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Broadband faults:
- loses sync
- sometimes the internet takes a few minutes to come back
- downstream sync speed slowly deteriorated from over 70000 to 16000
- upstream sync speed much more recently deteriorated from 20000 to 9999
Phone faults:
- background noise during calls
- engaging dial tone then hanging up causes broadband to resync
Initially the noise was loud and frequent but since the sync speed has badly deteriorated it isn't as frequent/noticable and the hanging up doesn't always cause the resync.
BT support agents at level 2 have repeatedly spoken to order management to have my broadband activated/renumbered to my land line number but nothing ever happens.
From the Helpdesk section of the BT Home Hub:
Few days ago:
3. Firmware version: Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.173.1.6 (Type A) Last updated 08/05/14
4. Board version: BT Hub 5A
5. VDSL uptime: 0 days, 00:04:23
6. Data rate: 9999 / 16495
7. Maximum data rate: 24103 / 83274
8. Noise margin: 13.3 / 24.9
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.1
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 17.1
Yesterday:
5. VDSL uptime: 0 days, 01:32:49
6. Data rate: 8491 / 14996
7. Maximum data rate: 12721 / 16657
8. Noise margin: 5.9 / 5.2
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 25.3
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 25.7
Now:
5. VDSL uptime: 0 days, 01:18:14
6. Data rate: 8491 / 14998
7. Maximum data rate: 21763 / 79247
8. Noise margin: 13.1 / 24.5
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.9
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 17.9
Any advice on how to talk to BT support?
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Sounds like an intermittent HR (High Resistant) fault and using the phone can for a period 'remake' the connection due to the burst of current. That needs an engineer to check for the problem between you and the cabinet. But if you're getting noise/crackling on a phone noise check then I would report it as a phone fault first. For if that is fixed then your broadband should also be fixed, though you would likely need to get them to reset your profile once done to get your proper speeds back.
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Given it does look like a high resistance fault what is the reason for the renumbering ?
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The author of the above post is a thinkbroadband staff member. It may not constitute an official statement on behalf of thinkbroadband.
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The support agents have told me doing so will resolve the faults.
I'm starting to wonder if they know what they are talking about. When I ask for more details they've suggested a crossed line and the broadband renumbering will solve it.
Last year I queried the broadband being activated on another customer's phone number when I noticed it in the MyBT Broadband Usage section but BT said it isn't a problem and that it happens to a lot of customers. It hasn't been a problem as my phone and broadband worked well for months.
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Thanks. I'll speak to support tomorrow about switching to a phone fault.
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Sounds like they have the wrong end of the stick the phone numbers and other identification numbers are virtual and changing those will do nothing to the line.
A lift and shift at the exchange end might fix an exchange wiring issue
Shifting the pair used for the line in the street might fix it
Best method is for someone to test the line and look for a HR fault, presuming that all wiring inside the home has already been eliminated
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The author of the above post is a thinkbroadband staff member. It may not constitute an official statement on behalf of thinkbroadband.
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NOTE: Test the line with all the broadband kit disconnected first, since reporting a voice fault when its only present when the modem is connected will generally get you nowhere and might get you charged for the visit
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The author of the above post is a thinkbroadband staff member. It may not constitute an official statement on behalf of thinkbroadband.
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Logged in this lunch time to find:
5. VDSL uptime: 0 days, 00:35:03
6. Data rate: 15000 / 34994
7. Maximum data rate: 23072 / 84489
8. Noise margin: 9.7 / 14.6
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.2
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 17.2
This is the first improvement since it deteriorated badly two weeks ago.
I also checked the Quiet Line Test (17070 option 2) and there was occasional crackling and popping sounds but mostly it was perfectly clear. The broadband did a resync after hanging up:
5. VDSL uptime: 0 days, 00:01:13
6. Data rate: 15000 / 34994
7. Maximum data rate: 21698 / 82521
8. Noise margin: 8.4 / 14.3
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.2
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 17.2
I'm just about to do the test as you suggested with the broadband kit disconnected and use a corded phone.
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I tested with only the corded phone connected to the master socket. I heard bursts of crackling/popping noises over the dial tone and during the quiet line test but most of the time it was quiet. I reconnected the Home Hub 5 and tested again with similar noises and the broadband did a resync after hanging up:
5. VDSL uptime: 0 days, 00:01:44
6. Data rate: 15000 / 34994
7. Maximum data rate: 21588 / 74019
8. Noise margin: 9.1 / 11.5
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.8
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 17.8
11. Data sent/received: 0.1 MB / 0.2 MB
It also did a resync without any phone activity while typing this post and it's deteriorated again:
5. VDSL uptime: 0 days, 00:01:11
6. Data rate: 15000 / 21417
7. Maximum data rate: 16029 / 22231
8. Noise margin: 5.1 / 3.7
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 21.2
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 21.3
Will contact support now. Hopefully with this information they will be able to start the process of resolving the fault.
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As present when the broadband is unplugged then no need to mention broadband at all when reporting the fault
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The author of the above post is a thinkbroadband staff member. It may not constitute an official statement on behalf of thinkbroadband.
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There was contiuous background noise while speaking to BT's phone faults support agent yesterday but unfortunately I ran out of time and had to end the call.
Today a BT phone faults support agent ran a test but found no fault. Engineers will observe the line for 24 hours.
The line appears to have improved. No bursts of noise and I am unable to cause it to disconnect by engaging the dial tone and hanging up.
Attenuation and Max data rate appear to be stable:
6. Data rate: 11993 / 22392
7. Maximum data rate: 23005 / 84937
8. Noise margin: 10.0 / 21.4
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.1
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 17.1
It appears the fault has disappeared.
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Bursts of crackling/popping noises on the phone again but the broadband hasn't lost sync:
5. VDSL uptime: 0 days, 05:04:55
6. Data rate: 11993 / 22392
7. Maximum data rate: 22440 / 80985
8. Noise margin: 9.4 / 20.4
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.1
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 17.1
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The joy of HR (High Resistance) faults is that they can come and go and oddly the testing of the line can mean just enough extra current to clean things up for a short time.
If you can get a phone engineer out and explain intermittent nature and suspected HR fault they can often figure it out, but all depends on the time window they have for the job.
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The author of the above post is a thinkbroadband staff member. It may not constitute an official statement on behalf of thinkbroadband.
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BT asked that I follow troubleshooting at bt.com/faults before booking an engineer but the noise fault has disappeared over the last couple of days. The phone line fault has been closed and when BT broadband support is operational tomorrow (servers are broken today) I've to request the broadband speed is reset as the data rates are running at 8491 / 14998 with a 25.2 downstream noise margin.
I'm hoping the HR fault doesn't return but if it does I should be able to request an engineer visit without too much trouble.
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That has been banded by the DLM.
My broadband basic info/help site - www.robertos.me.uk | Domains,site and mail hosting - Tsohost.
Connection - Plusnet UnLim Fibre (FTTC). Sync ~ 58.7/14.6Mbps @ 600m. - BQM
"Where talent is a dwarf, self-esteem is a giant." - Jean-Antoine Petit-Senn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allergy information: This post was manufactured in an environment where nuts are present. It may include traces of understatement, litotes and humour.
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The fault persists. BT have booked a broadband engineer.
I wouldn't have expected the DLM could drop the speed this much:
6. Data rate: 5000 / 7096
7. Maximum data rate: 22845 / 85073
8. Noise margin: 19.4 / 32.6
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 16.9
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 16.9
The line is still mostly quiet but sometimes a clicking sound can be heard.
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DLM is trying to fix the disconnections by raising the SNR Margin.
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Been doing it for weeks unfortunately without success.
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Try to recollect if you can relate the fault noises etc to weather particularly, whether conventionally good or bad.
As much of the phone wiring is exposed one way or t'other to storms, dry periods etc, these may be related to the fault.
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The fault persists. BT have booked a broadband engineer.
If the engineer is using a JDSU to test with, they might try the 'DeltaR' test.
Hopefully if they are 'old skool' they'll have a decent mole to use on it.
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Nah  . Banding exists on ADSL2+ WBC DLM as well as OR DLM  . Look at the nice round figures.
I believe the highest SNRM setting is 15dB.
My broadband basic info/help site - www.robertos.me.uk | Domains,site and mail hosting - Tsohost.
Connection - Plusnet UnLim Fibre (FTTC). Sync ~ 58.7/14.6Mbps @ 600m. - BQM
"Where talent is a dwarf, self-esteem is a giant." - Jean-Antoine Petit-Senn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allergy information: This post was manufactured in an environment where nuts are present. It may include traces of understatement, litotes and humour.
Edited by RobertoS (Wed 02-Jul-14 19:54:34)
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How come it's 32.6?
Edited by deleted (Wed 02-Jul-14 20:37:12)
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That's the result of banding. The sync gets fixed, so the noise margin goes up. Just like 8128kbps on ADSL Max on short lines .
Remember, that's how we used to estimate ADSL2+ speeds for people?
My broadband basic info/help site - www.robertos.me.uk | Domains,site and mail hosting - Tsohost.
Connection - Plusnet UnLim Fibre (FTTC). Sync ~ 58.7/14.6Mbps @ 600m. - BQM
"Where talent is a dwarf, self-esteem is a giant." - Jean-Antoine Petit-Senn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allergy information: This post was manufactured in an environment where nuts are present. It may include traces of understatement, litotes and humour.
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Yeah, the noise margin goes up to try and stop the disconnections.
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No.
Banding is not done by adjusting the noise margin. It is a sync cap both up and down. The noise margin rise is the result, not the cause of the low speed.
I agree the low speed is why the error rates fall, and the associated high noise margin means disconnections due to noise tend to decrease.
My broadband basic info/help site - www.robertos.me.uk | Domains,site and mail hosting - Tsohost.
Connection - Plusnet UnLim Fibre (FTTC). Sync ~ 58.7/14.6Mbps @ 600m. - BQM
"Where talent is a dwarf, self-esteem is a giant." - Jean-Antoine Petit-Senn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allergy information: This post was manufactured in an environment where nuts are present. It may include traces of understatement, litotes and humour.
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I never suggested the noise margin was the cause of the low speed. I said the noise margin has been raised in response to the disconnections.
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That is true in a way, but is a misleading and incorrect way of describing what is happening. It does not help the poster.
Direct setting of the target noise margin by the DLM does not go above 15dB, as I said earlier. It is when that fails that banding is used instead.
My broadband basic info/help site - www.robertos.me.uk | Domains,site and mail hosting - Tsohost.
Connection - Plusnet UnLim Fibre (FTTC). Sync ~ 58.7/14.6Mbps @ 600m. - BQM
"Where talent is a dwarf, self-esteem is a giant." - Jean-Antoine Petit-Senn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allergy information: This post was manufactured in an environment where nuts are present. It may include traces of understatement, litotes and humour.
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Banding is applied to prevent the modem resyncing at a ridiculously low rate. This is not the case here.
In this case the noise margin has been raised to try and stop disconnections. This helps the poster realise that the problem is caused by disconnections.
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I agree with RobertoS.
It appears the connection speed has been limited in order to stop disconnections. The result of the connection speed being capped is that the SNR has gone up.
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I can't see how reducing the connection speed would reduce disconnections, but I can see how raising the SNR margin would.
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It is a difference in the way some ISPs do things. Sky in the past have set a target connection speed rather than a target SNR. Even when the line gets better the speed does not. It does generally have the side effect that the SNR goes up and therefore reduces disconnections but the impacts of setting the target connection speed are different to the impacts of setting the target SNR.
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Because when the bit loading for the individual frequency bins is done, if a low connection speed is all that is needed then only the good bins will be used, rather than trying to push the line to the envelope that the target noise margin specifies.
Banding is about trying to stop lines that flap around a lot, it can increase the length of time for a resync if there is a long large noise burst but user should in theory have a more usable speed after that.
Sometimes banding over plays the card.
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The author of the above post is a thinkbroadband staff member. It may not constitute an official statement on behalf of thinkbroadband.
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Engineer was booked for 8am to 1pm today but no show.
BT level 1 support called about 30 mins ago to ask how the engineer visit went and was the fault fixed. Told him no show and not fixed. He said to expect a call from level 2. Twenty minutes ago level 2 support called to tell me renumbering was the solution. I explain about the failed attempts at renumbering and he gives up on the renumbering and books an "exchange" engineer for this Saturday between 8am and 1pm and said the engineer will call my mobile if a home visit is required.
The level 2 support agent also told me the lady who has the land line number my broadband is activated on isn't happy about all the calls about my broadband fault. He contacted order management about it and they suggested the renumbering would also fix the broadband fault.
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It could be a hot spell results in the fault becoming worse each day but it improves where it's less frequent when it rains?
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That suggests a bad joint somewhere, the OR lad should be able to locate with a TDR or similar.
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In cooler weather, with the segments of line cooling, the joint wires are pulled tighter together, giving a better connection. Also any corrosion product at the joint will also conduct better if it rains, wetting the joint.
Warmer weather expands/lengthens the wires, so less tension to keep the joint together, hence intermittent connection/breaks.
TDR = Time Domain Reflectometer.
OR/BT may have another name for them.
No guarantee; but it seems more likely on an overhead stretch; rather than underground.
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Unfortunately I am suffering (again) from the HR fault on my line. It's a nightmare trying to get Openreach to fix it. Very noisy line, which occasionally improves after a phone call is made. Infinity 2 getting borked.
The problem is because it is intermittent - it is too risky to ask for a callout because of the threatened £100+ fee. So I have to rely on the online checker actually picking the problem up as that avoids the fee threat.
Anyway the last time an engineer actually visited of course the fault was not on. He was a 'bog standard telephone' engineer and did not have a TDR so could not fix the fault. All he could do was replace the old two core cable down the front of the building on the off chance it was the cause of the problem (it wasn't).
Since we moved in the overhead cable, the wall cable and the master socket have all been changed out - the only bit this side of the pole is the short stretch between the junction box by the door and the master socket.
The fault is on again at the moment and was picked up by the test system last week - detected as a 'fault in the BT Network'. Great I thought - it would get fixed at last.
So two days later I get a call from the engineer; strangely he starts off by asking how my problem manifested itself. After I explained he launched into an explanation of how he had just fixed it - it was a 'battery' fault apparently and he had found voltage on my line when disconnected. Lifting up a cover he found my line 'touching another' and moving it fixed the problem: Hooray!
Except when I got home the problem was still there, unchanged. There is no BT cover in the location he described.
The line had indeed been disconnected for 45 minutes on my router log but it hadn't been fixed. I now suspect the initial question was in order to construct the remainder of the conversation and a reason to close the call  The engineer did not reply to a text I sent to his mobile number.....
So I refused to accept the fix and now BT have set the call to a 'problem in my house' which requires the callout and the threat of a fee. So of course they will come next week when the fault isn't on and they won't have a TDR.
In the meantime my line, which had just recovered from banding to increase back to 60Mbps synch has degraded to 44Mbps synch following a particularly bad spate of disconnects in short order within 1 hour. This problem always gets worse when there is a hot spell, particularly a big variation between day and night temperatures.
Frankly this is doing my head in, and I can't afford this time off work waiting for engineers to call, only for them to not be properly equipped to investigate.
Edited by deleted (Fri 04-Jul-14 23:44:45)
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Believe me, I know how frustrating dealing with BT can be as I have had my share earlier this year. If the next engineer they send out doesn't come properly equipped I suggest an email detailing your fault and what has and hasn't been done to the CEO. Of course the CEO doesn't deal with it directly but it does go to a team who can deal with it and who can make sure that a properly equipped engineer is sent out.
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I can't see how reducing the connection speed would reduce disconnections, but I can see how raising the SNR margin would.
Reducing connection speed also reduces errors which also reduces disconnections due to too many errors.
The side effect is to raise actual SNRM.
Some gamers do it by manually increasing target SNRM, in order to achieve fastpath but slower connections.
However, although sync speeds are then lower, they are not actually fixed/banded as such.
Banded connections can & do still have slightly variable SNRM values, but MAXIMUM sync speeds are 'fixed' until banding is removed.
e.g. 19999 Kbps, 24999 Kbps, 39999 Kbps etc. etc.
I have very recently (this week) been remotely monitoring a poorly performing connection.
The Hlog graph depicted the typical 'V' shape as the effect of a bridged tap, not dealt with during a 'rushed' installation.
Sync speed was around 15 Mbps with attainable fluctuating around 18 Mbps & SNRM fluctuating around 6 dB.
As soon as someone else fixed the bridged tap (basically by disconnecting the redundant star wiring), sync speed shot up to 19999 Kbps (banded), with SNRM fluctuating around 9.6 dB & attainable rates now fluctuating around 26.3 Kbps.
The connection has since resynced at exactly 19999 Kbps again, with SNRM down to 9.1dB & attainable rate down to 24.692 Mbps as it was at a 'noisy' time.
I have just rechecked that remote connection & these are the stats - still in sync since this morning's 04:41 resync:-
| Text | 1
23
45
67
89
1011
1213
1415
1617
1819
2021
2223
2425
| xdslcmd info --pbParams
xdslcmd: ADSL driver and PHY statusStatus: Showtime
Retrain Reason: 1Last initialization procedure status: 0
Max: Upstream rate = 6013 Kbps, Downstream rate = 25012 KbpsBearer: 0, Upstream rate = 6771 Kbps, Downstream rate = 19999 Kbps
Discovery Phase (Initial) Band Plan
US: (7,32) (871,1205) (1972,2782) DS: (33,859) (1216,1961) (2793,3970)
Medley Phase (Final) Band PlanUS: (7,32) (871,1200)
DS: (33,859) (1216,1961) VDSL Port Details Upstream Downstream
Attainable Net Data Rate: 6013 kbps 25012 kbpsActual Aggregate Tx Power: 5.8 dBm 10.7 dBm
==================================================================================== VDSL Band Status U0 U1 U2 U3 U4 D1 D2 D3
Line Attenuation(dB): 8.8 48.6 N/A N/A N/A 21.0 60.8 90.3 Signal Attenuation(dB): 8.8 48.0 N/A N/A N/A 29.6 60.4 N/A
SNR Margin(dB): 4.4 4.5 N/A N/A N/A 9.3 9.3 N/A TX Power(dBm): -5.3 5.4 N/A N/A N/A 8.5 6.7 N/A
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Before the bridged tap was removed, attenuation etc. were too high to actually allow the connection to reach the 'banded' speed cap of 19999 Kbps, so the banding effect wasn't apparent by viewing sync speeds alone.
It is now clearly visible as shown in the pbParams data above.
The effect (not the cause) of banding is to raise SNRM to a variable level where there is still some flexibility to allow for day time/night time and/or 'other' interference fluctuations.
My own connection was 'banded' at differing levels (in stages downward) many times before an internmittent HR fault was eventually fixed.
DLM resets did release the banding most times, but it would quite rapidly return via DLM's actions.
My connection & yours are speed capped (which could be argued is a type of banding).
Mine's capped at 39999 Kbps / 9999 Kbps.
However, within that capping limit, my connection's profile has been auto-'banded' by DLM to something like 11200 to 22400 DS & 3600 to 7200 US.
I can't recall the exact 'banded' profile, but I do have an official record of it somewhere.
As my connection is unable to sync above the 'banded' profile levels, I don't actually see its effect.
Currently, these are my connection's stats:-
| Text | 1
23
45
67
89
1011
1213
1415
1617
1819
2021
2223
2425
| xdslcmd info --pbParams
xdslcmd: ADSL driver and PHY statusStatus: Showtime
Retrain Reason: 1Last initialization procedure status: 0
Max: Upstream rate = 3759 Kbps, Downstream rate = 21500 KbpsBearer: 0, Upstream rate = 3866 Kbps, Downstream rate = 21698 Kbps
Discovery Phase (Initial) Band Plan
US: (7,32) (871,1205) (1972,2782) DS: (33,859) (1216,1961) (2793,3970)
Medley Phase (Final) Band PlanUS: (7,32) (871,1190)
DS: (33,859) (1216,1852) VDSL Port Details Upstream Downstream
Attainable Net Data Rate: 3759 kbps 21500 kbpsActual Aggregate Tx Power: 7.0 dBm 12.4 dBm
==================================================================================== VDSL Band Status U0 U1 U2 U3 U4 D1 D2 D3
Line Attenuation(dB): 8.3 55.7 N/A N/A N/A 22.1 68.4 N/A Signal Attenuation(dB): 8.3 55.1 N/A N/A N/A 31.4 68.4 N/A
SNR Margin(dB): 6.0 5.9 N/A N/A N/A 6.1 6.1 N/A TX Power(dBm): 0.8 5.8 N/A N/A N/A 11.3 6.1 N/A
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FWIW, my observations/comments are always based upon having studied emprical data from may connections since I first had FTTC installed in 2011, not assumption and/or supposition.
Edited by deleted (Sat 05-Jul-14 12:30:54)
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But the amount of errors needed to force a disconnection are unlikely to be such a problem, maybe needing a weekly reboot to recover speed, whereas SNR margin dropping below the threshold required by the router to maintain a connection are going to be far more common, say once or twice a day, which is why the primary focus of DLM is to go for a bigger and bigger margin.
Your connection isn't affected by the banding at all. It's limited by SNR margin.
Edited by deleted (Sat 05-Jul-14 13:00:25)
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which is why the primary focus of DLM is to go for a bigger and bigger margin.
I agree 100% & the way it does it for VDSL2 connections is......... (drum roll..................................)
capping/'banding' sync speeds (in my uninformed opinion)
Your connection isn't affected by the banding at all. It's limited by SNR margin.
Your are quite correct regarding MY connection, but it is also banded as confirmed above & the factual evidence also provided above demonstrates the effect of banding on a connection that COULD sync at higher speed if it wasn't for the banding.
As far as I am aware (& I have tested this), unlike ADSL connections, there is no direct way for a user to adjust target SNRM on VDSL2 connections.
However, there is a way a user can limit sync speeds that will actually increase SNRM, but to a still variable level.
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However, there is a way a user can limit sync speeds that will actually increase SNRM, but to a still variable level. Ooo really. How would I do that?
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If you ask Les-70 in the Kitz forum, he'll give you the detailed instructions, much better than any explanation I could give you.
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Doesn't work on the HG612
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Spoke to an OR lad this morning.
He both recognised what I meant when i mentioned "TDR" to him; and he had two in his van.
One was an older one, which he preferred, the later one looked "fancier".
I also had a demonstration of"gel" crimps, as I had not actually encountered them when I retired some 15 years back, although we see them mentioned often now.
He very much likes them; and apparently has been instructed to replace any older "dry", blue-insulated ones, on lines he is working on.
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I guess even if one has a good D-Side line on ADSL2+ that's no garantee of good performance on FTTC VDSL? For example the BT Availability Checker may give impacted "Line Rate" ranges of 80 - 70.2 and 20 - 17.9 but is that really reliable?
Think I would go for a 40/20 product, e.g. Plusnet's speed limited 80/20 deal, initially and see how it goes by monitoring the BT profile...getting a SFI out in order to squeeze perhaps an additional 30Mbps out of a line could be too much of a hassle.
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Around 8am an engineer arrived at my neighbours house (my broadband is "activated" on her telephone number so he had her address and telephone number but my name). She directed him to my house and he was around for well over an hour. His tests were failing because the exchange wasn't testing my line it was testing my neighbour's line. He got it to sync using his equipment and he saw 8000 CRC errors. He went to the street cabinet to test and when he came back he said he couldn't see any issues but he had crimped some connections as it might fix the fault especially as the cabinet can get very hot on a hot day like we have had recently. He tested the sync and CRC errors using his equipment again and this time there was 0 CRC errors so he was hopeful that would be it fixed. He did a DLM reset using his iPhone and showed me the sync at 80/20 with 0 CRC errors. He hooked up the Home Hub 5 and I logged into the HomeHub 5 using my phone and confirmed it was back to a good speed:
4. Board version: BT Hub 5A
5. VDSL uptime: 0 days, 00:4:12
6. Data rate: 20000 / 79995
7. Maximum data rate: 24984 / 82376
8. Noise margin: 9.3 / 7.5
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.1
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 17.1
I told the engineer what I knew about the fault and mentioned what had been said in this forum. He was surprised said it's usually the other way around where rain usually is the cause of HR faults.
The engineer also explained that because BT haven't actually found a fault using their system he couldn't do much. Something about the engineer is visiting only because the customer is reporting a fault and only very basic checks can be performed. He also wasn't intending to do the DLM reset as his notes said don't do a DLM reset but I think he felt the fault might be fixed now so he did it anyway. I had suggested to an offshore level 2 manager a few days ago that I'd rather not have a DLM reset until the fault is at least recognised by Openreach and will be properly dealt with as my family complain when the internet frequently disconnects so it looks like comments can be passed from offshore support to the Openreach team.
A couple of hours after he left the internet disconnected and so I checked the phone line and crackling/popping noise was present but only for a short while. The internet has disconnected many times since so I installed RouterStatsHub 5A to graph the noise margin changes:
http://s9.postimg.org/66uvajzz3/RSHub_Noise_Margin_2...
When the phone rings or hangs up the internet disconnects almost every time again so the fault is at it's worst already. It's been a hot sunny day today which could be why it's gone faulty so quickly as the last couple of days there was some rain which coincided with it not disconnecting much.
Here is an example of one of the resyncs. It's just like what would happen when noise was on the line before the engineer visit so it appears the crimping didn't fix it:
5. VDSL uptime: 0 days, 00:26:46
6. Data rate: 19645 / 28156
7. Maximum data rate: 20107 / 30634
8. Noise margin: 6.4 / 7.3
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 21.1
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 21.2
Yesterday I spoke to BT's offshore support a couple of times to raise a complaint about my neighbour receving calls about my broadband fault. The offshore level 1 manager I spoke to I requested a transcript of all records and notes etc held by BT and Openreach for my account but she was already quite angry because I wasn't understanding her telling me there is no complaints department in BT. Eventually she said I have to speak to BT's legal team if I want access to notes etc.
Next I spoke to someone in BT's UK team. I am not sure how it happened but it was suggested the high number of calls to BT's offshore support over the last few weeks meant the system routed my call to them? The UK high priority team now have an open case for my fault so I won't have to talk with the offshore team anymore. I haven't spoken to my case handler yet but as it's the weekend it's expected the 48 hours will mean I will receive a call on Monday or Tuesday.
BT's offshore level 1 phoned me about an hour ago saying the fault has been cleared can I confirm everything is working and he wasn't too impressed when I told him it wasn't fixed and I should monitor it for 24 hours as it can take a while to stabilise. I said there was intermittent crackling/popping noise on the line and he confirmed the notes show the UK team would be dealing with it from now on so he ended the call.
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I heard bursts of noise with only a corded phone connected to the test socket. I was told I could be charged if my equipment was the cause of the fault but I'm reasonably confident I don't have a faulty corded phone.
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No disconnections for over an hour but no phone line usage either. The downstream noise margin has steadily decresed from 9 to 3.3:
5. VDSL uptime:0 days, 01:24:31
6. Data rate:20000 / 42934
7. Maximum data rate:19523 / 29736
8. Noise margin:5.0 / 3.3
9. Line attenuation:0.0 / 20.6
10. Signal attenuation:0.0 / 20.7
I used my mobile to call the land line and the broadband disconnected when I answered:
6. Data rate:20000 / 65299
7. Maximum data rate:22987 / 67124
8. Noise margin:6.5 / 7.1
9. Line attenuation:0.0 / 18.2
10. Signal attenuation:0.0 / 18.2
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... he confirmed the notes show the UK team would be dealing with it from now on so he ended the call.
Best of luck: the last time I dealt with a BT Retail UK based faults team they told me the only way they could communicate with Openreach was via email...
Sounds to me like you just have a voice fault BT side of the NTE5 which is causing problems with the broadband and that needs attention.
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I used my mobile to call the land line and the broadband disconnected when I answered:
Does the broadband still drop if you call your landline number with a mobile without a phone connected to the NTE5?
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Around 8am an engineer arrived at my neighbours house (my broadband is "activated" on her telephone number so he had her address and telephone number but my name). She directed him to my house and he was around for well over an hour. His tests were failing because the exchange wasn't testing my line it was testing my neighbour's line.
...
The engineer also explained that because BT haven't actually found a fault using their system he couldn't do much. Because it is testing your neighbour's line? Yesterday I spoke to BT's offshore support a couple of times to raise a complaint about my neighbour receving calls about my broadband fault I don't understand at all what you are telling us about your broadband being activated on your neighbour's number. How can that be, but wouldn't it be the cause of her receiving the calls?
It also stands a fair chance of being why the problem isn't getting solved.
My broadband basic info/help site - www.robertos.me.uk | Domains,site and mail hosting - Tsohost.
Connection - Plusnet UnLim Fibre (FTTC). Sync ~ 58.7/14.6Mbps @ 600m. - BQM
"Where talent is a dwarf, self-esteem is a giant." - Jean-Antoine Petit-Senn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allergy information: This post was manufactured in an environment where nuts are present. It may include traces of understatement, litotes and humour.
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I used it but no problems found.
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Will test it soon. Thanks.
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I used it but no problems found. Try using it 10-20 times. Last time I did that I got a stream of Openreach engineers and the fault was eventually fixed.
Even though the fault checker said no fault found
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You don't understand and I'm sorry but I'm not going to try to explain.
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I'm very close to giving up so I'm hoping the UK team resolve it.
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Will test it soon. Thanks.
Guess you are working from a filtered faceplate or interstitial plate without any phones or devices connected to extensions for these tests also?
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A strange one. Still connected at way over the maximum speed:
5. VDSL uptime:0 days, 00:52:51
6. Data rate:20000 / 51512
7. Maximum data rate:20558 / 36769
8. Noise margin:5.3 / 3.4
9. Line attenuation:0.0 / 19.3
10. Signal attenuation:0.0 / 19.4
I dare not use the phone in case of a disconnection because family is using the internet right now for gaming.
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It's a MK2 with Home Hub 5 cable plugged in the top and phone cable plugged in the bottom and no extensions.
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The engineer explained a little about how it's connected at the cabinet and from what you are saying I'm thinking I could request the engineer only allow the fibre down the line from the cabinet. The broadband fault should disappear?
I'm almost at the point where I no longer want to be involved in the fault finding process so a simple solution like that is very appealing!!!
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It's a MK2 with Home Hub 5 cable plugged in the top and phone cable plugged in the bottom and no extensions.
Keep the phone disconnected for the time being - hopefully the broadband will not drop even if you do get an incoming call without the phone connected.
I had that problem with ADSL: the broadband would drop due to incoming calls with and without the phone connected. A work around was to have BT 1571 answer phone which would cut in before the burst of noise caused the Broadband to drop.
Good luck.
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Thanks again! Will try everything you suggested later tonight.
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The engineer explained a little about how it's connected at the cabinet and from what you are saying I'm thinking I could request the engineer only allow the fibre down the line from the cabinet. The broadband fault should disappear?
I'm almost at the point where I no longer want to be involved in the fault finding process so a simple solution like that is very appealing!!!
I think that would only be possible with FTTP since with FTTC you are still using the copper pair which is carrying vdsl from the cabinet and voice from the exchange. Did the engineer imply that only broadband could be provided on the copper pair without voice?
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Yes I think he did imply that.
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The author of the above post is a thinkbroadband staff member. It may not constitute an official statement on behalf of thinkbroadband.
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Yes I think he did imply that.
There may have been a misunderstanding whereby people with a bad line E-Side (exchange side) of a cabinet but a good line D-Side (distribution side) of a cabinet have gained from FTTC since any broadband issues with the E-Side are bypassed by fibre. However that does not seem to be the issue in your case.
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I unplugged the phone line cable and it didn't disconnect when I called the line with my mobile.
The noise margin had been dropping for a while though and eventually a resync occured without any phone line activity, last I saw was noise margin of 1.5.
It's now connected at:
5. VDSL uptime:0 days, 00:09:32
6. Data rate:20000 / 38328
7. Maximum data rate:20212 / 37469
8. Noise margin:6.0 / 6.6
9. Line attenuation:0.0 / 20.9
10. Signal attenuation:0.0 / 20.9
Hopefully without the phone cable connected the disconnects will stop.
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Strange. The noise margin jumped up to 11.4 from 6.6:
5. VDSL uptime:0 days, 00:26:52
6. Data rate:20000 / 38328
7. Maximum data rate:22347 / 53481
8. Noise margin:7.7 / 11.4
9. Line attenuation:0.0 / 20.9
10. Signal attenuation:0.0 / 20.9
Still have the phone cable disconnected so maybe it's helping?
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I understood much of what the engineer told me but not everything however I did get the idea from what he said so perhaps it is possible but not available for obvious reasons.
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So frustrating! Still no phone cable connected but still it's disconnecting:
4. Board version:BT Hub 5A
5. VDSL uptime:0 days, 00:11:38
6. Data rate:20000 / 38328
7. Maximum data rate:24483 / 80918
8. Noise margin:9.4 / 19.4
9. Line attenuation:0.0 / 20.9
10. Signal attenuation:0.0 / 20.9
Maybe with 19.4 noise margin it'll stay connected.
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Maybe a good time to try that fault test again
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Still nothing.
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So now it's disconnecting irrespective of whether the phone is in use or not and you are still hearing noise on the phone line when using a corded phone?
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Not sure about noise on phone line will check it soon but it's been disconnecting without phone activity. Currently connected at:
5. VDSL uptime:0 days, 01:33:33
6. Data rate:19999 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate:22049 / 80826
8. Noise margin:6.3 / 33.0
9. Line attenuation:0.0 / 17.2
10. Signal attenuation:0.0 / 17.2
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The corded Land Line Phone that you normally have plugged in; and probably been using for the QLTs - Could there be a fault in that itself?
Possibly you should buy or borrow a cheap replacement; and try the tests using that, the original unit being completely disconnected.
No guarantees; but it is looking like possibly being the culprit.
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But it's disconnecting without the phone plugged in 
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Agreed, Batboy - but I am getting the impression that it is worse with his present corded phone plugged in, ie there is a line fault and there may be a separate phone hand-set fault.
Obviously, I am not sure, as we are not directly at the location to observe in detail.
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I would welcome a simple solution like that but unfortunately it isn't the handset. Like I said before I'm reasonably confident the corded handset is fine because I've tried other handsets. Currently the broadband immediately disconnects when answering a call or hanging up regardless of the handset I use.
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I tested and there is a brief crackling/popping noise when I first answer the call but it disappears quite quickly.
Would that be a battery related fault?
Sometimes a shhhhhhh sound with occasional crackling noise appears during longer calls to BT offshore support. They heard it too but most of the time they shrug it off as not being that loud.
When the noise first started weeks ago it was very loud and we couldn't hear the other person very well. The offshore level 1 agent's test system found a fault but he had issues escalating it and after three attempts he told me he would do it manually or something like that. The offshore team have also looked at the broadband disconnection and error rate stats but it appears that isn't enough of a fault to book an engineer who can do more than just the basic tests.
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I should be able to rule out the equipment in my house. Only the Home Hub 5 was connected to the NTE5. Here is a screenshot of the latest noise margin instability:
http://s29.postimg.org/ofn47ciqv/RSHub_Noise_Margin_...
For a few hours it had stayed connected with 5199 downstream speed and 33.2 noise margin until that burst of noise occurred.
It reconnected at the same downstream speed so already it appears to be banded at 5199.
5. VDSL uptime: 0 days, 00:28:59
6. Data rate: 19999 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 22479 / 81859
8. Noise margin: 6.4 / 33.2
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.2
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 17.2
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I should be able to rule out the equipment in my house. Only the Home Hub 5 was connected to the NTE5. Here is a screenshot of the latest noise margin instability:
http://s29.postimg.org/ofn47ciqv/RSHub_Noise_Margin_...
You need to demonstrate that to a Openreach SFI engineer if you can get one - I had exactly the same issues with ADSL where noise was causing the broadband to drop. I ran RouterStats whilst he was at my house, called in to the landline number using a mobile and he was able to see the graph and the broadband drop.
It's certainly increasing likely that you have a fault somewhere on the D-Side line. There may me an issue with the interstitial plate's filter but that is unlikely.
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Thanks again you've been a great help.
So I am to ask for a SFI engineer. Is that a Special Faults Investigator?
I plugged in the phone cable to check for noise as the broadband was disconnecting and the upstream and downstream noise margin was very unstable and for the first 15 seconds there wasn't even a dial tone just a clicking sound and then it changed to the sound that occurs after the dial tone times out and when I hung up and then listened again the dial tone was there and was the brief crackling/popping sound then it disappeared and the broadband reconnected and seems to be stable again:
http://s3.postimg.org/wdy8qn4tv/RSHub_Noise_Margin_2...
Here are some stats during the noisy period:
6. Data rate: 13756 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 9985 / 19290
8. Noise margin: 2.4 / 16.1
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 23.9
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 24.2
6. Data rate: 12625 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 6344 / 18196
8. Noise margin: 0.4 / 16.2
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 24.7
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 25.0
6. Data rate: 12625 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 12782 / 17156
8. Noise margin: 6.4 / 15.1
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 24.7
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 25.0
6. Data rate: 20000 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 21283 / 65348
8. Noise margin: 6.0 / 33.5
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.0
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 16.9
This is what it settled at:
5. VDSL uptime: 0 days, 00:10:45
6. Data rate: 20000 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 21250 / 65094
8. Noise margin: 6.0 / 33.3
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.0
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 16.9
So plugging in and engaging the dial tone appeared to cause the noise to disappear. I watched it in RouterStats for over 5 minutes and it only stopped when I ran upstairs to check the phone for noise on the line.
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I forgot to say I tested without the MK2 interstitial plate last Wednesday. I used a standard ADSL filter in the test socket and the broadband sync was pretty much the same as before and the noise on the line and broadband disconnections still occurred.
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The noise margin was slowly dropping then it spiked twice before disconnecting:
http://s10.postimg.org/a6mhhf8p5/RSHub_Noise_Margin_...
5. VDSL uptime: 0 days, 00:03:36
6. Data rate: 20000 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 21890 / 81780
8. Noise margin: 6.5 / 33.3
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.4
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 17.4
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So I am to ask for a SFI engineer. Is that a Special Faults Investigator?
Yep, I reckon you need one to investigate your line, the help that you have received from BT Retail so far seems pretty useless.
It's so frustrating when one does everything possible to eliminate potential issues premises side of the NTE5 and the fault continues - one feels so powerless to do anything about issues with the incoming BT line.
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Yep and it goes on and on with little or no progress. I'd go as far as suggesting it's a form of psychological torture. It can cause people to become broken although I also realise it's not intentional.
When I was talking to the engineer I got the impression he was powerless to help me because of Openreach standard procedures when responding to a customer reported fault. Also the way he punched the save button on his device and said something along the lines of "I'm definately saving that" when he saw 80/20 and no CRC errors. I was hopeful but as far as he was concerned it was solved yet the fault is now even worse than before.
I've considered ordering another line and I would learn how to configure the network where most traffic goes through the unlimited package but should it go down or become unstable like it is now I'd route with restrictions via the non-unlimited premium package.
I wish I had a line with AAISP as I've read they're very good at fixing faults.
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I was with Plusnet for ADSL when I had a broadband fault, line rental was with BT Retail. Initially I went down the route of reporting a voice fault to BT Retail but they seemed unwilling or unable to help since they apparently couldn't see a fault on their system. So after some time of badgering Plusnet they booked a SFI and he immediately diagnosed the problem from the NTE5 test socket after he first examined my home wiring and I had explained/demonstrated the issue.
My problem was somewhat different to yours in that it was only incoming calls on the ringing tone that was causing the broadband to drop. He investigated the line through to the cabinet and then to the exchange discovering that the fault was actually at the exchange. As a SFI he had access to all sections of the line including the exchange equipment and the job took about 2 hours to investigate and repair. However getting to the stage of a SFI home visit took many weeks to achieve!
Edited by 4M2 (Sun 06-Jul-14 16:48:55)
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You should gather some evidence to show the disconnections and noise margin hikes like you have and request an SFI engineer for the obvious fault from BT Retail. If or when they refuse, you should email the CEO and explain how badly you're being treated.
www.ceoemail.com says this is gavin.e.patterson at bt.com http://www.ceoemail.com/s.php?id=9591
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That's the problem in that ISPs only seem to see drops in the PPP link and it often incumbent on the end user to provide details about the indications of a fault and unintentional resyncs. From my experience it's much easier to provide the evidence via a ticket system - never had BT Retail's broadband, do they have a means for an end user to provide such evidence?
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No, you have to talk to the 3rd world 
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No, you have to talk to the 3rd world
And yet the majority of their advertising and promotional costs are presumably UK based?
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Doesn't work on the HG612
Not true!!!
You clearly don't believe me, couldn't be bothered asking Les-70 or did ask, but couldn't follow his very clear & SIMPLE instructions
It does work on VDSL2 connections using a HG612 (with the updated firmware).
HERE IS THE PROOF (NOT A WRONG ASSUMPTION)
While the connection is live, type this at a Telnet BusyBox prompt.
You can use different values, but make sure the last value exceeds the total of the first 2 values added together:-
xdslcmd configure --mod v --maxDataRate 20000 20000 100000
That results in these sync speeds on my connection:-
06/07/2014 18:31 - RESYNC detected (DS 19998 Kbps, US 3949 Kbps), AS = 58, Retrain Reason: 1
Typing this will allow the connection return to its prevous state (not manually user capped):-
xdslcmd configure --mod v --maxDataRate 0 0 0
06/07/2014 18:46 - RESYNC detected (DS 21728 Kbps, US 3778 Kbps), AS = 14, Retrain Reason: 1
This is before manually capping DS sync speed:-
| Text | 1
23
45
67
89
1011
1213
1415
1617
1819
2021
2223
2425
| xdslcmd info --pbParams
xdslcmd: ADSL driver and PHY statusStatus: Showtime
Retrain Reason: 1Last initialization procedure status: 0
Max: Upstream rate = 3949 Kbps, Downstream rate = 21636 KbpsBearer: 0, Upstream rate = 3949 Kbps, Downstream rate = 21638 Kbps
Discovery Phase (Initial) Band Plan
US: (7,32) (871,1205) (1972,2782) DS: (33,859) (1216,1961) (2793,3970)
Medley Phase (Final) Band PlanUS: (7,32) (871,1194)
DS: (33,859) (1216,1772) VDSL Port Details Upstream Downstream
Attainable Net Data Rate: 3949 kbps 21636 kbpsActual Aggregate Tx Power: 7.1 dBm 12.4 dBm
==================================================================================== VDSL Band Status U0 U1 U2 U3 U4 D1 D2 D3
Line Attenuation(dB): 8.3 55.7 N/A N/A N/A 22.1 68.5 N/A Signal Attenuation(dB): 8.3 55.0 N/A N/A N/A 31.4 68.4 N/A
SNR Margin(dB): 6.5 6.2 N/A N/A N/A 6.3 6.3 N/A TX Power(dBm): 0.5 5.8 N/A N/A N/A 11.3 6.1 N/A
. |
This is after capping DS to 20000 Kbps - Note the increased DS SNRM values:-
| Text | 1
23
45
67
89
1011
1213
1415
1617
1819
2021
2223
2425
| xdslcmd info --pbParams
xdslcmd: ADSL driver and PHY statusStatus: Showtime
Retrain Reason: 1Last initialization procedure status: 0
Max: Upstream rate = 3956 Kbps, Downstream rate = 21632 KbpsBearer: 0, Upstream rate = 3949 Kbps, Downstream rate = 19998 Kbps
Discovery Phase (Initial) Band Plan
US: (7,32) (871,1205) (1972,2782) DS: (33,859) (1216,1961) (2793,3970)
Medley Phase (Final) Band PlanUS: (7,32) (871,1190)
DS: (33,859) (1216,1742) VDSL Port Details Upstream Downstream
Attainable Net Data Rate: 3956 kbps 21632 kbpsActual Aggregate Tx Power: 7.0 dBm 12.3 dBm
==================================================================================== VDSL Band Status U0 U1 U2 U3 U4 D1 D2 D3
Line Attenuation(dB): 8.3 55.7 N/A N/A N/A 22.1 68.5 N/A Signal Attenuation(dB): 8.3 55.0 N/A N/A N/A 31.4 68.4 N/A
SNR Margin(dB): 6.2 6.2 N/A N/A N/A 7.3 7.3 N/A TX Power(dBm): 0.5 5.8 N/A N/A N/A 11.3 5.5 N/A
. |
This is after removing the manual capping - DS sync speed & SNRM back to normal levels:-
| Text | 1
23
45
67
89
1011
1213
1415
1617
1819
2021
2223
2425
| xdslcmd info --pbParams
xdslcmd: ADSL driver and PHY statusStatus: Showtime
Retrain Reason: 1Last initialization procedure status: 0
Max: Upstream rate = 3778 Kbps, Downstream rate = 21728 KbpsBearer: 0, Upstream rate = 3778 Kbps, Downstream rate = 21728 Kbps
Discovery Phase (Initial) Band Plan
US: (7,32) (871,1205) (1972,2782) DS: (33,859) (1216,1961) (2793,3970)
Medley Phase (Final) Band PlanUS: (7,32) (871,1190)
DS: (33,859) (1216,1932) VDSL Port Details Upstream Downstream
Attainable Net Data Rate: 3778 kbps 21728 kbpsActual Aggregate Tx Power: 6.9 dBm 12.5 dBm
==================================================================================== VDSL Band Status U0 U1 U2 U3 U4 D1 D2 D3
Line Attenuation(dB): 8.3 55.7 N/A N/A N/A 22.1 68.5 N/A Signal Attenuation(dB): 8.3 55.0 N/A N/A N/A 31.4 68.4 N/A
SNR Margin(dB): 6.0 6.0 N/A N/A N/A 6.2 6.1 N/A TX Power(dBm): 0.5 5.8 N/A N/A N/A 11.4 6.0 N/A
. |
EDIT:
The change does not survive a reboot or power up/down. It will however survive a resync caused by any other reason e.g DLM.
Edited by deleted (Sun 06-Jul-14 19:29:45)
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Thanks for providing the answer in this forum, rather than some other. However, as I said, doesn't work for me. Maybe I need the latest firmware?
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Which version do you have?
AFAIK, this is the latest version, as used on my connection:-
xdslcmd --version
xdslcmd version 1.0
DSL PHY: AnnexA version - A2pv6C038m.d24j
******* Pass *********
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Because it is testing your neighbour's line?
Yep, the tests all run from either the PSTN equipment, or the TAMS associated with the reported directory number, which in the OP's case was on his neighbours line.
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I was rather rudely told to get lost , so withdrew from trying to help. That it may be confusing Openreach seems to be regarded as irrelevant by the OP and everyone else, when it is perfectly obvious from the engineer going to the wrong premises in the first place proves it isn't.
Edit - Any idea how this could come about and a service work?
Edit 2 - To me it sounds like one D-side wire slowly coming off.
My broadband basic info/help site - www.robertos.me.uk | Domains,site and mail hosting - Tsohost.
Connection - Plusnet UnLim Fibre (FTTC). Sync ~ 58.7/14.6Mbps @ 600m. - BQM
"Where talent is a dwarf, self-esteem is a giant." - Jean-Antoine Petit-Senn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allergy information: This post was manufactured in an environment where nuts are present. It may include traces of understatement, litotes and humour.
Edited by RobertoS (Sun 06-Jul-14 23:03:32)
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Welcome Visiting Huawei Home Gateway
Copyright by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Login:admin
Password:
ATP>sh
BusyBox v1.9.1 (2010-10-15 17:59:06 CST) built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.
# xdslcmd --version
xdslcmd version 1.0
DSL PHY: AnnexA version - A2pv6C030b.d22g
******* Pass *********
# xdslcmd configure --mod v --maxDataRate 0 0 0
xdslcmd: invalid parameter for option --mod
#
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I wasn't rude and I didn't tell you to get lost.
I had typed a very long response trying to explain everything but I've realised it's more for BT's complaints department than for public consumption. I get that you are trying to help so here are three snippets:
I had already said BT's offshore support agents have ordered the renumbering many times but it has failed every time. The renumbering procedure is obviously broken.
It also didn't matter that the TAMS or whatever were connected to my neighbour's line because the engineer was able to run virtually the same tests from the cabinet. He told me so and he was still able to run some tests from the NTE5. When he was testing at my house he said something about a "dis" at 400 metres but he said something along the lines of he was "out of his comfort zone without a pair test" so he went to the cabinet to do a similar test. He said my line from the cabinet to my house is about 475 metres long.
And remember most customers speak only to BT's offshore support agents. The phone support system is designed to put you through to the offshore support team almost every time but it wasn't until I got through to the UK support team that I believed I was speaking to someone who has the authority to deal with an intermittent fault. I also figured out how I got through to the UK team. Obviously I won't explain as it's unlikely the UK team are equipped to handle a large number of the offshore support traffic. I'll give a clue in case someone in BT is reading this and assumes I'm making it up. The clue is "the last warning is said with a stern voice" and I doubt BT will change it.
Edited by deleted (Mon 07-Jul-14 12:25:48)
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# xdslcmd --version
xdslcmd version 1.0
DSL PHY: AnnexA version - A2pv6C030b.d22g
******* Pass *********
Ah. Using that older version explains why this doesn't work for you:-
# xdslcmd configure --mod v --maxDataRate 0 0 0
xdslcmd: invalid parameter for option --mod
#
If you do ever update the firmware to the current version & test the sync speed capping, please let us know how you get on.
It may be a useful tool for dealing with problematic connections that seem to keep switching between interleaved & fastpath modes and/or for gamers that wish to maintain a fastpath connection, albeit at a slightly lower sync speed.
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Yeah, thanks for that, interesting idea. I haven't upgraded the firmware as I didn't have a reason to, but maybe I have one now
Edited by deleted (Mon 07-Jul-14 12:40:24)
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OK, it just read that way, but I too have gone through drafting long replies then scrapping them and putting something shorter that upsets the person. Let's move on.
One of the points I was homing in on was that with the wrong numbering in general the engineer will be sent out with incorrect/invalid instructions, as you found with the one sent to the other address. This problem of wrong instructions to the engineer is likely to repeat, and not all will be as co-operative as that one. In the end, even he was hamstrung by it.
How you get the numbering sorted out I confess I have no idea . If all else fails there is always [email protected].
Meanwhile best wishes with the problem itself. It may be possible to fix it even with the duff numbering. If not, remember to include that n any email to that address. (CEO/his office Serious Complaints).
My broadband basic info/help site - www.robertos.me.uk | Domains,site and mail hosting - Tsohost.
Connection - Plusnet UnLim Fibre (FTTC). Sync ~ 58.7/14.6Mbps @ 600m. - BQM
"Where talent is a dwarf, self-esteem is a giant." - Jean-Antoine Petit-Senn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allergy information: This post was manufactured in an environment where nuts are present. It may include traces of understatement, litotes and humour.
Edited by RobertoS (Mon 07-Jul-14 14:35:40)
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I wouldn't think the phone number/address mix up would have any bearing on getting the fault repaired if the SFI was made aware of that in his instructions?
I think we have seen phone number mix ups before where a phone number was changed on a line but the broadband remained active on it because the line was referenced independently of the phone number as such. The system must be aware of the initial activation of broadband on the OP's line and any phone number/address mix up must have been due to human error regarding the OP's account and not specifically a technical problem.
Obviously if any remote tests were done by BT Retail on the neighbours' number they would have been a complete waste of time since, as far as we are aware, they don't have a voice fault. It's surprising (or perhaps not  ) that the phone number mix up wasn't rectified after the repeated calls to the neighbour by BT Retail, i.e. end user name and broadband account type not matching the phone number.
Edited by 4M2 (Mon 07-Jul-14 16:06:39)
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I could take a shortcut like the CEO's office or the Watchdog email address but I'm already experienced at dealing with BT's support system and I'm equipped enough where it's very unlikely their broken procedures will cause me to become broken.
I am also thinking about all the other customers who are having to deal with BT's broken support system who aren't as equipped as I am to cope with it. I know from past experience that effectively being blocked at every turn can cause a serious amount of stress and anxiety where people break because they can't cope with it. So while I'm still looking to get the fault fixed I'm also learning what is required to get BT to take notice of how dangerous the broken procedures can become for their customers.
For weeks it was impossible to make any progress and much of my time was being wasted following the broken procedures while also doing my own testing and diagnostics. I expected BT's offshore team to be able to handle an intermittent fault but once I realised just how broken the support system is I changed my approach. I became much more demanding. I didn't hesitate to speak up when I knew more than the support agent I was speaking to. I often ended up educating the level 1 and level 2 agents and even their managers and after a while I knew what to say where they couldn't waste much of my time.
I wanted my fibre broadband to work without frequent disconnections and at a reasonable speed but it was like I had to go to war to progress. It had turned into a four-pronged attack plan just trying to get BT to take notice of the broken procedures. It is almost impossible to progress because BT's offshore support team have effectively become a front for what they call the UK complaints team. I don't doubt they are all worked very hard and I'm not blaming them for anything as they are simply following broken procedures. Of course to make matters worse the offshore team are unable to transfer my call to someone who could make a difference not even the managers can do so or so they tell me. Also the UK complaints team aren't required to speak to the customer unless an escalation occurs but it's optional because they can choose to do nothing instead and obviously in my case they did nothing of note during the weeks when offshore had opened a complaint to them.
My UK high priority team case handler hasn't called yet and now I know more I'm starting to wonder if this is the same UK complaints team who have been dealing with my fault for weeks but have done nothing of note during that time. I might not get a call until tomorrow as I was told I have to give them some time to deal with it. I also don't know the plan for making progress but I'm hopeful it's moving along behind the scenes. I was promised they will work quickly to resolve all the problems and I am very hopeful that they can deliver.
I understand why BT have built their support system in this way. Openreach charge the ISP every time an engineer visits due to a customer reported fault like the one that happened for me on Saturday. I believe BT created the broken procedures to reduce the number of chargable engineer visits where BT has to foot the bill. Of course every Openreach's ISP is in the same situation so they all must foot the bill for engineers sent out to deal with a customer reported fault unless of course they can pass it on to the customer. Basically BT/Openreach make a lot of money when the customer's mental health is of no consequence.
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I can only wait on the UK high priority team calling me now. I hope they offer a SFI visit.
I don't know why the renumbering orders are ignored after they are passed on from the Order Management team. I tried to find out but as is usually the case there aren't any notes on the system regarding it and the support agent doesn't know either and when pushed I am told I will receive a call back with the answer but it doesn't happen.
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Relentless noise from around 15:30:
http://s30.postimg.org/qilbhvrpt/RSHub_Noise_Margin_...
Only the Home Hub 5 is connected to the NTE5. I did consider plugging in a phone to check the line for noise but I rather wait for the UK high priority team to get back to me before I do further testing.
Some syncs:
6. Data rate: 18999 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 22049 / 81485
8. Noise margin: 6.4 / 33.0
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.1
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 17.2
6. Data rate: 18011 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 18066 / 30273
8. Noise margin: 6.1 / 21.8
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 20.2
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 20.2
6. Data rate: 13922 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 11269 / 13610
8. Noise margin: 4.1 / 10.8
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 22.3
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 22.5
6. Data rate: 13922 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 12095 / 17144
8. Noise margin: 4.8 / 14.6
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 22.3
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 22.5
6. Data rate: 13922 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 8567 / 15905
8. Noise margin: 1.5 / 13.3
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 22.3
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 22.5
6. Data rate: 13922 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 12317 / 17745
8. Noise margin: 5.0 / 15.2
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 22.3
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 22.5
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I wouldn't want to bore you with the trials and tribulations that I've had with BT Retail in the past, however by always requesting to speak to managers/supervisors and requesting a text confirmation of agreements I've just about managed to keep my aunt's BT Basic account on the rails - she doesn't have broadband though.
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I forgot to add that after I saw the noise seen in the screenshot I tried BT's report a fault facility (BatBoy posted the link a few days ago):
https://www.bt.com/consumerFaultTracking/public/faul...
I'm not sure which test or tests it performs but it could be a whoosh test? Both times I entered my telephone number but it came back saying:
We cannot detect a problem with this line.
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What's a BT quiet line test, dial 17070, like at the moment?
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I haven't checked because it's been the same for a few days now. There will be a short burst of crackling/popping but it quickly disappears. When I hang up another burst of noise will occur and the hang up noise is usually noisy enough to cause the broadband to disconnect even when the noise margin is very high.
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I got the call back from the UK Faults Priority Team. The agent said he will contact the UK Orders Priority Team to ask them to place an order for broadband on my land line. He stressed that according to the computer systems I do not have broadband and while he mentioned about a crossed line similar to what BT's offshore support team had suggested I could tell he meant what he said. He also promised that should the noise fault still exist after my land line broadband order is complete it will be dealt with by his team.
He also explained why the renumbering orders placed by the offshore team were rejected. They were rejected because that facility can only be used when a customer changes their land line telephone number and they need to change the broadband number to match the new land line telephone number.
Overall it was a very constructive phone call and I look forward to an update from him or the UK Orders Priority Team as he said they will likely take ownership of it.
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Good luck . Progress at least.
My broadband basic info/help site - www.robertos.me.uk | Domains,site and mail hosting - Tsohost.
Connection - Plusnet UnLim Fibre (FTTC). Sync ~ 58.7/14.6Mbps @ 600m. - BQM
"Where talent is a dwarf, self-esteem is a giant." - Jean-Antoine Petit-Senn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allergy information: This post was manufactured in an environment where nuts are present. It may include traces of understatement, litotes and humour.
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Fuming after today. Stayed in all morning for an 8am to 1pm appointment only to be called at 12.55pm to say the guy would be another 30 minutes. By this stage I was suited and booted and heading to the office to meet with a new member of staff who had been left hanging around for over two hours for an induction meeting, waiting for my appearance.
I was not impressed to say the least, as he could have called an hour earlier to give me the option of cancelling if it was obvious he wasn't going to make it in the timeslot.
Anyway what followed took the biscuit. Despite the fact I had told BT it was an intermittent fault, and had been assured that they would send an engineer equipped to detect the problem (by which I would expect a TDR) this guy said that all he would have done would be to listen to the line, and if there was no noise he wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway. So he could have called me at 8am and I could have told him that the line was having a good day, avoiding the whole issue (Infinity went back up 10Mbps this morning so clearly on the up at present).
He did seem to understand the nature of the fault (bad joint, affected by changes in temperature & moisture), but then said that I should wait until the line was crackling ALL THE TIME to be certain that when the engineer turned up they could confirm the problem. This fault has been going on for two years - am I really to expect that a line that goes noisy such that you can't have a conversation and borks my broadband every three days just isn't bad enough to merit being fixed?!
Finally he said that he might go and 'fiddle around' with the cabling by the pole (that's the 'D' pole that can't be climbed as it has been leaning precariously for 8 years and they won't replace because it is in someones back garden) and leave a message for me afterwards. Of course, no message afterwards.
So as you may expect I lodged a complaint this evening. Call centre lady was very apologetic & called Openreach whilst I was on the phone. Was assured that OR would monitor the line for 24 hours (I think 24 days would be better) and that they would give me an update tomorrow afternoon. We shall see.....
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Could it be the leaning of that pole is the source of the fault?
-----------------------
Possibly the neighbour should get the local Environmental Health Department to put pressure on OR.
Try to get a measure of how much from vertical.
Assuming that your line goes overhead to the pole, is your line being tightened or slackened by the slant, compared to if the pole were vertical?
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My line is probably about right - certainly not taught.
But the problem is no-one can climb the pole to service the lines - there is a good chance that the DP box at the top is where the problem is because it is rather weather beaten and perished. The pole is also now surrounded by a tree that has grown around it giving the appearance that the tree is emanating telephone cables!
It's too much trouble to investigate faults up there - they would need to arrange a cherry picker, and that's not going to happen without a fight.
The annoying thing is that all the other poles in the street have been renewed within the last five years because they are on the council pavement. They all also get tested and labelled up every year to show when they pass. Our old pole, inaccessible behind a garden fence, has not been replaced or tested despite the fact it's getting pushed over by the tree. How can they let a pole remain 'do not climb' for over eight years whilst customers circuits rot away?
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Spoke to the person whose garden it is in? Wayleave may be the issue
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The author of the above post is a thinkbroadband staff member. It may not constitute an official statement on behalf of thinkbroadband.
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It may well be, but frankly it's not my job to sort out Openreaches legal problems! I can only complain to BT about my crackly line.
If they wanted to they could install a new pole on the council pavement.
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My broadband is now showing up as activated on my land line number and the disconnections miraculously stopped around 18 hours ago. The erratic noise margin has all but disappeared too. The downstream speed is still banded at 5199 but I've to expect a call soon and all going well a DLM reset will be requested.
Screenshot showing the much improved noise margin over the last 18 hours and no disconnections:
http://s2.postimg.org/6ei2hkd2x/RSHub_Noise_Margin_2...
And the sync:
3. Firmware version: Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.173.1.6 (Type A) Last updated 08/05/14
4. Board version: BT Hub 5A
5. VDSL uptime: 0 days, 18:52:56
6. Data rate: 17000 / 5199
7. Maximum data rate: 23220 / 82803
8. Noise margin: 6.6 / 33.0
9. Line attenuation: 0.0 / 17.0
10. Signal attenuation: 0.0 / 17.0
11. Data sent/received: 569.9 MB / 2.2 GB
I'm amazed at the turnaround.
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Two years! You must have the patience of a saint!
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That's great news - it really did look like a job for a SFI but it does seem that the problem was somehow caused by a crossed line? Obviously your persistence with BT Retail support paid off
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Heh!
Someone was the only person concerned about the number. It also stands a fair chance of being why the problem isn't getting solved. OK, it was the issue in itself, but that needed to be fixed before worrying about the symptoms.
Let's hope the banding is soon removed .
My broadband basic info/help site - www.robertos.me.uk | Domains,site and mail hosting - Tsohost.
Connection - Plusnet UnLim Fibre (FTTC). Sync ~ 56.6/14.1Mbps @ 600m. - BQM
"Where talent is a dwarf, self-esteem is a giant." - Jean-Antoine Petit-Senn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allergy information: This post was manufactured in an environment where nuts are present. It may include traces of understatement, litotes and humour.
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Funny though since the engineer did seem to fix the problem, despite the mix up with the phone number and address, and the line seemed OK for a couple of hours after he left. Getting the phone number and address issue sorted out didn't seem imperative at that time....
I guess one can successfully treat the symptoms and not the root cause for a few hours before the symptoms reappear
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The thing is that engineer used his noddle and disobeyed his instructions .
Quite why it worked for a bit then went off is a puzzle, I agree.
My broadband basic info/help site - www.robertos.me.uk | Domains,site and mail hosting - Tsohost.
Connection - Plusnet UnLim Fibre (FTTC). Sync ~ 56.6/14.1Mbps @ 600m. - BQM
"Where talent is a dwarf, self-esteem is a giant." - Jean-Antoine Petit-Senn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allergy information: This post was manufactured in an environment where nuts are present. It may include traces of understatement, litotes and humour.
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Not long after I posted here the erratic noise margin returned causing my broadband to disconnect often again.
Still only the Home Hub 5 was connected to the NTE5 so last night I switched over to a HG612 instead of the Home Hub 5 just in case it was faulty but the disconnections and erratic noise margin still occured. I checked the telnet stats and there were over 4000 CRC errors on the downstream.
No screenshots yet as it's all running upstairs on an old PC.
The BT customer care team must have been monitoring it as they sent me a txt saying sorry that the issues with my broadband are still unresolved and I should wait 3 working days for BT's suppliers to align my broadband to my telephone number.
It was too good to be true.
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Sorry I'm rather confused: you said "my broadband is now showing up as activated on my land line number" but now "I should wait 3 working days for BT's suppliers to align my broadband to my telephone number." Does that mean that some physical work needs to be done on your line by Openreach?
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He was a 'bog standard telephone' engineer and did not have a TDR so could not fix the fault.
Absolute Tommy rot, EVERY single engineer has at least one piece of equipment that performs a TDR function.
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they would need to arrange a cherry picker, and that's not going to happen without a fight.
No issue at all, the engineer can do this on the day, easy as you like.
What type of fault are you trying to report ? If you are going the 'noisy line' route, then you will ALWAYS get a CDTA fault being raised by the CP.
You need to be reporting the broadband issue, get a Boost visit arranged.
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I was told a few days ago something about jumpering to the correct line at the exchange but an engineer wasn't required to do the jumpering and it should happen soon. Last night I received a txt basically suggesting the same thing had been requested and needed three working days.
I don't know much more about the current situation. I'm not very involved or asking too many questions. More I'm hopeful they will do whatever is required to solve the problems. All I really know is that maybe it'll get fixed soon and if not it'll probably require another engineer visit.
The View broadband usage page in the My BT section of BT's website now shows that my broadband is activated on my land line number. This change happened a few days ago. The Track a faults page has also changed as now my reported faults are no longer listed against my neighbour's land line number. There are three faults listed against my land line number but they have all been closed. Those faults even when they were closed were still listed against my neighbour's land line number when my broadband was still activated on her land line number.
I plugged in a phone to check if there was noise on the line and there was mostly continuous crackling/popping but not that loud. Three times I used the Report a fault page on BT's website and each time it couldn't find any problems but after the third time it automatically opened a new phone fault.
Also the downstream sync speed is still banded at 5199 which is rediculous considering it has been as high as 79995. It doesn't make sense to allow it to go that low in my case as most of the time even at that speed it still disconnects a lot so why not some manual intervention???
Tomorrow it'll be a month since I first reported this fault. I'm thinking if nothing happens soon BT might allow me to switch to a premium ISP who has working procedures to fix intermittent faults. I'd also order another line and fibre broadband from BT so my family can still make use of an unlimited package and I'd learn how to manage both using a router. Before the fault broadband usage was approaching 400GB per month which is mostly the result of streaming media and playing online games.
I actually don't have much use for the internet and haven't for a couple of years. My family were using it frequently every day before the faults but now they aren't using it as much because the faults are causing streaming media to buffer or stop playing and they are experiencing lag or disconnections when playing games.
I'm wondering why BT can't be held accountable for not having working procedures. I've spoken to many of BT's support staff about it yet noone has indicated their broken procedures can be kicked upstairs to a management team who can implement solutions.
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I also had a demonstration of"gel" crimps, as I had not actually encountered them when I retired some 15 years back,
How strange, I've been on for nearly 18 years, and been using them since day one, and they had clearly been in use way before that.
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Evening Zarjaz
Although a lot of my basic studies back in the mid-1950s included the PO Telephone Boys training as there was nothing else near suitable at the Heriot-Watt Evening Classes, I was basically electronics/radar/radio based, including teaching such a mixture in the RAF.
Thus I have had an interest in telephony throughout my working career; and was frequently called in to sort out telephone/telex/fax problems, as a minor side-line of my main work, which also included a lot disciplines beyond electronics.
Although an early implementer of crimp joints, pioneering their use in 1956, including sectioning them, I was not generally in every-day contact with them; or the range of work that now falls into the remit of Openreach.
Also, I have never worked for any of the obvious telephone organisations.
Thus my not having directly encountered the use of gel crimps.
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Seems like BT Retail have amended your account details (number, address and faults) and activated vdsl broadband on your line again but the root cause of the fault remains, this requires work to be done at the exchange to hopefully rectify the problem?
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It's a HR dis.
Going the noisy line route as that is what has been suggested elsewhere on this forum (and it is a noisy phone line, making calls untenable when the fault is on). But it is also borking my Infinity connection.
So the latest is: Submitted a detailed complaint about the missed appointment Tuesday evening. Promised that I would get a call back on my mobile Wednesday afternoon with an update.
Received SMS saying fault had been cleared at 0830 Wednesday morning. Possible that the engineer had found something Tuesday afternoon, but he hadn't left any message for me as he had promised in his phone call when he missed the slot.
No call on my mobile from customer services Wednesday PM, but had a missed call received on my landline (no surprises there then!).
Spent 25 minutes trying to get through to 151 this evening to get the update I should have got on Wednesday. All I got was an offshore call handler trying to persuade me to close the fault (I have had no noise since Wednesday, but that is not unusual for this intermittent fault).
So I pushed for the update on my complaint. I was told that the last note on the file says I was spoken to on Wednesday and that I had accepted that the fault had been cleared. WHAT A LIE! Now I suspect that they deliberately called my landline instead of my mobile. Also the complaint had been recorded as having been made on 28th May, rather than on 8th July!
Now I am even more livid. These dirty tricks are going to result in a complaint to the execs office. Even if the fault is in fact fixed this behaviour by their 'customer service' staff is unacceptable and needs to be addressed. Clearly making a complaint to anywhere but the execs office is just ignored and covered up.
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Well this has been denied by those who visit me.
It appears that if it's a noisy line all they are authorised to do is a listening test - which is no good for an intermittent fault that's not on at the time.
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Possibly sub-contractors
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Tell me about it. I have had BT mark two reported faults as closed simply because I contacted them to query why it was taking so long. When they eventually phoned back I again told them it was still ongoing with nothing done by them and immediately after another fault report was marked as closed on my fault tracking page. It seems that they are so busy now that they are just closing fault reports will nilly, whether this is now policy or just bad staff, who knows.. Seems Like I am going to have to go the CEO route again as dealing with 'standard' BT support is a complete waste of time and one of the most frustrating experiences I have had with any ISP support service,.
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I don't know what to believe anymore.
I don't know if there is a master record needing updated. I don't think I can find out the truth about much right now. I don't know if jumpering at the exchange is necessary it might be the truth but I don't know for sure. I don't know if it's a crossed line type fault because again I don't know if what I've been told is mostly a bunch of lies. My experience is that people in BT's UK team are very creative story tellers and at times they aren't too concerned about the truth.
Someone decided to react in a spiteful way by having a restriction placed on my broadband account not long after I posted my damning post about BT on here yesterday. I spoke to a UK support agent about everything and he was shell-shocked at the broken procedures I was explaining to him. He also tried to assure me that a restriction had not been placed on my broadband but he had only limited access to BT's systems so how could he possibly know what was possible by those who had accomplished it. It appears the restriction was placed without leaving a trace but even if whoever is responsible could be traced I doubt I'll ever get to find out about it.
The restriction was lifted soon after my call to the UK support team but I wonder how many other customers people in BT have maliciously restricted to in the past. It's very likely those customers can only talk to BT's offshore team and it's unlikely they would know to make a complaint to get a UK person involved. If my only option was to contact BT's offshore team like virtually every other BT broadband customer I have no doubt I would have eventually ended the call in frustration with no hope of the restriction sorting itself out.
They shouldn't be allowed to torture their customers by spitefully restricting their broadband account. I am very upset about the whole situation and I will be requesting an investigation.
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Also, I don't post all that I know about my situation on here more I try to find out the truth or just talk about what I think is wrong.
One thing I haven't mentioned that I probably should have dealt with sooner is that my broadband might be stopped soon. A broadband cease order was placed a few days ago and I don't know if they plan on going ahead with it. It is scheduled to stop on the 15th of July.
After what happened yesterday I'm thinking I need to sort it out urgently.
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A big problem in BT is that their people believe customer problems are being handled appropriately because they are dealing with these problems in accordance with BT Retail, BT Wholesale, Openreach's standard procedures. Most people in BT that could help are so caught up in the systems that they don't care about how the customer has been treated or that the customer has suffered the problems for a long time. My UK case handler essentially told me so which as you can imagine I was very surprised to hear such an admission.
I asked him if the BT Retail, BT Wholesale, Openreach systems were more important than the customer and while I expected a guarded answer he answered yes and explained why that was the case. Essentially when it comes to the support procedures the appropriate systems can only be blindly followed, there are no short cuts, speedy escalations, or work arounds, regardless that the customer has had to suffer broken support for weeks, months or even years.
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My UK case handler explained to me that my engineer could be reprimanded because he should not have come over to my house after my neighbour had explained the situation to him. He was supposed to walk away without doing anything.
If anyone on here can stop my engineer from being reprimanded I'd like to hear about it.
Edited by deleted (Fri 11-Jul-14 09:51:44)
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Incidentally, just having re-checked the samples I was given, strictly in my experience, they are IDCs (Insulation Displacement Connector); rather than true Crimp (Compression) Connectors.
I accept however, that in working terms, replacing/superceding the typical, blue-shrouded, Crimp Connectors, the terminology has been continued for working convenience.
As effectively IDCs, they avoid the need to strip any insulation, with the minor nicks weakening the wire that so frequently occur in such stripping operations, even when using strippers.
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One thing I haven't mentioned that I probably should have dealt with sooner is that my broadband might be stopped soon. A broadband cease order was placed a few days ago and I don't know if they plan on going ahead with it. It is scheduled to stop on the 15th of July.
After what happened yesterday I'm thinking I need to sort it out urgently. It is quite possible that is a Cease and provide, to cease it on your neighbour's number and provide it on yours.
My broadband basic info/help site - www.robertos.me.uk | Domains,site and mail hosting - Tsohost.
Connection - Plusnet UnLim Fibre (FTTC). Sync ~ 56.6/14.1Mbps @ 600m. - BQM
"Where talent is a dwarf, self-esteem is a giant." - Jean-Antoine Petit-Senn.
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Allergy information: This post was manufactured in an environment where nuts are present. It may include traces of understatement, litotes and humour.
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One thing I haven't mentioned that I probably should have dealt with sooner is that my broadband might be stopped soon. A broadband cease order was placed a few days ago and I don't know if they plan on going ahead with it. It is scheduled to stop on the 15th of July.
After what happened yesterday I'm thinking I need to sort it out urgently.
Yes I think you need to clarify whether or not that is part of their procedure for fixing your line fault - I guess it's possible that that relates to your neighbour�s number.
The engineer possibly thought there was a bureaucratic mix up with the phone number and address and since the fault was reported in your �end user� name he felt confident to check and reset your line. I would imagine that would have been included in his report.
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Subbies don't do faults, just iffy installs.
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It's a(n) HR dis.
Going the noisy line route as that is what has been suggested elsewhere on this forum (and it is a noisy phone line, making calls untenable when the fault is on). But it is also borking my Infinity connection.
I know what it is 
I believe the advice the advice with regard to this is wrong. I've seen posters on here often say what you've been told, but really it's not the way to go, as you've found out to your cost.
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