Years ago, I convinced my parents to ditch the phone line and use an early VoIP company. When things went wrong with our ISP, I would call the 1-800 tech support line, who would immediately ask me to reboot the modem…
It was nearly impossible to get them to understand (a) of course I already tried that and (b) that would disconnect the phone call we are currently on.
After a while you start to find out phone numbers for higher tier tech support people. Then you can just call and no matter who answers, you tell them you need an ARP reset and you’re taken care of in 2 minutes instead of the hour it would take to convince each level of tech support to escalate it to a higher tier. There’s so much nonsense they have in place to deal with people who aren’t even sure if it’s plugged in. But it can make life hell if you’re an expert and already know what needs to be done, you just need to get in touch with the one person who has the authority to do it.
I dealt with a really odd issue a couple years ago where a problem with my external IP was causing DNS requests to route incorrectly and as a result, I couldn’t log into certain gaming services. I tried leaving my modem off all night to get the ISP to auto-assign a new external IP which fixed it for a few hours, and then the change was detected and I got reverted to my original IP.
Trying to talk to Comcast support about this was so painful. I’d wait to get connected to a human, and as kindly as possible, I’d try to explain that this is not a typical issue and before we get into the usual script, let me tell you the diagnostics I’ve done. All the various changes, reboots, and resets I’ve tried on both the modem and router, which has led me to the conclusion of the issue being in DNS routing. But inevitably, they would respond with some version of, “So, first, can I have you locate the power button on your modem?” When they finally understood what I was trying to tell them, they’d say, “So, let me escalate this to my supervisor. They’ll call back shortly.” By which they meant, they’ll call you in nine hours at five in the morning. Not my favorite experience.
I tried calling my ISP several times when IPv6 wasn’t working.
I explained several times that IPv6 is not the same as IPv4. I was reading in the modem logs directly that it was requesting both IPv4 and IPv6 but only getting IPv4 back.
One rep tried to say IPv6 isn’t needed for the internet to work correctly. I said that’s true, but how do I connect to IPv6-only services through IPv4? I had the same modem working with IPv6 at three prior addresses with the same company.
Finally I ended up getting help on Reddit from a stranger that explained the ISP itself is the problem and you need another model that “ignores” the lack of IPv6 in the response (my expertise ends once data crosses over into the modem so I don’t know the specifics).
Man, I remember the mid 2000s when I feel like internet service was way worse than today… hours of tech support going through all the steps I’d already explained I did, and then eventually a reluctant appointment with an engineer 6 weeks later.
Years ago, I convinced my parents to ditch the phone line and use an early VoIP company. When things went wrong with our ISP, I would call the 1-800 tech support line, who would immediately ask me to reboot the modem…
It was nearly impossible to get them to understand (a) of course I already tried that and (b) that would disconnect the phone call we are currently on.
It’s unbelievable how many times I have pretended to reboot my PC to placate a tech support moron on the phone.
ipconfig/release
ipconfig/renew
Okay, it’s at that black bootup screen now, now windows is loading…
Teksavvy in Ontario has the best support team.
I’ve never had to call back.
After a while you start to find out phone numbers for higher tier tech support people. Then you can just call and no matter who answers, you tell them you need an ARP reset and you’re taken care of in 2 minutes instead of the hour it would take to convince each level of tech support to escalate it to a higher tier. There’s so much nonsense they have in place to deal with people who aren’t even sure if it’s plugged in. But it can make life hell if you’re an expert and already know what needs to be done, you just need to get in touch with the one person who has the authority to do it.
I dealt with a really odd issue a couple years ago where a problem with my external IP was causing DNS requests to route incorrectly and as a result, I couldn’t log into certain gaming services. I tried leaving my modem off all night to get the ISP to auto-assign a new external IP which fixed it for a few hours, and then the change was detected and I got reverted to my original IP.
Trying to talk to Comcast support about this was so painful. I’d wait to get connected to a human, and as kindly as possible, I’d try to explain that this is not a typical issue and before we get into the usual script, let me tell you the diagnostics I’ve done. All the various changes, reboots, and resets I’ve tried on both the modem and router, which has led me to the conclusion of the issue being in DNS routing. But inevitably, they would respond with some version of, “So, first, can I have you locate the power button on your modem?” When they finally understood what I was trying to tell them, they’d say, “So, let me escalate this to my supervisor. They’ll call back shortly.” By which they meant, they’ll call you in nine hours at five in the morning. Not my favorite experience.
I tried calling my ISP several times when IPv6 wasn’t working.
I explained several times that IPv6 is not the same as IPv4. I was reading in the modem logs directly that it was requesting both IPv4 and IPv6 but only getting IPv4 back.
One rep tried to say IPv6 isn’t needed for the internet to work correctly. I said that’s true, but how do I connect to IPv6-only services through IPv4? I had the same modem working with IPv6 at three prior addresses with the same company.
Finally I ended up getting help on Reddit from a stranger that explained the ISP itself is the problem and you need another model that “ignores” the lack of IPv6 in the response (my expertise ends once data crosses over into the modem so I don’t know the specifics).
So dumb.
You have IPv6 support from your ISP? There are parts of my town where the only option for internet is a direct RF link to a 60ft tower.
Man, I remember the mid 2000s when I feel like internet service was way worse than today… hours of tech support going through all the steps I’d already explained I did, and then eventually a reluctant appointment with an engineer 6 weeks later.