hah.
This has been an issue with Shaw for many years, my friend.... and let me tell you a little something.
I've been with Shaw since 2014, maybe even earlier. I've had issues with my speeds, causing me to be unable to live stream to Twitch, watch streams and videos without casual buffering (you name it....) since day 1 of paying for their services. I made a thread about this exact issue a little while back. NOTHING ever came out of it, of course.... and I've been treated like I'm either lying or I'm just insane - ever since I brought up this issue to Shaw YEARS ago.
I've probably called Shaw 20+ times over the last 2 years in regards to the issue of not only inconsistent speeds, but the fact that speeds seem to drop to absolute 0 at times (the speeds act as if I'm being throttled or something). Except for the fact that it can happen at any time at random, for a random amount of time (whether it be a casual speed drop for 30 seconds out of nowhere, and then it's fine for the rest of the day - OR, casual speed drops for minutes at a time, coming and going over and over for the entire day; sometimes lasting for DAYS until I finally get a day where it doesn't drop).
I've had technicians come here at least a DOZEN times over the last 2 years for the exact same issue and nothing ever comes out of it. Same process, every time: wanting to replace the modem (legit have gone through like a dozen at this point, lol) followed by doing a few speed tests (usually it just so happens to come back with fine results when they're here, of course....) and concluding that everything seems fine. It's almost as if no one is listening to what we're saying here. It's an intermittent issue. Just because a speed test or two comes back fine at a random point during the day when they're here, doesn't mean it's fixed or that the issue doesn't actually exist. I REALLY wish the issue would replicate while they happen to be here and at my computer doing speed tests for that short period of time (aka 5 minutes), but it hasn't happened yet and I've had technicians tell me: "you have us scratching our heads at this point and we simply don't know what to tell you".
*** just to be very clear, everything - and I mean EVERY THING on my end, from modem to tap (even my PC is brand new as of February) is brand new and some things have been replaced multiple times, just because that's what Shaw likes to do. Keep replacing everything until things magically work. (been through over a dozen modems, have tried MANY ethernet cables, have tried using bridge mode, have attempted to use a router with my Shaw modem being bridged, coax cable has been replaced twice, splitters have been replaced multiple times, lines have been replaced, I could go on and on....) I've legit been working on trying to solve this issue for 5 YEARS at this point. So uh, yeah. I've tried everything physically possible. This is definitely a problem on Shaw's end. ***
I was a Twitch streamer that made a big portion of my income from live streaming. Yet, I finally had to completely give that up, due to the inconsistent speeds that ruined every other stream that I attempted to put on. The inconsistent speeds held me back from reaching my potential for YEARS, but it finally started to get to the point of simply ruining my brand entirely. In other words, Shaw's inconsistent speed drops that they refuse to acknowledge and attempt to solve is what forced me to quit live streaming as a whole and I'm now out looking for a new job that isn't online related. Absolutely pathetic.
Just as a little bit of backstory.... This December that just passed was when I finally lost it and started calling non stop until SOMETHING different was done. Long story short: it resulted in finally getting a technician that seemed like he genuinely wanted to help. After a week or so of "investigating" by them, they found a faulty line in the area and they said they had replaced it. It was interesting, because suddenly things seemed fine for a solid month. Not a single drop until the end of January.... then they came back. I don't know if it was coincidental or what, but something seems fishy at this point. There's no way that it's a physical problem in the area causing the issue. I've seen so many people on here that have this EXACT same problem, it's gotta be an issue on Shaw's end.... and it needs to be fixed ASAP. The drops have been occurring on and off again since the end of January and I've simply had enough at this point. I don't pay $126 a month for this nonsense.
I got angry again about a week or two ago and ended up talking to Shaw's Help page on Twitter through DMs and had them wanting to "book a specialist to check things out in the area, because it clearly isn't an issue within your home!". Well, the day finally came where the specialist was apparently supposed to check out the area and look for any interference or physical issues that were potentially causing the issue.... and it turns out that they actually booked another technician to just come to my house for basic help (because I DEFINITELY haven't had enough of those appointments, lol). Once I explained to the technician that this wasn't the kind of appointment that I was told I was getting, he offered to "try and possibly help figure it out anyway". Of course, being the nice person that I am, I decided to let him continue doing his thing. All he really did was do some speed tests and determine that everything looked fine, then left. Of course, speeds weren't dropping during that moment in time of him being here.... so again, I'm treated as if I'm just making this stuff up.
The only reason I haven't switched ISPs yet is because I live in a small city with only 1 other ISP option and they only offer a maximum of 1.5mbps of Upload. Unless you have their fiber in your area, which I don't and I have been waiting to have it in my area for years, honestly. It's supposed to be installed and ready to go by October.... so if Shaw doesn't have this issue fixed by then, you BETTER believe I'll be switching ISPs immediately. I've heard nothing but amazing things about that ISP and their fiber internet.
There is CLEARLY a ton of people with this issue.... and only more and more people are speaking out about it.
Get it together, Shaw.
