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Spectrum/Charter/Time Warner Voice phone service

KC9UDX

KC9UDX

Space Commander
Joined
Jan 27, 2014
Messages
7,468
Location
Lutenblag
Google Voice turns out to be worse than useless. So I'm trying to find a reasonable alternative. All the SIP services that I can find seem to be very expensive. So I'm considering Spectrum Voice, especially since I use their internet service anyway.

Does anyone here know what hardware is used with this service to actually connect to a phone? I have an Obi102 and an Obi202. Spectrum says I'll have to rent their internet modem. This makes no sense to me. I have my own modem and sure don't want to rent theirs. But the kicker is that I don't see what their modem has to do with phones anyway. It looks to me like all their modems are similar to the one I have: Ethernet, and cable in, and that's it. But they assure me that I don't need any extra hardware to plug in my phone, just their modem!
 
We have Spectrum (formerly TWC) phone and Internet service, and use a Technicolor TC8717T modem rented from them. It has two phone jacks (line 1 & 2 and line 2/alarm) on the back, for connection to a phone or the house wiring. This particular modem also supports pulse dialing, so rotary dial phones can be used directly if you are into that kind of thing. On the computing side, the modem has built-in router functionality, with four Ethernet ports and 2.4/5 GHz Wi-Fi, so no need for a separate router. It also has a compartment for a backup battery pack, but we weren't supplied with one.
 
Spectrum uses a different model cable modem for customers with voice service. The modems with VOIP support look almost identical to non-VOIP modems with the exception of two additional diagnostic lights on the front and two RJ-11 jacks on the back for up to two phone lines. I've done network installs all over Texas and the most commonly used modems are either Arris, Technicolor or Ubee. Most cable modems these days have internal routers with up to 4 RJ-45 gigabit ports.

If you want to use Spectrum phone service, you'll need one of these modems. A standard modem isn't going to work and they don't support SIP boxes.

Here are the supported modems they list https://www.spectrum.net/support/voice/phone-modems

This is the best out of the lot in my experience:

https://www.amazon.com/TG1672G-Touchstone-Telephony-Gateway-Packed/dp/B001E5Q79S

I've had the least amount of trouble with Arris modems and this model in particular.
 
I have a couple of GV numbers that I use for backup, associated with my Obi200. The other two number are from VoIPo.com, which is decent enough.

I've got a VDSL2 double modem with RJ11 jacks on it (a Technicolor model), but no firmware to support VoIP. I picked it up in preference to my telco's free modem. The Technicolors have a good reputation for reliability and I haven't been disappointed. I turned off the wireless and hub features as at the time, the telco firmware was buggy (it still may be) and the modem would show signs of a progressive memory leak and speeds would drop to near zero. Using it as a dumb modem feeding a conventional router works just fine.
 
@GiGaByTe thank you! Why on Earth can't Spectrum just give out this information in stead of being deliberately secretive and deceptive?
 
Because they want their customers to remain in the dark and be bent over a barrel.

One example is that they used to let customers configure their cable modems and set whatever options they wanted like enabling the 2.4G and 5G wireless bands. In recent years, that's become a taboo subject because they now charge you $10 extra for that wireless service that just takes a couple of clicks in the web configuration page. They were idiots for awhile and left the password for the web configuration on the bottom of the modem so you could just do it yourself, but on recent installs I've seen, the login information sticker is missing and all of the "usual suspect" passwords no longer work. You now have to call them up and talk to an illiterate L1 tech to do stupid simple things like change your modem from router to bridged mode.

Another one of their schemes back in 2009 was to introduce tiered limited bandwidth plans, which exploded in their face. The public was outraged, lawmakers were outraged and the legislature started introducing bills to prevent Time Warner from screwing over consumers even more than they were already. It would have essentially doubled the cost of what users were already getting, and sometimes tripled if you were a heavy bandwidth user since you'd be subject to fines for going over your allotted limit. Their new unlimited plan would have been something like $150 a month. It failed and they retraced their plans in Central Texas, at least for a few more years until 2012 when they started trying to introduce it again in South Texas as an "optional opt-in" plan that would give you like a $5 a month break on your bill if you promised to not use more than your data cap.

Their plans for doing similar stuff here were dashed when Google Fiber and AT&T UVerse moved into town several years ago. They were terrified because the fastest plan they had for anyone at that time was 20 mbit/2 mbit compared to 1000 mbit on Google and AT&T. They quickly bumped everyone up to 100 mbit and then 200 mbit a few years later, which is still not a deal because it costs the same as the other's 1000 mbit service.
 
In 2009 I was still using Time Warner Business Class. What a night-and-day difference. I called their support number before sunrise one cold winter day because my connection was slow. I got an apology and a tech was out early in the morning. By noon a whole crew had replaced the coax from the pole to my house, free of charge. I miss that. But you get what you pay for and mensch was I paying.
 
Years ago I had a problem where the transceiver in my cable modem would keep blowing out, it took 4-5 replacement modems and 6 house calls for them to determine that one of the multiplexed signals on the coax line was like ten times the power it should have been. One of the techs showed me his line analyzer tool and the signal bar graph went off the scale for one of the signals, which was responsible for the death of my modems. I was the only victim because I'm on the end of the line, so any nastiness that hits the line always terminates at my house and gives me the most grief.

They tried chopping the line to my house and redoing it several times, and adjusting their little service box on the pole, but that didn't help. So they brought out a bunch of bucket trucks and went all up and down the neighborhood to figure out where the problem was and eventually fixed it and haven't had a problem since.

I'd better keep on getting service like that, else I'll drop them like the crap they are. They keep jacking up my rates every year and occasionally send a politely worded letter "thank you for being a long time customer but due to reasons, your bill will be going up." It just went up another $5 for a total of like $73.50 for 200/10 service.
 
GiGaBiTe said:
Because they want their customers to remain in the dark and be bent over a barrel.

One example is that they used to let customers configure their cable modems and set whatever options they wanted like enabling the 2.4G and 5G wireless bands. In recent years, that's become a taboo subject because they now charge you $10 extra for that wireless service that just takes a couple of clicks in the web configuration page. They were idiots for awhile and left the password for the web configuration on the bottom of the modem so you could just do it yourself, but on recent installs I've seen, the login information sticker is missing and all of the "usual suspect" passwords no longer work. You now have to call them up and talk to an illiterate L1 tech to do stupid simple things like change your modem from router to bridged mode.

[...]
Click to expand...

Yikes, thanks for posting this. We've had our Technicolor modem for a few years and certainly were given the ability to log in to it with the default credentials and change them. Heck, one time a while back I called them after our custom credentials were misplaced in hopes they could reset it remotely without me having to reset the modem completely to factory settings, and the rep actually gave me the special "technician" credentials that allowed me to log in and resolve that malady. One of the Ethernet ports is dead (lightning strike damage), but I've been reluctant to have the modem changed out in fear of receiving a different model that doesn't support pulse dialing. Sounds like I have another compelling reason to make do with this one as long as possible.
 
If you're paying to rent it, I would highly recommend purchasing your own when it does give up the ghost, if not sooner.
 
Spectrum "stopped" charging modem rental fees awhile back (at least in this area), they just increased the service charge to offset the change. I don't think they offer the discount for having your own modem anymore here.

With how much trouble I've had over the last 20 or so years of modems blowing up from lightning strikes or other line faults, I'd rather not buy my own modem and have to pay for yet another when it inevitably dies.
 
The problem (which I've encountered numerous times over the years) is that eventually when you cancel the service, they not only demand the return of their equipment (reasonable), they will "send you to collections" for the price of it plus late fees, after you return it, and even after you convince them (with the receipts) that you *did* return it (unreasonable).

But yes, you could even amortise that, and it might be worth the cost if your modem gives up the ghost. I've been fortunate in that I've never had one fail. I have had the cable company obsolete the one I had, but the only time that happened to one that I owned, I had a service tech trade mine for a now compatible one. I'm not sure if he was authorised to do that or not, I didn't ask.
 
GiGaBiTe said:
With how much trouble I've had over the last 20 or so years of modems blowing up from lightning strikes or other line faults, I'd rather not buy my own modem and have to pay for yet another when it inevitably dies.
Click to expand...
If you leave your equipment connected to power, phone line or cable during a thunderstorm your risking way more damage than just the modem.
 
That's only if you have inadequate lightning protection. If you do, the only thing you have to worry about is a direct strike, in which case there are bigger fish to fry.
 
KC9UDX said:
The problem (which I've encountered numerous times over the years) is that eventually when you cancel the service, they not only demand the return of their equipment (reasonable), they will "send you to collections" for the price of it plus late fees, after you return it, and even after you convince them (with the receipts) that you *did* return it (unreasonable).
Click to expand...
I've got three or four modems in the basement that were replaced by Verizon over the years -- all for free. They didn't want the old ones back.

They still work.

I use one of them during thunderstorm activity to run wireless, battery driven devices, e.g., laptop, phone, tablet, etc., that aren't plugged into anything. That way if there is a lightning strike all I stand to lose is an old modem that was replaced years ago with an upgraded model. There was a strike over ten years ago that ate a router, TV and one computer in my house.
 
KC9UDX said:
That's only if you have inadequate lightning protection. If you do, the only thing you have to worry about is a direct strike, in which case there are bigger fish to fry.
Click to expand...
There is no adequate lightning protection. :) If you think there is you're living a fantasy. The only protection is the included insurance that comes with the so-called lightning-proof equipment. The equipment will be toast -- you will be paid.
 
Please tell that to everyone who has adequate protection. Do you think cell towers don't get struck by lightning for instance?

You absolutely can protect yourself from lightning surges on the cable line, very easily. Polyphaser makes a gas discharge product that you can use for under $100, for instance. Combine that with proper earthing and you're pretty well set. If you want to get crazy, you can install a fiber connection on the Ethernet side, and put the modem in a box outside.
 
:rofl::rofl::rofl:

So I managed to buy a defective modem. But I also managed to get hold of someone at Spectrum who was very competent, and very willing to help me out. He was trying everything he could think of on his end to try to get my modem to cooperate. Whilst he was doing this, my wife tells me that everyone on our street was complaining on "the next door app(?)" that their Spectrum internet was down. :rofl::rofl:
 
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