wireless
03-05-2017, 08:20 AM
I've been a Telus customer for a long time--land-line since forever, Internet since dial-up Sympatico days, tv since the fairly early days of Optik. I got a call from them a while back with an offer: They would upgrade me from Telus Internet 15 Mbps to 50 Mbps, and set me up for future 4K tv, and it wouldn't cost much more than I'm paying now. In addition, the new router would handle 802.11ac WiFi. I agreed and asked them to send me a note detailing exactly what was changing, but I never received it.
My setup at the time:
In my loft office, a copper-wire DSL connection to the Actiontec V1000H modem/router, providing LAN service to my computers, printer, and assorted Ethernet peripherals. I also had a Cisco 330 set-top box (STB) (I *think* it had an Ethernet connection to the Actiontec), connected to a Hauppauge HD PVR2 box that had a USB connection to my computer, allowing me to watch tv on the computer. (My previous, deceased, Hauppage box had a number of inputs, including RCA component (red/blue/green) and audio (red/white) jacks; the replacement has a mini-DIN connector with a "breakout cable" with these inputs.) The Actiontec had a coax output that connected (though coax cable in the wall, originally intended for cable tv) downstairs to the Cisco 430 STB/PVR, going into my Home Theatre and thence to my TV. The 430's HDMI connection (to either my Home Theatre or TV set) had failed with (apparently common) HDCP errors some time ago, so I was unhappily using component/audio cables instead of the preferred HDMI.
I thought that the new installation would be a simple replacement of the old modem/router, the STB/PVR, and the STB.
Not so, by a long shot.
OK, installation day:
First thing is that the faster connection needs an additional copper-wire DSL conneciton, "bonded" to the first. This involved some setup in a neighbourhood sidewalk-side phone box that I wasn't present for, and then finding the appropriate pair in the telephone junction box in another part of my apartment, and connecting that to the riser going up to the loft where the new Actiontec T3200M was to be. Since an Ethernet connection is considered better than a coax one, a new cable went from the T3200M downstairs to the new Arris VIP5662W STB/DVR, and there on to the Home Theatre and via HDMI.
Long story short, it didn't work first time--the installer had to talk to his tech support, three long phone calls, before the third one discovered that the two lines had not been "bonded" properly. Click-click at some tech-support place, and: worked! Should have been set up in advance; wasn't. At the end of the process, Telus speed test (http://vancouver.speedtest.telus.com) showed a download speed of about 55 Mbps, as opposed to the previous 16.
I lost all the recorded shows on the old STB/PVR, of course, as expected. A pleasant surprise, though: although I had documented all the shows and series I had set up the old box to record and was prepared to re-enter them, they were there waiting for me. I guess that Telus stores them in some cloud, not (or not just) on the PVR box. (PERHAPS this was because I had set up Optik Smart Remote on my smartphone; I think it would always be wise to document the scheduled shows and series beforehand, just in case.)
I had expressed concern to the installer that the Arris VIP5602W STB didn't have the component/audio RCA jacks that I had previously used to connect my Hauppauge box to the Cisco 330. Both Arris units have mini-DIN plugs on the back, and the manual speaks of a "breakaway cable" with component/audio jacks, but apparently nobody at Telus has any idea about what or why it is. Fortunately, the work order for my upgrade had neglected to specify the 5602 STB (in addition to the 5662 STB/PVR), so the installer had to go to the warehouse and then return to my place the next morning with the VIP5602W STB. He told me he had discovered that the warehouse had a box of about 50 of the Arris "breakaway cables," apparently sent to Telus, along with the STBs, "as a courtesy"; Telus had no idea of what to do with them, but he (thanks to my grousing) did, so he snagged one for me. Good enough; I was able to connect the Hauppauge box and it worked fine. (I wonder: are breakout cables like this all the same? Instead of my current Arris breakaway cable to component/audio cables to Hauppauge breakout cable, could I have found a mini-DIN-to-mini-DIN connector cable?)
And note: presumably so that they don't have to provide new remote controls to their upgrade customers, Telus has jiggered the Arris units to use the same IR codes as the old Cisco units. So, if you are configuring a remote control (like a Logitech Harmony, for instance), you'll want to choose Cisco (or Scientific Atlanta) 430/330 for these units instead of any Arris codes.
I kinda liked the previous feature of flashing the Caller ID information from my (Telus) land line on the screen, and I noticed that it wasn't working any more. So, call Telus. Nice tech-support guy: "Let me try this {click-click]; now reboot the PVR ; does it work now?" Repeat. Repeat again... It took about three hours for him to click the proper setup controls and make it work.
Next, I noticed that the premium channels (like HBO, Movie Network, etc.) seemed to have disappeared. Another long call to Telus, and most of them are restored. (Still no SuperChannel, but I'm too tired to talk to Telus again soon.)
The new T3200M modem/router has an interface almost exactly the same as the old V1000H, with the same 192.168.1.254 URL. One little change: the new one comes with a sticker showing its default unique SSID, WiFi password, and admin password. With the V1000H, if you forgot your password, you had to enter the unit's serial number (printed on the unit); with the T3200M, if you change your admin password and then forget it, you have to enter the original admin password--best not to lose that sticker with all that stuff on it! Also, allegedly because customers didn't like the flashing traffic lights on the front, they've been moved to the back.
I tell this saga not to vent against Telus work-order screw-ups (well, not only to vent), but to warn others getting the upgrade of some of some points to make sure of before signing off on the installation:
if you get an upgrade offer, insist that the salesperson email you a detailed description of what will change--services, rates, channels, etc.
make sure that the installer has access to the risers, telephone plugs, or whatever, necessary to hook up that additional copper pair.
if things don't work at first, tell the installer to make sure that the pairs are "bonded" properly, and that Telus sometimes screws this up.
if your current setup uses coax from the modem/router to the STB/PVR, be prepared to replace it with an Ethernet cable, with attendant wiring complications.
if you hope to connect an Arris unit to a device that doesn't have an HDMI input, make sure that your installer knows to pick up a "breakaway cable" at the warehouse.
don't lose the sticker with the modem/router passwords.
If you like the Caller ID feature, make sure it still works, because Telus sometimes screws this up.
If you have premium channels, make sure that they still work, because Telus sometimes screws this up.
If you use Telus Remote Record, you will have to set it up again.
(See belowhttps://bhzof35755.i.lithium.com/i/smilies/16x16_smiley-happy.png [B]Check your Telus bill!
Now that all of that turmoil is over (almost: I still have to get SuperChannel back and tuck that extra Ethernet cable behind some mouldings and into the wall unit), I'm a reasonably happy chappy. Things are humming, everything seems to work, I have more Internet speed than I can possibly use. Thanks, Telus. (but maybe you could work on the work-order-coordination stuff.)
LATER: Looking at my recent bill, I find SuperChannel gone (but I can get it back for $10). I also find a $355.20 "Cancellation fee" and a "4K Digital Box Installation Charge" of $100.00 (plus another "4K Digital Box Installation Charge of $100.00 and a matching/cancelling "4K Digital Box Installation Discount" for the same amount).
When I tried to call Telus, I was told that there would be a 45-minute wait; when I chose "Chat" from the My Account web page, I was told that there were 19 customers ahead of me also waiting to chat. The heck with that. The "Contact Us" web page shows an email contact for Mobility questions only, but only a phone number for "Internet, TV, & Home." The phone number led to a familiar voicemail maze. One Telus rep once told me that, on the voice prompt "Press 1 for home, 2 for mobility," don't press anything, and eventually you'll get an opportunity to leave your name and number for a callback (no time for anything more), and that these messages get priority in the call centre. We'll see.
My condo has received an offer from Telus to upgrade to fibre optic cables, supposedly to enable an increase in speed all around. Unfortunately, the draft contract they sent was full of stuff that favoured their side--it looked as if they would claim the right to plop a cell-phone tower on the building, or ban competing WiFi--and the Condominium Home Owners Association is warning about this. Fortunately, I invited a Telus rep to look at the building, and he assured me that the contract was completely negotiable. and the contentious paragraphs wouldn't apply to us and could easily be jettisoned. Too bad the original draft wasn't phrased a little more reasonably, leading to less hair on fire.
I sure hope that the fibre cable upgrade will go a whole lot more smoothly than my 4K one...
More... (https://forum.telus.com/t5/Internet-TV-Home-Phone/Telus-4K-Internet-50-upgrade-saga-and-lessons/m-p/70148#M11087)
My setup at the time:
In my loft office, a copper-wire DSL connection to the Actiontec V1000H modem/router, providing LAN service to my computers, printer, and assorted Ethernet peripherals. I also had a Cisco 330 set-top box (STB) (I *think* it had an Ethernet connection to the Actiontec), connected to a Hauppauge HD PVR2 box that had a USB connection to my computer, allowing me to watch tv on the computer. (My previous, deceased, Hauppage box had a number of inputs, including RCA component (red/blue/green) and audio (red/white) jacks; the replacement has a mini-DIN connector with a "breakout cable" with these inputs.) The Actiontec had a coax output that connected (though coax cable in the wall, originally intended for cable tv) downstairs to the Cisco 430 STB/PVR, going into my Home Theatre and thence to my TV. The 430's HDMI connection (to either my Home Theatre or TV set) had failed with (apparently common) HDCP errors some time ago, so I was unhappily using component/audio cables instead of the preferred HDMI.
I thought that the new installation would be a simple replacement of the old modem/router, the STB/PVR, and the STB.
Not so, by a long shot.
OK, installation day:
First thing is that the faster connection needs an additional copper-wire DSL conneciton, "bonded" to the first. This involved some setup in a neighbourhood sidewalk-side phone box that I wasn't present for, and then finding the appropriate pair in the telephone junction box in another part of my apartment, and connecting that to the riser going up to the loft where the new Actiontec T3200M was to be. Since an Ethernet connection is considered better than a coax one, a new cable went from the T3200M downstairs to the new Arris VIP5662W STB/DVR, and there on to the Home Theatre and via HDMI.
Long story short, it didn't work first time--the installer had to talk to his tech support, three long phone calls, before the third one discovered that the two lines had not been "bonded" properly. Click-click at some tech-support place, and: worked! Should have been set up in advance; wasn't. At the end of the process, Telus speed test (http://vancouver.speedtest.telus.com) showed a download speed of about 55 Mbps, as opposed to the previous 16.
I lost all the recorded shows on the old STB/PVR, of course, as expected. A pleasant surprise, though: although I had documented all the shows and series I had set up the old box to record and was prepared to re-enter them, they were there waiting for me. I guess that Telus stores them in some cloud, not (or not just) on the PVR box. (PERHAPS this was because I had set up Optik Smart Remote on my smartphone; I think it would always be wise to document the scheduled shows and series beforehand, just in case.)
I had expressed concern to the installer that the Arris VIP5602W STB didn't have the component/audio RCA jacks that I had previously used to connect my Hauppauge box to the Cisco 330. Both Arris units have mini-DIN plugs on the back, and the manual speaks of a "breakaway cable" with component/audio jacks, but apparently nobody at Telus has any idea about what or why it is. Fortunately, the work order for my upgrade had neglected to specify the 5602 STB (in addition to the 5662 STB/PVR), so the installer had to go to the warehouse and then return to my place the next morning with the VIP5602W STB. He told me he had discovered that the warehouse had a box of about 50 of the Arris "breakaway cables," apparently sent to Telus, along with the STBs, "as a courtesy"; Telus had no idea of what to do with them, but he (thanks to my grousing) did, so he snagged one for me. Good enough; I was able to connect the Hauppauge box and it worked fine. (I wonder: are breakout cables like this all the same? Instead of my current Arris breakaway cable to component/audio cables to Hauppauge breakout cable, could I have found a mini-DIN-to-mini-DIN connector cable?)
And note: presumably so that they don't have to provide new remote controls to their upgrade customers, Telus has jiggered the Arris units to use the same IR codes as the old Cisco units. So, if you are configuring a remote control (like a Logitech Harmony, for instance), you'll want to choose Cisco (or Scientific Atlanta) 430/330 for these units instead of any Arris codes.
I kinda liked the previous feature of flashing the Caller ID information from my (Telus) land line on the screen, and I noticed that it wasn't working any more. So, call Telus. Nice tech-support guy: "Let me try this {click-click]; now reboot the PVR ; does it work now?" Repeat. Repeat again... It took about three hours for him to click the proper setup controls and make it work.
Next, I noticed that the premium channels (like HBO, Movie Network, etc.) seemed to have disappeared. Another long call to Telus, and most of them are restored. (Still no SuperChannel, but I'm too tired to talk to Telus again soon.)
The new T3200M modem/router has an interface almost exactly the same as the old V1000H, with the same 192.168.1.254 URL. One little change: the new one comes with a sticker showing its default unique SSID, WiFi password, and admin password. With the V1000H, if you forgot your password, you had to enter the unit's serial number (printed on the unit); with the T3200M, if you change your admin password and then forget it, you have to enter the original admin password--best not to lose that sticker with all that stuff on it! Also, allegedly because customers didn't like the flashing traffic lights on the front, they've been moved to the back.
I tell this saga not to vent against Telus work-order screw-ups (well, not only to vent), but to warn others getting the upgrade of some of some points to make sure of before signing off on the installation:
if you get an upgrade offer, insist that the salesperson email you a detailed description of what will change--services, rates, channels, etc.
make sure that the installer has access to the risers, telephone plugs, or whatever, necessary to hook up that additional copper pair.
if things don't work at first, tell the installer to make sure that the pairs are "bonded" properly, and that Telus sometimes screws this up.
if your current setup uses coax from the modem/router to the STB/PVR, be prepared to replace it with an Ethernet cable, with attendant wiring complications.
if you hope to connect an Arris unit to a device that doesn't have an HDMI input, make sure that your installer knows to pick up a "breakaway cable" at the warehouse.
don't lose the sticker with the modem/router passwords.
If you like the Caller ID feature, make sure it still works, because Telus sometimes screws this up.
If you have premium channels, make sure that they still work, because Telus sometimes screws this up.
If you use Telus Remote Record, you will have to set it up again.
(See belowhttps://bhzof35755.i.lithium.com/i/smilies/16x16_smiley-happy.png [B]Check your Telus bill!
Now that all of that turmoil is over (almost: I still have to get SuperChannel back and tuck that extra Ethernet cable behind some mouldings and into the wall unit), I'm a reasonably happy chappy. Things are humming, everything seems to work, I have more Internet speed than I can possibly use. Thanks, Telus. (but maybe you could work on the work-order-coordination stuff.)
LATER: Looking at my recent bill, I find SuperChannel gone (but I can get it back for $10). I also find a $355.20 "Cancellation fee" and a "4K Digital Box Installation Charge" of $100.00 (plus another "4K Digital Box Installation Charge of $100.00 and a matching/cancelling "4K Digital Box Installation Discount" for the same amount).
When I tried to call Telus, I was told that there would be a 45-minute wait; when I chose "Chat" from the My Account web page, I was told that there were 19 customers ahead of me also waiting to chat. The heck with that. The "Contact Us" web page shows an email contact for Mobility questions only, but only a phone number for "Internet, TV, & Home." The phone number led to a familiar voicemail maze. One Telus rep once told me that, on the voice prompt "Press 1 for home, 2 for mobility," don't press anything, and eventually you'll get an opportunity to leave your name and number for a callback (no time for anything more), and that these messages get priority in the call centre. We'll see.
My condo has received an offer from Telus to upgrade to fibre optic cables, supposedly to enable an increase in speed all around. Unfortunately, the draft contract they sent was full of stuff that favoured their side--it looked as if they would claim the right to plop a cell-phone tower on the building, or ban competing WiFi--and the Condominium Home Owners Association is warning about this. Fortunately, I invited a Telus rep to look at the building, and he assured me that the contract was completely negotiable. and the contentious paragraphs wouldn't apply to us and could easily be jettisoned. Too bad the original draft wasn't phrased a little more reasonably, leading to less hair on fire.
I sure hope that the fibre cable upgrade will go a whole lot more smoothly than my 4K one...
More... (https://forum.telus.com/t5/Internet-TV-Home-Phone/Telus-4K-Internet-50-upgrade-saga-and-lessons/m-p/70148#M11087)