Uverse and Self Install

[WITI6fan]

Does anyone know if Uverse offers self install in this market, and what the kit contains?

[PONIES]

Don't do it! Don't turn to the dark side!

They don't allow a self install for speeds higher than 12 Mbps, fyi.

Also if you order the TV service I think a tech visit is required. The TV service sucks by the way. Worse picture quality than YouTube. No joke. Check out these screenshots over at AVS Forum. Time Warner has better PQ. Even DirecTV and Dish have better PQ. I'm pretty sure U-verse has the worst picture quality of any paid subscription video service. It's even worse than Netflix.

When I had U-verse I had the U-200 package and 24/3 Mbps Internet connection and I was paying $20 more a month after the first 6 months were up than I am paying for Time Warner Cable now. And I have Time Warner's 30/5 Mbps Internet (with no bandwidth caps at the moment unlike AT&Trash) and their full cable TV package w/ digital variety tier.

[WITI6fan]

Yikes.

We're mostly looking at it for internet. We currently have AT&T DSL and have frequent line problems, and I figure there's less chance of line trouble between here and the Uverse node down the block than there is between here and the CO that's halfway across town. We currently have 3Mbps down (and because of poor line conditions usually get like 1.7-2.4) right now and all indications point to not being able to go higher due to the poor quality signal we receive.

And before someone asks, people in this neighborhood with TWC internet say they have frequent problems with it.

I wish this market would just get FiOS service.

[ArgMeMatey]

What is your wire center?  Are you in an old neighborhood?

I currently have UVerse internet only at 12 Mbps.  It was a self-install.  When I ordered in March they were charging $100 for the 3600HGV modem unless you also ordered UVerse phone at the same time.  

No major problems with the self-install.  Just follow their instructions and don't turn on DMZplus (bridging, more or less) until the service is fully up and running.  

After you are up I would recommend a program called UV Realtime that puts most of the relevant stats on one page and also provides a nice graphic showing where on the spectrum they're putting your data.  

I am about 1000 ft. from the VRAD.  About a month ago I started having interruptions in service.  The tech found that the 50-pair aerial cable (26 AWG) was full of water, so he ran a drop cable in parallel to the 50-pair, from the UG terminal to the aerial terminal where my drop cable was connected.  Only about 75-100 ft.  That improved my stats considerably, but they're still nowhere near ideal for a 1000 ft. line.  

Regarding your ADSL, the tech told me that plenty of the F1s are still lead & paper pressurized cable.  So if you're on an ancient F1, and your F2 is in better shape, VDSL should improve things for you.  

I switched from 6 Mbps ADSL due to the capping there.  They haven't started capping yet on VDSL, but when they do, I'll probably be switching to Time Warner, since I am now running 300-350 GB per month.

The kit contains the 3600HGV modem, a couple of cords, a wall wart, and a quick start guide.  Can't remember if there's a CD ... I never touch their CDs anyway.  I also can't remember if they included a splitter, which I need since I have POTS on the same pair.  If you need splitters let me know.  I have quite a few.