Ethernet disconnects

[huwon9]

For all the Telus Tech Support agents who are skeptical that I do not have cell reception at my computer, please speak with their onsite technician who could register my new modem without standing 30 feet outside the house, down the gravel path, into my neighbour’s driveway or up the stairs onto my driveway.  The problem is an immovable object called Mt. Seymour.  I do not have a landline and a VOIP phone is only good if there is an Internet connection.  It is an annoyance when phoning Telus Tech Support.

My original Telus fibre optics installation did not route through an ONT.  For clarity, Telus Tech Support needs to speak with the onsite technician who visited last week and found the fibre optic cable was indeed directly connected from the pole to the junction box outside the house and then directly connected to my Telus T3200M modem by an Ethernet adapter.  It can be done, it was originally done by Telus, and it worked perfectly fine with 925 Mbps up and down steam.  I don’t need an ONT for a single Ethernet connection.

I want to thank the Retention Department for the generous 2-year 3 Gigabit Internet contract.  However, immediately switching my service from 1 Gigabit to 3 Gigabit without first supplying me with the correct modem also immediately disconnected the Internet connection.  Despite repeated suggestions from Tech Support, rebooting the T3200M modem will never re-establish the connection.  Even after it was confirmed I had the wrong modem for 3 Gigabit service, Tech Support was still asking me to reboot the T3200M.  It didn’t work once, it didn’t work twice, and it won’t work a million times trying.  It has something to do with different types of signals for 1 Gigabit and 3 Gigabit from Telus.

I want to thank the Tech Support agents who insisted I find the ONT, a white box with the Nokia label, a white box in the garage, or a white box in the furnace room.  I don't have one.  I ought to know because I helped the Telus installer pull the fibre optic cable through the basement ceiling into my office.   I have stated that fact endless times to Tech Support.  I especially want to thank the fifth agent who said that he would not send an onsite technician if I did not find the ONT because it was Telus policy not to send an onsite technician when the client cannot find the ONT.  I replied, “I have no white box, I’m screwed.”  The agent was empathetic to my dilemma and replied, “I’m screwed, too.”  Having reached an impasse, I hung up.  I hope my call was recorded for quality control purposes.

All I wanted was someone to install a new modem because Telus killed the old one.

The next phone call a day later, the front desk confirmed my contract and routed me back to the Retention Department who confirmed their error, scheduled a service call and issued a $20 credit to my account to compensate for the day without connection.  I asked if my service could be reconnected and restored to 1 Gigabit Internet until the new modem was installed.  The service was reconnected but it only lasted a day when Wi-Fi dropped to 50 Mbps then the modem ceased to send any data by any means.  Since the service call was two days later, Telus decided to leave me without any connection for the duration.  No compensation was offered.  This is unfair because I did nothing wrong and I was paying more for nothing.

The onsite technician did not find the ONT that never was.  He found the fibre optic cable connected to my T3200M modem with an Ethernet adapter.

A wall-mounted modem with a Wi-Fi Booster was installed.  I finally have a white box.  The onsite service was superlative and the Internet connection was optimal.  I have nothing but respect and praise for the technician.  Given I have a 1 Gigabit Ethernet port on my computer, I was never going to get 3 Gigabit Internet service.  I could have and should have kept my old contract with the T3200M modem for the same speeds because I have an Ethernet network and haven't use whole-house Wi-Fi in 30 years of Telus Internet service.  Sadly, the Ethernet connection stopped after a few hours but I could limp along with Wi-Fi.

There seemed nothing wrong with the modem: indicator lights were solid green and the Ethernet ports blinking green.  Data was flowing.  I phoned Tech Support and asked for an onsite service call because it’d been less than a day since installation.  I was cautioned that the onsite call may result in a $175 service fee if I was at fault.  I said I had not touched the system since installed.  A Visual Support call indicated there was data at the Ethernet ports on the modem.  Rebooting the system disconnected the VOIP phone call; telephone tag and voice message delays ensued.  I do appreciate the technical advice left by voice mail to factory reset both devices.  I needed to start another service call.

The next agent insisted on lecturing at length on the relative merits of CAT 5/6/7, the length of cable, when did I buy the cable, and who installed it.  I said repeatedly that I have CAT7, it was working fine with the T3200M modem and it was working fine with the new modem.  It’s not a cable issue.  It is very unlikely that three Cat 7 cables would simultaneously fail.  The lecture would not stop and I begged the agent to let me hang up so I could phone the onsite technician.  She still would not stop blathering.  I finally told her I couldn't take anymore and rudely hung up with expletives.  She is unsuited to being an ambassador for Telus Tech Support.

I phoned the onsite technician directly.  He happened to be in the neighbourhood, made a service visit and diagnosed the problem as I had explained to Tech Support: there is Wi-Fi data but no Ethernet data.  The equipment tested fine.  It was an anomaly he had not seen before.  A factory reset re-established the Ethernet connection.  He showed me how to factory reset both the modem and the Wi-Fi Booster should the Internet connection disconnect.  Replacing the modem was an option if all else failed.  The Ethernet connection disconnected an hour later and repeated through the night into next day after each factory reset.

I discovered through observation that the Ethernet connection was uninterrupted if there was data constantly flowing through the Ethernet ports on the modem.  My temporary fix was to play YouTube music 24/7 with the channel volume turned off.

I searched Google using appropriate keywords and the answer was readily found.  It seems it’s a problem that has arisen with high speed Internet.  The problem is not my unique experience, it’s been circulating the Internet for at least 2 years, seems a common occurrence to both popular OS and acknowledged by their programmers.  The solution is obvious if you think about it.

It has taken a week to finally establish a stable, optimal 3 Gigabit Internet connection that in reality is only 1.1.

This is a cautionary tale.

[TELUS_Support]

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and confusion surrounding your internet connection, modem issues, and interactions with our support team. Your experience should not have been this difficult, and we appreciate your patience throughout this process. If you need additional assistance, please send us a private message so we can ensure this issue is resolved properly and address any outstanding concerns.