Uverse Vs Comcast. Who wins? Part 2!

This is the final part in the 2 part series in the Uverse Vs Comcast debate. If you didn't read the first part, I suggest you do so now. Part 1 for the lazy ones who don't want to find it yourselves.

So, where were we? Let's recap in small detail as to what happened so far, shall we?

• There was a bad thunderstorm last Monday, causing the Uverse main box to crap out, therefore having no service in the house; no TV, no internet, and no phone. 
• After many attempts at troubleshooting, a phone call was made to tech support who had me do the same troubleshooting, determined the box was bad.
• A new box had to be shipped out and it would take between 2-3 days.
• A friend who works at Uverse was contacted and he let me meet him to pick a box up the next day, which was on Tuesday.
• I plugged the box in I picked up Tuesday and everything was working except for the phone. After a call to another Uverse tech was made, he said I needed to wait for the other box to get here for the phone to work. When the box arrives, it may take an additional 1-2 days for the phone to work AFTER the box is received. 
• Because of this nonsense of waiting around and the service still not working, even after getting another box, I decided this was it and ordered Comcast online. 
• A Comcast man showed up Wednesday at around 6PM and got everything hooked up, only to realize, in the end... the TV box he brought over was not a DVR. 
• The bitch-fest volcano erupted in the house and that's where I was left with in Part 1....

Thursday morning, I unhooked the crap TV box and went to the Comcast Store near Bayshore to swap it out for a DVR. Easy enough, I thought. It sure was. After waiting in line for about 10 minutes because, in case you didn't know, there is ALWAYS a line at the Comcast store just like there is ALWAYS a line at the post office and ALWAYS a line at the DMV. That's just how it is, get used to it. If you can't stand standing in lines, you won't make it so get someone else to do your dirty work for you. Unfortunately, you have no choice at the DMV. 

After waiting in line, I went up to the counter and told the employee my situation. He said it would be no problem to swap the box out, even though the douche who was at the house the night before setting everything up said it may mess up the promotion. Of course, the "fancy" DVR box, came with a price of another $19.95 a month. I had to choice but to make the people happy so I agreed to the charge and grabbed the box. I took it home and plugged it in and everything has been working great! 

Now, we are in business; the house has internet which is faster than Uverse's internet, phone service through Magic Jack which is called a VoIp (Voice over Internet Protocol) service such is what Uverse and Comcast's phone service is. And... TV service with the DVR capability. After going through all this bullshit now, you may wonder... was it worth it? Is Comcast worth it or is Uverse better? Well, here is what it all boils down to...

The results are going to be in Part 3! AHAHAHAHA!!! SIKE!! This is the last of it and it's not much longer...

Having Uverse for a little over four years, I haven't really had any serious issues until this past Monday. The internet, TV, and phone worked just fine. Sometimes the main box would restart itself at random times during the night because it was updating or just being stupid. Other than that, I had no issues with the service going out. There were a couple times when I spoke to a Uverse rep in the online chat and requested a newer main box and another TV DVR box and they sent a new one with no problems. Of course, they aren't really "new" but newer "refurbished" ones which is typical for any company such as Uverse, Comcast, Direct TV, Verizon, etc. I just got Comcast last week so I can't compare the reliability and such yet so I can't give this one a side....

Round 1 - The set top boxes and boxes needed for the services to work - 

Uverse requires a main "hub" which has the wires for the TV, phone, and internet. This box is also a wireless gateway which means it functions as a modem and router as well with wireless and 4 LAN ports in the back to hook up 4 additional computers. There is a approximate $3 a month charge for this main hub, which is about $36 a year. Another box, a TV DVR box is needed, of course to watch TV. This box is included with the service. However, it cost another $x amount for additional boxes for each additional TV. This is understandable and usually how it is.

Comcast, like Uverse, provides TV, phone, and internet services. However, here is where it gets different. If you want their 'Triple Play" service which is what I just mentioned, you need to either lease or purchase (at some locations) the  Arris Xfinity Residential Gateway & Router for around $8 a month or purchase it for, oh, about $199. See Newegg for what it looks like and the specs. This provides the internet and telephone services. It's essentially like the Uverse hub mentioned above but without any TV function, just internet and phone. If you don't want the phone service through Comcast, all you need is a cable modem or cable gateway (cable modem  with router built in). If you have just one PC in the house (such as a desktop) and no other computer-type devices, a cable modem will be all you need. You can get one of those for about $80. However, if you have multiple computers in the house and need wireless, you will need to purchase either a cable gateway or a router for the cable modem. A cable gateway is about $135. Here's one at Best Buy  or if you already have the cable modem, you can purchase a wireless router for about $40, depending on the strength of the wireless signal you need determined by the size of your house. If you want a DVR with your Comcast service as well as receive HD channels, that will be another $19.95 a month. Not sure if you can opt out yet (didn't inquire) of the $9.95 HD service and still lease just the box for $10 but, no matter how you look at it, you have to pay for the DVR function of which Uverse does not charge for.

Round 1 verdict on the boxes - Uverse because they DO NOT charge for the DVR set top box most people want these days. Also, they only charge around $3 a month and not close to $10 for the hub which is needed for all of the services versus Comcasts' lease charge for the modem or gateway which is required for the internet and/or phone service.

Round 2 - Internet speed because, well, internet is all about speed -

Uverse can only go so fast because, even though they say it's "fiber" technology, that's true to an extent. I can go into the technical specifics here but this isn't what this post is about. In most areas, such as where I'm located in the Treasure Coast area of Florida, Uverse tops out at about 25-28Mbps. There are faster speeds at other locations which is shown in this wiki. However, that's only in "certain"markets. 

Comcast, on the other hand, because of their technology, goes up to, according to the packages shown on their website, 105Mbps. With my current promotional plan, mine is rated at 75Mpbs but with the test on speedtest.net, it goes up to about 88Mpbs.

Round 2 verdict on internet speed - Comcast. It's just, well, much faster. Now, unless you are a gamer or download a bunch of stuff, you don't need it to be that fast. 25 will suffice. But if you have a bunch of people living in the house who go on the internet a lot and you stream a lot of content on the TV, 75mpbs will be best. 

Round 3 - Pricing  

Each company has their own promotions which include all three services. After the 12 or 24 month promotion ends, that's where the prices get jacked up, as usual. Uverse has  9 bundles right now which ranges from $79.99-$129.99. Price is dependent on the speed of internet service and how many channels you get in the TV service. The higher the price, the faster speed and more channels, of course. Comcast.... Comcast... is having trouble loading the site for the packages right now! Ain't that just something? Here we go.... their "Triple Play" which is TV, internet, and phone like Uverse pricing ranges from $109.99-$139.99 at the time of this posting. These promotions change every month or so. As you can see already, the price for Comcast is more expensive. Also, you have to add on another $7.99 for 12 months if you want to use the DVR. After that, it's about $20 more a month. Uverse includes the DVR. Depending on your needs, Uverse may be best but has slower internet. Comcast may be best because it has faster internet. As for channels, who knows. I don't watch TV to care much to compare that side of things. Comcast does claim more channels and such though. 

After the promotion ends, let's say with Unverse first, the total for all three goes up to about $195 a month which includes the taxes, broadcast fees, and renting the hub. This is from looking at my invoice I've had for the past 4 years or whenever the promotion ended.

After the promotion ends for Comcast, explained on their site under "Pricing and other info," it's $149.95 a month thereafter for the three services. If you want to continue to use the DVR, it's an additional $19.95. Add another $13.75 of the taxes and other fees, according to my invoice so far, you're looking at $183.65. Also, if you want the phone service, which is what I was comparing, you have to lease or buy (for $199) the  Arris Xfinity Residential Gateway & Router for $8 a month or whatever the heck it is. So, if you add that in the mix, the price is a tad less than Uverse but not by much.

Round 3 verdict on pricing - Comcast. Even if you have to lease the boxes you need to get the services, the price is a tad less than Uverse but not by that much. I wouldn't really call this a complete accurate price because I was using my last Uverse invoice and Comcast's site with my current Comcast invoice but it's pretty darn close.

I can add more rounds and such but those are the main ones I wanted to get into. If you want more thorough comparisons, you can do a quick Google search and find more comparisons with more details such as with TV channels and such. 

Here is the gist and what it all boils down to:

• Reliability If you want to go with something more reliable with more options and such, I would probably go with Comcast from now on, coming from having Uverse for around 4 years. Maybe I would change my tone if Uverse offered the hubs to get at their store but that's not the case. Sure, they can send a tech out (even though they DID NOT offer me that option, causing my service to be down for 4 days!) but it will still be the next day or day after for a tech to show up. That's just the hub too. What about the TV DVR boxes? What if that crapped out? Another 3 days or so to watch TV again? With Comcast, if you need a box, you can buy it yourself at an electronics store or order it online or pick one up to lease from a Comcast store. Electronics stores are open from 10am-9pm which is enough time to buy one (except the DVR boxes, don't think you can buy one of those) or lease one at a Comcast store which is open from 10am-6pm or thereabouts. Until Uverse can offer that option, I can't trust them for my in home business anymore nor for continued and uninterrupted TV service in the house. Sorry, not going to happen.
• Internet Speed Comcast is the winner here too, hands down. The numbers, obviously, don't lie when it comes to the speed of their internet service. 
• Pricing It turns out, the pricing is very competitive. However, you do get more bang for your buck with Comcast.
• Simplicity Although I don't watch TV to really give my opinion on here, they both have some good features. I do think Uverse has the better guide where you can see the guide towards the bottom of the screen while you are watching the video above. You can also see previews of the video as you are looking in the guide. I haven't really seem this with Comcast unless I just don't know what the heck I'm doing. Ha! One cool and simple thing Comcast has with their DVR boxes now is the ability to talk to the remote and have the box do what you want. Say, "record Knight Rider" and it will pop it up on the screen and all you have to do is hit "OK" on the remote. You can also say, "watch Knight Rider" and it will turn to it and you can start watching it. So, instead of going through the guide or pressing the record button when you want to record a show, you can talk to the remote and the box will do the rest. That, is pretty, pretty, pretty neat.

There we have it, the final and long part 2 to the debate. So I lied, is was a bit longer than expected, as always. As much as I'd hate to admit it for a bunch of reasons I need not get into here, Comcast FTW (For The Win). I do hope this helps you decide somewhat as to the TV, internet, and phone service or one or the other of services you need for your home or, maybe more importantly, your home-based business. 

Until next time,

Justin "Dragon" Rocque

Uverse Vs Comcast. Who wins?

After having Uverse in my house for over four years, I was at a standstill this week and had to resort to emergency action because Uverse did not resolve my issue in a timely enough fashion.

There was a pretty bad thunderstorm this past Monday causing a "big bang" and lightening struck the house, causing the power to go out for a while. After the power went back on, the Uversse service was still down. The Uverse service consists of Phone, Internet, and TV. Everything is provided through one main Uverse box which the phone and TV wires are routed to throughout the house. If that box craps out, so does ALL of the services.

The box was on and flashing but the "service" and "broadband" lights were red. They needed to be green for everything to work. After doing my own troubleshooting which involved unplugging the power from the box, plugging it back in, resetting the box, reseating cables and such, it still failed to connect. I texted my neighbor who is also one of my customers down the street and hers was working fine. Now I had a feeling it wasn't an outage but an issue with the box. Time for the dreaded call to tech support who always tells the person to do what they already did 10 times.

I called tech support and told them what was going on. Of course, they apologized and were very sorry to hear about my troubles. Rasheem (or whatever his name was) then asked me what lights were on the box and which ones were red. I told him. He then asked when it happened and what was not working. After that, the typical mantra started which was to unplug it, plug it back in, wait, unplug this cable, wait, check the phone, unplug this cable, wait, hit the reset button, wait... Well, I checked the lines, Justin, and they are all fine but your modem is not receiving the signal. It looks like your modem is bad. No, ya think?! We have to ship out a new box which will take 2-3 days.

I asked Rasheem if I can just pick one up at the ATT store but he said I couldn't so I had to now wait up to 3 days with no internet, tv, or phone. That's not cool at all, considering I run my computer business in the house and had a desktop I was working on to bring back Tuesday. I also have someone in the house who watches TV 17 hours a day and needs the phone. Why he didn't offer to send a tech out and hand me another modem the next day is beyond me. I guess they didn't want to pay the tech for that superb service.

That night, I decided to contact a friend I know who I knew from working at Best Buy who now works for Uverse and told him about the situation. He said for me to meet him in the morning and pick up a box from his work truck. So, I did just that and gave him the dead box. Was that so hard, Uverse? The man was six minutes from my location. Why could he not stop by my house when he was done to drop off the box? Sometimes I don't understand and never will...

I went home to plug in the box and, sure enough, the internet and TV was up and running again but... not the phone. I was able to get the PC finished to bring back Wednesday but there was no phone. I called Uverse again and told them what I did and again, unplug this, stick this here, stand on your head and count to ten while having your other hand touch the modem so the energy channels through it and, through the powers that be, everything will work again. Still, nothing. No phone. After all that dancing around, he said I needed to wait for the other one to show up through UPS. So, now there is internet and tv but... no phone still until the other one ships.

That Tuesday, I couldn't wait anymore and wasn't pleased with the way Uverse decided to do things which was to SHIP the box versus the quicker route of having a tech drive over with boxes already in his truck and... hand one to me. Do the people at Uverse not realize the importance of having those needed services in a house these days? People run businesses in their houses which requires internet service. People live in houses who don't own cell phones and need working phones for emergencies. Lastly, some people are at home most of the time in their lives and spend it watching TV. Cut those three things out for more than a day and there will be financial and emotional problems. Think about it. All hell will break loose and, well, it did break loose!

So, I had to resort to other measures I didn't want to resort to... I had to switch to Comcast. After all, what other choices are there in Florida? ATT Uverse, Comcast, Dish, and Direct... oh no.. wait.. ATT owns Direct TV now! Dish for internet? Ha, I don't think so! Do they have phone? I don't think so either.

I took a gander at Comcast's site and saw some packages. There was a "triple play" which is TV, Internet, and Phone for $89 a month for 12 months. There was a "double play" for $89 a month for 24 months which was TV and Internet but no phone. I decided the second one was a better choice because I'll just use Magic Jack of which I have already been using for over five years as a fax number and until my customers got my new number.

I spoke to someone in the chat room and told them what I was planning on doing. After some chat, I just had to fill the stuff out myself and set a time and day for them to show up to install it. Of course, there was a $39.95 fee for the set up which I thought was silly because if a company wants you to have their service you agree to have and pay for.... they should not charge a fee for the basic installation which is needed to get the service working in the house...

In any event, I set a time and day for Wednesday evening between 5PM-7PM, which was the day after I signed up for Comcast on their site which was being accessed using the modem I got from my friend, NOT the one Uverse shipped because.... I was still waiting for that one!

I went to Best Buy to buy my own modem and a cordless phone set so I don't have to pay "lease fees" and so the Magic Jack service can be used throughout the house, not just close to where the cable modem will be.

There was a knock at the door at around 6PM so I answered it. It was a man with a red shirt and khaki pants. I said, "Hey, how's it going?" He said, "Hi." He didn't say his name or what the heck he was doing at my door. I knew it was a Comcast contractor so I let him in because I just wanted to get this shit done and not start any nonsense when it came to "proper etiquette" at a customer's door.

I gave Mr. Comcast Contractor the run down as far as what was going on and he got to work. After going inside, outside, inside, outside, then inside the final time, everything was all set. He showed me how to use the Comcast TV box. I then said, "this can record too, right?" He said, "record? No, not this one. That wasn't part of your promotion and I don't want to give you one of those and mess up your promotion." I was like, "OK, don't worry about it."

Then he left and the bitching in the house ensued because the person who lives in the house with me can't record their TV shows. Oh no!! The world is over now. Time to sell the house and live on a boat. As if that wasn't enough, this person was also upset because they couldn't use the "regular" phone instead of the cordless ones they always refused to use to this day. Again, the world is over now. Time to pack up and ship out! We are done here...

After the volcano of yelling, bitching, complaining, and slamming doors erupted, I told everyone to calm down and I will get the DVR box tomorrow. As far as the phone goes, they just needed to deal with change and use a cordless phone because there is no more landline in the house and hasn't been since before Uverse.

Now,  because this, as always, has become a long blog post than expected... I will turn this into a two part series so it will be easier to digest and so you have something to look forward to later tonight or tomorrow!

Until then... stay tuned for part 2 of the Uverse Vs Comcast debate!

Premiere Post - Avoid tech support phone scams

Because of the recent and continued phone scams I have heard of some of my customers receiving after the fact and after, most importantly, the damage has already been done (in excess of over $1000 for one, and another having his PC locked out by a Windows login password the "tech guy" enabled while he had gained remote access to the PC), I must post this again, which was previously from my former blog of Dragon PC Training. I figured this would be the best one to start off with until I get more up soon in regards to other issues I have been facing with my customers who didn't want to take the Dragon's advice and ended up getting burned because of it in the near future. The Dragon is here to help you, not take your money and run like the lovely "tech support" people below do and local tech support my customer's told me horror stories about.


For a few years now, there have been these odd calls going out to people's houses who claim they are from "Windows" or some other Microsoft-sounding name. They state your computer has been sending out some strange crap and they want you to go on your computer and type in a few commands and tell you about the "bad files" located on the computer. After they do that, they will have you do other stuff and then remotely log into your PC and tell you how bad it is and then tell you it will be $200 or so to repair such things.

Here is some info about this straight from Microsoft's own website:

Avoid tech support phone scams

Cybercriminals don't just send fraudulent email messages and set up fake websites. They might also call you on the telephone and claim to be from Microsoft. They might offer to help solve your computer problems or sell you a software license. Once they have access to your computer, they can do the following:

• Trick you into installing malicious software that could capture sensitive data, such as online banking user names and passwords. They might also then charge you to remove this software.
• Take control of your computer remotely and adjust settings to leave your computer vulnerable.
• Request credit card information so they can bill you for phony services.
• Direct you to fraudulent websites and ask you to enter credit card and other personal or financial information there.

Neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls (also known as cold calls) to charge you for computer security or software fixes.

Telephone tech support scams: What you need to know

Cybercriminals often use publicly available phone directories so they might know your name and other personal information when they call you. They might even guess what operating system you're using.

Once they've gained your trust, they might ask for your user name and password or ask you to go to a website to install software that will let them access your computer to fix it. Once you do this, your computer and your personal information is vulnerable.

Do not trust unsolicited calls. Do not provide any personal information.

Here are some of the organizations that cybercriminals claim to be from:

• Windows Helpdesk
• Windows Service Center
• Microsoft Tech Support
• Microsoft Support
• Windows Technical Department Support Group
• Microsoft Research and Development Team (Microsoft R & D Team)

Report phone scams

Learn about how to report phone fraud in the United States. Outside of the US, contact your local authorities.

How to protect yourself from telephone tech support scams

If someone claiming to be from Microsoft tech support calls you:

• Do not purchase any software or services.
• Ask if there is a fee or subscription associated with the "service." If there is, hang up.
• Never give control of your computer to a third party unless you can confirm that it is a legitimate representative of a computer support team with whom you are already a customer.
• Take the caller's information down and immediately report it to your local authorities.
• Never provide your credit card or financial information to someone claiming to be from Microsoft tech support.

What to do if you already gave information to a tech support person

If you think that you might have downloaded malware from a phone tech support scam website or allowed a cybercriminal to access your computer, take these steps:

• Change your computer's password, change the password on your main email account, and change the password for any financial accounts, especially your bank and credit card.
• Scan your computer with the Microsoft Safety Scanner to find out if you have malware installed on your computer.
• Install Microsoft Security Essentials. (Microsoft Security Essentials is a free program. If someone calls you to install this product and then charge you for it, this is also a scam.)

Will Microsoft ever call me?

There are some cases where Microsoft will work with your Internet service provider and call you to fix a malware-infected computer—such as during the recent cleanup effort begun in our botnet takedown actions. These calls will be made by someone with whom you can verify you already are a customer. You will never receive a legitimate call from Microsoft or our partners to charge you for computer fixes.

You can also read a Snopes.com article about it as well located at: http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/microsoft.asp

I always wanted to get a call from them but since I only use a cell phone, I am not able to have that luxury ......until today! I was at a customer's house who had received this call a few times already in the past. While I was at their house today training them on their PC, the same "tech person" called again. She knew this because she recognized the number. I told her to answer it and then give the phone to me. After she passed the phone over to me, I told her I was her husband and she had to use the restroom. Here is the rest of the call in its entirety sans customer's name and number:

Notice in the call, I said something to the affect of "there is bad stuff on the computer?" The "tech person" said no yet says he wants me to turn on the PC so he can show me where the bad elements are. Odd, I thought he said there was no bad things on the computer? They are also from "Microtech" based in Clearwater FL but the main headquarters are in Texas. Interesting.  If you ever get one of these calls, just tell them to go "F" themselves and hang up, or, at least, just hang up the phone. Reporting them will do nothing and staying on the phone with them is just a waste of time. So, remember this people. DON'T BE A VICTIM!! HANG UP THE PHONE!
Why am I warning all of you? Simply because.... I have a few customer who were TOO CLOSE to being victims until they hung up the phone and told me what happened! Since then, they haven't had any more problems. This is a special report from the one and only... Dragon! Have a great day and safe computing!