Has anyone here had trouble with Windstream tech support?

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Nope-26@reddit

The company is garbage. I'm stuck with them for at least another two years and every single thing with them is absurdly painful. We're still fighting about things that were supposed to be done during the initial install. Tier one support is useless. If you needed to know something as basic as how to hang up a headset, they might be able to help you. You also have to wait an hour before escalating, so hope you're not having a major issue at all. There's so much more I could complain about. If anyone reading this has a rep trying to sell you Windstream, walk away. It is 100% not worth it.

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TxTechnician@reddit (OP)

Out of curiosity are you a rural area too? I'm planning a video to get their tech support on the line as a teaching method for HOW NOT TO GIVE TECH SUPPORT

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Nope-26@reddit

Not at all. I live in a pretty decently sized city, so the problem is absolutely not the fact that you're rural. The company is just awful top to bottom. And yeah, their tech support is impressively bad. I've talked with plenty of companies known for being frustrating and the only two that have driven me to the brink are Windstream and Lewan.

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TxTechnician@reddit (OP)

Same. I've been an IT pro in the area for over a decade. The only reason I have windstream now is because I have no other alternative (Cept lte or Sat). I've never had a pleasant call with them. Never had a single time where the tech support was helpful. I wonder if I could get ppl to record their tech support calls with windstream and post them on Twitter. Would love a series where tech ppl humiliate the company into actually being competent.

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anxiousinfotech@reddit

They're still threatening collections on us for new charges related to services disconnected in 2017, if that gives you any indication as to their competence...

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concentus@reddit

We've got a client who's signed off on a new fiber install with them - 600 meters of sidebore needed to do the install so windstream is stuck in the permitting process. They gave the client a DLS modem as a stopgap, gave us badly-labeled info on how to configure it in the firewall, and then up and vanished. We couldn't get the firewall to work with it, couldn't get anyone on the phone to assist, and nobody was answering emails. This went on for a month - it was a low priority thing until we started to get to storm season. The DSL line is supposed to be their backup internet right now. We ended up having our 'vendor management expert' spend an hour yelling at support until he got a tech scheduled for an onsite. Windstream dispatch then proceeded to give the tech the wrong address and a wrong phone number, so he just up and vanished, leaving me sitting at the client for 3 hours. Finally got a tech on-site later that day - turns out the DSL modem installed was in router mode and didn't have bridged/passthrough anyway. The tech swapped it out for a model that did and it still took support an hour to reprovision the thing. Its really stupid - as an ISP their internet is better than Cox, but Cox's support generally is better than Windstream's.

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TxTechnician@reddit (OP)

#DUDE! My SIL paid for phone service. They installed a modem that doesn't offer phone. She called and tech support REFUSED TO SEND SOMEONE Out. Because they said, their phone line is working. I shit you not. A year later I'm dealing with my scenario and I tell the on site tech to please go install the correct modem. He says he will. A week goes buy and I ask. Dude never showed. I then called support and said "there is static on the line". The next day that same tech came out and installed the new modem. Here's the kicker. I gave that dude their address and number. He was even the installer who put it in. He said he would take care of it and didn't. On the day he came to switch out the modem (which he knew was the cause)..... #he had to go back to the main office to grab a modem. Pure fucking incompetency.

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OkFudge1945@reddit

Has anyone here NOT had trouble with Windstream?

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LetMeGuessYourAlts@reddit

They're the worst. We had phones through them. When you call in to tell them your phones aren't working, you sit on hold listening to a looped advertisement for their phone service that you already pay. It tells you about how reliable it is, but the only reason you would hear that advertisement was when their phones were broken. They changed a rule in the firewall they were leasing to us without telling us and broke our entire network for hours. I had to walk them through applying SIP changes to their own firewall that broke their own phones in order to fix audio issues. They had never heard of the settings before.

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TxTechnician@reddit (OP)

Lmao, I have had to walk tech support through how to setup their products before. But not windstream.

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OnettNess@reddit

This would imply that you can call Windstream tech support and not have trouble with them, which in my experience is impossible.

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TxTechnician@reddit (OP)

I actually have the cell of our resident tech. He cannot place calls to my knowledge. As I have to contact level regardless. After the seventh on-site call I begged him to level with me about how to bypass their horrid level 1. He reluctantly told me that I could lie to then and say "I have static on my phone line". Since they have no way to actually test that without being on site. There's no script. It just goes to "let me see if we can schedule a call". They don't even check to see if you pay for phone service. I've used this twice. It's cut down my calls from an hour long to 20 min....

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CompWizrd@reddit

Sounds about right. Had a dual T1 down to 0 9's of uptime for a couple months.. As in, both T1's down, not just one. It didn't bother them.

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HIPPAHolder@reddit

We've had a ton of trouble with them :( I totally sympathize

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TxTechnician@reddit (OP)

Dude their level 1 is the single worst I've ever dealt with of any company ever. I've had them refuse to send a tech out multiple times because "it looks good on my end". While I'm stating at the modem whose light is switching to red every few minutes. Their "troubleshooting" is just shit. They don't even seem to listen to you when you call in. Like I'll tell them the problem is intermittent internet connectivity, meaning it drops out and in at random, only to have the tech say: >so you do or you don't have internet connection? 🤦‍♂️ I had one of their contractors show up unannounced on a Sunday, at about 4pm, which was Halloween of last year. To tear up my yard to lay a new line. While I was not home. And it was just my very pregnant wife there. Filed a formal complaint about this with corporate. And nothing got done. I still have a 1,000 ft roll of their cable just sitting in yard. I'm posting this now because yet again I'm having the same problem. And I'm WFH. So early Friday off I suppose. I'm going to post a full write up about my experience and blast them on every social media. I'm just tired of it. I'd switch. But as I'm rural. They are litteraly the only game in town.

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HIPPAHolder@reddit

Jesus, that sounds horrible, they're almost like a toxic ex. "Love" that they left you a huge cable spool just lying around. I'm sorry :/ I hope it works out for the better, and you're able to switch or get better help.

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Has anyone here had trouble with Windstream tech support?

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16 Comments

Nope-26@reddit

TxTechnician@reddit (OP)

Nope-26@reddit

TxTechnician@reddit (OP)

anxiousinfotech@reddit

concentus@reddit

TxTechnician@reddit (OP)

OkFudge1945@reddit

LetMeGuessYourAlts@reddit

TxTechnician@reddit (OP)

OnettNess@reddit

TxTechnician@reddit (OP)

CompWizrd@reddit

HIPPAHolder@reddit

TxTechnician@reddit (OP)

HIPPAHolder@reddit