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Hiccups at Packet 8 due to DNS problems
It seems 8x8 (Packet8) might have a "Service outages before announcing fiscal results" curse. On Thursday, Packet 8 customers were reporting that the company's VoIP service was interrupted and its website was down - not the kind of news the company is looking to talk about when it discusses its 3QFY09 earnings on Jan. 29.
A spokesperson for Packet 8 said that problems arose around 7 p.m. PST Jan. 22. A DNS (domain name service) registry problem with www.packet8.net resulted in customers not being able to reach the packet8.net website and having failures in phone service; Registry.com apparently mucked something up in the process. Packet8's phones and digital terminal adopters have "several" hard coded fail-over processes built into them, but DNS issues prevented the mechanism from working as anticipated.
Most ISPs updated to correct DNS routings within minutes of the initial problem, except AT&T, AT&T Mobile and Time Warner Roadrunner on the East Coast, said the spokesperson; at some point Cox and Verizon were also involved, according to DSL Reports. Packet8 contacted its customers with a workout for endpoints and phones and was working to contact ISPs to push DNS updates.
This isn't the first time 8x8 has had problems just before a looming financial call. Back at the end of July 2008, a residential service interruption might have lasted for at least an hour or so due to a Packet8 database crash at a Level 3 data center; business customers were unaffected.
Some Packet8 customers previously having service with SunRocket had some déjà vu and panic over the service interruption before matters were solved; SunRocket service and its webpage abruptly disappeared as the company went out of business.
For more:
- DSL Reports report.
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Comments
Posted by Anonymous | January 26, 2009 - 7:47pm
Packet8 was not answering their phones, all I received when calling customer service, using my cell phone, was a Packet8 recording that said "all lines are busy please call back later". I tried emailing support but no reply from that as well. Their service is poor.
Posted by Anonymous | February 13, 2009 - 4:14pm
8x8 frequently does not allow incoming calls and you won't know. They always come up wiyh somwe reason why it is the customers fault. Turns out 8x8 is wrong.
Posted by Houston, TX | February 23, 2009 - 9:45pm
We like using Packet8. Although, lately we have a lot of drop calls which we haven't had in the past 2 years.(?)
Posted by Dayton Ohio | May 19, 2009 - 10:15am
We have had Packet8 for years. Their service is getting increasingly worse. We recommend that you do NOT sign up for the service. We have 26mbit service, with no DNS or router issues. Just poor phone service.
Posted by Anonymous | January 12, 2010 - 5:10pm
deja vu: Packet 8 (8x8) just crashed (1/12/10) and burned today. No web site, my phones are all off, "all lines are busy". This company SUCKS!
Posted by Anonymous | January 12, 2010 - 5:12pm
1/12/10 Packet 8 (8x8) just crashed and burned again. No one answers, our phones are down so is their web site!
Posted by Anonymous | January 12, 2010 - 5:18pm
Does anyone know what the outage is about ?
The site is down and so is the service.
Bruce
Posted by Anonymous | January 12, 2010 - 5:33pm
Something is up same here with Damn P8.....service has been down for us since 12:30p 1/12/10-wtf? I have emailed some of thier employee's.....(sigh) we'll see what BS they say-I pray sooner than later
Posted by Anonymous | January 12, 2010 - 5:55pm
Hey! Where are you located? I'll give you a quote with a reliable company. shelley.stringer@deltacom.com
Posted by Shelley | January 12, 2010 - 5:50pm
Send me an email! If you want a quote to get away from them! shelley.stringer@deltacom.com
Posted by Turner | January 13, 2010 - 8:26pm
Try looking into Vocalocity. They don't make you sign a 2 year contract and their prices are very good!!! Plus their salespeople aren't rude and pushy!!!
Posted by Anonymous | February 1, 2010 - 5:33pm
Do not signup with 8X8, their service sucks, so many dropped calls, sometime cannot dial out, cannot hear when someone calls you, all sort of problems, technicians are rude, bad customer service too....
Posted by Anonymous | February 3, 2010 - 6:53am
I have been a Packet8 residential customer since 2004. I have had to reboot(unplug and plug back in) my phone several times in the past six years, but other than that no problems. I think they offer great value for the money and I'm glad I chose them over the competition. Besides, most of their competition has gone out of business. Their service has shown continuous improvement since 2004 and I really can't say I have any problems with their service to speak of.
Posted by Anonymous | June 23, 2010 - 1:30pm
We have had Packet 8 (8x8) business service for several years. Today, we are pulling the plug, due to just horrible service. voicemails garbled badly, garbled calls, outages, now to the point that everyone in our business is using their cell phones.
PLEASE don't use this service, as they will not fix your problem, only make you run the quality tests over and over, and "escalate" your request.
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