
As observed, the speed seems to be all over the place when it comes to downloading speed. It mainly goes extremely low at night. Presently at this time of day, just prior to 8:30 AM on May 27, there are no issues with the service.
When the first technician arrived, he brought his meter to check the line, and a device attached to it which also looked to be a 2 port attenuator, similar to the device that was left in my yard after the previous technician left my home.
May 25, 2020 – 12:20 PM – CONFIRM ANOTHER APPOINTMENT FOR 5/27/2020 BETWEEN 8 AM AND 12 PM.
The phone call with Hassan in Customer Service and the billing department was recorded. Further recordings with Suddenlink/Altice will be published here on this website. Hassan was understanding and even mentioned that if he was getting this kind of internet service, he would be even more upset than me. If that’s the case, you would think that Suddenlink/Altice would do everything in their power to get the issues resolved. Unfortunately, they just do not know how to provide good service. What they know how to do is to charge me for services that I don’t receive. Hassan also mentioned that I would automatically be charged less if I received a speed of internet services that were subpar to what I should be receiving. That is totally inaccurate, as to this date recently, I have never received a discount on my bill not even one time this year and I’ve been with no internet or very little internet most of the time in 2020. In a matter of fact, my service has gone up in price from observing bills back to September of 2019. Everything that Hassan mentioned on the phone is on tape.
Hassan went through the usual steps of having me reset the modem, this time twice. When he was done, the modem speeds were the following..
297 Mbps download / 43.4 Mbps upload / Ping 15 / Jitter 1
I rechecked the modem speed several times using the speed test application on the Suddenlink site, and the speeds were 256, 317, 310, and the latest is 203 Mbps. According to Hassan in customer service, the speed is acceptable since it is now at least 50% of what I subscribe to. In other words, even if I subscribe and pay for 400 Mbps download, I am to accept anything over 200 Mbps. To me, this is not acceptable, because I am paying for 400 Mbps download, and it is NEVER reliable. By this evening, it will go down reliably to below 10 Mbps.
I had a question on my bill, and I was transferred twice and was not able to speak to anyone in customer service and billing regarding my bill. I was transferred a 3rd time, and then I received a recording that because of Covid-19, the billing office is closed. I was put on hold 2 times, and I was never told even once that the billing department could not be reached.
I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH SUDDENLINK FOR 1 HOUR AND 23 MINUTES WITH 3 DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
I see no other recourse than to contact the BBB and voice my complaint. Suddenlink/Altice is not capable of providing reliable services, a service that I pay for. And for what I see, the only thanks I get for putting up with such a derelict company is to have an increase in the cost of services that they cannot deliver reliably.
I will continue to update this website with information concerning services by Suddenlink, and I filed an online complaint to the Business Bureau at this time.
May 25, 2020 – 10:30 AM – INTERNET RUNNING CRAWLING.
EXTREMELY SLOW SPEED
Like Covid-19, I guess this kind of service is what may be considered the “NEW NORMAL”.
On May 21st as noted immediately below, a service technician came out to check my internet speeds and it was poor. He had no immediate fix for the problem and claimed that another appointment would be made for a tech to come out within the next 3-4 days.
Today is May 25th, and I am still waiting to hear from my internet service provider – Suddenlink Communications, now owned by Altice. Since May 21st, each night the speed has dropped severely.
The following are speeds from each of the past 3 days…
May 22, 2020 – 15.5 Mbps
May 23, 2020 – 8 Mbps
May 24, 2020 – 102 Mbps
May 25th, at this very moment, the internet speed is as follows…
13.5 Mbps download / 37.1 Mbps upload / Ping 14 / Jitter 1
Problems with Suddenlink/Altice are ongoing. There speeds as advertised are never guaranteed. In a matter of fact, they cannot deliver any advertised speed for more than a few hours at a time. Lately, since May 21, I have been posting a record here. I am now committed to exposing such a derelict company, as they are receiving money for services they cannot provide. Until I am convinced that I can receive the services that I pay for, then I will continue to log my experiences with Suddenlink/Altice here.
It may be time to contact the BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU.
May 21, 2020 – 2:00 PM – INTERNET RUNNING LESS THAN HALF SPEED – NOT NORMAL
The speed was checked at 2:00 PM –
At this time, a speed test was run with the following results…
156.5 Mbps download / 40.2 Mbps upload / Ping 12 / Jitter 24
I fully expect by history of my connection that the speed will drop to blow 10 Mbps by 8:00 PM tonight. A technician is scheduled to arrive between 2 and 5 PM today.
A technician arrived at 2:10 PM. He asked me how the service was running before he entered my home. I gave him the speed information I had just recorded, told him it was not normal, and stated to him that I fully expect that the signal will drop down again below 10 Mbps tonight by 7:00 PM. During the visit, the technician disconnected the cable attached to my modem and plugged the cable into his test meter. He informed me that his digital meter claimed that everything passed. He wanted to know where the cable came into the home. I brought him upstairs and let him proceed to my attic where I told him the line came in and was attached to an amplifier. While he was up in the attic, he picked up a Regal 2-port attenuator – for 3.db attenuation. He clutched the device in his right palm, removed it from my attic and went down the stairs. This device did not belong to him. I did not inform him that I observed that he removed a device from my attic. He wanted to check the line at the junction box at the street and I walked out with him. He put the attenuator in the grass and then he removed the cover from the junction box. He attached his meter again to the equipment, and determined that all was OK. He put the cover back on the junction box/demark, and left the attenuator that he removed from my attic on the ground next to the junction box. I don’t know if he believed that the attenuator belonged to him, but I observed him pick up the device and he removed it from my attic and then left the device next to the junction box. Again, I did not question him about the attenuator.
This was a pretty serious mistake for something that would cost so little.
Lastly, he claimed that he had no more ability at this time to check the line any further and that an another appointment would be scheduled.
He also claimed that it would take 3 – 4 days before someone may come back again and that another appointment would be scheduled. Presently, on my account overview page, the upcoming appointments section shows no upcoming appointments, even though I was told that someone would be coming out in 3-4 days. So what this means is that most likely I will be out of internet access in the evenings until the issue is resolved. I don’t even know if an appointment will be scheduled, because none show at this time. I will continue recording the days that my internet services continue not to perform optimally. I expect Suddenlink to adjust my bill for services not rendered that I am paying for.
The question is, am I happy with the service by Suddenlink/Altice Communications that I received today? Absolutely not. The technician that was sent was not totally equipped to handle the issue, as he could only check the problem, and he didn’t even try to replace my modem with one that he knew that worked from Suddenlink to check and see if the problem was my equipment. It is my opinion that the Suddenlink modem would give the same results.
Now the time is 3:00 PM – May 21, 2020. I will continue to monitor the issue and report it daily on this website.
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May 21, 2020 – 8:00AM – NORMAL INTERNET
At this time, a speed test was run with the following results… The speed dropped down below 150 Mbps at night.
431.13 Mbps download / 43.39 Mbps upload.
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May 20, 2020 – 7:20PM – NORMAL INTERNET
At this time, a speed test was run with the following results…
430 Mbps download / 43.30 Mbps upload.
This is the first time noted in approximately 1 month that the incoming speed is considered excellent. There is a service technician that will arrive tomorrow on May 21, 2020 between 2 PM and 5 PM. I still want him to check the service while at my home. I will check again this evening in a few hours to see if the download speed is again degraded. At this time, I see no problems with speed… but at night it will diminish to possibly less than 10 Mbps.
May 20, 2020 – 2:45PM – SLOW INTERNET – NOT RESOLVED FROM MAY 18, 2020 – NOT NORMAL
I had a conversation with a representative named – Drake. He was very courteous and understanding of my problem. A rating from 1 to 10, being 10 equals the best service that can be provided by someone on the phone. I rate Drake a 10.
Note: I pay monthly for the services connection running to my home. I believe that this service costs me $8 per month. I am providing my own internet equipment.
Subscription Download: 400 Mbps – Actual now is 156 Mbps download / 34.3 upload
Even though the speed is workable and should provide no outages with my services at this time, I fully expect that within 2 hours, the speed will drop from 156 Mbps to around 10 Mbps, thus rendering my services useless. This is mainly the reason for the call. Actually, I’m supposed to receive 400 Mbps download all the time.
I called Suddenlink for service again today at around 2:00 PM. I was told by automated services that there would be a hold to speak to a representative for 20 minutes. As told, it took 20 minutes for a live person to talk to me on the phone. Previously, as stated in the May 18 update below, when requesting a callback, a callback is received in about 1 minute, but then disconnects. This happens each time I call, so I elected to stay on hold this time until I spoke with someone.
The representative wanted to know what kind of equipment I was using. I informed him that I was using my own equipment. He asked for the MAC address, and I gave it to him. He was able to check the line going to my modem and he determined that there was definitely an issue. He also set up an appointment for tomorrow, May 21, 2o20 between the hours of 2 and 5 PM for a technician to come out and check on the issue. At this time I have no confidence that when the technician shows up, that he will be able to solve the issue. He most likely will ONLY check and confirm that the issue exists, and may also install his own router and run tests to confirm again.
The representative also stated that I should receive credit for the days that I did not receive good service. So far to date, I will state that I had issues that I will state at this time on the following dates. I should receive credit for these days. I will continue to record all the days that I do not receive the proper service immediately below that I do not receive the optimum service I pay to receive credit for days my subscribed internet service wasn’t provided. When I receive credit for the days I did not receive proper services, I will record that date here also.
May 17th, 2020 – 18.62 Mbps download / 32.47 upload ( 400 Mbps is optimum)
May 18th, 2020 – 64.33 Mbps download / 30.33 upload ( 400 Mbps is optimum )
May 19th, 2020 – 27.21 Mbps download / 33.33 upload ( 400 Mbps is optimum )
May 20th, 2020 – 156 Mbps download / 34.3 upload ( 400 Mbps is optimum ) – NOTE: This reading was taken while speaking with the Suddenlink representative on the phone at approximately 2:30 PM May 20, 2020.
May 21, 2020 – 156.5 Mbps download / 40.2 upload ( 400 Mbps is optimum ) – This is the service that I was receiving after the technician left without fixing the problem. My appointment was today at 2:00 PM and the issue should have been fixed the first time.
At the end of the call with the customer service representative Drake who made the initial appointment, I informed him that I would be putting an update on the Suddenlink Complaints website. I gave him the address of this website.
May 18, 2020 – 4:00PM – SLOW INTERNET
NOTE: I pay monthly for the services connection running to my home. I am providing my own internet equipment.
Subscription Download : 400 Mbps – Actual is 6.52 Mbps download / 31.17 upload – Unacceptable
Called Suddenlink/Altice for assistance at 4:00 PM
- I went through the voice prompts to reset the modem and router.
- Checked the internet connection and speed at suddenlink.speedtest.net
- Result: No change in service. The Internet is still extremely slow.
- I placed for a callback by a representative. The voice prompt tells me that I will receive a callback in 20 minutes.
- I received a callback in 1 minute. During a transfer to a live person, the connection hangs up.
- I called Suddenlink/Altice back.
- I attempted to talk to a representative. Informed I would be called back in 10 minutes.
- I received a callback in 1 minute. During a transfer to a live person, the connection hangs up.
- The time is now 5:15 PM, and I have not received a return call on the phone.
- I will continue trying to contact Suddenlink/Altice and report my progress here.
I have been trying to contact the internet provider now for almost 1.5 hours without success.
Note about internet services
This website was created a few years ago, as I was having extreme difficulty with my internet services. At that time, I decided to provide my own modem and router. My own personal equipment did not solve the issues until the internet provider fixed the line issues that took several weeks to fix.
Presently, I have been having intermittent issues with my internet service now for over a month. It has degraded now to a point where I can no longer just staying idle and just wait for the problems to get fixed. Unfortunately, I am unable to speak with a person from tech support or customer services, so my only resort is to keep trying while I continue to update this website with my experiences with the internet company.