jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Get ready to laugh.

I posted about my problems with Spectrum and how they were sending me a Gigabit modem. The modem arrived yesterday, and I was expecting a simple set up. Foolish me! Naturally, simply connecting the modem got me nowhere. Here's one of the funny bits: many electronics now assume that you have a cell phone, and you have to download an app to activate the equipment. I downloaded the app, but how can you communicate with the equipment if you don't have Wi-Fi or even an Internet connection? I need the "My Spectrum" app to activate the modem so I have an Internet connection, but I can't do that without both the modem and the router working.

Following the directions that came with the modem got me nowhere. After spending over half an hour on the phone with Spectrum, I was still nowhere. MY phone is with Ooma, and it worked in the beginning, but I can't get that working now, either. The modem works, and I can connect it to a switch, and whatever is plugged into the switch seems to work. The Deco Mesh router doesn't work, though. Apparently, that has to be set up with Wi-Fi, too.

Putting the old modem (from two months ago) back in the system didn't work, of course. I suspect that when I connected the new modem, it changed settings.

Without Wi-Fi, I can't watch TV, so I had to find and connect a DVD player. I watched the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, with a cameo by Kevin McCarthy, star of the original version.

MrBossHK Loc: The West Valley of Phoenix metro area

You could use your cell phone's wireless data connection for internet access without your home wifi.

I assume that when using the Spectrum app on the cell phone and during the telephone call to Spectrum that the Spectrum techies were able to identify the MAC address of the new gigabit modem and provision it's firmware to your Spectrum account and determine that the new modem actually had an internet connection.

The status light(s) on the gigabit modem should indicate if it is connected to the internet and hopefully the phone app has a reference to what should be displayed by the status indicator(s) to indicate that it is up and running.

Make sure that the wireless router part of the new gigabit modem has the same SSID and password that the Deco mesh router and all of your devices are expecting to see in order to connect to your wifi (the same SSID and password as that of the previous Spectrum modem), unless you are cabled to the Deco system. If you are cabled, make certain that the cables are using the proper sockets on the gigabit router and the Deco. Verify that the wireless router radio signal is not disabled on the new modem.

Unplug modem and deco from power supply, wait 5 minutes and then plug them all back in.

For further assistance, if you have any teenager geeky types in your neighborhood, they might be expert gamers and have more tech savvy than Spectrum support can provide.

Good luck.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I used my cell phone's connection last night to read email.

I went through the whole procedure this morning, and I got to the point where the app was looking for the network. I couldn't find it. I went through the whole process a couple of hours later, and it worked. The router app is showing me download speeds up to 990 and upload speeds of up to 38 Mbps.

cliff Hilbert Loc: Plano, TX

Spectrum is an absolute joke. My router went out and I called Spectrum to find out how to fix it. After spending two hours on the phone with them, talking to six different "experts", and taking two trips to the local Spectrum store near me, it still didn't work. I was enraged! Just about the time I was ready to call the corporate headquarters my 17 year old neighbor walked by and I called him in to see if he could figure out what was wrong. In two minutes he had everything working perfectly. I'm going to write the president of Spectrum and demand a substantial credit on my bill and tell him all about the "experts" they hire.

MrBossHK Loc: The West Valley of Phoenix metro area

Congratulations. I have also found that it may take around 24 hours or so for a new modem to become fully functional after initiation. You should get reliable service with that new modem. Good luck always.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I have one Deco unit working, but the app gives me no way to add the other two units. It allows that only during initial set up.

lbrande

I just had the Spectrum tech arrive earlier this week. I said that I was getting 20/100 speeds and the Spectrum and Ookla app confirmed. He replaced my modem and router with the latest, and went and revised the cables at the side of the house. We went and checked, and lo and behold 20/100 speeds. He checked his phone using the Spectrum App and showed me 500Mb speeds. We searched around and discovered that the switch I have is a 100mb switch, and that is limiting me to slower speeds. I've had this switch for 7 years, so who knew? All the computers in my house use cable, hence the switch. The only items that don't use the Cat6 cable are the phones, iPads, and Firestick. We'll see what happens when the new switch is attached.

rcarol

After following your posts for some period of time, I'm beginning to believe that in many cases you create your own problems and perhaps you are your own worst enemy.

flip1948 Loc: Hamden, CT

Too bad your cell isn't with Metro. I get 15gb of wi-fi hot spot per month with mine.

I use it when our Xfinity wi-fi goes out. The only problem is I can't use it to watch TV on the Roku Xfinity app...that requires the Xfiniti wi-fi. So I watch Netflix, Amazon or Pluto instead

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

You're right. I never should have accepted Spectrum's offer of a new modem.

cwp3420

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

Had the issue when I moved recently setting up a new Spectrum internet/streaming service. They ship everything to your house with instructions on how to do it. If you can't get it done after a day or two, they will send out someone to get you set up. I took the middle road and called my son-in-law he got it done in half an hour.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

If I hadn't gotten everything working, I was going to bring the components to my local computer guy. Even with only one mesh unit working, I have good Wi-Fi throughout the house. I'd like to get the other two working, though.

BebuLamar

Beginning yesterday I no longer have a smart phone so I wouldn't be able to download the apps if I was in the same situation Jerry was in.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

So many things now depend on having a smartphone. I watched a YouTube video yesterday about an electric car. The guy rented one from Hertz, and it took him five attempts to find a working charging station. Then, he had to download an app. When he finally began charging, it took forty-five minutes and cost $25 to go from 35% to 90%. The rate was $043/kWh. I don't remember if he mentioned how many miles he had driven on that much of a charge.