BT Infinity 2 good experiences please

Hi,

I'm considering BT Infinity 2.

Please can I ask those of you with the same and who are happy with your service to post your experiences?

Obviously when people have problems they look for help in internet forums and post their concerns but often this gives an unbalanced view.

Many thanks for your time.

My brother has BT Infinity 2 and he absolutely loves it... The kids don't moan anymore and he can get his jobs done too.

On the one occasion he had an issue, the line went dead, BT sorted it out in about 3 hours of having it reported to them.

Hope that helps.

Thanks
Tim

I've been a lot happier with my Infinity since I hacked my modem and turned off all the remote management connections that were active, and I set up my own router instead of the Homehub.

Thank you Tim, sounds good

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

I've been a lot happier with my Infinity since I hacked my modem and turned off all the remote management connections that were active, and I set up my own router instead of the Homehub.

Hi BatBoy, thanks for your reply.

I'll be getting the HH5.
I hear that not only does it have a lot of remote management options (as pointed out by you) but a bug in the firmware which causes it to reboot several times per day. Is this correct?
Is there an ETA for the fix?

Although the HH5 has a built-in modem, will I be provided with a separate one too?
I have a Billion 7800DX router which I can use with the modem as I understand it. I'm only a novice so I'll need to read up on that.

I don't like wires everywhere so I was thinking of getting a FRITZ!Box 7490.
Are they any good and will I easily be able to configure it to work with my BT Infinity?

When the bloke comes to install the service, will he replace the faceplate of my master socket?
Is it a bog-standard ADSL filtered faceplate that he fits or different?
Is the faceplate the same size as a normal telephone socket and fit straight on the front?

Many thanks for any help.

BatBoy,

...sorry, more questions

.....Do I plug my telephone into the HH5 or filtered faceplate telephone socket?

I'm not paying for BT TV services. Do I have any free BT Vision service or similar and do I have to plug my HH5 into my TV to obtain those?

I understand that I have free BT Sport with Infinity. How do I set myself up to watch that?
I have SKY +HD. Can I watch BT Sport through my Skybox?

Phone plugs into filtered wall socket.
You don't get any BTTV services unless you sign up for them.
You can get BTSport free via your sky service. I believe you just need to add it to the order and supply the viewing card number. You can also watch it via the online app.

I don't really know where you stand when ordering BT Infinity and intend to use your own router. In most cases a modem would be required, which if the installation engineer doesn't have with him, it would presumably be regarded as an abortive visit for which you would be charged.

I had BT Infinity Business installed a couple of years ago and made it clear I would be using my own modem and there wasn't a problem but they insisted in sending out a home hub as it was "free" - yeah right, it cost me unnecessarily £7 for delivery.

With the contract period coming to an end, I briefly considered an alternative ISP but was alarmed to discover that almost certainly there would be a break in service that could be up to 10 days. Discussions with BT prised out a discount that matched the price of my preferred ISP so signed up with BT for another 24 months.

The downside to their service is with email configuration in Outlook when you have your own domain name. Its easy enough to jump through all the hoops to get a result but difficult to get the desired information in the first place. There is no authenticated SMTP service which is a real pain.

A good point with BT is that they will offer, for an extra fee, either Total Care or Critical Care on the phone line. I don't think that facility is available elsewhere.

So the bottom line is that when initially signing up for an FTTC service, chose your ISP wisely as you are likely to be entering into a long term [expensive] partnership.

In reply to a post by trolleybus:

I don't really know where you stand when ordering BT Infinity and intend to use your own router. In most cases a modem would be required, which if the installation engineer doesn't have with him, it would presumably be regarded as an abortive visit for which you would be charged.

He's already said he's being supplied with the HH5, so in all likely hood the engineer will not be supplying a modem, as he doesn't need one as the HH5 has a built in VDSL modem.

If wishing to use a different router which doesn't have a VDSL modem or you want to be able to get good line stats then go on Ebay and get a HG612 3B and unlock it. Then as soon as the engineer has gone connect up the HG612 and your preferred router.

In reply to a post by trolleybus:

With the contract period coming to an end, I briefly considered an alternative ISP but was alarmed to discover that almost certainly there would be a break in service that could be up to 10 days.

Pardon?

Surely not unless you were aiming to do something very odd?

Edited by RobertoS (Sat 29-Mar-14 12:31:40)

In reply to a post by R0NSKI:

In reply to a post by trolleybus:

I don't really know where you stand when ordering BT Infinity and intend to use your own router. In most cases a modem would be required, which if the installation engineer doesn't have with him, it would presumably be regarded as an abortive visit for which you would be charged.

He's already said he's being supplied with the HH5, so in all likely hood the engineer will not be supplying a modem, as he doesn't need one as the HH5 has a built in VDSL modem.

If wishing to use a different router which doesn't have a VDSL modem or you want to be able to get good line stats then go on Ebay and get a HG612 3B and unlock it. Then as soon as the engineer has gone connect up the HG612 and your preferred router.

Surely if you state in advance you will be using your own router, BT are obliged to supply a modem? Or is that option excluded from the domestic offering?

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

In reply to a post by trolleybus:

With the contract period coming to an end, I briefly considered an alternative ISP but was alarmed to discover that almost certainly there would be a break in service that could be up to 10 days.

Pardon?

Surely not unless you were aiming to do something very odd?

From the Zen website:
* The broadband migration process does depend on the co-operation of your existing ISP. In the event that a migration cannot take place, you will need to arrange for your existing ISP to cease (cancel) your broadband service so that we can arrange for a new connection to be configured on your line

* Although a successful migration should result in much less downtime than a 'cease and re-provide', unfortunately we cannot provide any guarantees as to how successful the migration process will be or how long your broadband service will be out of operation during the migration

* In the event that the request to migrate is rejected by your existing ISP, BT or Zen Internet cannot provide any arbitration between yourself and your existing ISP.

Telephone clarification from Zen was evasive other than it would mean a break in service of at least half a day up to 10 days or more. Following the transfer there would be extensive internal reconfiguration especially email facilities. The fixed IP would change resulting in more work to allow inward VPN traffic.

As Internet services are mission critical to our activities, trying to save a few pounds could turn out to be very expensive.

Your definition of 'odd' seems out of place in this context.

When we changed provider at work and also moved to FTTC at the same time we simply used a different phone line. I would think a lot of businesses have more than one phone line.

Once I was happy that the FTTC was stable and no problems we then arranged for everything to be switched over to the new IP address, this was done at about 4pm on a Friday giving everything time to update over the weekend should anything take longer than usual. There was no problems with our email server, no loss of broadband, it all went very smoothly.

About a week later we cancelled the broadband.

Edited by R0NSKI (Sat 29-Mar-14 13:51:55)

Note, in effect I did ask for the context.

That looks like a total backside coverer. According to that no one with any sense would ever migrate. I wonder how man (tens of?) thousand do every day with no such hassle.

In particular I fail to see how an ISP can legitimately prevent a move of the phone service, and no way can they prevent a broadband migration. That paragraph is largely drivel.

Having said that, some losing ISPs can screw things up for you. BT isn't one such as long as the gaining ISP does things correctly. The normal problem is when leaving an ISP that insists you have their broadband in order to have their phone service - e.g. O2/Be as was. If the gaining ISP takes the broadband first then they did sometimes cease the line. That is avoidable as long as the customer makes sure the gaining ISP knows how to handle the moves.

Some gaining ISPs still have trouble with a migration in of FTTC from full LLU FTTC such as Sky. BT seem to have that sorted, and I believe Plusnet now have as well - though I'm not sure in their case.

Email - anyone using ISP email should stop doing so well in advance of migration. Non-ISP email doesn't present any migration issues. For business users ISP email is surely a no-no.

Fixed IP addresses do need a bit more care. It's a pity we can't have our own but that would be a major WWW upheaval.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Note, in effect I did ask for the context.

That looks like a total backside coverer. According to that no one with any sense would ever migrate. I wonder how man (tens of?) thousand do every day with no such hassle.

In particular I fail to see how an ISP can legitimately prevent a move of the phone service, and no way can they prevent a broadband migration. That paragraph is largely drivel.

Having said that, some losing ISPs can screw things up for you. BT isn't one such as long as the gaining ISP does things correctly. The normal problem is when leaving an ISP that insists you have their broadband in order to have their phone service - e.g. O2/Be as was. If the gaining ISP takes the broadband first then they did sometimes cease the line. That is avoidable as long as the customer makes sure the gaining ISP knows how to handle the moves.

Some gaining ISPs still have trouble with a migration in of FTTC from full LLU FTTC such as Sky. BT seem to have that sorted, and I believe Plusnet now have as well - though I'm not sure in their case.

Email - anyone using ISP email should stop doing so well in advance of migration. Non-ISP email doesn't present any migration issues. For business users ISP email is surely a no-no.

Fixed IP addresses do need a bit more care. It's a pity we can't have our own but that would be a major WWW upheaval.

With apologies to the OP for hi-jacking this thread.

RobertoS - I don't disagree with anything you say but I don't have a crystal ball to know whether things are going to get screwed up. Neither do I know how to ensure that everything **will** go to plan. What I do know is that, as suggested by another poster, their won't be a broadband problem if a fresh fttc service uses another landline. That methodology gives a negative return on investment if you only have one landline in the first place.

Switching ISPs is to gain an overall advantage, usually financial. If there is to be no gain, why inflict pain on yourself?

Yes, as a business your own domain name is the way to go but the ISPs SMTP service should not be ignored as their mail servers reputation will have a high reputation whereas a hosted service is usually very low. In these cases there are migration issues with email client reconfiguration necessary. So not so much a 'no-no' as you put it, but a 'yes-no'.

Many moons ago I thought a fixed IP was akin to a personalised number plate, yours to keep for life. What a rude awaking I had to discover that wasn't the case and that such a facility didn't exist for mere mortals!

Direct response to the OP's question:

I have had Infinity2 since it was made available in my area as they upgraded from Infinity1. My original install was with an Openreach modem and a HH3. Now I have a HH5 type A and have dispensed with the old modem and hub. Since this change, my service hasn't dropped out once. It is rock steady and, dependent on day and time, I am obtaining between 55 and 65 Mbps down and 19 Mbps up. We are about 800m from the FTTC cab.

camallison

In reply to a post by trolleybus:

(Yes, as a business your own domain name is the way to go) but the ISPs SMTP service should not be ignored as their mail servers reputation will have a high reputation whereas a hosted service is usually very low.

Good Lord!

Where did you get that idea? (I don't wish to know here, because of the thread hijacking, so start another thread in General Chatter if you want to discuss it and/or get other opinions - but it's the daftest thing I've heard in a long time).

I have had my service for over two and half years. One brief speed issue, which was solved with a call to 'help' desk. Other than that, all good. I am around 500m from the cabinet and get between 65 to 70 meg.