Sloooow internet

May 10, 2006 10:47 PM

I just switched to Adelphia cable internet and my connection speed is 99.2% lower than the average user

I use an ibook with airport extreme which worked fine with my dsl line.

posted by fearandloathing to computers & internet (13 comments total)

A) This is not a question and B) call Adelphia's customer service.
posted by cgc373 at 11:14 PM on May 10, 2006

Ok, let me rephrase it.
How can i fix this without spending an hour with tech support?
This happens all the time, i have the worst luck with electronics.
posted by fearandloathing at 11:22 PM on May 10, 2006

Well, you don't have an email address in your profile, so we'll have to do this in public, naked before AskMe.

Do you use Mail.app for your email? Because if not, what I'm about to suggest won't do much, since you'd have to set up Mail before you could try it. If you do use it, though, in Mail there's a weird hidden app called Connection Doctor under the Window menu. Sometimes Connection Doctor can sort out difficulties with a mixed up setup of whatever kind.

Another solution (I use an iBook, too, and sometimes have it fall off networks in cafés and whatnot) is to shut down and start up again, just like you would with a Windows PC. Something in the reboot can find your network. (There was a bug where if you'd maxed your RAM under OS X 10.4 your iBook would drop its network connection when it got too hot, but a Software Update patched it a while ago.)
posted by cgc373 at 11:43 PM on May 10, 2006

Is the coaxial cable line to your modem attached to a splitter, or do you have a direct connection from the cable jack to the modem?

How do the low-numbered channels look on your TV? If they're not coming in nice and crisp, there could very well be a problem with the signal coming into your home.

Unplug your modem power cord, disconnect the cable from the wall jack and wait a couple minutes. Plug everything back in and try again. Any difference?

Power cycling usually solves most cable modem issues, and on my own I've found (maybe it's purely psychological, but I don't think so) that unscrewing the coaxial cable line as well and letting everything sit for a while seems to work wonders.
posted by emelenjr at 1:39 AM on May 11, 2006

I am curious as to how you came up with that percentage.
posted by andendau at 1:40 AM on May 11, 2006

Seriously, the best thing to do is call Adelphia's tech support. If it IS a problem with Adelphia's line (my guess is that this is the case) there's nothing you can personally do to improve things.

I'm not sure where you got your percentage from (my guess is you did a speed test online that stores results of other Adelphia users), but you could try disconnecting the airport, and connecting directly to the cable modem with your computer, to eliminate the possibility of it being the airport. (And tech support will ask you to do this as well, so it saves you a step with them).
posted by antifuse at 2:15 AM on May 11, 2006

Well, you don't have an email address in your profile, so we'll have to do this in public, naked before AskMe.

Well, that is the whole point of the site, after all, providing public answers that might be a useful resource for other people in future, as well as the asker at hand. (Sorry, I realize this is not an answer to the current 'question'.)
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:45 AM on May 11, 2006

Cycle the power on the cable modem (AND any other network devices connected to the modem). This should do the trick.
posted by sluggo at 3:44 AM on May 11, 2006

Broadband Reports is a good resource for such questions. There's a bunch of useful forums including an Adelphia specific one , a cable FAQ and a nice set of speed checking apps there to give you some real numbers to back up your complaint to Adelphia. I've had Adelphia cable internet access for a few years now and have had very few complaints but when I have had problems, the support folks there have generally been fast and helpful.
posted by octothorpe at 5:20 AM on May 11, 2006

Quit futzing around and just make an appointment to get the guy to come out.

Road Runner has evening appointments and I bet Adelphia does too.
posted by bim at 6:20 AM on May 11, 2006

Welcome to the world of cable internet! I've had issues with my provider over the years and unfortunately, most [99.2%] of the problems involve calling them and them having to roll out a truck or going to their office and picking up a new cable modem.
posted by birdherder at 6:31 AM on May 11, 2006

A co-worker recently switched providers, although I don't recall if it was Adelphia or what. He got insanely slow speeds and it turned out to be a bad cable modem.

Did you get a new modem with the switch, or not? If so, that may be the problem. Of course, to try another one, you have to...call tech support.

Really, there's no magic wand here, save for what others have already said (reset all network appliances). You cannot have your cake and eat it too :(

/is reminded of the scene in Vanilla Sky where Tom Cruise is running around a building screaming "TECH SUPPOOOOOOOOOOOOORT!"
posted by cyrusdogstar at 9:05 AM on May 11, 2006

Yup, I've had a few service visits and they usually just replace the cable modem to be safe. No big deal. They'll check all their only stats too while they're visiting. Might as well get in the queue ASAP.
posted by bim at 4:26 PM on May 11, 2006