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1. DavidBernhard
   Member Profile

   Comcast is having a service problem in West Seattle:
   very VERY slow upload speeds.
   We are getting upload speeds well below dialup -- as low as 2 kbps.
   They have acknowledged the problem, they say it is a known issue in West Seattle (Roxbury and 35th area), and have issued me a service credit already. The problem is not yet resolved. We reported the problem about 15 days ago. I have had 4 calls to Comcast, have been disconnected once, had a tech to the house already once and they have scheduled another tech tomorrow. They said there would be work on the 'pole' yesterday and it 'might' resolve it. It remains unresolved.

   If you are having this problem you can test your internet here (same test the Comcast tech used at my house on my computer):
   http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/
   and call Comcast about it here
   877.824.2288

   Posted 2 years ago #         

2. MargL
   Member Profile

   Down at 104th and 34th we're doing fine
   Download Speed: 6235 kbps (779.4 KB/sec transfer rate)
   Upload Speed: 671 kbps (83.9 KB/sec transfer rate)

   Squirrels chewing on the cable up there?

   Posted 2 years ago #         

3. clark5080
   Member Profile

   

   Not sure how reliable these tests are. I just got 28093/1390 from my network magic software on a seattle Server and 13971/309 from Speakeasy seattle server.
   within two blocks of 35th and roxbury
   Jim

   Posted 2 years ago #         

4. DavidBernhard
   Member Profile

   Tests can fluctuate a lot due to a lot of reasons which may not be a problem, but you aren't getting rates like 2 or 5 as am I.
   If you are consistently getting rates lower than dialup, it IS a PROBLEM
   Just spoke with a neighbor, and same problem.

   Posted 2 years ago #         

5. clark5080
   Member Profile

   

   Maybe that is why it is taking soooooooooooo long for my Carbonite online backup to finish.
   Seven days and only 29gig uploaded

   Posted 2 years ago #         

6. DavidBernhard
   Member Profile

   I bet that's it.
   It is so slow for me at times I cannot log in to Facebook, or my bank, etc.
   The 'upload' of my password actually times out.
   Some emails with only a few lines of text took days to send.

   Posted 2 years ago #         

7. christopherboffoli
   Member Profile

   clark5080: Isn't interesting how various speed tests can vary widely? I often wonder how Comcast's "Powerboost" feature might skew the number on the download test.

   Things seem to be humming along fine here near the Junction:

   26291 kbps (down)
   3181 kbps (up)

   Posted 2 years ago #         

8. clark5080
   Member Profile

   

   just did it again and speakeasy was 28894/6273
   my network software is 28093/6489

   Jim

   Posted 2 years ago #         

9. clark5080
   Member Profile

   

   oops double post

   Posted 2 years ago #         

10. Ken
    Member Profile

    

    Hopefully your "tech" will have more sense than the one that caused me to switch to Dish for tv.

    A guy in a truck with a ladder and the proper test equipment should be able to test the internet carrier frequencies at your pole and follow it down the line to the trouble point in a few hours.

    If that has not happened yet, then you now know how much they value your business.

    Posted 2 years ago #         

11. DavidBernhard
    Member Profile

    I urge readers who ARE having a problem with Comcast to call.
    877.824.2288
    They need to hear that there is a customer issue from everyone so they move to fix it.
    Thanks!

    Posted 2 years ago #         

12. sacatosh
    Member Profile

    I'm having trouble with download speeds (eg, streaming media) for the last 2-3 weeks, but when I check at speedtest.net I have perfectly decent speeds, like 19000kbps and up.

    So, how does one complain when the "stats" don't back up what I'm seeing?

    Posted 2 years ago #         

13. DavidBernhard
    Member Profile

    I am on the phone with the tech now she says there is nothing she can do but wait and no ETA.

    Posted 2 years ago #         

14. yikes
    Member Profile

    Hi!

    Mine is 218KPBS... what is it supposed to be? I know I have problems streaming video.

    I have Qwest.

    Posted 2 years ago #         

15. Ken
    Member Profile

    

    I have traced my problems with streaming video to youtube/google cloud.

    I have servers in other countries as well as local ones on the same subnet as my home network (I am a reseller technically) and none of those refuse to load fast enough to fill the cache as fast as the video plays.

    I use the lowest/cheapest tier of qwest dsl and can stream dvd sized video from Europe, but have to pause google youtube up to 3 times to let the stream catch up on a 8 meg news vid from youtube.

    When you are on youtube, the cloud / CDN server address is displayed in the status bar of your browser. Some browsers (ie?) seem to have the status bar turned off by default.

    You can do a tracert or traceroute to that address and see where it is linking to your ISP.

    Mine is going via the SIX nap (Westin building) into the cloud at very high speed but after that the times between addresses slow down dramatically.

    Qwest traces usually go to an edge router in Tukwila

    Last time I used comcast they transited to San Jose CA before reaching a google edge router.
    This is probably not the current configuration and could also change from min to min.

    AT&T networks are currently being swamped at certain times of the day due to all the iphone unlimited plans they sold with no realistic plans for capacity upgrades. AT&T fiber is/was often used for alternate routing at peak load times.

    That is not to say your problems are not comcast caused or related, but if your speed test to Seattle is not showing a dramatic problem, you can still have issues with youtube.

    Posted 2 years ago #         

16. sacatosh
    Member Profile

    Ken, as usual you have explained the issue in a way that's technical enough to make sense but simple enough for the average user to understand. Thank you.

    As a former ISP tech support person, I understood modems and their issues like the back of my hand. However, I've moved into a different industry for the last 8 years, and haven't really kept up on technology. So I appreciate your explanations.

    Posted 2 years ago #         

17. DavidBernhard
    Member Profile

    The information I got from Comcast is:

    They are having a problem at 37 Mhz, which is what is affecting West Seattle (south, Roxbury and 35th area). This is an 'interference' problem that has been happening for sometime causing packet loss etc. and seems to be somewhat unique to Seattle. They need to do a full system reset to load a patch. They have tried to fix without taking system completely offline but have found they cannot. A work order is open -- this should happen in about 48 hours from Friday 10/9 (no promises on timeline). It is a known issue and causing them plenty headaches lately. If you are having the problem you need to let them know!
    877.824.2288
    They will give you credit if you ask for it enough. They are not pretending this is not a problem, they fully agree and are aware.

    Posted 2 years ago #         

18. pixeltech
    Member Profile

    We've had two service calls at our place in the past two weeks. Our upload speed is so slow we are unable to send even tiny email attachments, making work at home virtually impossible.

    I've thought about printing up an action sheet and going door to door, asking every wired neighbor on my block to slam Comcast with demands for immediate action to fix this, or to credit for Internet service. I'm having to take my laptop off site to get anything done.

    TV and phone have been unaffected. Our download speeds have also been very good (10-16 MBps) but upload has been absurdly slow (5-15 kbps). The Internet is not a one-way conversation, but up and down. When one is disabled, the whole thing is worthless.

    Paul Rosenberg

    Posted 2 years ago #         

19. DavidBernhard
    Member Profile

    Paul, they will give you a credit ...
    I just called to ask again the status. ~72 hours ago they told me fixed in 48 hours. Not fixed! Left a voicemail. Calling again now.

    Posted 2 years ago #         

20. DavidBernhard
    Member Profile

    Has anyone tried ClearWire?

    Posted 2 years ago #         

21. bluebird
    Member Profile

    A few clearwire comments:

    http://westseattleblog.com/blog/forum/topic.php?id=6337

    Posted 2 years ago #         

22. Kimberley
    Member Profile

    Wow! You guys are awesome. We've been having similar issues for 2-3 weeks, I'm on hold now waiting to log a complaint. We called three days ago and the rep's response was "Well, are your neighbours having issues?" It shouldn't matter whether our neighbours are having issues - we are.

    Posted 2 years ago #         

23. Kimberley
    Member Profile

    Apparently 80% of our area is having issues.

    Posted 2 years ago #         

24. pigeonmom
    Member Profile

    

    Anyone else having Comcast speed problems this evening? It's taken me twenty minutes to load a page!!

    Posted 3 months ago #         

25. miws
    Member Profile

    

    pigeonmom,

    Looks more like it took you two years! ;-)

    Mike

    Posted 3 months ago #         

26. Gina
    Member Profile

    

    There was a message in my Comcast email that faster downloads are here. But you need to unplug your modem for 30 seconds and plug it back in for the upgrade.

    Posted 3 months ago #         

27. Betty T
    Member Profile

    My Internet is slow and I don't have Comcast?

    Posted 3 months ago #         

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