Wait Times/Terrible Internet Connections

[Steve_New]

I have had Shaw now for 5 days and I have had close to 20 incidents so far where my internet stops working and the only option is to power cycle the modem.

I have tried many times to call support but each time it is a wait time of 2+ hours.

I am an essential worker in the health care field and when this happens it prevents me doing my job which is to support doctors and nurses. This morning it occurred AGAIN while I was supporting nurses. I was told in my previous call a technician would come out and take a look but it would take 5 DAYS for them to come and take a look.

This kind of customer service is beyond reprehensible, especially during a pandemic. When I previously had Telus I would get through to them a lot quicker, even during busy times, and if there was an incident they would come out to support within a day, two on the high end. What is Shaw going to do to fix these issues and make it so issues like these can be resolved in a reasonable time frame?

Being told that I just need to restart the modem each time to fix it is NOT an acceptable solution!

Edit: I am currently on hold with Shaw. I chose the option for a call back. I was called back after 90 minutes and was told I am next in line. As of typing this, I have been on the hold queue on the call for an additional 1 hour and 12 minutes!

[Hemi]

Wait times are terrible and I need my internet to be fixed as it keeps dropping off.  I too work from home.  I have done all the crappy advice of shut down etc., as well. I pay their highest priced package for fastest speed and only two computers using it and it still can’t manage my needs which are pretty simple.

[Steve_New]

My home internet speeds are 1/3rd of what they should be unless I use specifically the Shaw speed test.

It happened 11 times today, including during one call with a nurse where, since I use a VoIP phone, the call got cut off because there was no internet.

[mdk]

@Steve_New -- I have had Shaw now for 5 days and I have had close to 20 incidents so far where my internet stops working and the only option is to power cycle the modem. I have tried many times to call support but each time it is a wait time of 2+ hours.

I doubt that power-cycling the modem is of any value to you.

While you were "on hold" with the telephone, did you hear the recorded voice saying that using online chat is given higher priority than using the telephone?

I have found that connecting to Shaw via online chat gets me connected to a Shaw Agent within 5 minutes, 95% of the time.

Also, note that Shaw provides 24/7 service, supplied by Shaw's Call Centres in Ontario and/or the Maritimes. So, try telephoning after 10 PM local, to talk to the Shaw Agent back east.  That has worked well for me.

The Shaw Agent can remotely logon to your cable-modem, to view the "signal-strength" and other values, which may indicate a poor connection. The Agent can also schedule a service technician to come to your location, to trouble-shoot from your house to the nearest telephone-pole.

Experiment: if you have more than one coaxial-cable wall-outlet in your home, can you connect the cable-modem to that alternate location, and get a better connection?

[Steve_New]

Whenever I have used chat they indicate that I need to call in to resolve my issues.

It is hard to call in after 10pm local time when I am trying to work in the morning and have issues in the morning. Unfortunately patients/doctors/nurses are not able to wait 8-10 hours for support at times.

When I call in they see problems, do a restart, signal is then good but that never lasts.

Only one outlet where I am. I am also wired into the modem so WiFi is not an option with my setup.

[shaw-tony]

@Hemi I'm sorry to hear of the poor experience you are having. Checking your account, I noticed the upstream signal is quite off-spec to your modem. Some troubleshooting or a service visit should be able to get that fixed right up. I'd recommend reseating the coax cable connection finger tight, ensuring there are no kinks in the coax cable and replace any splitters that are connected to it. That should improve the connection, if it doesn't chat in with up via the MyShaw app to schedule a service visit.

@Steve_New that is certainly odd as technical chat agents can troubleshoot over chat. If you chatted in via your phone on mobile LTE/4G this can avoid the chat from being disconnect which may be the concern that the chat agent has therefore advising you to call us. If you have already done all the coax troubleshooting steps, the next step is to request a service visit so they check your coax outlet and the line connection to your home.

[Esian]

My wifi quit on me 4 days ago.....I’ve been at a new address for about 6 weeks now with no previous issues. Until now.   Monday after it quit....I spent 4 hours on the chat service and was transferred to 4 different agents in that time because “they had scheduled breaks”.  When a new agent came on, I waited for them to review the file and then they asked me the same questions and had me do the exact same things to try to fix it!    Right when I was given a day and timeframes for a service call...the agent then said “its my scheduled break so I’m transferring you to another agent who will be happy to help you” before confirming any appt time with me!!  So I had to wait for someone else and proceeded to be asked the same question for a 4th time just so I could confirm any appt!    This is by far THE WORST tech support experience I’ve ever had.    The earliest appt they had available for me is January 21/2021!!    I called on the 10th of January.   11 DAYS for someone to come and look at my modem!  I called again this evening (still currently on hold for 1.5 hours now and this is the second time calling in tonight as the first call of waiting on hold, I got hung up on 🤬).  I’ve asked if they can just mail me a new modem but apparently on their end, they can decide it’s not the modem at all.  Completely unacceptable!!  I am an essential worker (water treatment technician)  and have on call days to work from home.  My children have online learning and chrome books that they have ALL OF THEIR assignments accessed on.   Wifi is essential for us to function in our daily lives with work and school.    I’ve been a shaw customer since 2005 but I’m cancelling over this if something else cannot be done.   I’m definitely not willing to deal with these sort of headaches again. 

[mdk]

@Esian -- WiFi is essential for us to function

Here is a bypass, until the site-visit happens:

1. purchase your own WiFi-capable third-party router, e.g., D-Link or Cisco/Linksys.
2. set your cable-modem to "bridged" mode (or use online chat with Shaw Support to get them to do it). This will disable the cable-modem's WiFi capability. This is a good result, if its WiFi is not working for you.
3. Connect one of the LAN ports on the cable-modem to the WAN port on your new router.
4. Configure your new router to establish an SSID and password.
5. Connect your WiFi devices to that SSID.

I am presuming that any computer "wired" (via an Ethernet cable) to the Shaw cable-modem is providing a solid, no drop-outs, full-speed connection.

With the above configuration, you will be using your own WiFi network, not the WiFi capabilities of the Shaw cable-modem.  Hopefully, with a better result.