Wintermute's Blog @ Nitemare Cafe

Any problems with Iserv? I'm getting 2 to 4 kbps faster connections (still short of 56k)but dropped connections have plagued me from day one of the switch. Getting a busy signal on re-dial? Argh! Puts a real damper on downloads. Just curious how it's working out for you?

I signed up with GreenApple last month. I went with them because I had problems with People PC and Earth-link getting my account all messed up. So I was referred to GreenApple by a family member. They said it was easy to sign up with GreenApple and I would have my dial up ready to go the same day. It took about an hour for GreenApple to get me up and going. I noticed that I was getting 46 Kbps at it's very best. But it would fluctuate from as low as 4.8 Kbps up to the 46. I never knew what I would get.
I also was having major trouble with my Internet connection being dropped A LOT! So I called the phone company first to make sure it wasn't the phone. It turned out the phone line had problems with whistling, buzzing and crackling noises that would interfere with my connection.
Since having the phone line fixed I don't have as many disconnects but my connection is still 46kbs at it's very best.
Downloading is a major problem as well. I get error messages saying the download couldn't be completed because I was disconnected. So I have to dial in again and start all over from the beginning. It is very frustrating!!
I use to have Road Runner in Lancaster before we moved out here where broadband isn't available.
It was and still is very hard to adjust from going super fast to a snails pace.
I never was told about GreenApple changing to Iserv at anytime. Even during the time of signing up. Now when I try to access my account I have trouble signing in. Iserv doesn't recognize my user name and password. Recently when I received a notice at my bank of a company named Iserv taking money out of my account I was very confused. Hope they work out the bugs soon. I don't want to change again to a different ISP. Wow do I miss Road Runner! Never had any problems with them at all!!

I thought I had responded to the first commenter awhile back, but apparently the reply got lost somewhere in the intertubes, so here's that a synopsis of that reply. Basically, I haven't used dialup in months. I run my web server out of my spare bedroom. So I couldn't really comment on the troubles you've been having. I only had the account because it was comped from me volunteering there back in 95, then working there from 2000 until a couple of years ago. That said, I'd be happy to attempt troubleshooting for yourself or the second commenter, if either of you want to contact me via email (just use the contact link on the main page).

It's really sad that no one mentioned the change of hands when you signed up! That's certainly not the way Dave, the original owner, would have played it if GA had acquired Iserv instead. But 46K is pretty close to average (48K was probably closer when I was there) for a decent 56K modem. But going back to dialup at all has to be more painful than I'd like to imagine. Whatever you do, don't be tempted with any free web accelerators. They're usually more trouble than they're worth.