Submitted by Virtual_Announcer t3_xvoifb in WorcesterMA
Switched to T-Mobile 5G gateway and it rules and easily handles what we need. Time to tell the blue monopolists to take a hike.
Comments
Virtual_Announcer OP t1_ir29v4d wrote
I miss my Fios so much. Grew up with it in the Merrimack Valley and had it in our old apartment near Boston. T-Mobile is more than enough for us.
atomicturkey27 t1_ir2tsg0 wrote
Yeah we got the slowest fios and it’s still so much faster and more reliable than spectrum
NativeMasshole t1_ir2wl81 wrote
The price is the real sticking point for me. I haven't had much of a problem with the service at my current apartment, it's actually decently fast too, but $80/month with another increase constantly looming is too much for the lowest tier. Only reason it's so high appears to be because they've had no competition.
AreYouNobody_Too t1_ir2xxhm wrote
> but $80/month
Huh?
I pay 60/mo for 200 mpbs for just me and my wife. We've been on it for 2 years now and are past promos. So that's just what we pay. Where do you pay 80?
NativeMasshole t1_ir2yfcs wrote
Out in the Quabbin towns. I've tried calling to get them to reduce it, but they basically told me to pound sand.
atomicturkey27 t1_ir3269k wrote
We had the exact same thing happen. We called and threatened to switch hoping to get a better rate and they said ok go ahead. Since there are no other options we had to stick with them
Aura426 t1_ir5sp72 wrote
$80? Im paying $90! I really hate spectrum and unfortunately its the only internet service I can find for my current address
operator_1337 t1_iry0t1q wrote
Meanwhile they're handing out free cable and internet to everyone it seemed like. Had a guy from charter trying to sign people up for it at my apartment the other day, he was there looking for residents who pre-qualified. He asked me if I was any of them, then for help locating their apartments, and we got to talking. Basically anyone on any sort of government assistance can get free cable and internet right now. People in college/school also can get a reduced rate.
Meanwhile we get stuck with an $80month shit tier only internet plan.
EridanusCorvus t1_ir42vdi wrote
There were Fios workers installing cables in my neighborhood not long ago, here's to hoping it is available soon!
nitwitsavant t1_ir2q9lo wrote
Love to have you report back in a month and see if you still are happy.
IIRizzII t1_ir26yya wrote
I was hesitant to switch but these increasing prices with Spectrum are driving me nuts.
How many devices do you normally stream? How’s the service overall?
Virtual_Announcer OP t1_ir29q13 wrote
At most it's been three (my laptop, wife & I's phones) along with streaming on the TV via a plug-in chromecast. No problems at all.
Service itself is super easy. The device is a combo modem/router. In terms of size imagine two soda cans stacked on each other, it's a little bit wider than that. It's so easy to set up and works immediately.
The only knock I have is that if you game heavily online it may not have the bandwidth needed for you.
IIRizzII t1_ir2bee0 wrote
That’s unfortunate, I have two teenage boys who would identify as gamers (lol). Maybe they’ll get better with time.
Thanks for the info!
Virtual_Announcer OP t1_ir2h22d wrote
Id still give it a try. There's no contract and the speeds are only gonna get better. They also stress that the modems location in your house can affect the speeds so I might not even be getting the most out of it. We double paid for a month of spectrum too as we figured it out and now just cut the link. You should also get a rebate voucher for the first month so give it a spin.
0lazy0 t1_ir2aood wrote
Would that work with desktop computers? Have an apt with 3 other roommates and two of us have desktops
Virtual_Announcer OP t1_ir2h4ha wrote
I think it would and look at my response to Rizz below. Same thing I said to them I'll say to you.
0lazy0 t1_ir2h8vq wrote
Thx, will do
Edit: Twas very relevant lol
whitesquare t1_ir34ghp wrote
I canceled Spectrum for TMobile 5G last month too. It’s not as fast all the time, wavering from 35-350Mb/s. But it’s been more reliable than my spectrum ever was. Never have to reset the router. I can watch Netflix from bed again. Spectrum always crapped out. I had my router plus an extender and it was never enough…with TMobile, the one hot spot has covered my house pretty reliably.
Hooking up my old printer was a little challenging with no WPS on the router. TMobile help was no help at all but I figured it out.
Virtual_Announcer OP t1_ir3ah8v wrote
Yeah, the reliability is what's king for me because I work from home.
Arcane_Truth t1_ir6qy6n wrote
Damn tho variability from 35-350 is tough. I really hate spectrum but I use a lot of bandwidth for work and work from home, couldn't really switch if I knew I'd sometimes be getting 35mb/s when I have to download 500gb of footage
itssonotjacky t1_ir3s9co wrote
I went to wpi and we had to have spectrum at our apartment, obviously. Had to upgrade to higher speeds during COVID to handle online classes and as soon as we upgraded, the internet started dying 3-4x/day. We called spectrum and they sent a service guy. He walked in and immediately went “oh, I see the problem, they gave you a router from 2012!” Have never face palmed harder in my life
Ovaltene17 t1_ir54rph wrote
In a dense area like Worcester, Charter techs often play a cat and mouse game with the signals going into your home. They have to be within certain parameters/db levels for your cable modem to read them properly. When a new neighbor moves in, an inexperienced or lazy tech may split the signal and cause your cable modem trouble. It's a problem inherent with cable internet.
moisheah t1_ir57gf4 wrote
We’ve had the cable replaced-upgraded from some older stuff I guess-- both outside from the pole a few years ago and more recently inside the house. I assume it improved things (have several gamers in the house but I ain’t one of them)
JohnnyGoldwink t1_ir2nlnb wrote
Does t-mobile service the whole city or just certain parts? I can’t wait to tell spectrum to kick rocks..
CoolAbdul t1_ir2wuay wrote
Just parts but it is rapidly expanding.
Virtual_Announcer OP t1_ir3a8z5 wrote
My street wasn't on the list when I first reached out but I got a call two days later that we'd been added and got the modem in the mail another two days after that.
eelposse t1_ir2v0gi wrote
Last time I had to call to cancel ISP stuff I just lied and said I was moving to Alaska and they stopped trying to sell me alternative packages. Highly recommend this technique.
Arcane_Truth t1_ir6r4u8 wrote
Keeping this tip in my memory bank for the future; great idea
CoolAbdul t1_ir2wkd6 wrote
Spectrum is horrendous. They will be out of business within 5 years. That said, I do think their local news operation contributes a lot to the city and will miss it when it is gone. Because you KNOW they will kill it off the second it starts affecting their bottom line.
Cwelling69 t1_irgften wrote
Frontier fiber is coming to my area is that better than spectrum? I get like 40 ping to closest speedtest server and it’s barely usable at night
CoolAbdul t1_irgi1q7 wrote
Really? What area?
Cwelling69 t1_irgiboh wrote
Southern Wisconsin 30 minutes away from Madison
Cwelling69 t1_irginjp wrote
My speeds drop to 15-100mbps my ping goes up and tons of packet loss
Cwelling69 t1_irgiyz4 wrote
I’ll post a speedtest tonight when I get home
draken2019 t1_ir52mxr wrote
Please be nice to the person handling your closure. They don't dictate how shitty of a company Spectrum is.
whatdoiwantsky t1_ir2w36d wrote
Spectrum sent several sales teams to my door after I moved to the neighborhood half a year ago. They told me I qualify for $30 internet for 2 years because of the neighborhood I live in. I told them I hate Charter and I hate how they bully our city and I hate monopolies. They get visually frustrated they can't make that extra tough sale. Fuck em.
Virtual_Announcer OP t1_ir2gctd wrote
Update: equipment returned and service cancelled. This was so easy and smooth. I wanted a fight to have a story to tell but no, just an easy transaction.
swoldier_force t1_ir2lvbc wrote
Save a copy of the return receipt. They are notorious for claiming “unreturned” equipment weeks down the road.
Historical_Guess5725 t1_ir54h5a wrote
Also. Check your -account you pay with 1-2 months out - even with equipment returned about 80% they Bill you for next month anyway to see if your paying attention
Historical_Guess5725 t1_ir548i0 wrote
I canceled spectrum internet in Georgia and Oregon the past 2 years - each time they kept billing me for months! Just beware, I Em hear they are notorious for this
jpm01609 t1_ir596sh wrote
Not a fios fan. But I switched to T-Mobile as well a few weeks ago. The tv streaming is a tad slower but I’m saving 30 bucks a month
GoblinBags t1_ir60spq wrote
Is it much cheaper? And what's your up/down speed with it?
lnilupilul t1_ir6f77o wrote
Does t mobile 5g handle security cameras? Cause I heard that they don’t. Maybe they upgraded to where they can? Something about them only working on 5 ghz???
Virtual_Announcer OP t1_ir6fws2 wrote
I have no idea if they do or don't. We don't have cameras so didn't even think to check.
New-Vegetable-1274 t1_ir7swf7 wrote
My wife got dicked around by Spectrum with their recorded message customer service BS. Out of frustration she screamed a profanity at the recording and suddenly a live representative picked up and asked, " What can I do for you? " We actually got our problem solved. We both laughed, was it a fluke or is this a new hack?
Ahkhira t1_ir3mu18 wrote
Good luck with anything but Spectrum. Been there, done that, tried everything else.
In the middle of a blizzard, even when I lose power, I can fire up the generator and still have cable and internet. FIOS barely works on a sunny day with no wind.
With Spectrum I can have 5 devices all streaming and no issues. No other service can do that.
atomicturkey27 t1_ir29fxr wrote
My wife and I just moved out of the area to Hudson and got FIOS immediately. It is SO MUCH better and cheaper too. Worcester really needs to get it together with internet. Spectrum is garbage. Glad you were able to find an alternative!