You don’t need Comcast software on your computer to have broadband!
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I had a interesting experience today getting my new broadband connection installed.
First a little history. I have been using a broadband provider called Foresite Wireless for several years because there was no other service available in my area.
It works great. I love it.
However, my phone bill is huge because of the type of service I require along with the DirecTV service which isnt cheap either.
Now that a cable broadband connection is available in my town, I broke down and ordered Comcasts Triple Play package a couple of weeks ago. It gives me phone, TV, and broadband for $99 per month for a year. It is $137per month after that. It works out to about $100 per month savings for me after the first year. What a deal.
I was told by Comcast that my service would be installed last Tuesday between noon and 2 P.M.
When they did not show and I called them I was told that AT&T did not release my phone number so the order was cancelled. I had to place the order all over again and was told that the installation would be in one week, which is today.
I was kind of mad because I had cancelled my DirecTV account about an hour before they were to arrive. So, now my daughter did not have any TV for a week!
Did you ever watch the X-Men DVDs over and over again? She did. I wanted to move out of the house it was so bad.
Anyway, Comcast shows up today to do the install 3 hours early. Ok. Im home.
The phone and TV connections went well. It was the broadband where we had a problem.
My house is prewired for phone, data, video and audio. I told them to install it all to one connection in the basement. That I would extend the connections through my central panel later.
They used my laptop to configure the broadband. When they wanted to install software on my machine running XP, I told them they can not do that because I dont want their crap on my machine.
They told me that because of the phone hookup it was required to configure the cable model to do telephone correctly. I still argued. They won because they offered to leave without finishing the phone if they didnt get to install the software.
When they did I noticed that it hijacked my IE7 with Comcast logos, installed McAfee Security, and installed something called Desktop Doctor.
I was getting pretty upset with them, telling them they just messed my my computer. They did not believe me, so I showed them the slow down because there were now 2 anti-virus programs and that the browser now looks different.
As installers would naturally say, they had never seen that before, it must be my computer.
I explained to them that their profession was installing Comcast products, mine was servicing Windows based computers and that I think I know my profession a little better then they did.
They left and I had a two hour project cleaning up my laptop.
The moral of the story is this. Windows XP and Vista have everything needed to communicate with any network in the world, including the Internet.
Comcast tech support says that if you call during an installation, they can register you and make any configuration changes to the cable modem from their end. This means no software needs to be installed.
If you are ordering Comcast broadband, make sure you insist that the installer let the tech office do the registration saving you the possible grief of having to clean up your machine.
13 Comments
James
January 24th, 2007
at 2:49am
Oh man! I hear ya dude! I had almost the same experience when we moved. We never changed from comcast(broadband internet only)….but you literally have to start all over with them when you change residences, even though it’s only a couple miles away! FYI, the cable line was live and ready to go when I moved in. I saw the installer coming(at our new place)and proceeded to disconnect everything on my desktop machine, hid the laptop and told the installer….uh sorry man, I didn’t have the time to hook the system up yet with the move and all! Then I changed the kids diaper right in front of him….He said…ahem, no problem, if you don’t tell on me, I’ll call it in as complete and finish the registration. No problem dude! Saved me alot of tears not having to uninstall(AGAIN) all that comcast B.S.(including that bloated McCafee crap)
WareWolf
January 24th, 2007
at 1:46pm
Their software is really poor. It is NOT necessary, and it WILL slow down even the fastest pc. Their installers are sub contractors, who have no desire to really help you, they just want to check you off their list.
Chris H.
January 25th, 2007
at 1:54am
I know whatcha mean dude…I was told the same thing over and over and over, they still try to push it…I let them install the Self Install Kit and walla the Comcast crap took over my PC. Never again…Every place I have lived and gotten Comcast I have told them, Call you Tech Center and set it up manually…not by CD. They complain and complain…because they are ID10T’s and only know how to crimp a RG6 cable together..and get paid pretty well to do it. When it comes to the Physical setup of the modem they are dumbfounded….
So now I just give Comcast Customer Service my MAC ID of my modem and a few extra things and walla…I’m online!!!!
I feel for you dude…I once was a Service Manager at PC Store..and I tell ya I had more systems come in with issues like yours due to Qwest, Comcast etc with there software conficting with previous software installed on the system…
Nick
February 3rd, 2007
at 5:07am
They’re trained to install that software on your PC. They (Comcast) make money if you leave the silly products installed. When it changed your IE settings I’m sure it set your home page to http://www.comcast.net, default search to use Comcast, default mail to use Comcast etc.
When they said they’ve never seen that before, they meant they see it many times a day.
Mario
March 8th, 2007
at 1:08pm
What did you have to uninstall? Comcast came out today to install phone service and my wife let them install something on my computer. I already had cable and internet so I called Comcast to ask why something needed to be installed - they said it was installed for the internet.
Rob Mootini
April 5th, 2007
at 8:26am
My head just exploded.
Tim
September 11th, 2007
at 10:59am
“Windows XP and Vista have everything needed to communicate with any network in the world” -uh, no they don’t. There are all kinds of computers with I/O interfaces unsupported by mainstream OS’s such as Windows. These include computers used in the financial, healthcare, energy, communications and military industries.
DiZzyBonne
November 16th, 2007
at 12:27pm
Hey Mike, I too had the exact same problem. It first happened in LA when I had Time Warner, so I reformatted regardless about a month later because it was time. Anyway, I’m really too lazy to reformat right now, so as soon as the Comcast tech left (he came to setup my phone,) I did a System Restore. Did that remove everything? Also, it was weird. When he first opened my IE, nothing popped up, no page, nothing. When he opened Firefox, it made him download the damn bloatware. I told him to use FF pretty much because my IE is pretty personal, bad choice. A reply/E-mail would be nice, thanks!
Jim
November 20th, 2007
at 1:39pm
I just told the comcast people that my computer was a work computer and I didn’t have administrator rights. I don’t want their software on my computer. Though, it did take them three days after the hardware install to fix my billing(?) so that my internet access would work.
ben
August 11th, 2008
at 4:30pm
Like a chump I tried the self-install CD, first on a Macbook, then on my main Ubuntu box through Wine, then resorted to digging out an old XP laptop. All failed. After 45 min. on hold finally got tech support, and of course it’s really because they have to “Provision the Modem”. The self-install CD has nothing to do with anything! They also told me they don’t support Linux and you shouldn’t use a Mac either, or use Firefox, because their servers only work with Internet Explorer.
Helpful tech support fellow didn’t know what I meant by a “Gateway” IP either. “Is it asking you for a WEP password?” he says. .
“When I set up my wireless router, do I have to clone the MAC address?” I ask. He tells me I should read the documentation for the router. Bang head against desk, cry. Believe have suddenly become tortoise in Muzak purgatory featured in Comcast commercial.
Finally get it all working, prepare for exciting comcastic future of bandwidth throttling and continuing swell technical support.
Comcast Needs To Provide Tools For Bandwidth Consumption? ~ IT Professionals
September 2nd, 2008
at 1:33pm
[...] am hardly the only person out there that would rather not have my ISP installing extra applications onto my machine - any application. [...]
Kevin B
March 26th, 2009
at 7:56pm
I had the bafoon from comcast run my cable thru the side of my hose- after I showed him where to run it. The they loaded the crap onto my notebook. How dare I ask for wireless help with my router- clueless. however simple enough to setup as soon as you find out what type of connection they use- ppoe/adhoc/
dhcp..
call tech support- clueless, started telling me to call the router mfg. WFT ?
I just need to know - he says reset the router and start from scratch-no AS*hole. How is it configured- he says dhcp.
I set up dhcp- told him What I did 30 seconds later- connection established and everything works great. I dual boot both my home pc and notebook.Windows vista and Linux Ubuntu. All work very well with no problems.
The installers are just that- installers, but you would expect better knowledge from someone in the tech dept.
Speed is smokin fast for me, I love it.
Maria T
April 9th, 2009
at 10:21am
Hi folks,
Those Comcast installers have no clue from what you’re all saying. Unfort, I know even less myself (though did know not to let them install the software on my computer). They provisioned the model and it’s all connected fine. Can someone now pls tell me how to get my computer to connect to the model, without Comcast’s software?
Thanks,
Maria