Hi Folks, I'm addressing a few messages here, as it would seem that some
people don't know a few things about the provision of internet services
through a provider.
First and foremost, someone stated that they had countless trouble with the
rented modem, and the company never came over to fix the problem since they
were
able to fix the issue over the phone from their offices.
Most gateway problems, and we *are* talking about gateways here, not
routers, can usually be fixed by unplugging the gateway from the power
supply, in other words, unplugging the power cord, either from the
electrical outlet, or the rear of the gateway, waiting for a count of twenty
to thirty seconds, then plugging the gateway back into the power.
This resets the gateway, and gives it the ability to pick up the IP address,
and bada-bing, bada-boom, you're connected again.
It's the same thing when you lose your wireless signal, you simply do the
routine above, and voila, your wi-fi is back from limbo.
This may be a problem with the gateway hardware, or it may be a setting
within the gateway's firmware that needs tweaking. Since I am no mastermind
with gateways or networks, I think it's a safer bet to just unplug the darn
thing rather than sit there patiently looking for a setting that, at the end
of the
day, has a simple fix.
Now, if it keeps happening several times a day, or even a week, then it
would
be time to reset it, in which case, just like extracting an unextractable
CD/DVD from the CD/DVD drive with a paper clip, you can use that same paper
clip to press the reset button on the gateway, thus resetting the gateway
back to it's factory defaults. At that point, you'll have to configure it
again, so if you weren't the person who first configured the gateway the
first day it was installed in your home, or you don't feel comfortable
messing with your gateway's settings, then you may want to call your
ISP's tech support to get them to walk you through setting it up.
This usually involves accessing the gateway through it's internet browser
page with a username and password, if you can find the master username and
password, you'll be surprised of some of the functions you can unlock that
your ISP keeps from you.
For example, In Canada, Rogers gateways have the standard customer usernames
and passwords, and a master username and password that gives Rogers' tech
staff unfettered access to your gateway, so even if you change the gateway
access credentials, you're only changing an authorized user's credentials,
and not the master credentials, and so they'll be able to, as I said at the
beginning of the message, access your router to reset it, or reset the
settings so that what ever problem you had with the gateway disappears.
Now, please keep in mind that you are renting a gateway, not a router.
That's not to say that the gateway does not perform the functions of a
router, but for ease of explanation, I call them gateways. You can quickly
tell the difference between the two because a gateway will have the main
line, whether it be your telephone line, as is the case with A T & T, or
cable Line, as is the case with Comcast, directly plugged into it. A router
does not. It only has a connecting cable from your modem, which has the
telephone or cable line directly plugged into it, plugged into the router.
A gateway does the job of both the modem and the router, and must be
registered with the Internet Service provider in order to access the
internet on their network. This usually involves calling them with a serial
number, or some other bunch of numbers on the back or bottom of the gateway,
an them plugging the numbers into their system and registering your
gateway's access.
Typically, gateways go for $75 for a refurbished/clearance model, to $350,
depending on the quality and features you desire of the unit.
Now, if you don't have the money to afford these babies, then you have to go
with the split option of purchasing a router, ranging in price from $25 to
$99+, again, depending on the features the specific model has, and
connecting it to your modem, which you will be renting from your service
provider.
Regardless of which method you use to access the internet, whether it's a
gateway, or a router plugged into a modem, you'll have to decide which is
best for you, and which option you can afford.
the difference between purchasing a gateway and renting one is the warranty.
In most cases, unless you purchase extended warranties with the unit, you'll
get a one year manufacturer's warranty, as opposed to a lifetime warranty
which you get when renting the gateway from your ISP.
Again, this boils down to the type and price of the gateway you decide to
purchase.
Just like computers, gateways require maintenance, and/or break down. if
you purchased the gateway outright and it's past it's warranty period,
you're S.O.L. and you're going to have to shell out another wad of money for
a new gateway. With a rented gateway, you'll get a new gateway, if the
problem is determined to be a hardware issue, and you won't pay anything
more for your rental then what you were paying for the previous one, unless
you upgrade your gateway, but if you're not upgrading your price plan, then
you can usually stay with the gateway model you had before, unless they
don't manufacture it any longer, in which case, you'll be forced to upgrade
whether you like it or not.
Sometimes, this can be a good thing, as you're getting a better gateway for
the same money as the older model, but sometimes, it can be a bad thing
because you're forced to upgrade, and the rental of the upgrade may be
higher than the previous one you had, but alas, it's not going to be very
much higher, like a dollar or two per month.
Pundits of the purchasing side of the argument say, yes, I dished out all
that money, and don't have to pay any other money every month except for the
price of my internet service plan, but you're safe only for a year. If you
lose the functionality of your gateway for any reason other than a software
issue, then you'll have to send out the gateway for repair with the
manufacturer, and you'll have to take it in yourself, thus leaving you with
no internet access for the time it takes the repair facility to repair the
darn thing. If it's after the one year warranty period, then don't worry
about it, you'll just have to dish out the money again and get yourself a
new gateway.
Now, here I am, with a rented gateway, and I've got a hardware issue that I
can't resolve by any of the usual means, i.e. powering off the unit, or
resetting it's settings, so I call my ISP's tech support line, tell them
what's happening, they perform a few tests because they don't think anyone
is as smart as they are, not especially a lowly customer who doesn't know
what they're doing, and once the cause is determined to be a hardware issue,
they tell you to take the gateway into one of their locations, and they'll
switch it out for you, but you say, Why would I want to do that, especially,
if you're like me, and live in the suburbs, where all of these stores are in
the middle of large parking lots and you'd need a compass and loud noises to
get into one without an escort, so they say, well, we can send out the
repair technician, and you say, ok, why don't you do that, and the tech
support crony advises you that they're going to have to charge you $45 for
the call, at which point you attempt to get them to admit that they're
charging you $45 for being blind, then after a moment of realization on the
part of the crony, and some flustering, blustering and choking, she pretends
to go talk to her manager/supervisor, coming back with a waiver of the $45
because these are special circumstances, and voila, you've got yourself a
brand new gateway, and you didn't pay a single red cent other than your
normal $10 per month.
Let's say you are paying $10 per month, that's $100 per year, which is much
less than the gateway costs, so you just got a one year warranty on a new
gateway , along with the new gateway, and you only paid $100 for it, but
let's say you have a gateway like mine, one of the fastest gateways out
there, and with five antennae, which is worth about $250. Not only did I
pay half price for it for the one year of manufacturer's warranty I would
normally get with the product, but with an extra $10 per month, I can get
another year of warranty, which still brings me down to about only $200 of
the cost of the gateway.
I just got $50 off the regular price of the gateway, plus a two year
warranty.
Tell me where you can find that, and I'll come over and kiss your shoes and
praise your discount finding ways. LOL!
The fact is, I highly doubt you're going to find a gateway for that kind of
price, and if you do manage to find something at a lower price than that,
it'll be a clearance sale, or a refurbished model, in which case, good luck
getting anything more than a 90 day warranty, unless you pay extra for the
extended warranty, and for that, you might as well just rent the damn thing.
Suffice it to say, I rent my gateway for the peace of mind, and for the
security in knowing that what ever problem I have with the gateway,
regardless of whether the issue is with the gateway or the cable line, I
won't have to pay them to come in and check it out.
Now, as for the person who said that the company had started charging for
renting the gateway, this could not be done unless you changed the gateway,
or changed your plan because your contract for service provided that they
were to provide the service with no extra fees tacked on.
Regardless of whether your purchase your own gateway, or router, the company
still has to make sure that you are receiving a connection to the internet.
This includes making sure that the signal is coming through to your house,
this ensures that what ever hardware they have given you, cable/telephone
wires, modems line filters, at no extra charge, is functioning properly, and
that what ever you plug onto that hardware will be able to acquire a signal
to the internet.
This is what you're paying for, and they cannot change this contract without
your permission, that is why you might get constant phone calls from your
cable or telephone provider trying to make sure that your plan is right for
you, they're trying to get you to change your plan because your current plan
is no longer making them money.
In any case, I've gone on too long on this issue as it is, but you have to
do what's best for your wallet, because your wallet is dictating terms.
Smile.
Good luck, and if you want to take this off-list, feel free to do so at:
[email protected]
Good luck.
Scorpio
-----Original Message-----
From: Cristóbal
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 7:49 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [JAWS-Users] leasing a router versus purchasing one
The leasing program for cable and satelite company's is a sweet deal for
them. That monthly fee is pretty much pure profet for them. That and the
hardware is going to be outdated. You're going to be better off simply
purchasing your own equipment. It'll pay for itself most likely after the
first year and almost always be more up to date than what they installed for
you.
When I signed up for DSL with TWC, I got the first year of the modem useage
free, but after that, they started to charge me $6 a month in rental fees.
I said forget that noise.
I just got my own Surfboard 6141 Docsis 3.0 modem on sale for around $65 and
returned their old docsis 2.0 modem. That was over two years ago.
If you've got issues with bad service already, then what do you have to lose
by getting your own equipment? It may even help.
I know for other service companies like the cable or landline, unless you're
paying for some sort of monthly maintenance, then they're going to charge
you a pretty penny to actually come out to your house to trouble shoot
anything.
-----Original Message-----
From: JAWS-Users-List [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Kevin
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 4:23 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [JAWS-Users] leasing a router versus purchasing one
well even when you are renting the router from the company they won't come
to your home to check what's wrong. I've had countless of problems called
the company and they never came out to check what is wrong, they always
fixed it over the phone.
or it seemed it was fixed.
-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Robbins
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 4:00 PM
To: Jaws-Users-List
Subject: [JAWS-Users] leasing a router versus purchasing one
Years ago I owned a Linksys router for our home network.
Then, we decided to bundle our phone service with internet &
TV. The cable company then installed their router and all
things functioned through the router. At that time the
router was simply part of the equipment and there was no
additional cost for having it. Quite some time back, they
started charging a monthly leasing fee. At first it was only
$3. Over time it went to $5, then $8 and now it is going to
$10 per month.
My question is I know there are very good routers out there.
What I'm interested in hearing from folks that own one is
when you are having any type connectivity issues, does your
cable provider simply blame your purchased router and state
the problem is with that or do they actually come to the
house and inspect the cables etc.
Over the years I have had trouble with their router and the
cable lines/connections. I know if one chooses to purchase
their own router, the cable company will not touch it. So,
what I'm fearful of is if I have trouble, they are
automatically going to say it is the purchased router and
there is nothing they can do to correct the issue.
Al
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