I’ve gone through 4 cable boxes in 3 weeks. It all started one day when I noticed a service package with a lower price and faster internet. And I decided to return my second DVR box. Went to the website, and it was treating it like I was placing a new order. So, I thought I’ll just go in to the Comcast store and take care of everything in person. Because the speed of the internet service I was ordering was faster than what my modem could handle, I was going to have to rent the modem from the cable company….
SO I go to the store, and basically the only thing that went as planned was the returning of the redundant DVR box. A point was made to give me a receipt for it. Got my new modem, and a replacement cable box, and went home, and couldn’t activate them. Numerous tries, and I even called 1800comcast, and realized why I still don’t like their call center (it’s outsourced overseas. I have no problem with the call center employees personally, but the accent on the line is so thick that it’s a language barrier in and of itself). One chat session on Facebook messenger was fruitless, so I slept on it. 2 hours later, I initiated another chat session, and this time I included the serial numbers and MAC addresses of both my box and the gateway. And they were able to get my internet service up and running right away. As for the cable box, a tech visit had to be scheduled. So I scheduled my next day off. And waited. In the meanwhile, I just streamed it to my phone, or I watched TV in the living room.
So the cable guy finally arrived, and got my box activated. I immediately noticed that I didn’t have any X1 programming interface, nor any premium channels, nor any DVR functions. Another chat with Comcast, and the rep asked me to send pictures of the box. It turns out I was given a DTA box instead of a X1 digital box. So, another trip to the cable to get the right box, and even the clerk there confirmed that I was given the wrong equipment. I was given the right box this time, and went home. And I couldn’t activate it. Another extended chat on Facebook messenger, and another visit was scheduled. So I went without TV for another week, and the tech came out. First verdict was that the cable box I was given was DOA. So she pulled another box out, and it wouldn’t activate either. Some more test were run, and it was realized that between the Comcast box and the cable outlet in my room, there was something interfering with the signal (the little box actually has to talk to the DVR to access recordings). So, that box went out, and the tech brought brought yet another box. This one Doesn’t connect to the wall at all. It actually connects to the DVR box via Wi-Fi (since I’m using the Comcast provided gateway),
So I’m now looking at the rat’s nest of coax cables that are now littering my room. And with this wireless box, they’re all redundant. The only draw-back to this is that the box only connect via hdmi. The tv tuners on my tower and my laptop need a coax cable to connect. I tried to connect them to the wall outlet directly, but they’re all encrypted. So I figure I’ll have to stream the channels through my computer. As for the TV tuners, I’ve ordered an amplified TV antenna.
And I think that my next computer will not have a TV tuner anymore…
