AT&T UVerse, a huge waste of money

[AdamN]

I'm not sure if anyone else switched to AT&T UVerse but we did and regret it. Basically, it's digital cable and high speed internet(roughly 3MB per second) run through a 'modem' box. When it works, it's great! When it doesn't, well..... it's pretty darn crappy. Here's why:

1. The signal is lost at least once every day or two. And when the signal is lost, we don't have cable or the internet. And it doesn't last or just a minute, it's usually 5 to 10 minutes.
2. When it comes back, there are really annoying messages on Safari and Firefox that said it has been resolved but you can't view any other webpage until you quit the program and revisit that webpage. And when you have multiple pages open, it's a pain in the arse.
3. When recording a program, and having 2 TV's on, you can't watch another TV. When you turn on the third TV, it will not allow you to watch it without having another TV turned off. What the heck? With regular cable, we could watch as many TV's as we wanted.
4. Customer service - or lack thereof. We have called and had people come to 'check the system out', a few hours of looking at everything and checking it out, and they didn't find any problems. Ugh..... and their explanation?? "call us when it happens again" Why don't you just park your truck and wait for a few minutes......

So if your thinking about making the switch anytime soon, keep your cable and internet company that you have now. It will be worth it not to deal with the headaches. Sorry for the rant but I thought I would let everyone else know...

[trahanw]

Had it for about 6 months and haven't had any problems.

[MikeC]

I love U-verse!!
I've had mine since November in the Austin area and like what they offer for the money. Not sure what region of Texas you are in but I've heared that Houston region has a lot of problems. The Austin area is fairly new with U-verse and seem to be fine without any problems. U-verse streams 4 streams at once so if you are recording 2 shows and watching a live show on the same TV set that is 3 streams.....the 4 stream is your second TV set. Not sure if you can do that on cable. Anyway, I'm very happy with U-verse and love'n not shelling out any more $$ to TWC.

[AdamN]

Hmmmm.... Do you two have problems with it going out? About 2 minutes after posting this, it went out again. And there isn't ONE TV on in the house and I am just surfing the net(not downloading any large files).

[trahanw]

Not at all Adam..seems you may have an installation problem. They had to replace all my cable in the house. Did they do the same for you.

[MicWayWal]

Adam,

Keep some really good notes. I was not having the same problem as you, but if you keep really good notes about what time your service goes out and for how long, when you find the right technician they will isolate your problem.

I have cable modem and my service on just the Internet side was going out every day at about 4 - 5 in the afternoon and would not come back until 9 or 10 at night. The TVs were not affected. I did not realize the time was so consistent until I kept notes. Finally a technician noticed the time and realized it might be my connectors in the attic getting too hot. He changed out my cheap connectors with better ones, insulated them from the heat and voilà problem solved.

In this age of technology it is the small stuff that will kill you. Make sure you know exactly what the problem is, and some technician will eventually figure it out.

Originally Posted by AdamN

I'm not sure if anyone else switched to AT&T UVerse but we did and regret it. Basically, it's digital cable and high speed internet(roughly 3MB per second) run through a 'modem' box. When it works, it's great! When it doesn't, well..... it's pretty darn crappy. Here's why:

1. The signal is lost at least once every day or two. And when the signal is lost, we don't have cable or the internet. And it doesn't last or just a minute, it's usually 5 to 10 minutes.
2. When it comes back, there are really annoying messages on Safari and Firefox that said it has been resolved but you can't view any other webpage until you quit the program and revisit that webpage. And when you have multiple pages open, it's a pain in the arse.
3. When recording a program, and having 2 TV's on, you can't watch another TV. When you turn on the third TV, it will not allow you to watch it without having another TV turned off. What the heck? With regular cable, we could watch as many TV's as we wanted.
4. Customer service - or lack thereof. We have called and had people come to 'check the system out', a few hours of looking at everything and checking it out, and they didn't find any problems. Ugh..... and their explanation?? "call us when it happens again" Why don't you just park your truck and wait for a few minutes......

So if your thinking about making the switch anytime soon, keep your cable and internet company that you have now. It will be worth it not to deal with the headaches. Sorry for the rant but I thought I would let everyone else know...

[MikeC]

Only had to reset my STB a coulpe of times and one of those time was to get the upgrade on HD programes. I agree with trahanw to get a tech to test your coix cable through out the house.

[ndsimm]

Originally Posted by AdamN

Hmmmm.... Do you two have problems with it going out? About 2 minutes after posting this, it went out again. And there isn't ONE TV on in the house and I am just surfing the net(not downloading any large files).

Call them and make them come out and replace your cable or at least your connections. I had the same issue in Houston (but it still sucks) and they sent someone out to replace my connections - they had used the existing coax form my Comcast/TWC install and the tech didn't bother to terminate unused connections -
Whole home DVR is not available and what you describe in your first post sounds more like the HD issue - they only allow ONE HD stream and if you try and watch HD on another set, you get the message
the only reason I'm still with them is because they are still cheaper than Comcast and those are my only two options since I don't want to go Dish or DirecTV

[Cybastean]

Here's something to consider, and this came from an AT&T technician who came out to repair a phone connection. If you have an older house, built before they used twisted pair wiring, then paying for high speed DSL is a waste of money. The old style cables create cause significant signal loss and you will (as I did) only get about 1/3 of the speed you're paying for.

[AdamN]

When they installed it the first time, they were out here for over 8 hours redoing alot of the wiring to upgrade it, check the system, install all the 'cable boxes', verify they work with each TV, getting the internet setup, etc. And when they came out the second time, I wasn't here but my parents were and the technician was overlooking the wires and had a device hooked up to the lines in each room and was checking items out. With each problem, I have noted the time it went out, the problems we were having, etc. I guess it will take another visit or two to get it fixed and hopefully soon! It's real annoying when your watching the news and it cuts out a few minutes into it. LOL

[Davidtxs]

My parents have it and have it and have had MAJOR trouble with the phone going out, finally after two months and several visits from a tech, I got a sr tech he sent someone out they spent about 2 hours and finally replaced a patch cable in the attic and no problem in 4 months now, plus before i even called to get some kind of credit they gave them two months free. but you are right the cust service SUCKS lol
good luck

[Jake]

UVerse blows. I can't wait to switch.

[Collins]

The technology behind U-Verse was terrible to begin with. It's stop-gap technology (in lieu of FIBER) and I'd only sign up with the internet if it were available here as I hear they are offering a new 10/1 tier.

If you have more than one HDTV it's pretty much worthless.

I wish Verizon would come to Houston proper and save me from these mediocre (and expensive in the case of cable) offerings from Comcast and AT&T. :(

[Toad]

From what I've noticed, people with FTTP are not having problems (like my mother in law), and people with FTTN are having all sorts of problems.
FTTP is in the newer housing additions, where they are pre-wiring everything for fiber. Everybody else gets FTTN.
Since I live in an older house, I would end up with FTTN. So I said ef that, and am waiting for Verizon FIOS.
Toad

[gregt1310]

How is the HD picture compared to cable or satellite? I've heard it's not as good, but nothing specific.

Can anyone comment on the quality of the HD picture?

Mine is getting installed next Monday, and I'm just curious.

Thanks.