FA+
Shop
the unexpected quest for a VDSL modem
8 years ago
Recently our phone bill went up. Mostly because our old "price-lock" deal had expired. So Mom tells me to go fix the bill.
Mom's always telling me to do something that *really* needs her input and involvement and then wandering off or disappearing to do her own thing.
If you want to talk (or live-chat) with Century Link Customer care, you need to have a bunch of info that only the Account Owner (ie, Mom) would have. Like the last 4 digits of the social. Something I thought I had written down, but apparently not where I can get to it.
So I register for an online account. Which only requires info from a recent bill, which I do have handy. After a few minor mis-steps, like turning off long-distance, which Mom wanted to keep, because the "Existing Customer Change Services" page is totally and completely different than the "Look at Our Shiny Bundle-Deals, Potential New Customer" page, I discover our neighborhood is now in the 40Mbps zone and the current set of bundles for 20M and 40M cost the same. Kewl. Confirmation message says the switch will be Monday (this last Monday, 7/3/17), and I figure "Crisis over, back to routine." This is all a smidge past Mid-June, by the way.
So, middle of the day Friday (June 30) the internet cuts out. I've had intermittent outages before, so I just settled back to read and ended falling asleep. Insert whine about not getting enough sleep and not getting any reading done. I do all the Stupid Idiot Stuff Tech Support Makes You Do, like resetting the modem and checking the modem's status screen. DSL appears to be trying to connect but fails to.
Friday is the day off when Stuff Gets Done, like grocery shopping. Before heading out to shop, I inform Mom, so she doesn't find out herself the hard way if she had her heart set on an evening of web-surfing.
I get back and Mom's on her laptop . . .
She wants me to get on the horn with CenturyLink to complain. First call, the rep I get has me do the Stupid Idiot Stuff and then says to hold, she's going to signal the modem. I wait, figuring she's doing whatever she needs to do, and I get kicked back into the voice menu. WTF. Second tech support rep sympathizes, and also does not make me re-do the Stupid Idiot Stuff I already did. Then I learned that the work order to upgrade to 40 happened early. And that the current modem doesn't handle 40M. Apparently the website ordering service is too stupid to check for compatibility. While Customer Care and Tech Support are two different departments, Tech Support can tell if a modem has been ordered or not. There isn't one on the way. Problem is that it's now 11pm, Customer Care is closed, and has limited Saturday hours. I'm looking at being offline until well after 4th of July . . . unless I go out and buy a new modem myself. Screw being offline longer than I have to! I get some model numbers and specs from the tech, and head right out the door to hit Wal-mart.
Turns out Wallyworld doesn't carry any sort of DSL modem at all. Did I mention I was developing a sore big toe? Well, I was. And walking to Wallyworld didn't help.
Next morning, I'm up bright and early. (Body: Huh? Next dentists appointment ain't until October! Me: I got stuff to do. Body: This freakin' early!) First stop is SWS. Actually, first stop is McDonald's, because of how the buses run, I'm there before SWS opens. Apparently I need a regular reminder that a McDonald's Breakfast is just a creatively dis-assembled McMuffin. And they don't serve condiments with their Big Breakfast anymore. At least I didn't get any with mine.
SWS didn't have any VDSL modems. Mind genuinely blown. Go-to Serious Computer Hardware place doesn't have something.
For shits, I decide to hit the U of A Bookstore. I wasn't expecting to find anything. Also being middle of summer and a de facto holiday weekend, nothing else on the mall was open. And I found out the Library computer lab is not public access anymore. All the computers require a login.
Next up, two long waits at bus stops to get to Best Buy. Finally, a place with VDSL modems . . . sort of. The staff is familiar enough with Century Link, but they only had two modems to select from. One cost a little over a half of what Century Link's "Purchase Modem" fee is, but doesn't have router functions. The other was twice as expensive, but had wireless. Out comes the credit card . . . http://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgear.....?skuId=4760600
Another two long waits at bus stops to get home. Once home, set up is fairly painless. I'm back on, Mom's back on, that's what matters.
And to what use am I putting the new 40Mbps speed for? Lookin' at furry porn. :P Ok, the new Italian update on War Thunder has got me playing War Thunder again, but I don't seriously multiplayer anymore.
Mayday's in the closet. Not because of the fireworks, per se, but the freaking barking rats freaking out about the fireworks.
Mom's always telling me to do something that *really* needs her input and involvement and then wandering off or disappearing to do her own thing.
If you want to talk (or live-chat) with Century Link Customer care, you need to have a bunch of info that only the Account Owner (ie, Mom) would have. Like the last 4 digits of the social. Something I thought I had written down, but apparently not where I can get to it.
So I register for an online account. Which only requires info from a recent bill, which I do have handy. After a few minor mis-steps, like turning off long-distance, which Mom wanted to keep, because the "Existing Customer Change Services" page is totally and completely different than the "Look at Our Shiny Bundle-Deals, Potential New Customer" page, I discover our neighborhood is now in the 40Mbps zone and the current set of bundles for 20M and 40M cost the same. Kewl. Confirmation message says the switch will be Monday (this last Monday, 7/3/17), and I figure "Crisis over, back to routine." This is all a smidge past Mid-June, by the way.
So, middle of the day Friday (June 30) the internet cuts out. I've had intermittent outages before, so I just settled back to read and ended falling asleep. Insert whine about not getting enough sleep and not getting any reading done. I do all the Stupid Idiot Stuff Tech Support Makes You Do, like resetting the modem and checking the modem's status screen. DSL appears to be trying to connect but fails to.
Friday is the day off when Stuff Gets Done, like grocery shopping. Before heading out to shop, I inform Mom, so she doesn't find out herself the hard way if she had her heart set on an evening of web-surfing.
I get back and Mom's on her laptop . . .
She wants me to get on the horn with CenturyLink to complain. First call, the rep I get has me do the Stupid Idiot Stuff and then says to hold, she's going to signal the modem. I wait, figuring she's doing whatever she needs to do, and I get kicked back into the voice menu. WTF. Second tech support rep sympathizes, and also does not make me re-do the Stupid Idiot Stuff I already did. Then I learned that the work order to upgrade to 40 happened early. And that the current modem doesn't handle 40M. Apparently the website ordering service is too stupid to check for compatibility. While Customer Care and Tech Support are two different departments, Tech Support can tell if a modem has been ordered or not. There isn't one on the way. Problem is that it's now 11pm, Customer Care is closed, and has limited Saturday hours. I'm looking at being offline until well after 4th of July . . . unless I go out and buy a new modem myself. Screw being offline longer than I have to! I get some model numbers and specs from the tech, and head right out the door to hit Wal-mart.
Turns out Wallyworld doesn't carry any sort of DSL modem at all. Did I mention I was developing a sore big toe? Well, I was. And walking to Wallyworld didn't help.
Next morning, I'm up bright and early. (Body: Huh? Next dentists appointment ain't until October! Me: I got stuff to do. Body: This freakin' early!) First stop is SWS. Actually, first stop is McDonald's, because of how the buses run, I'm there before SWS opens. Apparently I need a regular reminder that a McDonald's Breakfast is just a creatively dis-assembled McMuffin. And they don't serve condiments with their Big Breakfast anymore. At least I didn't get any with mine.
SWS didn't have any VDSL modems. Mind genuinely blown. Go-to Serious Computer Hardware place doesn't have something.
For shits, I decide to hit the U of A Bookstore. I wasn't expecting to find anything. Also being middle of summer and a de facto holiday weekend, nothing else on the mall was open. And I found out the Library computer lab is not public access anymore. All the computers require a login.
Next up, two long waits at bus stops to get to Best Buy. Finally, a place with VDSL modems . . . sort of. The staff is familiar enough with Century Link, but they only had two modems to select from. One cost a little over a half of what Century Link's "Purchase Modem" fee is, but doesn't have router functions. The other was twice as expensive, but had wireless. Out comes the credit card . . . http://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgear.....?skuId=4760600
Another two long waits at bus stops to get home. Once home, set up is fairly painless. I'm back on, Mom's back on, that's what matters.
And to what use am I putting the new 40Mbps speed for? Lookin' at furry porn. :P Ok, the new Italian update on War Thunder has got me playing War Thunder again, but I don't seriously multiplayer anymore.
Mayday's in the closet. Not because of the fireworks, per se, but the freaking barking rats freaking out about the fireworks.
