Comcast in The Villages
 

Fellow Villagers,
Many of you like myself have Comcast as our tv and internet provider. Also many of us are paying extra to Comcast for their Blast internet service, which provides speeds up to 300 mbps. I recently tested my internet speed and found out to my amazement that I was only getting 36 mbps. I called Comcast Internet repair and was told by their technical support person that my Comcast supplied modem was capped at 100 mbps. The Comcast technical support person arranged for a Comcast installer to replace my modem with a new up to date Comcast modem. Once this was completed my internet speed went from 36 mbps to 237 mbps. I called Comcast customer support and asked for a refund for the price of my monthly Blast service back to when it was installed. They refused a refund so I filed an FCC complaint, which is easy to do online. A Comcast senior customer service representative called me and said that their own internet technical support person was wrong about the modern being capped at 100 mbps. But she could not and would not admit or explain why my internet speed increased from 36 mbps to 237 mbps. Something is very wrong here and I believe Comcast does not want the expense to change out these old modems for new a new one unless the customer complains. I encourage all Comcast internet customers to check the speed of their service, which is free and if it is ridiculously slow like mine was to insist on a new modem and ask for a refund and if denied go and file an FCC complaint. If the FCC sees enough of these complaints and there is enough public exposure then Comcast maybe forced to do the right thing by its customers. I have included pictures of my old Comcast modem.

Where is the photo of your modem? Typically, the Xfinity equipment, including modems and cable boxes, is being updated regularly and customers can always exchange it for the newer equipment. For example, many people now have 4K televisions, but do not have an Xfinity 4K cable box, even though they are paying for Xfinity 4K programming. It would be a huge expense for Xfinity to notify and exchange every customer's equipment every time they come out with an updated version of their equipment. I understand your point, but you are paying for the incoming signal, and I think you have a responsibility to verify that you are getting the service you expect from that signal, and exchange the equipment, if you need to. I don't think Xfinity owes you a refund. Some people pay for HBO and never watch it. Should they get a refund?

They just screwed up your account provisioning at their NOC unless your modem was ancient.. When working for DirecTV MDU division years ago our NOC would often do that.

Dumped Comcast and ATT smartest decision I’ve made here in villages.

...

Dumped ATT cellular service.

I'm betting he meant ATT Cellular not internet. It's not available here. They refer you to Comcrap.

Comcast/Xfinity is horrible
 

I had Comcast/Xfinity. It is absolutely a rip off. Would not recommend them at all!

At the two year mark, they jumped up the prices, the telephone agents are terrible (they are very difficult to understand and they give out incorrect information) and their new service, Flex, is the worst! In my opinion.

Thank you for the great information. I'm getting ready to relocate to TV and I work from home so I've had some concern about internet service. I'll be sure to ask for a new modem.

I also work full-time from home. Lots of skype calls, streaming and VPN work for the government.

One option is to go with TMobile home. It is available in TV, costs 50 a month, including taxes. I've got it an have been using it for about 3 weeks now. Note that as of yesterday it is now 60 a month. I just carry the thing with me when I go up north. There is a good article on it here:

I signed up for T-Mobile's $60 unlimited home internet service. Here's what happened - CNET

Absolutely agree. We had them for 3 years. Worst customer service ever. No one spoke intelligible English. Just 4 months after my last "2 year renewal", the bumped my monthly fees by $25. Dropped them for Dish Network and never been happier.

It's not the modem. They throttle Internet service through software at their Network Operations Center. The CSR on the phone may not (probably not) have the technical expertise to know how it is provisioned or his/her script is written to offer the new modem while they correct the programming error. Get your own modem at Amazon or Best Buy and stop paying their monthly charge. The standard id DOCSIS 3.0 and the compatibility is written on the box. Your prices will raise after two years because you are out of the initial contract. Contact them again and see what deals they can offer. You can also try the other providers in the area, and find out what really bad service is all about.

Many northern Villagers are experiencing similar service limits from Centurylink. It’s not the available
Service, it’s the “regulator”. Maybe at switch, maybe at house, maybe equipment/router. Do speed tests regularly. And be prepared to hop from one to the other every couple years. North we have Xfinity or Centurylink, south Spectrum or Xfinity.

Can somebody explain how to do a speed test?

Speed Test
 

Speedtest.net

Speed Test
 

Just Google “speed test”

Google "internet speed test", and an option will appear to run a speed test.

speedtest
 

go to Speedtest by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test on your device and click go.

How do you like working for Comcast?

Speedtest for TMobile Home Internet:

Cheap, simple, reliable for me. I just did a speedtest..

Just plug it in and it works.

Just google speedtest and hit the button to run it.

Thanks for the Link. I just tested Up at 15 and Down at 250. I am south of 44 and I have Spectrum. I had a tech from Spectrum at my house yesterday, related to a cable nicked by landscapers. He tested my feed from the street to home, and identified a portion of the cable (not in the area of the landscapers nick) as being a problem. He then installed a new cable for the whole length. Spectrum gets dinged by a lot of Villagers, but I love the company. Great tech support. Reasonable fees (for cable).

This happens all the time. We have dealt with this issue (problem) with every provider in 4 different states.
My wife has more knowledge than the techs you talk to on the phone and she ends up telling them what the issues are.
i would bet only about 1% of customers do a speed test, and they know it
They tell you your getting 100, 200, 300 speeds but not even close. How would you know?
they've been ripping customers off for years

Comcast internet
 

I have Comcast internet blast speed. I was getting over 200 mbp UNTIL I returned their RENTED modem router and purchased my own. Now I get between 70 and 112 mbp. I have complained to various levels of customer service with no valid answer . The router modem I purchased is latest technology. The other person who started this topic is right. I will file a complaint with the FCC and Florida attorney general. If more people filed official complaints maybe something would be done instead of just complaining on this website. There is power in numbers.

Have you heard of ethics?

TMobile Internet
 

I also switched to T Mobile internet two months ago. Tired of ever changing fees and streaming issues, speed. You have to have T Mobile but man was I amazed at how fast and clear sound was, as well as the signal and speed. Comcast was holding us back. I will never go back to those rip off cable companies. T Mobile is about to go nation wide with their service - 50.00 NO OTHER CHARGES - unlimited , I had the Xfinity X1 do everything and T-Mobile internet is totally out performing them. I have 38 WiFi lights, pads, phones etc Unbelievable , I’m sooo happy

Buy your own modem and router and save $20 plus a month. Have 8 devices and getting 339 mps.

Dec my Comcast internet was being throttled back I had been getting 200 Mps. Jan internet speed was 50 MPs had to constantly reset the modems.
So upgraded to Comcast 1000 MPs for more $$$$ Sometimes get 400 MPs but no where near speed Comcast is selling. Numerous calls to Comcast they’ve got more excuses but the fact is Comcast charges for services they don’t provide!
They’re a monopoly and don’t care! Will fill out a complaint

How does one check the speed?

Combination devices perform worse than discreet devices. Just because something is new or recent, does not mean it is better. If you provide me with the model number of your device, I will tell you if it's capable or a piece of garbage. I can tell you that if you didn't pay at least $175 for it, it's probably not a good one.

Your best bet is to get a gigabit capable cable modem (DOCSIS 3.0 or 3.1)and an AC1900 or better router. While you may never need or get gigabit service, you want these devices to be normally, figuratively filing their finger nails while slinging megabytes of data around. That way when there is high demand, they handle it while maintaining quality of service.

This is happening not only in the villages but all over. I have the same problem with my Comcast internet. I believe that Comcast is doing this on purpose because many people are leaving to go to streaming services. If we as a group don’t do anything then it will continue to happen.

What should a good speed be?

Go YOU TUBE TV and lose the cable! Streaming has more options and you can endless record shows! Visit someone's house that uses Roku .. you will be happier that you cut that damn cable , I've been using You tube Tv for years.

Excellent. What I also love is that when I travel north, I can take it with me. Just plug it in and it WORKS. However, that battery that keeps the setting could be improved. I have to put the settings back in if it stays unplugged more than a day.

Yesterday they raised the price by $10 for new customers because they are killing the market with this product. Those of us $50 people get to keep it at $50 though.

Strongly suggest you buy your own modem and router — pay back for the cost is approximately one year, you control the speed, etc., they typically will last in terms of being technology up to date for 5+ years.

You still need internet -

speed
 

depends on what you want to watch. for streaming you need 35-50 mbs. Remember your speed is almost 1/2 when connected by wi-fi. you only get the advertised speed when connected by ethernet cable with 1 device connected to internet. your speed is also reduced by the number of devices connected to your internet. I usually have 5 devices and 2 of them are streaming.

. What are approx costs?

Streaming service have nothing to do with the internet speed issue. You can't cancel internet then go streaming.....

What do you use for internet?