Thinking of getting BT

Hello

I am thinking of signing up with BT as my local exchange Slinfold isn't geared up for ADSL2 and isn't in any rollout plans either commercially of through BDUK at present. I have lived in the area before and will be doing so for 2-3 months again before moving. The reason I am thinking of going with BT is because they'll enable me to move for free and upgrade to infinity mid contract should the new area support it (according to their online chat sales team)

I just wondered, when should I order the service? I move to the new property June 30th and would like it installed that day as I can be there to wait in. Will I be billed from my go live date and can I pick that date? Previously I had to wait 7 weeks for the installation to take place.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Is someone already in the property? If they are then not sure if you will be able to order the broadband until after they cancel their phone/broadband - you don't own the phone line so I don't think you can order broadband on it until you do.

The property is currently empty, the business who I rented it from haven't let it since I moved out 8 months ago.

The annoying thing is BT don't list the property address, they almost have it but it's incorrect. I remember this caused a lot of pain last year and was the reason I went with the Post Office.

In reply to a post by brandscill:

Hello

I am thinking of signing up with BT as my local exchange Slinfold isn't geared up for ADSL2 and isn't in any rollout plans either commercially of through BDUK at present. I have lived in the area before and will be doing so for 2-3 months again before moving. The reason I am thinking of going with BT is because they'll enable me to move for free and upgrade to infinity mid contract should the new area support it (according to their online chat sales team)

I just wondered, when should I order the service? I move to the new property June 30th and would like it installed that day as I can be there to wait in. Will I be billed from my go live date and can I pick that date? Previously I had to wait 7 weeks for the installation to take place.

Any advice is much appreciated.

If the property is at present empty can you gain access to it for some reason (measure up for carpets or something) ?
If you can take a phone with you and see if the phone socket has a dial tone. If it does then dial 17070 and take a note of the phone number.
Then dial 1471 if the response is that the number cannot be recognised then it is a stopped line.

When you are ready to order the phone connection, tell them that the property has a stopped line, you have 17070 it and tell them the number.
This will help a great deal as the address and history of the line will come up for them. don't worry if you want to bring across your old number, you can do that once the line is up and running.

Hi systemx

I am in Manchester at the moment so won't be able to go to the property. I know I was the last person to live there and no one has since and I remember the number I used to have. When using that number in the BT ADSL checker it tells me it doesn't exist.

If I was to provide this number to BT would it help them locate the property still?

Thanks

In reply to a post by brandscill:

Hi systemx

I am in Manchester at the moment so won't be able to go to the property. I know I was the last person to live there and no one has since and I remember the number I used to have. When using that number in the BT ADSL checker it tells me it doesn't exist.

If I was to provide this number to BT would it help them locate the property still?

Thanks

You could try, but you really need the number allocated now. When you closed the account previously, your old number was removed (that's why it now does not exist) and a new number allocated.
At least you know the history of the property since you last lived there so you could try with the information you do have. Tell them there is a dial tone at the property ( a bit of a gambol as the line may have been damaged but they can do a line test to see if the circuit is still o.k)

Edited by deleted (Tue 06-May-14 14:07:10)

You say I'd need the number allocated now but if nobody lives there and hasn't done since I left why would a number be allocated?

Thanks for your continued help.

In reply to a post by brandscill:

You say I'd need the number allocated now but if nobody lives there and hasn't done since I left why would a number be allocated?

Thanks for your continued help.

(1) you close down your account and a final bill is produced. At that time a stop is put on the line and your number is removed.
(2) New number is allocated to the line and it is this number your would hear if you could access the line, but you cannot so try BT with the info you do have.

All lines have a circuit identifier (phone number)

Edited by deleted (Tue 06-May-14 15:11:04)

Thanks for your help guys, all ordered.

Was a smooth process in the end, did it online and had a rep assist on the way. They need to send out an engineer so I'm glad I sorted it now as they were already well into June for engineer visits.

I am getting the Home Hub 4, what is this like? Can it be put into a sort of modem only mode so I can use my own router?

Thanks

In reply to a post by brandscill:

Thanks for your help guys, all ordered.

Was a smooth process in the end, did it online and had a rep assist on the way. They need to send out an engineer so I'm glad I sorted it now as they were already well into June for engineer visits.

I am getting the Home Hub 4, what is this like? Can it be put into a sort of modem only mode so I can use my own router?

Thanks

Jolly good. do you mean HH4 or is it HH5

D'OH! sorry, replied to the wrong person, see below.

Edited by deleted (Thu 08-May-14 09:25:33)

If you're getting a HH4 (not a HH5) then that needs a separate supplied modem (the ECI) in which case you can use any router you want. Though if it is a contractor the odds are they won't have a clue about anything but the HH4. Just let them set you up using the HH4 and then swap out the HH4 for whatever router you want to use after. It's what I did, BTW, you may be told that the HH4 (or your router) doesn't need a password to logon to your connection. Well that is only half true in that it doesn't need a specific password but it does need something entered in the password box or it will fail to logon but even just entering a 'space' is enough to get it to logon.

The reason I used my own is that the HH4 wired network is only 100 Mbps and my router and network is a gigabit one. But if you are happy with 100 Mbps network speed or not using any wired kit, i.e. going all WiFI, then you can stick to the HH4.

There is one gigabit port on the HH4 (port 4) but the HH5 is all gigabit.

HH4, HH5 wasn't offered (perhaps because I wasn't getting infinity)

Ah okay so there isn't any sort of bridge mode in then HH4?

Thanks for reminding me as I keep forgetting about port 4, being it's so long since I even looked at the HH4 in its box. But, while better than nothing, one port was no use to the gigabit kit I had. Of course, I could have just daisy chained my router from port 4 but that just meant one more device to power and unnecessarily complicating the network topology when my router could handle it all on its own. Still, for someone with just one gigabit piece of kit to connect it would be fine.

In reply to a post by jcym:

that needs a separate supplied modem (the ECI)

Not for the ADSL BB that OP has ordered.

Ah right, didn't realise you weren't getting Infinity but ADSL (HH5 is fibre only). AIUI you can't use the HH4 in bridge mode. If I'm wrong someone will likely correct me pretty quickly I'm on infinity and thus don't have to use the HH4 as I can just plug my router straight into the Infinity modem.

Edited by deleted (Thu 08-May-14 11:25:30)

Think the way I can use this with my own router is hook it up to the gigabit port, turn of DHCP and wireless on the HH4 and then allocate a single IP Address manually for the new router and use DHCP and wifi on that.

Shall see how this works out when it goes live.

In reply to a post by brandscill:

Think the way I can use this with my own router is hook it up to the gigabit port, turn of DHCP and wireless on the HH4 and then allocate a single IP Address manually for the new router and use DHCP and wifi on that.

Shall see how this works out when it goes live.

Yeah that will work. BT Retail are short sighted sometimes. I assume you told them you want to shift to Infinity when it's available? you would think they would then supply a HH5 (it works with all flavours of BT BB) so you are less likely to go wondering off to a different ISP if FTTC is delayed and you are out of contract on adsl.

I ordered online using the chat window to ask questions as I went. This way it allowed me to get everything written down and read through it carefully. I find sale teams are always rush rush on the phone.

The women I was chatting with probably had no control to intervene.

In reply to a post by jcym:

(HH5 is fibre only).

Au contraire...

HH5 is dual purpose - has both a built-in ADSL modem and VDSL modem, and can also connect to an external modem.

If I was going to get my own external modem to then use with my own router what would you guys recommend?

Post deleted by jchamier

Cheers, always happy to be corrected.