Just wanted to post this in case anyone else is having Internet Speed issues on their RoadRunner Legacy account.  I now have a brand new, more capable and compatible modem at no cost, I have 100+ Mbps faster connection, and it's only $4 more per month.  I don't have cable TV or phone service, so your costs may vary.  It's $74.99 for the 200 Mbps standard service + $20 for the Extreme 400 level speeds.  They have cheaper prices listed if you bundle, so I'm being charged a little extra to "fine" me for not having cable TV.

Since Time Warner became Spectrum, the "RoadRunner" branding for our Internet service no longer applies.  Now it's just Spectrum Internet.  It's difficult to get RoadRunner out of my cable service vocabulary after a couple of decades of use!

The Saga ...

Over the past couple of months or longer, I started to experience severe drops in my Legacy RoadRunner connection speed.  I was paying for the 300 Mbps level of Internet service, and on normal days, I could see 300-350Mbps download on average with the Ookla Speed Test app running on a 5G WiFi connected laptop.

When the issues began, the first sign was my FireTV streaming would begin buffering during a show.  Speed Test app showed less than 10 Mbps on average.

After 1 reboot of the modem, it might give me 20 Mbps max download to 300+.  If it was still slow, I continued rebooting until the speed increased close to 300.  Sometimes that was one reboot, and sometimes it took up to 5 reboots.

I finally called/chatted with Spectrum support when the problem started to appear every night or two.  Initially it occurred once a week or less.

After some initial checking, they recommended I upgrade my 5 year old modem.  I purchased the modem rather than pay Time Warner's $10/month rental for their modem.

At the same time, I noticed my bill was $16 higher this month.  Apparently one of 2 promos expired.  Before September, I was paying the same as the 200 Mbps level of service, but receiving 300.  The new billing would put me $4 less than the newer 400 Mbps plan, which is only one level below their top tier plan for 1 Gbps speed.

The kicker is, I was on a "legacy" plan under Time Warner.  I now wanted to switch over to Spectrum and stop having Legacy support issues.  Not every customer service rep is up on the rules for dealing with Legacy plan customers.  Really causes confusion.

So, off I go to Best Buy.  Found a Netgear CM2000 DOCSIS 3.1 2.5 Gbps modem for $50 off at $199.99 sale price.  Ordered online and picked up in Aiea.

Got it home, but the thing would not activate properly.  Finally, I was told to call the "Legacy Team" who could definitely fix that problem to activate my new modem.  Oh, and this rep said I should get THEIR modem, since it's included in the price -- no rental charge!  Hell, if the first 3 people trying to help me had mentioned this, I'd have never gone to Best Buy!

I put in an order to upgrade to the Spectrum 400 Mbps plan, pick up the "free" modem, and do a self installation.

The next day, I drove to the Mililani Town Center where there's a Spectrum store (next to the AT&T store).  Much more convenient than driving to the Mililani Tech Park like I had to under TWC.  The person helping me tried to slip a router in I didn't order, which would have cost me $5/month to rent it!  Man, these guys never give up!  I was asked by the rep who placed my order THREE TIMES if I needed a router, too, so the order should have been "modem only".   

I returned the Netgear modem to Best Buy, then came home to activate the Spectrum modem.  It's a Vietnamese product under the brand name "Hitron".  Never heard of them, but it's also a DOCSIS 3.1, 2.5Gbps modem, plus it has ports for VoiP Phone devices if you subscribe to that service.

Then Murphy paid me a visit ...

After more than an hour waiting for the modem to download firmware updates and register with the Spectrum network, THE WHOLE SPECTRUM INTERNET IN MY AREA WENT DOWN.  Never found out what caused the outage, but I heard lots of sirens at that time, and I was told the outage might be repaired in 3 hours.  Must have been something big!

Luckily, the outage only took until 7:57 after starting about 7:15pm.  Network speed was slower, but at least it was working well enough to finish the modem installation.

Where I was getting 300+ Mbps on a good day, I now see about 450 Mbps.  The rep said the connections are calibrated for 500 Mbps, so over 400 is typical.

This was the highlight of my week, and I hope it helps anyone else having similar problems, especially if you're still on the legacy RoadRunner plan.

Meep Meep!!  

I would never use their services on principal after they paid to torpedo net neutrality. That goes double for their "official" modems. I can only imagine what kind of spy crap must be on there talking with my other devices.

Nice info….
I’m a TWC legacy sub. I have VoIP phone, TV and the el cheapo 30 mb legacy plan with my own modem. Called Rectum last week about going with their service. After all was said and done they wanted $40 more for the same service. Rep told me Rectum plans on forcing legacy users to switch as they will be killing the service in about a year or so. Oh well….what do you expect from a Rectum…just shit!

Nice info….
I’m a TWC legacy sub. I have VoIP phone, TV and the el cheapo 30 mb legacy plan with my own modem. Called Rectum last week about going with their service. After all was said and done they wanted $40 more for the same service. Rep told me Rectum plans on forcing legacy users to switch as they will be killing the service in about a year or so. Oh well….what do you expect from a Rectum…just shit!

I held on as long as I could, but when my bill went up over $15/month on top of the speed issues, I had to make a decision.

If I'd kept the old legacy plan, been able to keep my promo (unlikely) and kept the Netgear modem from Best Buy, the price of the modem would have been no big deal.  $200 modem/$16 less per month = 12.5 months to offset the modem cost.

Now, with the "free" modem, I save $200 returning the BB modem.  I'm paying $4 more than what I could have paid on the legacy.  That means the cost savings from a free modem offsets the additional monthly subscription for 50 billing cycles, or more than 4 years -- assuming the monthly cost doesn't increase.

Cost-wise, converting to Spectrum made more sense.  It should also provide better service (I know it's faster!) and easier troubleshooting. 

If legacy was going to be eliminated in another year, then it's not a matter of if, but when.

I have been debating leaving Spectrum to go to fiber optic on Hawaiian tel. Not sure whether it will make a significant difference though

Had HawTel Fiber 100 up/down installed a couple of years ago - the connection is rock solid and the promotional price hasn't changed and is still less than $25/month.

No fiber in my neighborhood.
Don't care much about download speed.
I'm on hwntel basic tv and internet.
But I had to upload an 8gb video file last week.
It took 24 hours. Now I'm looking around for a better deal.

See if T-mobile is available:  https://www.t-mobile.com/isp/eligibility

See if T-mobile is available:  https://www.t-mobile.com/isp/eligibility

....
Nope

No fiber in my neighborhood.
Don't care much about download speed.
I'm on hwntel basic tv and internet.
But I had to upload an 8gb video file last week.
It took 24 hours. Now I'm looking around for a better deal.

From what I looked around most of the plans all have the same upload speed, just the more you pay the faster the download speed. Might have to jump to a more premium plan to increase upload speed.

I wonder if your modem could have been an issue? I don't know whether modems have different ratings for upload vs download speeds

From what I looked around most of the plans all have the same upload speed, just the more you pay the faster the download speed. Might have to jump to a more premium plan to increase upload speed.

I wonder if your modem could have been an issue? I don't know whether modems have different ratings for upload vs download speeds

That's what we surmized when the problem could not be replicated.  When a connection problem is sporadic like that, it tends to be a hardware issue.

Since the modem is over 4 or 5 years old, Spectrum recommended we start by replacing it.  After 1-many reboots of the modem, it would work as expected.

Newer modem = newer protocols and components.  Probably much more compatible, although they still list my old ARRIS in the official compatibility list.

The new modem is working great so far.  Getting between 440 and 480 Mbps.

If I can find the receipt, I should be able to take it back to Costco for a refund even after all this time.   

The new modem is working great so far.  Getting between 440 and 480 Mbps.

That is a great speed. I'm getting 236 Mbps download and 10.8 Mbps upload in East Honolulu. Probably due to all the other homes in the area hogging the bandwidth.

You guys make me sick with envy!

My speeds max out at 35 Mbs but typically are around 17 Mbs
up/down. pretty balanced which is interesting.
On the good side I don't have to suffer living
on Oahu.
 

.

Almost a month after upgrading, I'm still getting over 400 Mbps average download speeds, and the cable modem line drops have stopped.   

Last night, my Internet connection suddenly dropped, so I used my cell phone and checked for service provider outages.  As I logged into my Spectrum account, I noticed this month's bill amount was higher than it ought to be.

After seeing it was a "One Time Charge" for "Service Activation", I started a chat session with customer support. 

Leqwisha (don't ask me!) said the charge was for activating TV service.  I had her check my account to see if TV service was part of my subscription.  She took awhile, then said the only thing I'm paying for is Internet service.  I paused.  Then she asks, "Do you want me to credit your account for the $9,99 activation fee?"

   No, Lequisha.  I want to donate my money to a massive corporation like Spectrum Communications because they need it more than I do!

OMFG.  I had to reply, "Yes.  Credit my account," before she did it.

Charged for activating a service I don't have, and if my router hadn't caused my connection to drop, who knows if I'd ever see the charge and questioned it?

Then to be asked if I want a refund for a mistake on their end?  Really?

Just like trying to slip in a router I didn't ask for at $5/month, they tried to stick me with a "one time" charge that I bet most people would never notice.

Rant complete.  Mission accomplished.