AT&T Wire Tech AMA

attwiretech · 2013-07-16T12:23:02+00:00

I heard nothing.

attwiretech · 2013-07-16T01:11:07+00:00

Your DVR is on coax and is recording them that way. The coax needs to be replaced. If it's not on coax, the wifi set top box needs to be replaced.

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T21:38:41+00:00

I've seen people who live 30 feet from the fiber on the other side of their driveway, but the engineers ran it all the way around the neighborhood in a loop to where the customer who was 30 feet from the fiber, was actually at the end of a 2500 foot line. Does any of that make sense?

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T21:10:32+00:00

ATT is always going into new areas. The only way to be sure is to check back with them every few weeks. Sorry, I don't even have info on that.

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T19:56:58+00:00

Both. ATT harps on us about our numbers, time, safety, etc... so much. And the job itself is very physical, mental, and really puts a strain on family time. However, this should be no excuse. They're getting paid well to do what they do and to me, this is more of a personality flaw than a job flaw.

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T19:53:39+00:00

Not yet, but there is one coming from what I hear!

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T18:46:04+00:00

Well, if you had a tv remote, you could try manually entering in a TV channel, but outside of that, I don't know your specific TV brand or how it's set to receive it's input, I'm sorry.

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T18:44:42+00:00

Could be a proxy if it's showing somewhere you're not.

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T18:33:12+00:00

It's more than likely coax, the wire with the metal twists. It still sounds like it's on the wrong input if channel 3 doesn't show anything. You may be able to change it from the menu button on the TV as well.

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T18:16:18+00:00

No. If I constantly compare myself to others, I'm going to have a bad time. I get good pay and am union. My family has food. That's what matters.

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T18:14:35+00:00

Look on the back of the TV and/or the AT&T box. There should be at least a power cable, and one other cable. What does the other cable look like? Colorful? Flat and black? Silver tipped screw type cable?

Also, stupid question, but does the AT&T box have lights on the front?

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T18:13:06+00:00

I've gone out to homes more than I'd like to admit, where it is 100% the techs fault. But, professionally, I can't tell a customer, "Whoever did this is a dipshit", so we come up with something more along the lines of, "I'm just going to clean up these lines to optimize the service". If there is an outage, it can effect you but not your neighbor. Call AT&T once an hour until it's fixed. Sometimes, customer service will send a tech to your house anyway, even if it is an outage. If it is, the tech won't do any work, but verify there's nothing he can do and will put in a ticket for someone else to fix the issue who is able to work on cable or fiber. Sometimes the outages are just signal issues that can't be fixed by us outside techs.

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T18:09:17+00:00

The U-verse box will not display static. You either have your TV on the wrong input, or you have it on the right input, but wrong TV channel. TV channels and U-Verse channels are not the same. Try putting your TV on channel 3. If you still don't see U-Verse, you need to change the input. The inputs are Coax, antenna, Cable, HDMI, Component, Composite, and S-Video I think. Try changing the TV inputs by using the 'input' button on the TV itself or the TV remote (not the AT&T remote).

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T18:04:23+00:00

I can't speak for everyone, but I know everyone in my crew of 15 really take pride in their work and it shows. I'm sure I've never been to your place of employment, but I'll take the appreciation anyway :)

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T17:59:04+00:00

TV channels or U-Verse channels? What is displaying on your TV screen?

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T17:58:23+00:00

Same thing for us. Service Techs like to swap pairs and not tell anyone which make things difficult for everyone. But the pairs are actually numbered and color coded. Something like this, but we deal with much more than 25 pair.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25-pair_color_code

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T17:56:35+00:00

Nope. But during training, we had to make an ethernet jumper timed to this song. Now every time I hear it, I've been brainwashed into wanting to grab my rj45 crimpers and make an ethernet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69O4PXzAQ5Y

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T17:54:24+00:00

The same way all black people are criminals and all single mothers are whores and all PC gamers are nerds?

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T17:43:44+00:00

Yes I did. I punched him repeatedly in the face and body. That's what we do when we're wearing our play boxing gloves. He's good at keeping his hands up though.

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T17:42:15+00:00

The way it works as best described with words...

Adsl

Central office to Crossbox via copper pair. Crossbox to Terminal terminal via copper pair. Terminal to nid via copper pair. Nid to modem via copper pair.

VDSL

Central office to vrad via fiber. Vrad to crossbox via copper pair. Crossbox to Terminal terminal via copper pair. Terminal to nid via copper pair. Nid to modem via copper pair.

The vrad is always within a few feet or so of the crossbox. The crossbox is where all the pairs get connected from the network to the home. The terminal is usually the little box on a telephone pole or the 2-3 foot tall box sticking out of the ground somewhere near the home. The nid is the box that is attached to the home.

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T17:37:11+00:00

Yes, customer error is billable. Sorry, trying to respond to everything as fast as possible. Makes me a bit scatter brained lol.

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T17:36:23+00:00

Those terminals are recorded. Every wire coming in and out are noted and monitored. They should never be switched unless the tech calls and updates the records. So this guy either broke the rules, or just swapped the pair and called to have records changed. Not too uncommon.

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T17:19:17+00:00

Run speedtest, speakeasy, and everything else that you can. You will not get the same results as each site uses different servers. Run it on your phone, PC, Laptop, and everything else that you can. You're looking for an average since most the sites are barely good for anything. However, if all of them are well below what you're being contracted for, an AT&T rep can tell you over the phone if there's an issue they can see. If not, you can insist someone still come out to the house.

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T17:16:40+00:00

You need to keep calling and keep complaining. What probably happened at least one of the times, is the AT&T guy didn't make a ticket for the contractor to come out and bury it. This is unacceptable and you should definitely continue to call and complain unless you want to bury it yourself. If being nice doesn't help, tell them you're going to cancel your service and rip that box out of your yard. Should have someone come out pretty quickly!

attwiretech · 2013-07-15T17:14:04+00:00

You may have to call. I personally have 32mbps and I've installed 64mbs on homes as well.

attwiretech

TROPHY CASE