Confused over moving from Talktalk to BT

Hi all,

I'm currently on Talktalk fibre and receive speeds of up to 15mb/s down due to my road having poor fibre speeds. Prior to this I had ADSL and it was useless, dropping a lot, a low speeds.

I cancelled my Talktalk account when the price rises were announced as we've had a lot of problems with Talktalk. I gave my 30 days notice to them to quit.

I placed an order with BT Infinity for their BT Infinity 1 product (unlimited). They told me because I had cancelled Talktalk they would have to give me a new phone number. I had no issues with that as I don't use the phone ever anyway. However, there have been a few hiccups since...

The phone line and broadband were due to be installed in a few days time, but this was prior to the Talktalk service ending. So BT had to move my installation date to the 15th of this month. They didn't tell me this at BT, they just cancelled my order! I called up and resolve this over the phone, they continued the same order on a new date to avoid me having to order again and get further credit checks etc. No major issues, I'm just without internet for 2 days. I can live with that.

Today I logged on to my BT app to check how the installation was going after the last hiccup and I see that my order now states the phone will be installed on the 15th but the broadband order has yet again been cancelled! No calls, no emails, no letters, just cancelled without telling me anything.

I've just called BT again to see what's going on and it was explained that my line was at capacity and as such the speed I was getting was too slow for BT Infinity. Apparently they've had to cancel my order till the new line is installed at my house and once this has happened on the 15th they will re-order my broadband for me on the 16th as an expedited order. The lady on the phone seemed to think they would be able to increase my speed from what I was getting from Talktalk this way and provide me with proper fibre speeds.

I asked why this had to happen when I had a working fibre line in right now that I am using today. Admittedly it's not the fastest, but having lived with shocking ADSL in the past it's fine for me. But I was told it had to happen to improve my line quality and get my speeds up to scratch.

The phone line to my house is a new line that was installed from the wooden pole at the end of the street less than 12 months ago and the wiring in the house is all new with a new master socket too - all done by BT when I had Talktalk sort my line out. So what exactly are BT doing now?

I'm not overly fussed about a delay of a few days if it means I still get my fibre broadband but I am worried that they disconnect my fibre and the box becomes over subscribed and I'm stuck without it. I also don't believe they can increase my speed or Talktalk would surely have done this?

Am I completely wrong here or is BT doing something that doesn't make sense?

Thanks

BT Consumer will not supply Infinity if the estimate for the line is below 15Mbps. That lets them advertise high average speeds for it.

What they do offer for estimates below 15Mps is "Faster broadband with fibre". Which is identical technically and in use, just a different name. I haven't checked re price.

As far as I know no other ISP makes this distinction.

The stuff about a new line being better is garbage, unless they have identified it as being slower than all neighbouring houses. In which case they should be fixing it!

Normally a second line can be the same, a bit better, or a bit worse than a first one.

Does that mean they will refuse to supply me with fibre and make me use ADSL instead?

Am I better to cancel BT and head to another provider?

The ADSL in my area is so shocking it drops out all the time and the speeds making gaming unplayable. The only fix for me was to move to fibre which fixed everything, even if I wasn't getting maximum speeds.

I am worried that BT will chuck me back to ADSL and it will be too late to do anything about it.

Sorry, just re-read your post. So they should give me a fibre product one way or another?

I am just very worried about being dumped back on ADSL, it was unusable.

Sorry to detract from the conversation but are TalkTalk customers still able to leave fee-free due to the price rises?

If you received your notification less than 30 days ago, yes, if not no.

As you are having a provide order, rather than a migration the lead time for providers is generally longer.

By cancelling the TalkTalk service rather than migrating you've complicated things.

I haven't seen this scenario before, but if your order says Infinity then you will either get it or the order will be cancelled again. They won't drop you to ADSL2+ just be default.

The faster broadband with fibre will be fine if they do cancel, but AIUI that would be a further order which you would arrange by speaking to them. It's a complete PITA.

I expect others will be along later who may know more. But good luck. You won't end up on ADSL2+ and stuck in contract. As long as it is Infinity showing on your order.

That's the one thing I don't want. I can't go back to ADSL. It never works here.

My order says Infinity 1 unlimited. If they put me on the fibre product that isn't infinity but is exactly the same bar the name I can live with that. As long as it's fibre and is as fast as we have now and as reliable I'm happy.

I just don't want to leave it and end up stuck with ADSL or starting from scratch again.

Have you checked your present line, using the Quiet Line Test, using a corded phone first directly in to the NTE wall socket where the phone line comes in to your house, then in an internal socket with all the relevant items also plugged in?

Ring 17070, select Option 2 QLT; and listen for about 1 minute, about 5 repetitions of the phrase "Quiet Line Test".

Generally the line should be very quiet to silent. A very low hum is acceptable.

If the first test shows the outside line to be quiet, any noises heard on later inside tests are likely to be arising from your own equipment - it would be your responsibility to eleimnate them.

--------

Also FTTC VDSL uses the last part of the outside line from the FTTC and PCP (traditiional distribution cabinet) so any problems there can wreak havoc with VDSL "Fibre", as it is affected more than ADSL.

Although your outside line is only 12 months old, it may have suffered damage in storms etc.

I called the number but there's no option 2. It just repeats twice "this circuit is defined as xxxxxxxxxxxxxx" and then hangs up on me?

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I haven't seen this scenario before, but if your order says Infinity then you will either get it or the order will be cancelled again. They won't drop you to ADSL2+ just be default.

The faster broadband with fibre will be fine if they do cancel, but AIUI that would be a further order which you would arrange by speaking to them. It's a complete PITA.

I expect others will be along later who may know more. But good luck. You won't end up on ADSL2+ and stuck in contract. As long as it is Infinity showing on your order.

I also don't want to be without Internet for weeks because BT cancel my order just to keep their stats up.

If I end up with a phone line contract for 12 months but have to go to another supplier for internet that's also a pain.

This all feels very misleading to be honest. Tell me I can have a product and then cancel my order despite the fact it would work here just because my slightly slower speed means they can't claim their average speed is as high as they want to compete with competitors.

At least with other service providers they provided what they promised.

I'm also unhappy that BT don't keep me informed. I have to chase them. They're meant to be a premium provider and they're one of the more expensive options. So far service has been poor.

I have to be honest, TalkTalk have misled you here and are to blame for all of this.

As you cancelled TT, BT cannot do much other than provide a new line which is likely to result in downtime, they cannot take over the TT service directly as TT have requested this line be ceased and disconnected.

TT should have made it clear to you that you do not need to close the service with them to move providers...

All you should have done is ring BT, asked them to take over, they would have notified TT you were leaving and taken over your line without any downtime.

The only way it works without downtime is as follows:
You are with TalkTalk and want to move to BT
You ring BT / place an order online and enter the existing TT phone number
BT take over on a date provided.
BT contact talktalk and disconnect the old services.
You never speak with TT regarding cancellations.

The second you rang TT to cancel the services and did not migrate through the leading provider (in this case BT), the whole process failed to work as intended, as BT are locked out of your TT line now.

I understand that and was less than happy at Talktalk not telling me that, but there's a reason I'm leaving them and this is just one of many problems.

BT gave me two installation dates so far and cancelled each without the decency to tell me.

The telephone line is going in as planned on the 15th. I've had situations where I've had new lines in the past and they've done both at the same time. The broadband cancel and re-order bit is odd.

I'm just worried I may lose my slot in the box. If my box is over subscribed and I lose my fibre slot through changing providers like this it will be a nightmare.

I just feel I've been left in the dark with BT. They could have called and explained they had cancelled my order on each occasion and tried to resolve it. If I hadn't checked the first time I wouldn't even have a phone line going in on the 15th. The second cancellation is thankfully part of their process apparently to check my line first. I'm hoping it's as simple as this and I still get fibre but I'm starting to lose confidence in BT after the way they've treated me so far.

It is probably automatically being cancelled for two reasons:

1) TalkTalk are ceasing the line so BT cannot takeover existing line which is bound to create issues
2) Estimate is coming in at below 15Mbps and BT do not access fibre orders below 15Mbps, so the computer is saying no. You need to get BT to place it as another package, faster broadband with fibre or something similar to that.

I will be honest, all ISP customer service is relatively the similar in my experience. I cannot say TalkTalk is significantly worse than BT customer service wise (I am a customer of both). Once you're up and running you shouldn't have much need to contact CS.

I have not encountered such a restriction - and have just checked.

Option 2, QLT, came up without any problems.

This suggests that its absence on your line may be due to the fundamental one involving your line.

Is that on TalkTalk? I seem to remember one of the LLU companies does exactly what the OP describes - just the line number then finish.

No experience of TalkTalk Phone arrangements, only BT and EE including EE's earlier forms.

Yep. Talktalk. Makes sense to hide that info as it's one less cost for them when we can't prove the line needs work.

In reply to a post by ukhardy07:

It is probably automatically being cancelled for two reasons:

1) TalkTalk are ceasing the line so BT cannot takeover existing line which is bound to create issues
2) Estimate is coming in at below 15Mbps and BT do not access fibre orders below 15Mbps, so the computer is saying no. You need to get BT to place it as another package, faster broadband with fibre or something similar to that.

I will be honest, all ISP customer service is relatively the similar in my experience. I cannot say TalkTalk is significantly worse than BT customer service wise (I am a customer of both). Once you're up and running you shouldn't have much need to contact CS.

The second point is what's worrying me. I don't want to be left with nothing or ADSL. If they still give me fibre one way or another and I still get 15mb/s down I'm happy.

We're moving hopefully in the next 8-12 months anyway. Hopefully to somewhere where even UK ISPs can't ruin my connection.

re 17070, I also just get the "this line is defined as..." with no further options since moving phoneline from BT to TalkTalk Business.

If you do end up on ADSL2+ it should only be for a short period. The question with BT will it be Infinity or cancelled. As I explained earlier. If it is cancelled you get them to order "Faster broadband with fibre" and that will normally go through. Or order FTTC elsewhere and if you want to take your line with you get hard! (But politely). They have not fulfilled the contract for the bundle so have to release you from any phone line minimum period.

If on ADSL2+ because the FTTC cabinet is full - the Openreach system has a bad flaw in that an FTTC migration involves a cease and port release at the cabinet then reconnection, but on a full cabinet the port you vacate can be reallocated before your reconnection is attempted. That is normally sorted out within a few days.

What does the Address option of this checker show on the VDSL lines A and B?

Things have gone from bad to worse.

Several cancellations of my broadband installation later and BT staff on the phone still say they haven't a clue why this is happening. They know less than you lot on a forum it seems. That's very bad when staff show such a lack in knowledge!

They agreed to install my phone today and then re-order my internet for the third time once it was done. Imagine how impressed I was to come home from work today to find no phone line and no message from BT!

The BT app says they've had to cancel my phone installation now and I'll have to re-organise it all from scratch!

So now I have no phone, no internet and no idea of what's going on!

I'm on to BT now and I've been on hold three times while the rep tries to work or what's going on. That's 18 minutes so far and he's still no wiser as to why I'm getting treated so badly.

I don't mind the odd error here and there, we all make mistakes, but this has been one after the other and shockingly the customer service team never know what's going on.

I've paid £50 for this and all I have is the new home hub and no phone line or internet.

BT are a disgrace. I've had to make several hours of calls so far since ordering this product to their customer service team just to try and get them to do their job and give me a service they said they could provide. A service talktalk provided less than a week ago without issue!

Every time I call I have to start from scratch again. Nobody takes ownership and there's no way to escalate this at all. What can I do to get this sorted?

BT are meant to be the premium provider but so far all I have is stress and frustration. I am so tempted to cancel, get a refund and go to a provider who will actually provide me with what they say they will.

The cancel has significantly confused things but too late to do anything about that.

BT are NOT the premium provider - in fact they are probably about average. There are premium providers like AAISP who could potentially provide a more personal service but they are generally more expensive.

How did the rest of the call with BT go? There is an email address for the BT chairman's office floating around the forum and that may give you a route in to escalate.

It is always difficult with such large companies as generally you are talking to call centre staff and they will definitely not be all that knowledgeable - they aren't paid enough to be experts.

Either see what happens from your current (last) call, escalate to BT chairman or go to a different company like AAISP or possibly someone like Pulse8 - there are ISPs much better at support than BT (and ISPs that are much worse!).

Premium priced for what they provide, in my opinion, but I agree with you re the overall assessment. For the poster's information:

- Comparison 1

- Comparison 2

Then there are many other premium providers of course, just not registered on this site or mass-market comparison sites.

Well BT have messed me up good and proper.

Openreach waited for my line with Talktalk to cancel and then gave it to a brand new customer. I don't have a line now.

The lady at BT was very apologetic and to be fair to her was great. The UK call centre I got today made a heck of a difference. The off shore call centre had managed to get confused and order two lines and still not get it right or tell me what was happening. But the lady in the UK spotted the issue and resolved it back to one line. She's also complained to openreach for me and raised this further giving me a full explanation. Proper service from her at least.

The issue is now that openreach want to wait till the end of the month to carry out a check at site to see IF they can get me a line or not. The lady kindly argued this wasn't acceptable and they're going to try and do it quicker. But I have been warned I may not be able to get a line at all now!!

I left Talktalk after confirming BT would be able to provide me with this service. Due to their mistake I'm now without service and may not get any service at all.

I'll get an update in two days but I really don't seem to be in a good position here. The lady did agree that Talktalk should have told me to migrate rather than be a new customer but as someone who doesn't do this sort of thing often I didn't know that. However she also stated that BT should still have been able to provide the service as ordered regardless.

This is very frustrating to say the least.

When I pick up my phone and listen it's not dead. It makes an engaged tone constantly. Have Talktalk disconnected me properly?

As most people order a service again i.e. usual scenario someone moves out, someone moves in, then lines are not always disconnected at the exchange until they know which new provider is going to have it.

As for the previous post about the line being given to someone else, are you referring to the physical line to your house, which is kinda impossible given you have a dial tone or the telephone number. Which yes is up for grabs once you cease.

Hence why throughout people have said ceasing was the wrong way to do the move.

When I pick up my phone and listen it's not dead. It makes an engaged tone constantly. Have Talktalk disconnected me properly?

That sounds like a 'stopped' LLU service to me .... so yes they have.

So your line hasn't 'been given to someone else' because that phrase implies that the physical pair itself has gone. Yours clearly gets all the way back to the exchange.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

As most people order a service again i.e. usual scenario someone moves out, someone moves in, then lines are not always disconnected at the exchange until they know which new provider is going to have it.

As for the previous post about the line being given to someone else, are you referring to the physical line to your house, which is kinda impossible given you have a dial tone or the telephone number. Which yes is up for grabs once you cease.

Hence why throughout people have said ceasing was the wrong way to do the move.

not sure. The lady said the slot in the cabinet that I was using has been given to a new customer and is no longer available for me? This is why openreach are claiming I can't be connected to phone or broadband.

I don't mind losing the number. But I can't understand in that case what they've given to the new customer.

I asked about moving to BT and taking my number as a migrate and Talktalk said I couldn't do that. They advised me to do the cease route. On top of that they tried charging me an early end of contract fee today which was another hour arguing on the phone until they dropped my final bill back to £1.28 instead of £300+!

What could they have given away in my situation?

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

When I pick up my phone and listen it's not dead. It makes an engaged tone constantly. Have Talktalk disconnected me properly?

That sounds like a 'stopped' LLU service to me .... so yes they have.

So your line hasn't 'been given to someone else' because that phrase implies that the physical pair itself has gone. Yours clearly gets all the way back to the exchange.

My situation is even more odd then.

Openreach have been to my exchange and said it's been given away. But my line still makes noise. They say they can't install the line because of the above.

So now what?

In terms of VDSL2 line ports - yes that is normal and a clear risk if there is lots of demand in your area.

Number porting is available and migration routes existing from TalkTalk LLU to BT Consumer SMPF so a cease route was not needed. Number porting can get complicated and there are scenarios where numbers cannot be moved, but the vast majority do not have this problem.

For anyone reading this (too late for original poster) moving provider only requires you to contact who you want to move to these days. If its a move to/from Virgin Media then its different because they are physically different networks in the street.

Is it likely that BT will be unable to give me fibre broadband as a result of this?

What does http://www.dslchecker.bt.com show for your address when using the address checker?

I, too, decided to opt out of TT due to the price increase, and go with BT. Like yourself, I had a firm date, then the firm date went back a week. With 2 days to go, and no sign of a router etc. I checked online, and found that the order had been cancelled........

After a number of long conversations with BT I gave up, and opted to stay with TT, and haggled a much better deal. Interestingly, I have gone from the 76Mb deal to the 38Mb deal, and my download seped has increased from 13.3 to just over 16.....

In reply to a post by mercb180:

Interestingly, I have gone from the 76Mb deal to the 38Mb deal, and my download seped has increased from 13.3 to just over 16.....

That has nothing to do with any deals withh TT. It is down to a resync, or a noise source disappearing or maybe a connection being remade, or a damp connection drying out ...

In reply to a post by lee111s:

What does http://www.dslchecker.bt.com show for your address when using the address checker?

WBC FTTC Available on all lines.

Is that the part you we're looking for?

Openreach have admitted the issue was their fault. Apparently they are still working on my line and can't give any dates yet but they'll be looking to put a phone line in during December.

I now have a dedicated complaint handler and a direct phone number to her. She seems to be doing a good job compared to the off shore call centres I had a nightmare with.

My phone should go in early December and the day after that openreach said they expedite my broadband order because they messed up. So fingers crossed it all works out.

Further update,

BT finally installed my phone line yesterday. The 7th of December. I was told I would get a call today to order my broadband and get it expedited. I called BT and they called me back.

BT now say that they can't give me the infinity product because my line won't support it. The fastest they can get on my line currently is 1/2mb!!! They say it will only support copper broadband and not fibre. This is despite the fact that till October I had 15mb fibre with Talktalk.

So far they've taken the order from me in October to provide a phone line and fibre broadband. Something Talktalk were already doing. And since then they've tried to install an extra line due to the abroad call centre knowing little about what they were doing. And now I've had my line cut off after I cancelled Talktalk and restarted with BT but somewhere in that process I've gone from a line that can support 15mb fibre to half a meg copper only!

I know with hindsight that I should have transferred services from Talktalk to BT but with little knowledge of the broadband world I wasn't aware of this. Talktalk also told me when I cancelled their services under their price hike issue that I couldn't do this. However it should still be prettt simple to cancel a service provider and start with a new one. I can't see how this can drag on this long and cause so much stress.

I ordered BT in October. It's now December and I only got a working phone line yesterday and still have no broadband.

Why on earth is going on and why can my line now not support fibre?

Anyone able to shed some light on this madness?

Can you go here and use the new BT number (not post code or address checker), what does it say. If it fails try the address checker.

http://www.dslchecker.bt.com/

Here is my example, we need something similar

Address REMOVED on Exchange SHEPHERDS BUSH is served by Cabinet 60
Featured Products

Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Upstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Downstream Range(Mbps)

WBC FTTC Availibility Date

WBC SOGEA Availibility Date

High Low High Low
VDSL Range A (Clean) 80 80 20 20 -- Available --
VDSL Range B (Impacted) 80 70.9 20 17.7 -- Available --
ADSL Products

Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Upstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Downstream Range(Mbps)

Availability Date


WBC ADSL 2+ Up to 17 -- 10 to 19.5 Available --
WBC ADSL 2+ Annex M Up to 17 Up to 1.5 10 to 19.5 Available --
ADSL Max Up to 7.5 -- 6.5 to 8 Available --
WBC Fixed Rate 2 -- -- Available --
Fixed Rate 2 -- -- Available --
Other Offerings




Availability Date


VDSL Multicast -- -- -- Available --
ADSL Multicast -- -- -- Available --
For all ADSL and WBC Fibre to the Cabinet (VDSL or G.fast) services, the stable line rate will be determined during the first 10 days of service usage.

Edited by ukhardy07 (Thu 08-Dec-16 13:00:22)

BT do a different fibre broadband product for those that get slower speeds - it isn't infinity. It is also possible that your cabinet may be full but BT ought to be able to tell you if that is the case.

EDIT : And of course because it is a new line the database probably won't be up to date.

Edited by ian72 (Thu 08-Dec-16 12:57:01)

In reply to a post by ian72:

BT do a different fibre broadband product for those that get slower speeds - it isn't infinity. It is also possible that your cabinet may be full but BT ought to be able to tell you if that is the case.

EDIT : And of course because it is a new line the database probably won't be up to date.

yeah I don't mind the slower fibre product as long as I get my fibre at 15mb as before. Someone mentioned the other fibre product earlier in the thread. But at present they can't even give me that despite me having Talktalk fibre till October!

If the cabinet is full I'd be furious. I had fibre at my address till they messed up my order. If they can't accommodate me after getting rid of my line I'd be really unhappy. That would be shocking service.

Edited by deleted (Thu 08-Dec-16 22:29:53)

In reply to a post by ukhardy07:

Can you go here and use the new BT number (not post code or address checker), what does it say. If it fails try the address checker.

http://www.dslchecker.bt.com/

This is odd. When I did it with my old number or my post code I got different results. But now with my new number there's very little data appearing:

BT BROADBAND AVAILABILITY CHECKER
Telephone Number xxx on Exchange MOSSLEY is served by Cabinet 16
ADSL Products

Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Upstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Downstream Range(Mbps)

Availability Date


Left in Jumper

WBC Fixed Rate 1 -- -- Available -- --
Fixed Rate 1 -- -- Available -- --
Other Offerings




Availability Date



ADSL Multicast -- -- -- Available -- --
For all ADSL and WBC Fibre to the Cabinet (VDSL or G.fast) services, the stable line rate will be determined during the first 10 days of service usage.

This line is on a Market B Exchange.

Throughput/download speeds will be less than line rates and can be affected by a number of factors within and external to BT's network, Communication Providers' networks and within customer premises.

The Stop Sale date for Datastream is from 30-Jun-2012; the Formal Retirement date for Datastream is from 30-Jun-2014. The Stop Sale date for IPstream is from 31-Oct-2012; the Formal Retirement date for IPstream is from 30-Jun-2014.

Please note that postcode and address check results are indicative only. Most accurate results can be obtained from a telephone number, NAD, UPRN or Access Line ID (ALID) check.
Note:

Thank you for your interest.

My previous results for my old line are a few posts back in this thread.

I don't know how to interpret the above details. Any advice?

If I do an address check instead of my number I get this

BT BROADBAND AVAILABILITY CHECKER, Xxxxxxx on Exchange MOSSLEY is served by Cabinet 16
Featured Products

Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Upstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Downstream Range(Mbps)

WBC FTTC Availibility Date

WBC SOGEA Availibility Date

High Low High Low
VDSL Range A (Clean) 22 15 1.2 0.8 -- Available --
VDSL Range B (Impacted) 16.4 5.7 1.2 0.7 -- Available --
Featured Products

Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Upstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Downstream Range(Mbps)

WBC FTTP Availability Date


FTTP on Demand 330 30 -- Available --
ADSL Products

Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Upstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Downstream Range(Mbps)

Availability Date


WBC ADSL 2+ Up to 11 -- 6.5 to 15 Available --
WBC ADSL 2+ Annex M Up to 11 Up to 1 6.5 to 15 Available --
ADSL Max Up to 6 -- 5 to 8 Available --
WBC Fixed Rate 2 -- -- Available --
Fixed Rate 2 -- -- Available --
Other Offerings




Availability Date


VDSL Multicast -- -- -- Available --
ADSL Multicast -- -- -- Available --
For all ADSL and WBC Fibre to the Cabinet (VDSL or G.fast) services, the stable line rate will be determined during the first 10 days of service usage.

I don't see previous results.

Nevertheless, it normally takes a few days for line status changes to propagate from the operational systems to the checker. If your line went in yesterday, you might have to wait another day or two.

Cab 16 on Mossley has been upgraded ... so at minimum, you would expect a "VDSL Multicast" line to appear below the ADSL one.

In reply to a post by WWWombat:

I don't see previous results.

Nevertheless, it normally takes a few days for line status changes to propagate from the operational systems to the checker. If your line went in yesterday, you might have to wait another day or two.

Cab 16 on Mossley has been upgraded ... so at minimum, you would expect a "VDSL Multicast" line to appear below the ADSL one.

ive posted the results from my address, not my number, above. Does that suggest fibre?

I've had fibre here before. I can't understand why BT can't connect it now, 2 months later.

Yes. The data for that address hasn't changed. But the new phone number was last used to a completely different address on the exchange, possibly miles away. Are the two checks even showing the same cabinet number above the estimates table?

In reply to a post by pebbleheed:

In reply to a post by WWWombat:

Nevertheless, it normally takes a few days for line status changes to propagate from the operational systems to the checker. If your line went in yesterday, you might have to wait another day or two.

Cab 16 on Mossley has been upgraded ... so at minimum, you would expect a "VDSL Multicast" line to appear below the ADSL one.

ive posted the results from my address, not my number, above. Does that suggest fibre?

I've had fibre here before. I can't understand why BT can't connect it now, 2 months later.

The second set of results, from your address, do indeed suggest fibre. The giveaway is the "VDSL Multicast" line - which would appear even if the checker thought your line was too long. But the two "VDSL Range X" lines both show availability.

In general, then, the system knows cab 16 has been upgraded and has availability.

As I said, though, changes (and later consequences) often take a few days to propagate, and each update seems to happen overnight. Tomorrow make look different from today.

As an example, I had quite a problem on first ordering a line, because the original surveyor put in the wrong cabinet number. It took 3 days to be entered, and propagate through the system. It then took months for it to get fixed ... but it still took 3 days for the change to propagate through the checker. IIRC, the address check updated one day, and the phone-number check updated one or two days after that.

In reply to a post by WWWombat:

In reply to a post by pebbleheed:

In reply to a post by WWWombat:

Nevertheless, it normally takes a few days for line status changes to propagate from the operational systems to the checker. If your line went in yesterday, you might have to wait another day or two.

Cab 16 on Mossley has been upgraded ... so at minimum, you would expect a "VDSL Multicast" line to appear below the ADSL one.

ive posted the results from my address, not my number, above. Does that suggest fibre?

I've had fibre here before. I can't understand why BT can't connect it now, 2 months later.

The second set of results, from your address, do indeed suggest fibre. The giveaway is the "VDSL Multicast" line - which would appear even if the checker thought your line was too long. But the two "VDSL Range X" lines both show availability.

In general, then, the system knows cab 16 has been upgraded and has availability.

As I said, though, changes (and later consequences) often take a few days to propagate, and each update seems to happen overnight. Tomorrow make look different from today.

As an example, I had quite a problem on first ordering a line, because the original surveyor put in the wrong cabinet number. It took 3 days to be entered, and propagate through the system. It then took months for it to get fixed ... but it still took 3 days for the change to propagate through the checker. IIRC, the address check updated one day, and the phone-number check updated one or two days after that.

so in theory I should be able to get fibre back it's just a case of waiting for my line to update on their system for a few days then?

It registers you are served by that cabinet so in theory yes should be able to get it
I asked you to do the check to see if it didn't show a cabinet number, in that case the new line would have beeen exchange only and no fibre.

To me it looks promising

I had a similar situation moving to a new-build. I could only order ADSL because there wasn't an active phone line even though the neighbours had fibre.A couple of days after the line was connected I was able to order fibre.

The line appears to have updated on their system now,

Telephone Number xxxx on Exchange MOSSLEY is served by Cabinet 16
Featured Products

Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Upstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Downstream Range(Mbps)

WBC FTTC Availability Date

WBC SOGEA Availability Date

Left in Jumper

High Low High Low
VDSL Range A (Clean) 22 15 1.2 0.8 -- Available -- --
VDSL Range B (Impacted) 16.4 5.7 1.2 0.7 -- Available -- --
Featured Products

Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Upstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Downstream Range(Mbps)

WBC FTTP Availability Date


Left in Jumper

FTTP on Demand 330 30 -- Available -- --
ADSL Products

Downstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Upstream Line Rate(Mbps)

Downstream Range(Mbps)

Availability Date


Left in Jumper

WBC ADSL 2+ Up to 12 -- 9 to 15.5 Available -- --
WBC ADSL 2+ Annex M Up to 12 Up to 1 9 to 15.5 Available -- --
ADSL Max Up to 7.5 -- 6.5 to 8 Available -- --
WBC Fixed Rate 2 -- -- Available -- --
Fixed Rate 2 -- -- Available -- --
Other Offerings




Availability Date



VDSL Multicast -- -- -- Available -- --
ADSL Multicast -- -- --

BT have called. They've ordered BT Infinity One for me and estimate 15-22mb for my connection. As I was getting 15mb with Talktalk I'm not sure how they'll get it faster but if they do then I'll be happy.

I've been given a provisional date of the 19th of December but the complaints team are trying to move this to Wednesday as I've been messed around a lot. They'll let me know tomorrow if this is possible.

Just hoping it doesn't come to install day and they decide I can't get that speed and then have to re-order another fibre product with them and put me back to waiting.

It's a cabinet only install so I guess I'll see what happens when I come home from work one day and the LEDs are my hub are flickering. Hopefully I'm getting to the end of this now. It's been a nightmare and I've had to pay for extra 4g on my phone contract to keep connected at home.

Estimate being the key word.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Estimate being the key word.

yeah I appreciate it's an estimate. As long as I get at least what I had before I'm happy. Any faster is a bonus. I just want the install to go through now and get me back online. It's amazing the problems it causes when offline like this.

Success!!

Well it's taken a long time and a lot of calls but today my infinity 1 was connected.

And weirdly despite Talktalk giving me 15mb down I'm getting 20mb down on infinity. It's also more reliable so far which is a nice bonus too. Let's hope it stays this way.

Just hoping BT remember my promotional price and £125 cash back. We shall see.

If it's cash back via quidco or similar then no.

If it's the MasterCard stuff you need to apply online for it.

[pessimist mode]
Don't be too surprised if it falls a bit overnight a couple of times in the first few days.
[/ pessimist]

Even if it does it is very likely to be above your TalkTalk speed.

In reply to a post by ukhardy07:

If it's cash back via quidco or similar then no.

If it's the MasterCard stuff you need to apply online for it.

yeah I tried and it said I'm not eligible for it. I was when I ordered the services so I'll start chasing them up again if it doesn't change in the next day or so.

I was also meant to get a special rate. So I'll have to check its not full price.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

[pessimist mode]
Don't be too surprised if it falls a bit overnight a couple of times in the first few days.
[/ pessimist]

Even if it does it is very likely to be above your TalkTalk speed.

its bouncing between 20-25mb. That's a lot quicker than 15 from Talktalk. And the upload is better too. Even if it drops I'm happy as long as it's 15 or over to be honest. But 20-25 is great at the moment.

The Talktalk rep slated BT when I left them saying they give their own lines better speed and are underhand. I didn't believe him till now

The TalkTalk rep was either being "economical with the truth", or simply ignorant.

Openreach give providers a choice of three stability options at order time. I get a bit mixed up between BT Wholesale on their service and Openreach as BTW also provide three to match up with those, with different names, but basically they both come down to Speed, Stable, or Super Stable.

AIUI BT choose speed. TalkTalk choose Super Stable. That way TT get fewer complaints about disconnections, which is the whole point of Super Stable. Also with the speeds being lower because of that setting the average throughput per customer is likely to be lower. So they save money and avoid aggro.

Why I gave you the earlier warning is that when you moved from TalkTalk to BT you changed product from whatever you were on to the Openreach 55/10 product. When that happens Openreach DLM is reset to let the line connect as fast as it can. Then after a day or two it can bring it down to safe speeds, subject to those three options.

The speed dropped each day. It's finally settled at 19.27mb down. I'm perfectly happy with that and it's faster than talktalk was giving me so even better.

The connection seems a lot more reliable and the wifi provided by the new home hub is a noticeable difference over the talktalk router I had.

I'm happy now. It took bt some time but they finally sorted it.

And I'm getting my £125 reward card too.

So glad to hear, the talktalk super router hg633 has some major issues, they should have never changed the hg635...

ps could the talktalk router do this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTDb_mjti84

All good !