Can I tell if I have been put back down to ADSL?

Is there a way I can check using a BT HH6 if I am on VDSL or ADSL?

The reason I am asking is that I have recently requested a Sales Revert from BT when I was offered an unsuitable upgrade to my Broadband package, BT failed to cancel it before the job went ahead and have now got my account all twisted up so that I think I have been put back onto ADSL rather than my previous VDSL package.

I would like to check my facts before raising a complaint.

The history of my home is that it is a rural new build. It is around 3300m from the cabinet as the cable runs and I used to be on what I believed was BT Faster Broadband Unlimited 40/2 VDSL. I have a HH6 but tended to use my own Zyxel 3925-B10 and ASUS AC-RT86U. I regularly synced at around 8500 down, 1120 up with SNR readings in the range of 5 to 7dB. I am out of contract and was paying £51.49 for Broadband and Weekend phone calls and Landline.

A couple of weeks ago I started seeing offers on the My BT page saying that I was on "copper broadband" and should come and join the Fibre side for better speed and reliability. I was under the impression that I was already on VDSL, not copper but I tried to apply for the online offer of "Superfast Unlimited at the same price as you are currently paying for 18 months".

I am aware that ADSL products tend to be cheaper than VDSL and since I was out of contract anyway I thought I would see what the offer entailed. The website then said the offer was actually not available to me and I should contact the sales team.

The sales team said that I was apparently indeed on copper broadband and that I would get better speed and reliability on Superfast Unlimited but they could only offer a price freeze (at £51.49) for 18 months - no better price deal.

I thought I would take it up anyway just to make sure that I was on the most modern side of the cabinet and on the offchance that there would be a speed upgrade. I did mention my distance from the cabinet but I was informed that there should be at least a modest speed jump.

I agreed and waited for the confirmation email. It turns out they had actually signed me up for Superfast Plus Unlimited. The price would be held at £51.49 for 18 months then would rise another £7.50 to make up the difference between my current price and the Superfast Plus.

I decided this was not a good deal and phoned to cancel before the upgrade went through.

The UK sales rep agreed I would not see any improvement on speed and was giving up my "out of contract" benefit for nothing. He raised a Cancellation before the sale went ahead.

Unfortunately the tech team Rejected the cancel and proceeded with the upgrade anyway. When the service came back I was on EXACTLY the same speed as I had been before. Around 8500 down, 1120 up. No difference, as expected. Ah well at least I knew there would be no speed increase at that distance.

The Sales rep actually noticed and reopened the rollback request. It did not happen. The roll back request was simply ignored and closed again.

The next time I got through, the UK sales rep escalated to a Manager and asked for a "Sales Revert" which was scheduled for yesterday. I put the BT HH6 back on the line in anticipation.

When I checked the My BT page yesterday, it was back to showing BT Faster Broadband Unlimited and Weekend phone calls... but the speed was dreadful. I was now on 5400 down 448 up. I waited overnight for it to stabilise and there was no change. I also noticed the SNR on the up line was hugely different at 23dB. Surely the up line should resync faster if the signal was that good?

I turned off the BT HH6 and put my old Zyxel back on to check in DSLstats but immediately the Zyxel lit the orange DSL light and the red internet light. This made me worried. The BT HH6 worked, the Zyxel no longer did. I started wondering if I was on ADSL.

BT Availability Checker

BT HH6 Stats

I don't really know what I am looking for but in the HH6 logs is this... ":WAN: SENSING AUTO ADSL"

When I run a ThinkBroadband Speed Test and look at the stats, I see...

"Slower than 86.7% of tests in Scotland
Slower than 58.0% of tests on your ISP using ADSL/ADSL2+
Quality 2.42(E) is worse than average 0.76 on your ISP(A) for ADSL/ADSL2+"

Is there a way I can definitively check what package I am currently on before I phone back again and do you think I should raise a Complaint or a Fault? There is absolutely no point in threatening to leave as I have no alternative providers.

The modulation line shows you are on ADSL.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.992.1

You are on G.992.1 which is adsl

VDSL and ADSL are both delivered over copper, but VDSL is perversely branded "fibre".

If you were getting >1Mbps upstream on 3km+ that means it's highly likely you were on VDSL. Of course, the only thing that really matters is what package you were paying for. If it was called "BT Faster Broadband 40/2" then it must be VDSL, since ADSL maxes at 24M.

Wrong marketing E-mails are quite common, and the website was quite right to reject your attempt to "upgrade".

BT should have put you back on the exact package you were before. However if you used the words "copper broadband" during this discussion then it seems someone might have thought you meant you wanted to be put onto ADSL

FWIW, £51.49 per month is a high price for VDSL. There are plenty of companies offering 40/10 at under £25 and 80/20 at under £30, including line rental (e.g. plusnet, sky, vodafone). Maybe you won't get evening/weekend calls, but typically add around £4 per month for unlimited anytime calls. These prices do tend to rise at the end of the contract period, but usually you just have to phone up and threaten to leave and they'll put you on the package they're offering new subscribers.

If you want to stay with BT, you have to get them to fix this mess and put you back on the exact same product you were on before. Otherwise, if they've confirmed you're still out of contract, then you can move.

I�m on FTTP at a property with no copper line whatsoever, and the BT site also claims I should upgrade from my �copper line� to fibre!

The account site is so broken.

Thanks to all the folks who have confirmed we have been put back onto ADSL.

If I wanted to keep the landline and its existing number but move the broadband to a different 40/10 provider, what are my options and what do I have to ask for?

I am still under the BT Line Rental Saver deal but it is coming up for renewal in April. The key thing for us is to keep the phone number if possible.

BT is too greedy, its prices away over the top. For some years I've been with Plusnet for £29.48 per month, made up by line rental in advance £16.49 pm, ADSL2 £5.99, anytime calls £7. Two year contract.

If you don't want anytime calls deduct £7 and I think weekend calls are free, so it's £22.48. On renewal last September they upgraded me to fibre for an extra penny per month. We're 3km from the exchange and the cabinet is 300m away; we had about 11Mb on ADSL2 and now have 35Mb on fibre at busy times, 36/37 off peak. I'm told the PN router (cost £7 postage) is just a BT HH6 in a simple sackcloth dress and we find it does all we need.

The only downside is the PN call centre waiting times though the UK staff are great when you do get through, and their nightmare accounts system which has screwed up every renewal. They will sort out the mischarging eventually, took them a couple of months, but once sorted we remain very pleased with our PN service. Hope this helps!

I will have a look at deals providing I can keep my existing landline number. I am also under the BT Line Rental Saver deal for a couple of months.

Sadly I am 3300m from the VDSL cabinet in a small group of 7 properties so our VDSL speeds tend to give us 7 down, 0.8 up. Two of my neighbours have paid for a second pair and had them bonded to give them 15 down but that is not a sensible option for me.

In reply to a post by DanielCoffey67:

I also noticed the SNR on the up line was hugely different at 23dB. Surely the up line should resync faster if the signal was that good?

On ADSL, which we've established you are on, the upstream maximum is the 448kbps you are on, though there is an option for upstream 832kbps. Whether BT Consumer offer that I don't know, and it would be more expensive.

As the others have said, you need to be returned to exactly what you were on before. If they can't do that, then I would have thought many BT Wholesale based ISPs would be available, such as Plusnet that has been mentioned. That isn't a certainty though. Just seeing what the likes of Plusnet, Aquiss and uno offer when you put your number in would tell you.

Also check what Sky and TalkTalk websites tell you, as the fact that samknows doesn't mention them is no longer reliable.

In reply to a post by DougM:

I�m on FTTP at a property with no copper line whatsoever, and the BT site also claims I should upgrade from my �copper line� to fibre!

The account site is so broken.

I totally agree, I am on Ultrafast 2 Plus with BT and yet when I check the site it says I cannot even get Ultrafast but can get Superfast 4 Fibre, their site is soooo broken and I have told them this a few times now and nothing has been fixed.

Paul