Windows 7 forum: Window 7 / Uverse issues

by: trojwl June 29, 2012 8:37 AM PDT

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Window 7 / Uverse issues

by trojwl - 6/29/12 8:37 AM

I have had U-Verse (AT&T) for about one year now. Most of the time it has been trouble-free. However one problem I've was having is that, when the modem lost power for any length of time, when it came back I would get multiple AT&T connection errors when trying to surf. Over a period of a day or two, the sites would starting returning.

My email never went away - ever. It always worked perfectly.

I have not changed any settings in browser (latest IE with all default settings).

I also have Microsoft Security Essenetials (best anti-virus avaiable - and it's free).

A couple of sites came up almost instantly (Google & YouTube for example). But I can't get Craigslist or Huffington Post (AT&T connection errors) among others.

A couple sites will come up but all you get are a list of links on a totally white background. And none of the links work. The JustWeather site is one example of this.

I went to the local bagel shop and on their WiFi I was able to open my Mozilla browser. IE was having had same issues as at home. After playing around with Mozilla for a few moments, I was able to get it working. I had some Craigslist business to tend to and was successful.

The biggest problem is that you cannot find anyone with answers.

We all know AT&T is about as helpful as **** on a boar hog. The agents, all drenched in foreign accent, always want you to "reset the modem"- as if I haven't done that multiple times already. They are at step 1. I am at step 10 in troubleshooting process. And if you want to talk to a "specialist", you risk being charged $149!

Forget the Geek Squad at Best Buy. They will plead ignorance all day. They seem to have a very narrow range of "concern".

Since this issue seems to fall into a gray area, I figure the forums are my best shot as they seem to have very knowledgeable participants.

Also, I have two laptops (one a year old and one two weeks old). Both have Windows7. And both have virtually the same problems.

Like I say, it used to be that, when this happened, of a period of a couple days sites would slowly start returning. The sites are not "returning" like they used to. It has been three days now.

Also I have another modem that I know works perfectly. It behaves exactly in the same manner.

Why I would get connection errors on selected sites and none on Google or YouTube and "half way" on others (JustWeather) is driving me crazy.
Also I cannot open Mozilla at home. Gives same AT&T diagnostic error.

I am probably one of millions with this setup. Surely this has happened to others.

If anyone can solve this issue, they truly deserve to be proclaimed "computer genius".

HELP!!!!!!

Thanks

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Unfortunately

by Jimmy Greystone - 6/29/12 9:13 AM

In Reply to: Window 7 / Uverse issues by trojwl

Unfortunately, AT&T is going to be the only one who CAN help you with this. There are a couple of possibilities for what is going on, but all them start at the U-Verse modem and extend into the rest of the AT&T network, so you're going to want to just brace yourself and call AT&T.

If you're lucky the modem just took a bit of damage in the way of an electrical surge, and swapping in a new one will solve your problems. However, there could also be issues with the line between your house and the nearest U-Verse box on the street, or between that box on the street and the main AT&T switching station. Basically, all roads lead to AT&T, sorry. I'm inclined to think that the experience at the coffee shop was just coincidental, and it might just be a stale cache issue with IE that was giving you the false-positives.

What I find tends to work, is if you just kind of fake it with the AT&T support reps. When they tell you to reset the modem, you just say you did (because you did multiple times already) and after a minute or two of doing whatever, you just say it's done rebooting and the problem is still there. It also helps to remember that the people on the other end of the phone are just doing their job, which mandates they have to ask questions in a specific order. Most of those people are probably just as frustrated as you by how tightly their hands are tied. At least the ones who have any level of skill. If you work with them a little, they will tend to work with you. You let them check off all the little boxes they need to check off so they don't get in trouble, and then they might be able to go a little off-script. Of course those scripts do exist for a reason. Anyone who has worked a support job will tell you that there is a reason why you commonly suggest that people turn something off and on again, make sure it's plugged in, and reboot before anything else. I've lost count of how many times my mother has called/emailed/IMed me at work because she can't print. Seems like almost every time she shut the printer off for the weekend or something, forgot to turn it back on come Monday, so there's not a lot of point in going into it any further until I've ruled that out. Then there was a time she was trying to install a new printer, she swore up and down that she had it turned on, but then it ultimately turned out that she didn't plug the other end of the AC cable into the wall outlet.

So imagine hundreds, if not thousands, or tens of thousands, of people like that calling in EVERY SINGLE DAY. You may be a bit above the average, and it's easy to forget about the fact that for every person above the average there's someone who's BELOW the average. Believe me, if you ever worked one of those jobs, you'd be glad to have that script.

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by trojwl - 6/29/12 11:45 AM

In Reply to: Unfortunately by Jimmy Greystone

I really appreciate the input.
I have been doing some troubleshooting inside the NID (network interface device) hanging on the side of the house. I have spent thirty plus years working in a major generating station troubleshooting instruments and control systems for boiler/generator units so I have some experience. Let me tell you what I found.

If I plug modem directy into "raw" input jack from telephone pole, the modem works perfectly! It gets all the sites AND I picked up a full meg of speed (4.6 before vs. 5.7 after). The "healthy" signal doesn't appear to make it through the two modules inside the NID (one apparently a distribution modlue and the other a splitter/filter module). There is a second test jack on output of first module (input to filter). When plugged into that jack, the modem problems reappear.
Also we just had a major rain (tropical torm Debby) and there was substantial flooding (although no wires were ever submerged and no water was present inside NID). I'm sure the humidity was sky high.
The problem is apparently inside the NID. I have an AT&T tech scheduled for a visit. I believe if he (or she) changes out both modules in the NID the problem should go away.
Why a wiring issue would allow my browser to bring up Google and not Huffington Post is totally beyond me. And why email was never interrupted further adds to this mystery. Moisture in the NID might have introduced an element of resistance or capitance to the circuit chopping off some of the bandwidth maybe? I really grabbing for straws here since I don't know fully how UVerse works.

I do realize that the agents go through a menu. But when they want to have me troubleshooting the house phone cabling and I tell them that I have disconnected the entire house from the NID and the problem persists and there is no possible way that defective house cabling could be involved, this should bump me up about five steps in t-shooting process. This just doesn't happen. And, like I said, they will charge you $149 to consult with a specialist".
Add to that the headache of just to getting through to someone who can help and the fact that about twenty percent of the time AT&T's phone system hangs up on me while on hold, you can understand my frustration.

Also, last year, in a span of about three months, I literally had fifteen visits from AT&T techs troubleshooting my old 2-wire modem. It was always red-lighting. It wasn't until someone came up with the idea of giving me a new UVerse modem did the problem go away. Also, at each visit, the tech had no info on what had already been done by the previous techs. Therefore, if I wasn't there to tell them what had been done, they would start from step one.
When I get this all straightened our I will post the results.
This has been a real educational experience - and not a very pleasant one.

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"If I plug modem directy into "raw" input jack from telephon

by R. Proffitt - 6/29/12 11:59 AM

In Reply to: Reply by trojwl

"If I plug modem directy into "raw" input jack from telephone pole, the modem works perfectly!"

That's a very well known issue with DSL and such systems. It only proves that you have wiring issues and nothing more.

Why didn't you consider a HOME RUN line from that to your modem?

And did you check again all the DSL filters? I find folk forget this area.
Bob

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