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Is Time Warner Cable’s Internet outage really fixed?

December 16th, 2008, 4:28 pm · 30 Comments · posted by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

**Update, 12/22/08**: I’m still getting reports from readers of Time Warner Cable Internet outages, so I’ve decided to offer a weekly update until the issue is fixed. Read the latest at “The weekly Time Warner Cable status report.”

Time Warner Cable

Last week’s massive Internet outage among local Time Warner Cable customers was resolved as of last Thursday, Dec. 11. At least that’s what Darryl Ryan, the company’s area media guy told me. 

Some readers disagreed.  I heard from many folks about the outage after Ryan told me it was over. Several let me know that their Internet still wasn’t working over the weekend. And this morning, one commenter said his Internet was still down and he had to resort to dial-up (ack!).

And the strange thing is that Time Warner’s Southern California web page no longer has a link to “network status,” which other Time Warner outlets still do (like Dallas). I found out about this after I called technical support to complain about my own Internet service last week. The service rep tried to direct me to that link, not knowing it was no longer there.

So, for all the frustrated readers, I called Time Warner again.

Everything is still fixed, Ryan responded. While there may be residual complaints stemming from the mass outage last week, any other outages are unrelated.

Occasionally, there are outages in service, he said. And if customers spot an issue, they need to call: 1-888-TWCABLE (888-892-2253). You enter your home phone number and a customized message will tell you whether cable in your area is having technical difficulties.

Ryan said that the ‘network status’ link on its customer help page was removed last month in favor of the phone-based support system. The status page was hard to understand with dates all over the place. But too bad Time Warner can’t figure out how to fix that so we can all check network status online without picking up the phone.

For everyone whose service was down, Ryan said Time Warner will credit your account for the lost days, time. Again, it’s pro-active — you have to call to get the credit. 

In the future, if service is ever down, I encourage customers to call Time Warner and get it on the record. Otherwise, they may think the issue only affects a handful of people. And while you’re at it, send me an e-mail  so I, too, can keep track of widespread outages. And please be specific with the issue. Thanks!

Related Time Warner stories:

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 30 Comments

  • Dan Prato says:
    December 16, 2008 at 5:48 pm

    I have a question, broadband by definition is a fast connection. How is it that Time Warner can slow it down and then charge 15.00 month more for a faster broadband? Shady to me, but then again it is Time Warner. I am a customer but I’m going to satellite. Also the product is always in question but the billing is always perfect, they never fail to on time. What a joke.

  • Curious.. says:
    December 16, 2008 at 7:00 pm

    How do you check the network status of your internet if the internet is down..?

    Make sense to call to find out.

  • caseclosed says:
    December 16, 2008 at 7:10 pm

    Time Warner Cable has the worst service in the world.

  • hbrealist says:
    December 16, 2008 at 7:33 pm

    agreed, time warner is pathetic. the field techs are decent people and try to do accommodate you as much as possible, but as for the service and and customer service, i would rather stick a rusty fork in my eye than deal with them.

  • U-Verse? says:
    December 16, 2008 at 7:35 pm

    I haven’t had any previous problems with TW but this is getting ridiculous. It’s been a week already and although I can get online, I’m still having issues with websites not loading.

  • Frank says:
    December 16, 2008 at 8:15 pm

    It is clear that this are having issues with their DSN servers. They must have outsourced there support staff. India must not know what DSN is. It is still up and down.

  • Craig Mathias says:
    December 16, 2008 at 8:34 pm

    We’re a business in Chatsworth. We’ve been down since Saturday, 12/13 and are still down 12/16. Our whole city is down… The phone support at Time Warner said the business servers were taken down and they have no estimate as to when they are coming back on… We’re moving to ATT.

  • Crumpet says:
    December 16, 2008 at 9:24 pm

    That is why I have FIOs by Verizon……..had it for a year and has never gone down. Guys I know that work for Time Warner tell me their cables in the streets is a mess with alot of unstable splices and they have no plans to fix or replace.

  • risingup says:
    December 16, 2008 at 9:32 pm

    Yes- TW is no better that Adelphia. A week doesn’t go by where we have some down time, and my family pays extra for high speed access…to answer “curious”- some people can check network status via cell phone or handheld web access. Our business uses internet connections for a living and this is the most unreliable service I’ve ever had…

  • Joe says:
    December 16, 2008 at 10:12 pm

    I live in Anahiem and we had intermittent disconnects Tuesday morning. The service then went completely down at about 4pm. I called Time Warner and, to their credit, I was speaking with a human being in less than 7 minutes. Only one problem - the service rep. couldn’t research my problem because her computer was down. She transferred me to someone who, when she identified herself and her company name (which was not Time Warner or Road Runner), had such broken English, I was unable to understand her. After providing her with the requested account information, her response was, “Hmmm, I show your modem as being off line. Let me check area customers”. In less than a minute, she had discovered that 70% of the customers in my area had modems that were showing as being off line. A trouble ticket was generated and I was told to call back in 4 hrs if my service wasn’t restored. It came back up 2 hours later. So, the obvious question is, why wasn’t the tech I spoke to initially aware there was at least a 70% service outage in my area? Oh, that’s right - HER computer was down, too. Perhaps that should have been a clue there was a problem?
    Time Warner, with AT&T’s U-Verse being in the area, you’re no longer the only game in town. You’d better clean up your act.

  • Brandon says:
    December 16, 2008 at 10:12 pm

    TIME WARNER SUCKS!!!!!!!!! They are the worst able provider I have ever had. I have lived in a few different areas with providers such as Comcast and Qwest, but Time warner is horrible especially for NFL coverage.

    All other providers always show regional coverage, but a few weeks ago the Chargers, Niners, and Raiders all played at separate times and Time Warner didn’t show a single game. i called and they daid they ould do nothin about that. Bullcrap!!!!

    Time warner is so east coast biased. it makes me sick our local politicians fail to allow new companies to compete because it is easier to have a single provider!!! Whatever! You suck Time Warner!

  • Warren says:
    December 16, 2008 at 10:18 pm

    Every since the outage my TWC phone line has been having a lot of static. Tonight was really bad. The static was so bad I used my AT&T cell phone while inside my condo. Normally I have problems with my cell phone when inside but, not tonight. Anyway, I’m calling TWC in the morning.

  • A V Rabinowitz says:
    December 17, 2008 at 12:04 am

    Have any of you tried Open DNS?

    It’s free and removes you from having to depend upon Time Warner (or other internet service providers) dns servers.

    If you start using Open DNS, not only follow the instructions for each of your computers, but as well as for your router. Some routers are easier to change the DNS settings on than others.

    Here’s two links for Open DNS, one to change your computer dns settings, and one to chnage your router dns settings:

    Computer: https://www.opendns.com/smb/start/computer/

    Router: https://www.opendns.com/smb/start/router/

    You can also use Open DNS for DSL from either AT&T and/or Verizon. Most who have AT&T use a 2Wire router, while most on Verizon will either use an Actiontec or Westell router.

    Of course, changing your DNS settings will not resolve your internet problem if it’s completely down, but more often than not, it’s a problem with the dns (domain name) servers.

    Still want to complain to Time Warner?, this may do the trick:

    Mr. Glenn Britt
    President and CEO

    Time Warner Cable
    1 Time Warner Center
    North Tower
    New York, NY 10019

    Phone: 212-364-8201
    Fax: 212-364-8251
    E-mail: glenn.britt@twcable.com

  • OC Ray says:
    December 17, 2008 at 12:24 am

    Well, this is why I have a data card from Sprint, because I can’t rely on TWC to give us good service.

    I had a problem and they said they would send a tech out to look at it and fix. I took the day off to make sure I wouldn’t miss him. Well, the tech never showed up and they didn’t even have the courtesy of calling me and explaining why.

    Their attitude is, if we don’t answer the phone and confirm the appointment they would cancel it. Ok, so what is their excuse for this one. I should charge them for missing a day of work.

    The problem is, they think they got us and can’t go anywhere else. DSL sucks, but what are our options? How can we put pressure on these idiots to fix the problems and get them to be straight up with us.

    It’s not going to happen and nothing will be done about it.

  • kb says:
    December 17, 2008 at 12:32 am

    ditto to what curious said, if ur having network issues, how do u check the status on their website?

  • Jonelli says:
    December 17, 2008 at 8:10 am

    I’m a part-time IT guy for a small OC company, and it took me all of 15 minutes to figure out that it was a DNS problem, and it was an actual problem with TW’s DNS system.

    I immediately signed this company up with a free DNS service and added it as a third option to their router from. They were up and running and never new the internet had a problem.

    I DID try to contact TW to find out what happened, in fact the DNS system went down while I was working there at 11pm or so. I placed a phone call to contact tech support, and while I was on hold I initiated a live-chat with support. Since it was busines cable service, the guy on live-chat finally wouldn’t help me anymore, but I did spend about 15 minutes trying to ask him if the DNS system was down or not and just kept getting replies like, “so, let me help you with that… Do you have more than one computer connected to the internet?” I kept asking over and over, but it just got more rediculous and I gave up. I stayed on hold still for about an hour and half and never got a person so I gave up on that too, and since I made everything work with opendns.com’s free service and they weren’t down, I just left it alone. I had no idea that it was in the news, and this company never new their service was down!!

    You guys all need new IT people, and if you don’t have a person, get one!

  • gameon says:
    December 17, 2008 at 10:08 am

    Location: Fullerton, CA

    yea my connection was on and off tues night. TW is probably the worst service out there. I’ve been with them for 5years, and they still dont have it right.. I’ve recently completely restored my HD so my computer runs perfect, so i know the problem isn’t on my end..

    gonna switch to at&t or verizon soon..

  • Corinne says:
    December 17, 2008 at 10:31 am

    Time Warner Sucks! I was with them for 15 years and they do not care about customer’s at all. I have swithched to AT&T for cable, internet and phone service. The price is cheaper and the service is way better.

  • Ron in OC says:
    December 17, 2008 at 12:52 pm

    Totally Worthless Crap or A-Del Pee On Ya!
    They just want you to be paid up before they lift a finger to restore service
    MTV-2 has no sound and its been that way for a week
    Call TWC and no estamate on when it will be fixed
    GOD! I WISH MY APARTMENT WOULD LET ME PUT UP MY DISH!!!!

  • L. Brown says:
    December 17, 2008 at 4:29 pm

    As of last night 12/16 my Roadrunner internet connection from Time Warner was still down. I have been without access since Monday the 8th, so if they claim it is fixed that is not true. I have called a few times this week and all I got was apologies from their support people.

  • Pete says:
    December 17, 2008 at 6:05 pm

    I am in Fountain Valley, internet with TWC still down.

  • Kevin says:
    December 19, 2008 at 10:55 am

    I am in Temecula and my internet has been down since Sunday, December 14th. After several unsuccessful attempts with the customer service jokes, I mean representatives, TW said they would send a service rep to my house. T

    he service rep came on Wednesday and I asked him if they were still having the DNS issue and he said it was fixed. After replacing my modem and being at my house for 2 hours, he said my router was the problem because he could access the internet with a cable from the modem to his laptop. I said it was not my router and he was just making excuses. He said there was nothing else he could do and left.

    Well, after he left, I hooked up my computer to the modem directly and could not access the internet. I called customer service back and said that someone needed to confess that the problem was on their end and that I know it was a DNS issue on their end. The guy said yes it appears to be a DNS issue throughout Los Angeles and San Diego service areas and several others. I asked him when they expected to have this resolved and he had no idea.

    Why couldn’t someone have said this upfront the first time I called? I am seriously considering dumping TWC for Verizon.

  • Mike says:
    December 21, 2008 at 8:53 am

    I called TW at least four times to report a problem before anyone bothered to tell me that it was a system wide situation. All the while I was lead to believe that the problem was with the equipment at my home. This is why I am going to another service as soon as possible. Who needs this stuff. Basically, they were lying to me by omission. I believe they must have instructed their service reps (who were otherwise helpful) not to tell the customers what the real problem was. Very frustrating but not unexpected. Hope that everyone bails on them!!!

  • Prime says:
    December 29, 2008 at 7:46 am

    This is entirely anecdotal as your thread mainly pertains to California, but I’m a North Carolina Time Warner customer who experienced a major “outage” through Saturday and Sunday, December 27th and 28th.

    Problem is, TWC refused to acknowledge the problem saying that everything on their network was fine. I was indeed able to connect to Google, Yahoo and MSN, but everything else failed. I couldn’t connect to many popular sites (engadget, slashdot), I couldn’t connect to Xbox Live, nor could any of my desktop widgets pull data!

    I don’t know if someone unplugged the wrong thing, poked the wrong switch, or intentionally tried to filter content, but I did speak with friends and neighbors. Everyone I spoke to experienced similar problems.

    FYI for all y’all California folks!

  • Charles says:
    December 29, 2008 at 2:38 pm

    3-4 weeks later…and I’m still having issues with my service. Very, very frustrating that service can be this bad and that nobody at the TW hotline even acknowledged there was an outage in my area. It wasn’t until I had two field technicians visit my residence on separate occasions tell me that there was an outage and serious issues with the network. Now it’s a few weeks later, and the network still isn’t running????

    …and I’m getting charged for this nonsense…

  • Gadgetress says:
    December 29, 2008 at 2:52 pm

    Charles — Just today(12/29/08), Time Warner has again told me there are no outages in Orange County. If you could be more specific as to what outages you’re experiencing, I’m happy to send the complaint to my TWC contact. E-mail me at thegadgetress @ ocregister.com

  • Richard says:
    December 31, 2008 at 2:14 pm

    Time Warner has the worst sevice and always try’s to blame customer equipment and they have been at my house at least 6 times with the last tech. telling me his supervisor would work on this himself on Monday 12/29/08 and he even gave me the Supv’s card with his phone number on it. So on Wed. 12/31/08 I called this number and got a voice mail saying the supv. will not be back until 1/4/09.
    My service has now been running at around 100-300 kbps instead of 15 to 20 mbps for (3) weeks now.
    My next call will start with the P.U.C.

  • Brian says:
    January 1, 2009 at 12:46 pm

    It is new years day and my service has once again crapped out with TW cable hi speed. I am on the Eagle Rock Circuit NE Los Angeles City. The service has been spotty all month, but the last few days have been on/off.
    Yesterday the 31st was mostly off. The want to send out a tech but I think this is network related and not my location. It was working this AM but once again has died out. Thank god I have a work supplied USB AirCard and I am able to use that. Please let me know if these outages sound familiar.
    Brian in Glassell Park

  • Keith says:
    January 2, 2009 at 7:55 pm

    As of January 2, my internet has been slow at best and non-existent at the worst. Even when I get connected, it times out rather often.

    I heard the same thing from the TW people — “The outage has been solved.”

    I am not buying into that pack of lies, coverups, and mistruths.

    For that reason, I’ll be leaving Time Warner. Any suggestions as to better internet access? How’s DSL these days?

  • Brian says:
    January 6, 2009 at 7:53 am

    My TW HighSpeed Cable has been basically non-op for the entire month of December and now going into January 2009, It has gotten worse. Yesterday I was told to be at my home from 3-5pm to await the arrival of a technican to diagnose my problem. No one called and no one arrived so I called TW at 5pm to ask if the tech was still coming, they assured me it was an open ticket. I called again at 6pm and asked if they were still coming, finally they called me back and told me the tech would be there within 30 minutes. The tech never called me as I had requested, instead he drove around my hillside wasting more time. Finally the tech was at my home after 7pm. He connected a cable tester and said it looked good and then he replace my cool Motorola Cablemodem with some USED modem that he dug out of his truck. He got it to sync up and left after he inspected all my inside cable at my insistance to avoid them saying it was rodent damage etc. The tech had me sign paperwork and left and within minutes of him leaving my connection was once again DOWN. It “Porpoised” all night as usual. I called TW back and supposedly an area “Supervisor” is going to call me and meet me at my home at my convenience. I am very disappointed with both the product and the level of repair service supplied by TW cable. I am located in the Los Angeles/Eagle Rock service area. If anyone from TW is monitoring this blog, you have some very unhappy customers around my hood. I found yesterdays waiting for no one to show up a horrible experience that there was no reason for. The tech has a cellphone, why could he not call me at 3pm and tell me he won’t be out to my home until 6 or later?
    I hope to get them out to repair what is probably an issue on the pole and nothing to do with my cable modem.

    Brian in Glassell Park