Possible to request switch to BT Digital Voice early?

My understanding is that BT are now migrating their customers over to Digital Voice on a region-by-region basis - however is it possible for a BT Broadband (FTTC) customer to request to switch from PSTN to Digital Voice early, i.e. before the migration reaches their region?

The scenario is a slightly noisy copper line - despite this the FTTC broadband service seems to work OK, except it can lose sync when the PSTN phone is used for calls. Just to be clear, the Openreach NTE5 master socket does have a DSL filter faceplate and there are no extentions. The broadband router is the BT Smart Hub 2.

The alternative would be to get Openreach to attend to the copper wiring, but the route the cable takes from the pole in the street to the property is not straightforward - potentially having the line partially or wholly replaced only to go through a similar process in a few years when FTTP is installed seems like a possibly avoidable hassle.

I would suggest raising a broadband fault, what is minor now won’t heal itself. Moving to DV will only mask the issue, and eventually as the copper fault worsens, you’ll lose the digital voice service when then sync drops.

There are plenty of other places the fault might be rather than the bit you are guessing at.

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

I would suggest raising a broadband fault, what is minor now won’t heal itself. Moving to DV will only mask the issue, and eventually as the copper fault worsens, you’ll lose the digital voice service when then sync drops.

There are plenty of other places the fault might be rather than the bit you are guessing at.

Definitely

In reply to a post by OpticalWeetabix:

My understanding is that BT are now migrating their customers over to Digital Voice on a region-by-region basis - however is it possible for a BT Broadband (FTTC) customer to request to switch from PSTN to Digital Voice early, i.e. before the migration reaches their region?

Not a BT customer, but I believe they will process your request if you volunteer to migrate to DV outside of the regional migrations where folks are invited/told to do so.

However the advice above is sound; don’t try this as a means to wallpaper over the cracks of an underlying connection which has other persistent faults/issues. Like building a house on rickety foundations, it eventually doesn’t end well.

My parents line was like this, every call the vdsl service would drop. It has taken BT months to fix it (numerous faults fixed - wires replaced, junctions re-made, etc), definitely raise a fault and keep pushing until its solved - these things don't magically fix themselves.

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

I would suggest raising a broadband fault, what is minor now won’t heal itself. Moving to DV will only mask the issue, and eventually as the copper fault worsens, you’ll lose the digital voice service when then sync drops.

Thanks all. I think this is sensible advice... my original post was writtem in a slight state of annoyance when the broadband had dropped just after receiving a call on the landline.Somewhat against the grain, I think landline usage may increase a little so such annoyances could occur a bit more often.

However as you've all pointed out the 'quick fix' of migrating to Digital Voice is just a way of hiding the problem rather than solving it - and solving it is probably a good idea, especially as FTTP might be some way off. This is particicularly so given the awkward positioning of the property... I can imagine FTTP arriving in the area but there being difficulties in getting it all the way to the house and neighbouring properties (wayleaves and so on).

Edited by OpticalWeetabix (Sun 13-Aug-23 16:08:31)

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

I would suggest raising a broadband fault, what is minor now won’t heal itself. Moving to DV will only mask the issue, and eventually as the copper fault worsens, you’ll lose the digital voice service when then sync drops.

There are plenty of other places the fault might be rather than the bit you are guessing at.

Actually, I can confirm that ever since I moved to BT FTTC last year this same problem that the OP is describing that I had was resolved!

See my post from BT forum last year Message 27. https://community.bt.com/t5/Home-phone-including-Dig...
As I have mentioned in my post over there "I can confirm it hasn't been triggering internet disconnections!! This is great news! Since analogue line is turned off and there's no dial tone through master socket, this eliminates the interference on the line, which would cause disconnections when phone rang or when plugging and unplugging phone wire. Super relieved about this, this will definitely improve the reliability of the connection."

So, actually the copper fault doesn't worsen. I have absolutely no problems with my internet connection dropping out. What's more is that you can plug a traditional phone into the Smart Hub 2 router and it doesn't have any issues with receiving phone calls or ringing as some expressed concerns that old phones don't ring. I don't have this problem with my vintage phone.

Calling and answering doesn't cause internet to disconnect. Basically what you are getting with FTTC+Digital Voice is the equivalent of SOGEA (Single Order Generic Ethernet Access). There is no dial tone if you plug a normal telephone into the master socket, but the internet continues to work as normal.

I can 100% promise that if the original poster were to switch to DV this problem will naturally be resolved as it has done for me. The sync will not drop as phone calls don't trigger interference on the copper line. I have made multiple experiments as I have been on this service for 13 months now.

Digital Voice is really a blessing! Hopefully with this transition no one will need to raise a broadband fault. Obviously if the underlying fault is still there, who cares if DV naturally resolves it for good. I don't have to raise a broadband fault if my connection is no longer affected.

Hopefully by the end of 2025 when Analogue phone gets retired, Digital Voice will be the main default on all ISPs and this problem will naturally go away. That along with the FTTP rollout.

In reply to a post by BLaZiNgSPEED:

I can 100% promise that if the original poster were to switch to DV this problem will naturally be resolved as it has done for me.

But with FTTC VDSL the copper connection between the cabinet and modem is analogue. One could say, with 100% certainty, that the unknown fault with the copper line would obviously no longer be a concern after a change to Full fibre FTTP. However this is currently not an option for the OP

In reply to a post by 4M2:

In reply to a post by BLaZiNgSPEED:

I can 100% promise that if the original poster were to switch to DV this problem will naturally be resolved as it has done for me.

But with FTTC VDSL the copper connection between the cabinet and modem is analogue. One could say, with 100% certainty, that the unknown fault with the copper line would obviously no longer be a concern after a change to Full fibre FTTP. However this is currently not an option for the OP

As I have said I'm on copper with FTTC. I don't have Openreach FTTP yet.
If the problem with the copper line (broadband disconnecting) is only triggered when the analogue telephone line rings, picked up or connected and disconnected from the master socket then Digital Voice with FTTC will solve this problem.

What I'm saying is if the OP is not having general broadband disconnections with his copper line but this is only happening with the phone ringing, picked up or connected and disconnected. Then Digital Voice will definitely solve the problem.

I didn't have general internet disconnection related to noise margin when I was with TalkTalk FTTC. But with TalkTalk FTTC only offering analogue phone line, I had this problem for 2+ years.

I then joined 13 months ago BT FTTC Home Essentials 2 with Digital Voice. During the signup process I was given 2 options. To remain on analogue or to switch to the new Digital Voice service and I'll receive an Advanced Digital Home Phone with Alexa built in.

I opted for Digital Voice and received this new Digital Home phone along with Smart Hub 2 router. The phone is wireless and only needs to be registered to the router once by pressing the WPS button on the router.

As soon as I migrated from TalkTalk to BT 13 months ago I noticed that plugging and unplugging the traditional analogue phone wasn't causing internet disconnection! I then checked for dial tone and noticed that it was silent.

This indeed meant that the transition to digital voice from analogue is actually what solved the problem for me. This naturally resolved my disconnection problems because as soon as I tested by calling my own landline phone number with my mobile phone the internet connection was not interrupted! I did several tests to confirm that this wasn't just exceptionally not occurring.

I then made an experiment and plugged this vintage phone into the router and it worked, dial tone was working!

Currently only a few ISPs on FTTC offer Digital Voice as a service and BT is one of them. If this disconnection problem is happening and it is only being triggered with analogue phone then I can 100% reassure that Digital Voice migration will solve this problem permanently!

But this means you are restricted to only a few ISPs that offer Digital Voice with FTTC until December 2025 when all ISPs will migrate to Digital Voice.

Edited by BLaZiNgSPEED (Sun 13-Aug-23 19:12:34)

In reply to a post by OpticalWeetabix:

My understanding is that BT are now migrating their customers over to Digital Voice on a region-by-region basis - however is it possible for a BT Broadband (FTTC) customer to request to switch from PSTN to Digital Voice early, i.e. before the migration reaches their region?

Having an in-contract FTTC service makes it neigh on impossible to retain your existing landline number and switch to Digital Voice with another provider. Your only choice, if you really wanted VoIP now, then you are stuck with BT and no doubt lumbered with a fresh 24 month contract.

Out of contract, run with another ISP and use a third party supplier for VoIP; that way you will save sheds load of money.