Purchasing a new cable modem

5tephen

5tephen

5tephen

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My NTL modem is pushing 5 years old and loves to crash while I'm in the middle of downloading at the full 10meg connection. I would get maybe 30 minutes downloading at most before it falls over. NTL insists it's because I'm using a router and so they won't provide me with a new modem. (I've used 5 different routers in the last few months and the same symptoms exist every time).
A friend got one off the bay one time, second hand, and he had to change the username and password to be that of his own NTL account. However he couldn't do this without knowing the original password first, which was that of the previous owner.
Question - can I simply buy a new or second hand cable modem and expect it to work on my NTL cable?
 
You are not going to be able to buy a new one as the NTL engineer needs to register the MAC address.

Best bet is to "accidently damage it". i.e. stand on it. Or pour coffee on it. Or do something that means you need a new one sent out to you.

IIRC you need to contact customer services to ask for a new one.

(What colour is it? Silver? Or blue?)
 
It's the silver one.
Can I not run the broadband setup wizard that I got with the modem originally? I still have the software; does it do anything in the way of registering a MAC address?
 
All that disk does is take you to http:\\autoreg.autoregister.net\start.html So ignore the disk and go direct to the URL as it's quicker and you don't get covered by their rubbish software.

When you setup a set top box, you need to register the PC's MAC address. Until this is done, you are in a sandbox at NTL that takes you to the registration page via that big START button.

With a modem I believe the NTL engineer has to do the registration. (Not sure as never swapped a modem as these are normally property of NTL)

I personally have a silver modem which does not cause any problems.

Are your cables still in good nick - including outside in the external box?

Is there any chokes installed on your cable? When my cable modem was installed, a few months later a NTL trouble shooter visited me to remove this choke when I had problems on a hot day. Could be an experiment to try?
 
Thanks for the advice.
What is a choke?
I'm assuming it cannot be the cables because then I would be getting disconnections at the most random of times, whereas my problems only occur when the modem is going full pelt as they say. It obviously can't stick the speed for sustained periods of time.
This has only happened once I upgraded to 10 meg. My connection has been faultless for 5 years and even now my only fault is the modem, not the service, which is good :)
 
Ahh... 10meg and the silver modem. I suggest phoniong customer services and pushing the issue for a "new blue modem". The old silver ones don't quite support 10meg (I am still on 4).

It is a bit of pot luck with who you get answering the phone. Some are more keen than other to send out the new modems. But explain the dropouts have been seen since the upgrade.

FYI - a choke is a small silver thingy screwed into the back of the modem. Usually there is no choke and the cable is connected directly to the modem.


For more information on NTL stuff, try http://forums.ntlhell.co.uk/ Many NTL staff on here giving out the tricks. But beware that there are also a lot of whining kids here.

For more information on your modem, check http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/index.html
 
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I'll try calling them again and see what happens. The last time, they said they had recorded 74 dropouts in the last 3 months for my account which was recognised as normal because most people switch their modem on and off every day. Therefore mine was normal. The goon just could not understand that I never switch my electrical equipment off, especially my modem, it's deliberately switched off maybe once a year; the rest of the occasions are resets because it's crashed.
 
If you are real lucky you will phone support when they are busy and end up with the guys in Swansea. They always seem the most helpful / flexible. Sounds like you just need to find someone who can think for theirselves as the dropouts are already recorded. :)
 
Used to work for NTL. Your best bet to get anything done is find the number for head office and make a complaint (you will get transferred to the complaints department). Or write to

NTL Communications
PO BOX 50
Wythenshawe
M22 8AE

And write complaint on the top.

It will be passed to the complaints department

Or write to the chief executive and it will get passed to the Chief Executive department (based at the complaints department, Wythenshawe)

Be prepared for a wait though if you write in (up to 28 days). However I imagine that someone in complaints will swap your modem for you. It's an easy closure on their complaints targets.

If you still getting fobbed off after following this route, then speak to Otello.

ntlhell! Ha. The ntl employee's are just as defensive on that website as they are on the phone! But don't think they are just being like that because you are a customer. In my opinion they are just as defensive between departments as well. Perhaps Ricky will give them a kick up the butt.
 
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i got 10m and a silver modem. its ok, it doesnt like bittorrent though. anythign with lots of connections just causes the modem to reboot or shut down entirely needing a power-off reset.
 
james.miller said:
i got 10m and a silver modem. its ok, it doesnt like bittorrent though. anythign with lots of connections just causes the modem to reboot or shut down entirely needing a power-off reset.
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Oh don't get me started on bittorrent :eek: I don't use it at all now unless needing something very obscure.
Writing to the chief executive seems a bit drastic! I'll phone the customer service first, go through the whole getting-nothing-out-of-them thing, then go to the complaints department after that.
Would I be given the blue one in its place? And is it a big step up in stability?
 
Your probably better phoning tech support than customer service. Tell them you connect directly to the modem (no home network, no router). Tell them you have intermittent faults, numerous reboots and packet loss.

Or, you could drop it in the bath. You would be without broadband for a few days, but you would get a blue modem (as long as you just said it has stopped working, and not you threw it in the bath!). :D

If you wrote to the chief executive it just gets passed to customer concern advisor at the same department as all the other complaints and they just the title of chief executive office complaints advisor to sound fancy and important. Still gets dealt with at the PO BOX 50 address. Just gets seen to quicker.
 
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the-void said:
Or, you could drop it in the bath. You would be without broadband for a few days, but you would get a blue modem (as long as you just said it has stopped working, and not you threw it in the bath!). :D
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That sounds like my "cup of coffee upgrade path" that I sometimes advise.... Could accidently stand on the thing.... Eaten by a small child/dog/alien.... etc... ;)
 
I can't break it because that would mean being without internet for a few days - if that happened I would have to move out :( Will try tech support on Monday.
Actually, no, just as I wrote that, I thought I would give them a call now - got an engineer coming out this Wednesday between 12 and 6 to have a look at the line etc. yay :)
 
Try lowering your max connections on your router as i know some have a limit of 255 so maybe need to try something lower.If you are still having dropouts after that then iot is most probably the modem.
 
Well the most recent router I've tried is a Draytek 2900 which I've had in for the last 3 days or so before giving to a customer - I can't imagine it falling over from having too many simultaneous connections :o And anyway, if I restart the router I still get no internet access, it's the modem that has to be done.
 
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