Any Cable Guys (or Gals) Here?

LukinFan

So here's my problem:

I live in a townhouse. My computer and modem are upstairs and my xbox is downstairs. I rarely get xbox live and when I do, I don't mind unhooking my modem and bringing it downstairs. Have done it plenty of times and has worked every time. Well this past Monday, I bring it downstairs and hook it up and it doesn't work. I wait for about an hour and nothing. Bring it back upstairs and hook it back up to my computer and its still not online for a good 45 mins. I call Comcast and over course they can't do anything over the phone while it's down. So they set up an apt for today.

Well, another day this week, I try bringing the modem downstairs and hooking it up and nothing again. Unhook it and again takes a good while to come online again after I hooked it back up to the computer. I even tried running a really long cable cord from the same cable outlet upstairs to my xbox downstairs and nothing.

And from that point on (Tuesday?) - today the cable has been on, on my computer. Today the cable guy comes and he tells me that I can not unhook my modem and move it to another outlet in the house other than the original one that was hooked up since Comcast in my city has gone completely digital. Back when I had analog, I would be able to do this. He told me my only option is to go wireless. I asked him if I could just get another modem for downstairs and he told me that I would have to take that up with Comcast. They only like households to have one modem.

And I told him that my cable downstairs has seemed more fuzzy than normal just in the past couple of days and he changed out the box - which made it look worse, so he switched it back. He told me that "it looked fine to him- the best he could get it." He told me that sometimes the temperature can effect it.

He leaves and I call up comcast. Ask them about the two modems and if I can move the modem around - both answers are "of course". The guy on the phone was shocked. So now I have a new guy coming out tomorrow.

But which do I believe? - the cable guy that told me that he has 29 years service or the guy on the phone.
Either way I can't get onto xbox live.


update: a new cable guy came out yesterday and redid the line and replaced the modem - problem solved. I still can't believe the first cable guy lied straight to my face about two things

Kevinman

Go wireless.

81

comcast sucks...get a new provider :P


wireless seems like a good option. no moving crap around.

ps, hope you aren't paying a monthly rental fee for your modem. you can go to best buy and pick one up or go to ebay and pick one up cheap. just be warned, if the modem has been used with comcast before, you have to get the mac address cleared from teh old persons account, which can be a major pita

Thoughts_Arrive

Try Julian Assange, he is a pretty good cable guy from what I've heard.

FrankieG

drill small hole in your floor/ceiling.
get the smallest length cable that will still reach from modem to xbox.
distance affects the strength of the signal. ie, shorter cable, better signal.

if you are going to go wireless, factor in the cost of the $100 antenna that the xbox requires to have in order to connect wirelessly...

mickeyrat

FrankieG wrote:

drill small hole in your floor/ceiling.
get the smallest length cable that will still reach from modem to xbox.
distance affects the strength of the signal. ie, shorter cable, better signal.

if you are going to go wireless, factor in the cost of the $100 antenna that the xbox requires to have in order to connect wirelessly...

the only downside to this option , aside from the hole in the floor/ceiling, is would your Xbox remain in the same general area all the time? no rearranging of furniture?

If you wish to go with the above option, you can, with a little more effort, retro fit an inwall. many steps to that process. but in the end a much cleaner look.

LukinFan

FrankieG wrote:

drill small hole in your floor/ceiling.
get the smallest length cable that will still reach from modem to xbox.
distance affects the strength of the signal. ie, shorter cable, better signal.

if you are going to go wireless, factor in the cost of the $100 antenna that the xbox requires to have in order to connect wirelessly...

yeah, the on;y reason why I haven't gone wireless yet is because of the money. The antenna is pricey and I'd have to buy a wireless router - really don't have the money to buy either right now.

And yeah, the modem is a rental from Comcast - $5 a month

but what I don't understand is why can't I still plug my modem into the same cable outlet that I was using before - which my TV is currently plugged into now

mickeyrat

LukinFan wrote:

FrankieG wrote:

drill small hole in your floor/ceiling.
get the smallest length cable that will still reach from modem to xbox.
distance affects the strength of the signal. ie, shorter cable, better signal.

if you are going to go wireless, factor in the cost of the $100 antenna that the xbox requires to have in order to connect wirelessly...

yeah, the on;y reason why I haven't gone wireless yet is because of the money. The antenna is pricey and I'd have to buy a wireless router - really don't have the money to buy either right now.

And yeah, the modem is a rental from Comcast - $5 a month

but what I don't understand is why can't I still plug my modem into the same cable outlet that I was using before - which my TV is currently plugged into now

tried resetting/rebooting it and all that?

FenwayFaithful

Horos

FenwayFaithful wrote:

That's what I was thinking.

The Juggler

FenwayFaithful wrote:

such an underrated movie

FenwayFaithful

It's just skin, Steven.

Horos

They were.........Asian.

LukinFan

update: a new cable guy came out yesterday and redid the line and replaced the modem - problem solved. I still can't believe the first cable guy lied straight to my face about two things