Oftentimes you may be facing an internet outage, but you might mistake it for another internet issue, which only you are facing. This confusion causes a lot of trouble, not just for you, but for the internet service provider as well. You might change providers solely for this reason only to be faced with the same problem with the other service provider. This happens quite commonly and the whole thing can be very stress-inducing. It is already quite frustrating when your internet stops working and to top it off, you now have to deal with filling out the forms of transferring and subscribing to another service.
It even sounds very tiring! Nobody would want to go through that! And of course, it seems absurd to just switch providers because of facing one or two issues. If you have faced plenty more issues and want to switch, then it’s understandable. But you should keep in mind that instead of looking for a provider with zero issues, look for one which is very responsive and has a great reputation with its customers in terms of resolving problems. Moreover, the pricing and the benefits are also helpful in making your decision.
CenturyLink is a good ISP which is one of the top ISPs you will find in most states like Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, and also in 33 more states. CenturyLink Internet services are popular with Americans for being reasonably priced, high-speed, and unlimited data allowance. You can choose from its DSL internet or Fiber internet connection. Do not be fooled into thinking their DSL internet connection is slow, as it is more of a hybrid connection. With the use of their fiber network, the data is brought with super speed to your area, where it then switches to copper wires and reaches your home.
Anyway, enough about that, and let’s move to the main point of this article. CenturyLink outages and how can you tell if there is an outage in your area. And why do outages happen in the first place? All of this and more will be discussed below so keep reading!
How to Tell if There Is a CenturyLink Outage?
Firstly, you need to keep in mind that not every time the internet is down, there is an outage. You might face internet problems due to bad weather, any disturbance in signal within your home, blockages, or anything else. But, how can you tell for sure if there’s an outage? Read below:
Area Outage
There is a tool known as a troubleshooter tool whose only purpose is to detect outages and inform the concerned people. In the case of an area outage, you will get a notification Known outage found from this CenturyLink troubleshooter tool once the issue has been identified. Additionally, you will get updates about the estimated time for fixing the issue, and also once the problem is resolved. So, that’s how you can identify the area outage. This troubleshooter tool comes with every CenturyLink Internet plans.
Home Outage
This will be somewhat easy to identify as you will be the only one affected by it. Your neighbors, if they are also using the same network as you, will not be affected by it. In that case, your troubleshooter tool will identify the reason for the outage and will then give you a repair ticket so that your problem will be resolved as soon as possible. You won’t even need to call CenturyLink’s customer support for this.
No Outage
In the case when the troubleshooter tool is unable to identify your problem, it means that there is no outage, rather there is some other issue. For this, you can contact the customer service representatives or get help from tech support. Follow their instructions to resolve your issue or at least find the reason for your issue so that a technician from CenturyLink can come to your home and resolve it.
Why Was There an Outage?
So, now that you know how to identify the outage, next is the discussion of the possible reasons for the outage.
Lack of maintenance
Just like how your car undergoes maintenance every once in a while, the same goes for electronic devices, powering thousands to millions of homes. Of course, this is something that must be looked after by the maintenance team and CenturyLink has never failed to ensure proper maintenance for its devices. ISPs that do not follow up with it properly will undoubtedly face outages and problems.
Lack of backups
Just like how backup generators work for any office in case of an electricity outage, ISPs need to have a reliable backup mechanism for the internet outages. If they do, customers are less likely to shift to other ISPs due to minor problems as they are getting great services. However, if you don’t, it is not a guarantee that your customers will leave you, but if you keep facing problems and do not have any backup, you are bound to lose customers.
Natural occurrences
This is the most common reason for the outage and is completely out of anyone’s hands. There is nothing an ISP can do to avoid the windy and stormy weather. It is only after that they can fix the damage. It then matters how quickly they can resolve the issue and get the system back online.
Equipment failure
Power surges may not be a daily occurrence, but they are still there. And as harmless as you might think they are, they can be highly damaging to the equipment. It is up to the ISP to install and use protective and expensive equipment to avoid any equipment failure thanks to the power surges.
Network congestion
This happens when there are too many devices connected to the network. For example, in universities, libraries, shopping malls, and more. The network becomes congested and so, it becomes hard to connect to the internet and even if you are connected, the internet doesn’t seem to work.
CenturyLink Customer Service
CenturyLink customer service is available 24/7 and there is no compromise on the quality of service from these agents! The customer support team is dedicated to helping you through any outages, issues, or queries that you could possibly be facing. Whether it’s sales support, tech support, account support, etc., you can reach out to the team and get your problems resolved nearly right away! As for where you can contact them, try the following numbers for the respective purposes:
Sales support: 1-855-349-9310 (available 24/7)
Tech support and Account support: 1-800-244-1111 (available on weekdays from 8 am to 6 pm)
Conclusion
Now you will be able to tell when you are experiencing an outage, instead of thinking it is just you. While you may experience this problem no matter the ISP you sign up with, it helps to have signed with one that has a proactive approach to resolving your issues and answering your queries. If you want to switch to or sign up with CenturyLink, you can do so on BuyTVInternetPhone. And if you find that it is not serving in your area, there are many other good options besides CenturyLink on the very same website. Go ahead and choose the one you want!
