century link prism problems?

[tssdad1]

Just had Prisim installed and the remote control does not work most of the time. I'm on my second remote already, it's not even been a week, and I am going to the Century Link store for yet another. When I attempt to change channels, the tv does not register the number I press or enters it 2 or 3 times or just enters whatever it wants to. Very frustrated right now, anybody else have these symptoms?
thanks,

[Skybo]

I have experienced similar issues, but they've always been operator error on my part. The remote buttons can be a bit persnickety. You have to press the buttons straight on (fingernails can mess you up) and then release in a timely manner. And you have to get all of the numbers punched in quickly as well. For instance, if you are trying to press "155" and you pause slightly between the first and second"5", you might end up turning your TV first to channel 15 and then to channel 5. I have one remote that seems more sensitive than the others, but they are all sensitive to a degree.

[NotGolfer]

I have experienced similar issues, but they've always been operator error on my part. The remote buttons can be a bit persnickety. You have to press the buttons straight on (fingernails can mess you up) and then release in a timely manner. And you have to get all of the numbers punched in quickly as well. For instance, if you are trying to press "155" and you pause slightly between the first and second"5", you might end up turning your TV first to channel 15 and then to channel 5. I have one remote that seems more sensitive than the others, but they are all sensitive to a degree.

We have Prism and have had no issues. What Skybo said is true though.

[rubicon]

I have experienced similar issues, but they've always been operator error on my part. The remote buttons can be a bit persnickety. You have to press the buttons straight on (fingernails can mess you up) and then release in a timely manner. And you have to get all of the numbers punched in quickly as well. For instance, if you are trying to press "155" and you pause slightly between the first and second"5", you might end up turning your TV first to channel 15 and then to channel 5. I have one remote that seems more sensitive than the others, but they are all sensitive to a degree.

That's an engineering/design flaw and I would let Century Link know

[rp001]

Century Link customer service is just plain awful. I had an appointment scheduled for tomorrow at noon and got an e mail today they would be here "Sometime between 9 and 5." if that wasn't enough the e mail gave a contact number if there were problems with the appointment that is "busy" and is not being answered. These people are just too arrogant for belief!

[tssdad1]

thanks everyone, I did go the the Century Link store and they replaced my remote and all is well. They did say "We just got a new batch of remotes in....", so maybe they had a bad lot when I got mine.

[tuccillo]

Century Link has come to my house 3 times and they came when they said they would and the people who came out were well trained and personable. I have called tech support about 6 times and all but one time I talked to someone who was knowledgeable and quickly addressed the issue. I have had a few issues with the internet connection being dropped occasionally but they have diligently worked it. Overall, I would give them an A- on customer service, the one bad call is why I wouldn't give them an A.

Century Link customer service is just plain awful. I had an appointment scheduled for tomorrow at noon and got an e mail today they would be here "Sometime between 9 and 5." if that wasn't enough the e mail gave a contact number if there were problems with the appointment that is "busy" and is not being answered. These people are just too arrogant for belief!

[rp001]

This was not just a one time occurrence but just the latest. I had my internet disconnected because they gave my phone number away without my permission and was without service for a week. Just try and wade through their phone system to actually speak with a customer service rep and see what a mess it is. I can only say if you gave them an A, your previous service must have been morse code or perhaps Comcast. I'd give century link a D and Comcast a strong F.

[tuccillo]

I have not had any trouble getting through to a person - just a couple of button pushes and never more than a 1 or 2 minute wait. I call the internet repair number on my monthly bill. I have never had Comcast. Again, with one exception, the people I have spoken with have been excellent and addressed the issue promptly. When I called to provide feedback regarding the one bad experience I had, I got a manager within a couple of minutes and he appreciated that I called to give feedback. You catch my flies with honey than vinegar.

This was not just a one time occurrence but just the latest. I had my internet disconnected because they gave my phone number away without my permission and was without service for a week. Just try and wade through their phone system to actually speak with a customer service rep and see what a mess it is. I can only say if you gave them an A, your previous service must have been morse code or perhaps Comcast. I'd give century link a D and Comcast a strong F.

[e-flyer]

The only issue we have had with Century Link Prism is occasionally if the tv has been on for a long time, the sound quits working. We have to cycle the channel to get it to work again. Perhaps, it's something to do with the entire system running off wifi.

[rubicon]

Yesterday Century Link guy knocked on my door. I left it half open for a reason. I felt badly so I opened it all the way and the guy ask if he could come in as he was already walking in. I thought he was just going to step inside nstead he walked to my kitchen table and began filling out an order. I told him i was not going to subscribe until I investigated further. bottom line is he started out low and by the time we got to what I now have with comcast there was no difference

I have no issues with comcast at this point so i am not moving

[cromlich]

Weve had nothing but an excellent experience with Prism. Comcast is the worst and Direct TV was not much better and so expensive. We love Prism. No issues and we have had it for well over a year.

[sligo]

I am here one year, already had Comcast, Verizon & Dish, probably got spoiled with good service in NY. Can hardly for my contract with Dish to expire, all listed providers found them terrible with zero customer response.

[msfooter]

Weve had nothing but an excellent experience with Prism. Comcast is the worst and Direct TV was not much better and so expensive. We love Prism. No issues and we have had it for well over a year.

Bighthouse has raised their rates and I am thinking about switching to Directv.
I can get a definitive rate for the first year but the agents are somewhat indefinite about rates the second year. Could someone please give me an idea of the percentage increase for the second year with Directv? Thanks,

[PaPaLarry]

What I am wondering is, what made you people take Century Link over the other cable companies? The reason I'm asking, is because I have Comcast now, and paying almost 240.00, and thinking of changing.

[cologal]

I had an unsolicited visit from Century Link yesterday. Not changing for 2 reasons...internet speed and a friend had them installed 2 weeks ago, they left the cable on the ground and now someone reported her to the TV police. When I asked the sells agent about that he said that was the "OLD WAY" they did things. LOL 2 weeks ago.

[HMLRHT1]

Why do their ads say only 10Mbps for Internet speed not 1000 Mbps?

[Polar Bear]

I pay for 25Mbps (download) with Comcast and almost always get the full 25, which is plenty for most residential needs. The fastest Centurylink offered me was 10.

And by the way, your neighbor does own the utility easement on their lot. Its use is just restricted according to the provisions describing the easement.

[PaPaLarry]

Why do their ads say only 10Mbps for Internet speed not 1000 Mbps?
Good question!!!

[tuccillo]

I am not sure if you are talking about CenturyLink capabilities in The Villages or elsewhere. I live on the southside and have Century Link via fiber optic. I have 10 Mbps download but could have 40 Mbps download for additional cost. The service is not symmetric - the upload is less than 1 Mbps. As far as I can tell, they are not offering 1 Gbps in The Villages. I know they are rolling it out in some selected cities. Regarding 100 Gbps, yes we will see that in the future but it isn't clear to me when that would be or under what conditions it would be required or cost justified for home use. For example, you can stream 2160p video with 25 Mbps. Paying for bandwidth you don't need is a waste of money.

You must be on the north side, the south side the fiber is already ran to the houses. And they don't pay techs to bury cable, they pay contractors to do it. After a certain number of people get hooked up a crew comes out and buries everyone's cable. The same thing would happen if your coax connection got cut for any reason, I've heard of comcast customers waiting over 3 months to get a line buried.

And as for internet speed, centurylink blows comcast completely out of the water. Comcast max speed is 105Mbps but you'll be lucky to get 50 of that. Centurylink has symmetrical (that means both upload and download) of 1000Mbps but can easily support up to 100,000Mbps with node and server upgrades.

And who reported who to the police? You do realize that where that cable is ran is what's called a "utility easement", and thus not your neighbors property even if it happens to be in their backyard.

I'm sorry that you were misinformed.

[Polar Bear]

OFFERED you is the keyword there. 2 years ago that's all we could offer anyone. But due to aggressive server and node upgrades and substantial additional fiber layout we can now offer much higher speeds. I bet you have a loop of fiber from us already ran to the side of your house.


Yeah. 25 Mbps...not compatible with Prism TV service.

[tuccillo]

I don't believe that is correct. I did call them and the highest is 100 Mbps for my house. The Villages is not one of the rollout cities for 1 Gbps.

Every person with a fiber connection in the villages has 1000Mbps available to them, just call. Available speed tiers are 40, 100 and 1000 for fiber customers.

[tuccillo]

Just for kicks I called Century Link again and they confirmed that 100 Mbps is highest bandwidth available at my home (south of 466a and has fiber to the house). Also, The Villages is not listed as one of the rollout cities in their press release. While I guess it is possible that the "hooks" are in place from an engineering point of view, if you cannot order it then it doesn't really matter.

Every person with a fiber connection in the villages has 1000Mbps available to them, just call. Available speed tiers are 40, 100 and 1000 for fiber customers.

[Polar Bear]

Just for kicks I called Century Link again and they confirmed that 100 Mbps is highest bandwidth available at my home (south of 466a and has fiber to the house). Also, The Villages is not listed as one of the rollout cities in their press release. While I guess it is possible that the "hooks" are in place from an engineering point of view, if you cannot order it then it doesn't really matter.


This is not the first time talk has been very fast and loose regarding such "facts".

[TrudyM]

The rental we had last winter in Hemmingway had real problems. They kept coming out and resetting and replacing the boxes and it wasn't the boxes. Every time it rained the tv reception would pixalate or the internet slowed to a crawl. Finally a guy ran a line down the back and connected into a different hub. Apparently they lay the lines before the houses are built and the landscape is in and they get knicked and then when it rains or someone gets over doing it with their sprinklers the water causes signal bleed. He said that 20 % of the lines have some signal loss due to this problem and that over time new lines will have to be pulled but they are too backed up now with all the new construction. I don't know if this is true but it is what he said and the new line fixed the issue. Maybe eventually it will get straightened out.

And yes I know I can't spell.

[tuccillo]

I cannot force the reps on the other end of the phone to place an order to turn on something they say is not available. If you are a Century Link employee then why don't you contact your sales/engineering departments and tell them to modify what services are available to the fiber optic customers in The Villages. If you are a Century Link employee, telling customers that other Century Link employees "don't know what they are talking about" reflects badly on you. The tier 1 reps are the face of the company because that is who the customers primarily interact with.

You are talking to tier 1 reps who have no idea what they are talking about. PM me your address and I can tell you the actual available speeds with a 3min phone call.

As of 3 months ago all customers with a fiber optic connection were available for gig speeds. And the villages isn't considered a "city" it's a "community" in the eyes of a utility company.

They aren't going to list every single community or small town on a rollout list, only the major population centers, which the closest to here is Orlando.

If you want actual pertinent information, i have it.

[Polar Bear]

Comcast doesn't use fiber optic to the home. Centurylink is the only service provider that does in this area. Your "25Mbps" isn't coming through fiber.


I don't have a clue what you're saying. The 25Mbps that I spoke of that is not compatible with PRISM TV service is YOUR (Centurylink) Internet service. Check the website.

[Polar Bear]

...If you are a Century Link employee, telling customers that other Century Link employees "don't know what they are talking about" reflects badly on you...


So true. Such a basic principal.

[tuccillo]

If I had to guess, I would say that you have Century Link internet via copper and not fiber to the house and they are only offering Prism if you have fiber to the house???

I don't have a clue what you're saying. The 25Mbps that I spoke of that is not compatible with PRISM TV service is YOUR (Centurylink) Internet service. Check the website.

[Polar Bear]

If I had to guess, I would say that you have Century Link internet via copper and not fiber to the house and they are only offering Prism if you have fiber to the house???


Heheh...no. I have Comcast 25 Mbps internet service. It's been reliable and plenty fast. (True 25 Mbps download speed almost all the time.) But you're probably right for Centurylink customers.

[tuccillo]

Ooops, OK, I misunderstood your post.

Heheh...no. I have Comcast 25 Mbps internet service. It's been reliable and plenty fast. (True 25 Mbps download speed almost all the time.) But you're probably right for Centurylink customers.

[Schinus]

Nathan....I was just scrolling through this thread to see if I was the only person having issues with Century Link. Its been close to 1 1/2 years since I switched to Prism and have been absolutely plagued with problems, particularly the last several months. Mostly TVs freezing but also audio warbling. Sometimes rebooting the box solves it but not always. Tech came out a few months ago and installed your wireless system and assured me issues would subside. They have actually worsened. They refunded me some money and even reduced my payment for 12 more months. I'd rather have reliability than a lower rate. I have all occurrences, about 17, documented since 10/14. It should be embarrassing to any quality manager. The freezing just repeats and repeats. The last two times level one can't even tell me what was wrong they just said it was "in the neighborhood". Then last week my phones went dead at the same time the TVs froze. There are other events that would just take up too much time to list here. I don't like airing issues like this on this site but I am disgusted with the lack of reliability. What really bothers me is several of my neighbors suffer the same issues and don't bother to report it. To my total surprise I recognize your name as the person I bought Century Link from. Sure would be nice to get some satisfaction from this company. I'm sure not everyone has the same problems I do or you wouldn't be in business.