Other than BT tech support...

Where can I find out information regards a fault on my line?

I have found an OpenReach fault checker site here:
https://www.homeandwork.openreach.co.uk/help-and-sup...

But it says no major problems in my area.

Currently my DSL light is off and my OpenReach modem is not sync'ing.

When I ring BT it automatically says there is a fault in my area but the Indian call centre employee's are dreadful and dont explain why or an eta.

I have just got off the the phone nearly pulling my hair out jumping through hoops and answering basic questions whilst being told "thankNyou I will get you internetS sorted". 10 minute call later "You need to wait there is a fault in your area"

The chap kept asking me to tell him what Hub I use. I dont know how many ways there are to explain I dont use a BT homehub I use my own router, but I definitely used them all.

Is there a telephone number to a UK BT Internet call centre only?

Any help appreciated, thank you

If the provider has taken the fault and is investigating there is no more you can do.

The Openreach site will only be showing major faults, i.e. affecting lots of people in an area, so if its just you no matter how important your broadband is to you it will not show up there.

As for the modem, the reason they insist on hardware checks is that if the fault proves to be your modem there is an expensive charge for wasted time. HINT Worth keeping a HomeHub around just for this reason of keeping support happy and also double checking that the sync not being present is NOT because of a modem dying.

I was hoping there was a BT website that showed the fault and its current progress with maybe an ETA.

I understand they need to cross the T's and dot the i's but this was a comedy sketch phone call the amount of times I gave him the info required and then had to repeat it, including my name.

I do have a spare homehub in case my router fails but seeing as the OpenReach modem DSL line is off, you'd hope certain checks could be eliminated early on in the phone call and they look straight at the sync issue.

Another reason I wanted to check is that there are lots of service issue reports on the BT website but none of them are my Town or Dialling code. If I could see that it was in the list you'd have faith it actually was being worked on.

Thanks for replying MrSaffron

Edited by Scoot (Sun 27-Aug-17 11:40:23)

So have you tried the spare homehub to ensure it is not syncing, i.e. it a small chance by modems do die on the DSL sync side but its not obvious otherwise.

The backup Hub I have does not have a VDSL modem in it, its old.

The call centre has said there is a problem outside of my house so I am hoping that info is correct and I need to wait it out, just wanted to see some progress or eta.

Does your phone work ok?

Yes, phone line is fine

Try https://www.bt.com/consumerFaultTracking/public/faul...

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Try https://www.bt.com/consumerFaultTracking/public/faul...

That was the service page I was referring to a little earlier. My dialling code/area is not on there, if it was I would feel a little better knowing it was in progress and being looked in to.

Maybe my issue isn't wide spread enough to warrant it.

Thanks though BatBoy

Did you enter your phone number as requested?

Call BT's network status line on 0800 169 0199 and see if it mentions your area code there.

I've noticed dialing that number gives more up to date information.

In reply to a post by bowdon:

Call BT's network status line on 0800 169 0199 and see if it mentions your area code there.

I've noticed dialing that number gives more up to date information.

Thanks, did call it, went through options they did not mention my area.

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Did you enter your phone number as requested?

Yes, and it says there is a possible problem, however clicking on that shows this:

Reported Sat 26/08/2017 at 10:57 PM
Issue Ended Sun 27/08/2017 at 04:51 AM
We've fixed the recent problem in your area. To get your broadband running smoothly again, restart your BT Home Hub. Just turn it off at the mains, wait a few seconds, then turn it back on again. Give it a couple of minutes to finish starting up.

It is not fixed for me. Also it shows that I have an Open fault on my broadband, which looks like its my case number from reporting to BT directly.

Did you power your modem off and on?

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Did you power your modem off and on?

I understand why you ask, but of course

I have tried powering down the OpenReach Modem a few times this morning and logging in to the modem admin panel to see the status of the WAN/xDSL page and its not syncing.

When the initial fault occurred last night after about 2 hours it came back on and sync'd at 79999/19999 as it normally does, went to sleep and its obviously dropped again.

Until alternative hardware is used, it remains unknown that your current router is healthy.

BT have just confirmed on webchat it is an external issue and hope to have it fixed by 16:25 today. We shall see.

I'd have to agree with what others have said .... check out your own kit first.

Go to a neighbour with FTTC and ask if you can try your router for sync on their line.

Why would BT give me an ETA and say its being worked on by an engineer if they thought it was internal issue also?

Ok, I found an old BT Homehub 3.0 and plugged it in. That also does not detect any WAN connection or connect to DSL.

I also changed the RJ11 cable between the Homehub and socket. Still no internet. Guess I am waiting until 16:25.

Pity you don't have a HH5 to try, they're only a tenner on ebay

Would it make much difference testing on a HH3 to a HH5?

Yes it would, the 5 has a built in VDSL modem, the 3 is reliant on your original modem.

As to why would they give you an ETA ? Because they feel obliged to say something when asked.

Probably a failure of the AC supply at the cabinet and that either an eta for the DNO or for openreach to change the batteries.

Speaking to an English customer service employee this time round a few minutes ago, I thought I might get more sense but I got the same scripted response.

He said the network team are looking in to it and should be fixed by Tuesday now.

Honestly didn't expect to get it fixed over the bank holiday

In reply to a post by witchunt:

Probably a failure of the AC supply at the cabinet and that either an eta for the DNO or for openreach to change the batteries.

What does this mean, AC as in aircon?

I only ask as my internet has just come back on at 11pm at night? Hoping it stays on.

Any checks I can do? Logged in to my Huawei admin panel at the moment.

AC mains supply - electricity. Hence the reference to replacing the backup batteries with with fully charged ones

Edited by deleted (Sun 27-Aug-17 23:27:56)

I was naively thinking overheating issue. Weird time for the fault to be fixed or for it to come back no? if it stays on that is, because originally it went off about 10pm last night came back on about midnight maybe and was off again when I woke up in the morning and has been down all day.

Edited by Scoot (Sun 27-Aug-17 23:36:36)

I expect openreach have swapped the batteries to restore power to the cabinet. Will probably have to do it again in the morning unless the power company sort out the supply issue

Scoot - A complete waste of time calling India for anything unless you are a masochist. On the rare occasions I have an external tech/billing problem I post the problem concisely on the BT forums, this is the Infinity section:

BT forum Infinity

Ask for Mod assistance, ignore 95% of the others who reply they are self styled gurus. Login using your BT ID details. The Mod team are UK based and have the authority to get things done, great people too.

What a surprise woke up and the internet is no longer the DSL light on the open reach modem has gone off again????

What the hell ? is going on.

Maybe if this is a power failure waiting on another set of batteries, i.e. they only last so long

The batteries have run down again. They can't be recharged because the cab has lost its mains power supply, so the batteries will need replacing again.

That's just a guess though based on what witchunt said.

Edited by deleted (Mon 28-Aug-17 09:26:56)

Would BT really have came out last night and changed the batteries at 11pm at night just so people could have internet from 11pm to 6am.

Would they have not waited until normal business hours and changed them this morning so people had internet throughout the day?

Thanks for the replies all.

Yes, they're dealt with on a pretty high priority, however depending on engineer availability it's not always possible to swap them over as soon as one is out of charge.

And its back on at 11:16. If I wasn't in the shower I would have Ran round the corner to the Cabinet to see if an engineer was there to politely ask if it was the AC as many of you suspect and if the batteries had been changed or the actual power issue resolved.

How long the connection stays up is anyones guess at the moment.

Typically last around 8 hours depending on battery condition and load. What generally happens when there is a prolonged AC supply failure is openreach will arranged periodic battery swaps from a nearby donor cabinet. As it's a bank holiday and the weather is generally good they probably can't get regular resources to do the battery changes in time before the cab loses power. I imagine the power supply won't be resolved until tomorrow o they'll probably be back out again this evening if they can get someone on call

Edited by witchunt (Mon 28-Aug-17 12:04:09)

You weren't far off witchunt. it lasted 9hrs 2minutes.

Just gone out again

Expect it to be back on again tonight

So, you were correct, managed to grab the Openreach employee who HAS been changing the batteries.

Apparently the power meter inside the cab cannot be touched by them and he has been swapping the batteries as and when he can, but he comes from Banbury which is like 60 miles not sure why there is nobody closer?

He has been emailing and trying to get hold of the company who need to sort the electricity out but they have not been responding. He said it was effecting 130 people connected to the cab. Not sure why I have not seen more complaints anywhere, guess its only my family going mad without internet over the bank holiday into today.

The power company still haven't replied and he has just changed the battery, he said he would be back at 1 or 2am this morning to swap it again and then back again in the morning. Im surprised they go to such lengths to swap the batteries to be fair.

Ya know what annoys me the most is the customers have to scrap around asking you kind soles to explain things or find the engineers ourselves instead of Openreach feeding this info back to the ISP's for them to let their customers know.

Waiting for something to be repaired is no fun, but waiting for something with no explanation or ETA is infuriating, especially when they keep saying it will be repaired by X and that time passes with no explanation and no repair. At least when you know whats going on, you feel confident people are trying to resolve it.

BT on the phone have said its being worked on, when pushed for info all they say is we don't know whats wrong but we know its being worked on. And they have given me 4 times of which it will be fixed by so far and each time its passed that given eta they have given me another even though the engineers know themselves there is NO definite repair date or time until the electricity supplier respond and even then the repair wont necessarily be straight forward.

Edited by Scoot (Tue 29-Aug-17 20:32:47)

What's the alternative, leave you with no internet?

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

What's the alternative, leave you with no internet?

Don't get me wrong I'm happily surprised they are doing it.

Edited by Scoot (Tue 29-Aug-17 18:12:45)

Looks like you'll have to email the BT CEO to find out

A decent ISP will relay the relevant info from Openreach.
Chrysalis had something similar recently with power being down to the cabinet for a few days. His batteries were changed much more punctual though, every 8 hours before the batteries actually died. This meant only a brief downtime 3 times a day.
Sky eventually relayed the relevant info.

If you shout and scream enough BT put you through to the right people who can read you Openreachs notes. Make enough noise and they assign a case handler who will call each day that an update is due, or the day work is expected done.

Openreach are pretty transparent with ISPs. Unfortunately most ISPs aren't so good as relaying that info to us.

The OP has the full story. CEO can't add to that.

Apparently the power meter inside the cab cannot be touched by them and he has been swapping the batteries as and when he can, but he comes from Banbury which is like 60 miles not sure why there is nobody closer?

They only have a limited number of qualified power engineers and they aren't on duty every day

It sounds like an issue that needs to be escalated at the lower company, if they don't even return calls.

The CEO route is one way to get issues escalated.