Comcast woes - storm damage
September 18, 2024 2:15 PM Subscribe
A big storm knocked our internet cable loose. We have scheduled two tech visits that were no-shows. Internet is still working, worried about big storms this weekend and worried about cable coming all the way loose.
Our internet cable was supported by a metal rod which was connected to our house under the siding. A storm ripped this loose and it and the cable are now dangling at about head-height from where they leave the house. They pass through tree branches, and I assume that the tree branches whipping around in the last storm were what pulled the cable loose. The cable is still connected and we still have internet.
We have scheduled two 8am-8pm service window visits but no technician has shown up. I'm worried that the big storms today and tomorrow are going to knock the cable down and knock our internet out, and I'm uncertain of how to get someone out here to fix the problem.
Is there anything we can do to stabilize the cable or will that risk making things worse? How risky is this in terms of service?
How can we get someone out here to fix the goddamn thing? As long as we have internet, I work from home so someone is here to meet with the tech, but I can't just take infinite days off from work if the service goes down (and I can't work from a hotspot for security reasons).
Our internet cable was supported by a metal rod which was connected to our house under the siding. A storm ripped this loose and it and the cable are now dangling at about head-height from where they leave the house. They pass through tree branches, and I assume that the tree branches whipping around in the last storm were what pulled the cable loose. The cable is still connected and we still have internet.
We have scheduled two 8am-8pm service window visits but no technician has shown up. I'm worried that the big storms today and tomorrow are going to knock the cable down and knock our internet out, and I'm uncertain of how to get someone out here to fix the problem.
Is there anything we can do to stabilize the cable or will that risk making things worse? How risky is this in terms of service?
How can we get someone out here to fix the goddamn thing? As long as we have internet, I work from home so someone is here to meet with the tech, but I can't just take infinite days off from work if the service goes down (and I can't work from a hotspot for security reasons).
I wouldn't expect Comcast to respond if there's not a service issue. You still have service; in their eyes, no issue.
Last year when a storm knocked down a similar support and my neighbor's cable line was sitting on the roof of my garage, I called 311 to report a non emergency downed line. The city (my city, at least) has an interest in making sure that nothing dangerous or population-affecting is also happening with that broken support. I called 311, 311 called Comcast, and a day later there was a Comcast guy in my alley re-securing the cable.
That said, coax is pretty tough and the cable isn't dangerous to touch, so I expect you're going to be fine for a while even if it's visibly annoying.
posted by phunniemee at 2:58 PM on September 18 [5 favorites]
Last year when a storm knocked down a similar support and my neighbor's cable line was sitting on the roof of my garage, I called 311 to report a non emergency downed line. The city (my city, at least) has an interest in making sure that nothing dangerous or population-affecting is also happening with that broken support. I called 311, 311 called Comcast, and a day later there was a Comcast guy in my alley re-securing the cable.
That said, coax is pretty tough and the cable isn't dangerous to touch, so I expect you're going to be fine for a while even if it's visibly annoying.
posted by phunniemee at 2:58 PM on September 18 [5 favorites]
I would remove the metal rod from the cable because that will take some weight off of it and reduce the surface area the winds will see if there is another big storm and the consequent force on the cable. You could tape the rod to the side of the house if you think the tech would or could reuse it.
Could you lop off some of the tree limbs you think might cause issues?
posted by jamjam at 3:24 PM on September 18 [1 favorite]
Could you lop off some of the tree limbs you think might cause issues?
posted by jamjam at 3:24 PM on September 18 [1 favorite]
#1. The cable might in some sense be better off if it has pulled more slack loose, and might in some sense be worse off it if is "repaired" in such a way that a lot of that slack is taken up again. A cable or wire that is pulled tight at all is subject to tremendously strong forces if it is pushed to the side, down, etc. With more slack in the cable, those forces are quite a bit less.
#2. If you are handy at all - or know someone who is - you might be able to put in place some type of temporary repairs - the purpose of which would be to ease stress of the cable right at the point where it enters the house, and stop it from pulling outwards from the house (which has the possibility of pulling the cable entirely loose from its connections in the house).
Working on an internet cable is not inherently dangerous in the way that, for example, working on the electric lines coming into your house are. It's not carrying high voltage or any such thing. In fact the main danger is likely if it happens to be passing close to electric lines - if it happens to make contact with those the cable itself could become an electrical conductor. But for example the way our similar cables & electrical wires are set up, the cable tv & internet wires are physically separated from the electrical wires by a long distance. They have essentially zero probably of ever touching each other. Assuming your setup is similar, you could think about doing some temporary repairs.
#3. The reason I am bringing this up is that if there has been a big storm etc it is highly likely that many people are having the same type of problem you are, and also a number of those have actually lost connection & service. So obviously the repair people are going to prioritize those first. People with more of a cosmetic issue are going to be way down the list. So you might be on your own with this, either for quite a while or permanently.
#4. If the damage to the cable was caused by tree limbs, then the real solution is to trim those limbs so that they won't make contact with the cable even under high winds etc. The internet company isn't going to do that for you - it's something you'll either have to hire done or do yourself somehow.
posted by flug at 3:54 PM on September 18 [1 favorite]
#2. If you are handy at all - or know someone who is - you might be able to put in place some type of temporary repairs - the purpose of which would be to ease stress of the cable right at the point where it enters the house, and stop it from pulling outwards from the house (which has the possibility of pulling the cable entirely loose from its connections in the house).
Working on an internet cable is not inherently dangerous in the way that, for example, working on the electric lines coming into your house are. It's not carrying high voltage or any such thing. In fact the main danger is likely if it happens to be passing close to electric lines - if it happens to make contact with those the cable itself could become an electrical conductor. But for example the way our similar cables & electrical wires are set up, the cable tv & internet wires are physically separated from the electrical wires by a long distance. They have essentially zero probably of ever touching each other. Assuming your setup is similar, you could think about doing some temporary repairs.
#3. The reason I am bringing this up is that if there has been a big storm etc it is highly likely that many people are having the same type of problem you are, and also a number of those have actually lost connection & service. So obviously the repair people are going to prioritize those first. People with more of a cosmetic issue are going to be way down the list. So you might be on your own with this, either for quite a while or permanently.
#4. If the damage to the cable was caused by tree limbs, then the real solution is to trim those limbs so that they won't make contact with the cable even under high winds etc. The internet company isn't going to do that for you - it's something you'll either have to hire done or do yourself somehow.
posted by flug at 3:54 PM on September 18 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: By invoking the sacred name of metafilter, I solved the problem - within half an hour of posting, a very helpful tech parked in front and fixed the cable.
Unfortunately, due to the nature and location of the tree, it is basically impossible to cut off the offending limbs without cutting the whole tree down. On the other hand, we've lived here through a number of strong storms and this has only happened once, during a real outlier storm. Climate change means that outlier storms are more frequent and we'll need to problem-solve in the medium-term, but for now, the cable is secure!
posted by Frowner at 4:55 PM on September 18 [9 favorites]
Unfortunately, due to the nature and location of the tree, it is basically impossible to cut off the offending limbs without cutting the whole tree down. On the other hand, we've lived here through a number of strong storms and this has only happened once, during a real outlier storm. Climate change means that outlier storms are more frequent and we'll need to problem-solve in the medium-term, but for now, the cable is secure!
posted by Frowner at 4:55 PM on September 18 [9 favorites]
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posted by Frowner at 2:24 PM on September 18