Apparent routing issues with AT&T fiber

To All (Including AT&T Support),

The issue of routing and Android Apps hanging has been resolved (well, read on). After going through the automated help gauntlet, the off-shore chat assistance, and finally speaking to a "Human" at AT&T support, hours of discussion has come to a resultion... "Find another provider." Seriously... the AT&T support person talked to collegues, looked at resolutions, talked about replacing my modem/router AGAIN ( I just got a new one less than a week ago ) the woman from support said, "At this juncture, I have tried everything I possibly can and I don't see anything else I can do to assist you. I hate to give up but, I see no way to resolve this issue." My response was, "Are you suggesting that I live with this? With just over a year on AT&T my bill has gone up significantly, and I have lost quality of service." Her response was, "I guess you could find another provider!" 

I have more than 20 years experience as an IT Infrastructure Engineer, this clearly was some sort of routing issue associated with IP traffic being halted under certain circumstances. It was either occuring at the local WI-FI (Internal routing) or beyond AT&T outbound routing. With limited use of the tools they provide assistance to the customer (Speedtest and TRACERT) there is no way to identify what the actual issue is. And, since AT&T doesn't seem to provice Level 3 support that I could use to help resolve this issue I am left with no alternatives. I have since engaged Spectrum, self-installed (per their easy documented instructions) and no longer have these hanging app and traffic routing issues. I guess this is what happens when you completely automate and outsource your technology and support.

I have had the same problem and had the same results. Do not know what the issue would be with AT&T are used to use another service and thinks going back now. Mine actually quit working all together. No lights on my router box at all no power getting to it I am assuming it is shot waiting to hear what they’re going to do. This may make up my mind about switching companies altogether quicker than I thought Gary Pike.

You cannot schedule service through this forum.   Either call it in, or use one of the online self test tools and verify the fault.  From there a service visit can be scheduled.   
Any ISP can have issues, but you’ll have to invest some time to get things sorted out and stabilized.  

Hi there, Gpike. We understand that you are having a service concern. We would love to help you with your concern. 

Per your comment, we are seeing that you have no lights on the router whatsoever. That is not a good thing. A non-functioning router is a cause for concern. 

No lights on the router, indicates that there is a problem with the power to the router.  Let's look at few things. 

1. Look at the power cord in the back of the router. Make sure that is plugged in and secure. 
2. Examine the cord itself, make sure that there is no damage or exposed wiring. If there is, then router as a whole will need to be replaced.
3. Make sure the router is plugged into a wall outlet. If the router is plugged into a surge protector, remove it and plug it into a wall outlet. 
4. If the router still will turn out after being pluged into a wall outlet. Do what is called the "hairdryer test". Take another electronic device and plug it to the same outlet that router is in. Does it power on? If yes, then try plugging the router back in to the outlet. If not, outlet needs to be looked at. 
5. The router itself will need to be replaced or you will need a tech come visit you. 

Please try these things adn let us know how you would like to procceed. We can help you with either replacing the router or schedualing a tech. 

Matthew,AT&T Community Specialist

All of these including replacement has already been done. This is a routing and/or timeout issue. This is beyond my router.

stewartbash, I'm experiencing the same problem. Does Spectrum have the same issue? They are my only other option.

We'd be glad to help you with your service, scole250.

So that we can determine how to assist you, we need you to explain the exact problem(s) that you're having. The more details you can provide, the better.

Aminah, AT&T Community Specialist

I have 1 GB fiber internet service with AT&T yet when I try to pull down a large file transfer over SSH, my speed crawls at analog modem speeds of less than 300 kB/s. I'm not getting the 1 GB service AT&T advertises. And before you go there, I understand its "Up to 1GB but could be slower at times". Currently trying to download a file and only getting 258kB/s. That is unacceptable. It's fraud.

We recommend reading our article on troubleshooting slow AT&T Fiber to make sure this isn't being caused by an issue with your device, scole250.

The sections on hardware and what can impact your speed are where you should focus:

• A network card that can support the plan – some cards are not designed to go above 100 Mbps. Check the owners manual to see if your device can support gigabit speeds. Fast Ethernet supports up to 100Mbps, Gigabit Ethernet supports 1000mbps.
• Network cables compatible with gigabit speeds – Cat-5e can be used 100Mbps speeds,  Cat-6 cables are recommended for gigabit speeds. 
• Updated operating systems – the older the OS, the less likely it will support higher speeds. For example, if drivers are not updated, this may prevent full utilization
• Updated network device – switches and hubs are rated for certain speeds. Make sure yours is rated to handle gigabit speeds
• Malware – viruses and other programs can run in the background and impact speeds. We recommend downloading our security suite here.
• Other programs using the network – like malware, some programs can run in the background and use up resources. Close all programs before testing.
• The type of USB port you use – if you are using a network adapter that uses USB, make sure the adapter is capable of gigabit speeds. USB 2.0 maxes out between 250-300 Mbps. 3.0 USB ports support 900 Mbps or higher.
• An old CPU - a weaker processor is not capable of handling higher speeds.

If you still need help, we can gather more details about your setup to determine what your next steps should be.

Aminah, AT&T Community Specialist

That's useless advice. As the OP already pointed out, it's a routing problem. Here's the tracert...

Tracing route to ********** [xx.xx.xx.xxx]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  192.168.1.1
  2     1 ms     1 ms     1 ms  107-196-208-1.lightspeed.rlghnc.sbcglobal.net [107.196.208.1]
  3     3 ms     3 ms     3 ms  99.173.76.158
  4     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  5     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  6    20 ms    15 ms    14 ms  32.130.17.65
  7    14 ms    23 ms    25 ms  192.205.36.158
  8    13 ms    13 ms    12 ms  ae-5.r24.atlnga05.us.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.4.192]
  9     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 10   139 ms   137 ms   135 ms  ae-7.r21.londen12.uk.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.2.110]
 11   142 ms   136 ms   128 ms  ae-1.a03.londen12.uk.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.3.251]
 12   137 ms   140 ms   147 ms  rtr-peer-08.thn.v4.custdc.net [83.217.238.78]
 13   147 ms   147 ms   146 ms  ae3.core-2.centro.hml.uk.as29017.net [89.145.125.70]
 14   127 ms   134 ms   138 ms  ae0.core-1.centro.hml.uk.as29017.net [89.145.125.49]
 15   142 ms   143 ms   148 ms  89-145-66-28.as29017.net [89.145.66.28]
 16   144 ms   146 ms   143 ms  ********** [xx.xx.xx.xxx]

Trace complete.

As soon as anything passes though your Atlanta hop, it slows to a crawl.