Cabinet stuck on activate.

Around September last year we finally was moved to in scope and the fibre project started moving forwards. It moved into the activate stage in the middle of December and i contacted Openreach and they said that the estimated project completion date was December. Fast forward to today and it's still stuck on Activate, so near yet so far.

Does anyone have any experience of this? Reading some stories people have posted and they said they was on the activate stage for 6 months. Hoping this will not be the same for us.

Hartington Exchange cabinet 4.

The cabinet is/was estimated to go live in April 2019.
The middle of December to the end of January is not a long time to be on Activate.

If it's an infill cabinet it can be many months longer than the average cabinet till its live.

Given that the original go live target is/was April 2019 you should hope for April, with anything before being a bonus.

Oh how'd you find that information out? When i have looked i can't find that information at all. Weird how Openreach have told me end of December previously. Guess Openreach just replied with a standard reply sort of thing.

Also thank you for the reply.

https://www.telecom-tariffs.co.uk/codelook.htm?xid=3...

Scroll down the page to where it shows all the Fibre cabinets on your exchange.

Just an update. Noticed Silver lock was fitted on Friday so hopefully it should be soon. Interestingly the code look website had moved from an April launch to March launch but it seems they missed that target window. Fingers crossed we'll be able to order soon, 3Mb is killing me currently.

The estimates on the DSL checker are high 57.9 and 40 low on the clean line. By my estimates I'm 500 metres from the cabinet so i'm guessing it'll be on the lower end but will be happy with anything over 20Mb at the moment.

Well still no sight of it being activated. I had spoken to openreach on twitter and they said its target is middle of May so here's hoping. However i have noticed on roadworks.org that the ducting that they was cleaning out back in March now has work planned on it to install new ducting that is dated 18 June - 12 August. I really hope that this doesn't mean that the fibre is delayed until then. Anyone have any experience with this before?

If the duct is congested (doesn't have space to fit another cable) then they have to dig a new duct, and yes that takes time.

Yea it would seem that is the issue, work is on-going with the ducting. The road has been closed and can see they have dug and resurfaced a trench. They seem to be moving pretty quick with the laying of it so not sure why the road is closed for a couple of months (Not even been shut for a week yet) time will tell I guess.

Just frustrating that when you get in touch with Openreach the default stance is "It's due for completion in a few weeks" seems that there is a lack of information for the customer service team.

With the road shut until middle of August I�m guessing September at the earliest for it. Seems the cabinet is ready due to the silver lock fitted but I�m guessing with the ducting issue there�s no fibre connected to it currently.

Road closures are normally booked for longer than they're expected to take to give a contingency.
Don't get too disheartened!

Thanks for the response, hopefully that's the case then.

It will come eventually just have to stop checking as regularly as i do haha

We're finally able to order!

Roadworks finished on the 3/7/2019 just as CHW_BA12 suggested they may finish early

Fibre was installed Friday 12/7/2019 and I could order on Monday 15/7/2019.

BT have given me estimated speeds of:

- download speed will be between 35Mbps and 36Mbps
- upload speed will be between 8Mbps and 9Mbps

Kinda disappointed with as we're only 400m away from the cabinet but we will see once its installed. Due live on the 29/7/2019.

30+Mbps is a lot better than 3Mbps anyway

In reply to a post by Robocop_99:

BT have given me estimated speeds of:

- download speed will be between 35Mbps and 36Mbps
- upload speed will be between 8Mbps and 9Mbps

Kinda disappointed with as we're only 400m away from the cabinet but we will see once its installed. Due live on the 29/7/2019.

30+Mbps is a lot better than 3Mbps anyway

That is just an estimate, you might get more or less speed, but I think that is low for that distance, but I might be wrong.

I am on FTTP, but can also get FTTC if I wanted to.
Now I am at least 450m away from my fibre cabinet going the route our copper cables are routed, and I am estimated the following:

[VDSL Range A (Clean)]
Down: 53.7 to 76.2 Mbps
Up: 16.1 to 20 Mbps

[VDSL Range B (Impacted)]
Down: 49 to 73.8 Mbps
Up: 14.3 to 20 Mbps

Shown >> HERE << results from the BT DSL Checker.

Maybe the results for mine is too high and might be due to its not even been tested so it might even be lower if I went with FTTC, but due to the state of our cable used on my line, it wouldn't be worth it, hence my copper line is no longer in use.

Don't forget its just an estimate, so if I was you I would just wait and see what speeds you really get when its live.

Paul

Thank you for the reply Paul

I didn't know how accurate their estimates are. Looking on the DSL checker i get these results for my telephone number:

[VDSL Range A (Clean)]
Down: 38.1 to 57 Mbps
Up: 8.5 to 8.5 Mbps

[VDSL Range B (Impacted)]
Down: 35 to 55.4 Mbps
Up: 7.8 to 13.5 Mbps

So that would put me at the lower end of those if BT's estimates are correct. Not sure which is more accurate BT or the DSL checker. Would be chuffed to bits with 40+.

Currently i have a DSL-AC68U that i use instead of the BT supplied router. Will I get roughly the same speeds between the routers?

In reply to a post by Robocop_99:

Currently i have a DSL-AC68U that i use instead of the BT supplied router. Will I get roughly the same speeds between the routers?

I would strongly recommend against using the Asus DSL-AC68 as it uses the notorious Mediatek dsl chipset which is well known to cause frequent disconnections on vdsl lines potentially causing the dlm to kick in and band (cap) your line. You�re better off sticking with the BT router on its own or putting the BT router in bridge/modem mode (if you can) and using the Asus as a stand-alone router. If you�re looking for an alternative router then consider something like the Asus DSL-AC88 or Billion 8900AX, both use a Broadcom chipset and are great routers.

Basically ISP play it safe when they estimate the speed, this is due to they might not know the actual speed, and plus if the customer got slower than what the ISP stated then they "might" be able to leave right there.

So to play it safe, they choose the lowest speed as an estimation.

The DSL Checker values are also estimations, which will change over time while its in use.

Like it says my ADSL2+ speed would be up to 7Mbps / 4.5 to 11Mbps, we got about 4.5 to 5Mbps at most that went down to about 0Mbps where the line goes dead (i.e. when its becomes windy and rains heavy) sadly no spare copper pairs, so we had to just deal with it.

BT were nice about it by sending out engineers without charging us.

Paul

In reply to a post by Robocop_99:

Currently i have a DSL-AC68U that i use instead of the BT supplied router. Will I get roughly the same speeds between the routers?

You'll get less with the DSL-AC68U than any other modem.

The Asus DSL modems have a horrible unstable Mediatek chipset.

OpenReach have banned the **Asus DSL models from using G.INP.

** Only the Asus DSL-AC88U will get G.INP as it had a Broadcom chipset.

Edited by j0hn83 (Tue 16-Jul-19 12:59:02)

In reply to a post by Robocop_99:

I didn't know how accurate their estimates are. Looking on the DSL checker i get these results for my telephone number:

[VDSL Range A (Clean)]
Down: 38.1 to 57 Mbps
Up: 8.5 to 8.5 Mbps

[VDSL Range B (Impacted)]
Down: 35 to 55.4 Mbps
Up: 7.8 to 13.5 Mbps

So that would put me at the lower end of those if BT's estimates are correct. Not sure which is more accurate BT or the DSL checker.

They're the same figures, from the same database.

BT (retail) have chosen to show you only the bottom end of the download speeds for B and A ranges - i.e. 35 and 38.1 respectively. They can be reasonably confident you'll get at least this; if you don't there's probably a fault. It minimises customer confusion.

BT Wholesale / Openreach are showing the whole range of possible speeds for A and B, including if you happen to have a squeaky-clean perfect line with no faulty joints, no interference etc.

In practice you might get anywhere within these ranges. You could even get the top end of the range for upload and the bottom end for download, or vice versa.

Good job i said about my router then 0_o

I'll have a look into the DSL-AC88. Any others you would recommend?

What i like about the ASUS is how i can monitor the network via an app on my phone whoch i find handy sometimes.

Edited by deleted (Tue 16-Jul-19 14:19:34)

Yea i get the playing safe part on their behalf. Especially with how the line speed can vary so much due to external variables. Better to give lower estimates and then if the customer gets higher then great and if not then the customer will be ok with it anyway as they's what was estimated.

My ADSL2+ values are at 1mb on the checker however we actually get 3mb roughly on it at the moment.

In reply to a post by Robocop_99:

I'll have a look into the DSL-AC88. Any others you would recommend?

The others in the same class (Wave2 Mu-Mimo 4x4) are the Billion 8900AX, TP Link VR2800 and Netgear D7800. You won't be disappointed with any of these

In reply to a post by Robocop_99:

I'll have a look into the DSL-AC88. Any others you would recommend?

If you don't mind a two box solution, I use an Asus RT-AC88U with a Zyxel VMG1312-B10A set as a modem.

Yea I've been looking today at the possibility of going that way. I'm thinking i'll miss the features i have on my ASUS like the bandwidth limiting on devices and being able to see the live bandwidth on my phone.

Looking into it has gotten me even more confused as people say go with a modem that is similar to the cabinet model. The cabinet we have is a Huawei so not sue whats the best modem to use along with that.

I'm guessing the features on the none DSL ASUS are the same as the DSL version?

Also if i'm understanding you set the modem to bridge mode and then set the connection details on the router.

The multibox solution I use is Draytek Vigor V130 + Mikrotik hEX PoE + Unifi AC Lite (x2, ceiling mounted) and I'm extremely happy with it.

However the hEX PoE has a smaller processor than the ASUS (800MHz MIPS single core) and I've yet to see how it performs on 330/30 FTTP.

In reply to a post by Robocop_99:

I'm thinking i'll miss the features i have on my ASUS like the bandwidth limiting on devices and being able to see the live bandwidth on my phone.

You'll be able to do the same on a standalone router so not an issue at all.

In reply to a post by Robocop_99:

Looking into it has gotten me even more confused as people say go with a modem that is similar to the cabinet model. The cabinet we have is a Huawei so not sue whats the best modem to use along with that.

Yes, if you're connected to a Huawei cabinet then ideally you want to be using a Broadcom chipset for the highest sync rate & stability, though its not guaranteed.

In reply to a post by Robocop_99:

I'm guessing the features on the none DSL ASUS are the same as the DSL version?

The Asus DSL-AC88U is more or less the same as the RT AC88U but with a Broadcom DSL modem bolted on. I would only go for the RT version if you need advanced features. The DSL-AC88U also supports g.fast so if your FTTC cabinet was to get upgraded to g.fast one day, then you coulld continue to use this on a g.fast connection if you were to upgrade your connection.

Edited by deleted (Wed 17-Jul-19 09:53:10)

Yea not sure the G.fast will be an option as i'm not near enough to the cabinet for it.

I'll keep in mind with the broadcom then. Thinking that a modem + router will be a better solution than having it all into one.

Am i right in saying that the Draytek 103 is not a broadcom chip in it? Im struggling on finding information out on certain modems. I think i saw that the Draytek uses a Lantiq chipset.

In reply to a post by Robocop_99:

Yea not sure the G.fast will be an option as i'm not near enough to the cabinet for it.

I'll keep in mind with the broadcom then. Thinking that a modem + router will be a better solution than having it all into one.

Am i right in saying that the Draytek 103 is not a broadcom chip in it? Im struggling on finding information out on certain modems. I think i saw that the Draytek uses a Lantiq chipset.

Ooops forgot that you�re too far from the cabinet to get g fast

Yep the Draytek 130 uses a Lantiq chipset and it�s not a bad modem at all though it might sync a few meg lower than a Broadcom one. If you wanted a 2 box setup then go for the something like the Asus rt-ac86/87/88 and use a Tplink W9970 in bridge mode - the w9970 uses the same Broadcom chipset as the equivalent Zyxel model but is far cheaper if bought brand new.

Thank you so much for the help, if i could give kudos i would!

I have ordered a W9970 and plan to use it as a modem for my DSL-AC68U and hopefully eliminating the bad DSL chipset on that so i'll just use my AC68U as a router.

I guess i put the W9970 into bridge mode and then set the WAN on my AC86U as Ethernet WAN to tell it to use the W9970. As stated here https://www.asus.com/uk/support/FAQ/1016292/

Good choice

Yeah you will need to put the W9970 into 'bridge' mode (aka modem only mode). Very easy to do, have a look here at the emulator (assuming you bought the latest V2). Simply go to Network>WAN settings>add and choose 'connection type' as 'bridge'. You then setup a PPPoE connection on the DSL-AC68 (the instructions to add a WAN port on the DSL-AC68 are correct) and bobs yer uncle. Btw don't forget to turn off the wireless radios on the W9970, the wifi on the Asus will be far superior.

Edited by deleted (Wed 17-Jul-19 13:14:07)

I just bought the one off amazon so i presume that will be the latest model? Not sure how i can tell at all.

Sounds easy enough to do. I guess putting it in bridge mode will disable stuff like DHCP as well?

Amazon will deliver it tomorrow so I may install it on my ADSL and then switch it over to VDSL once my activation date goes live.

Amazon *should* be selling the latest version of W9970 (assuming its been released) but not a biggie if its not - the older version should perform just as well.

By putting the modem into bridge mode this automatically disables features like DHCP routing so yeah nothing to worry about.

Edit: you will almost certainly get the W9970 V2 as it was released in 2017. It should state on the bottom of the modem what version it is.

Edited by deleted (Wed 17-Jul-19 14:12:03)

But might manually checking for firmware updates be a good idea?

I think by V2 and V1 there is an actual hardware difference not just software versions if im understanding correctly.

I always check for firmware updates before installing such kit. (Given that most are updated offline anyway). Anything kept in stock is likely to be out of date.

Agreed, always best to check your modem/router is running the latest firmware before setting everything up. However the latest firmware on the W9970 V2 is from Sept 2017, so it should already have the latest fw installed but of course the OP should still check.

So VDSL went live today. Running speed tests I'm getting around 32/35 Mbps down with 10 Mbps upload.

Here is the DSL stats on the TD-W9970 when i switched it on:

https://imgur.com/EPfGUwk

Here are the DSL stats after about 6 hours:

https://imgur.com/iTbfocF

Just wondering if this means i will see an improvement of speed over time or if this is what i should expect going forward. Either way super happy to have VDSL now

Edited by deleted (Mon 29-Jul-19 23:46:55)

Both those sets of stats show you are on the Openreach 40/10 product. What did you order?

They also show you should get considerably more if you were on 80/20. It looks like the full whack, but IIRC it doesn't work quite that way. Particularly if you are the first on the cabinet.

I'd say you'd possibly get more than the highest of the estimates you posted earlier though, even on high takeup on the cabinet by others.

Your modem stats look good, at my previous house I estimated my line length at 350m and had a line attenuation of around 12dB and could always got full 80/20 Mbps sync. You have a good chance of full speed on your line particularly when G.Inp is activated (usually in a couple of days). However you are capped by a 40/10 product at present so need to upgrade if you want the extra speed. The checker speeds seem rather low but they are only estimates.

Now this is where it gets confusing as to what speed i should i get. I am with BT and i have the super fibre plus package.

When i look at our address on BT we have a choice of super fibre essentials or super fibre. Now obviously the essentials package will be lower speed so i cant see how i can get a package at 80/20. Also my package just says average speeds of 50mb so it doesn't tell me what my my rate should be.

Kind of frustrating here on BT's part as i dont know what i should be getting. May have to get in touch with them.

Anyone got any experience with this package at all?

BT sells three speeds

40/10 aka Essentials
55/10 Superfast
80/20 Superfast 2

Hmm well i should at least be on 55/10 then i presume.

Bt dont offer me the superfast 2 package for some reason.

I guess something is wrong then if i have superfast fibre and im only syncing at 40/10

Just wanted to double check im not wrong before i get in touch with them.

Edited by deleted (Tue 30-Jul-19 08:59:26)

From the sync speeds you are not on Superfast, so BT have provisioned incorrectly. Try asking them to put you on Superfast 2 for no extra charge because of their mistake. I expect the computer will say no.

Some ISPs base the package you can have on the checker results so you may have a struggle trying to persuade support that based on the modem stats the estimates are very low and you should be able to order the 80/20 service. Best of luck.

Well this is interesting as according to certain places.

"Superfast Fibre Unlimited is the old Infinity1 and thus is the average of customers on Infinity1 whereas Superfast Fibre Plus is the old Infinity2 and therefore the average speed of Infinity2 customers."

taken form here - https://community.bt.com/t5/BT-Fibre-broadband/Super...

So infinity 2 should be the 80/20 speed?

Also on thinkbroadband's website the superfast fibre plus package details it says max speed is 76 mbps

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/isps/bt/packages/supe...

So i am on the correct package i presume. Just getting 40/10 speed for some reason? Im guessing i should call them and see what's going on then.

You are on a 40/10 limited speed package, which is presumably not what you ordered, what package do you think you are on? Tell BT they have got it wrong.

Well according to MyBT when i login on my account, it should be the superfast fibre plus. Looks like i am going to have to get in touch with them.

Superfast fibre plus is the 80/20 service, you are not on that package.

While the adverts may show averages for 80/20 fully expect them to connect people onto slower wholesale tiers when the provider things people will not benefit.

Based on estimates given i.e.

[VDSL Range A (Clean)]
Down: 38.1 to 57 Mbps
Up: 8.5 to 8.5 Mbps

[VDSL Range B (Impacted)]
Down: 35 to 55.4 Mbps
Up: 7.8 to 13.5 Mbps

Having a provider connect someone on 40/10 (maybe 55/10) but not 80/20 looks perfectly logical. Also what speed was given at the time of signing up.

The key is whether provider is willing to upgrade to the more expensive for them product based on evidence of the router speeds.

In the past this sort of thing was easier, but as providers worry about meeting the various speed rules that now exist, it is harder to go against what the computer says.

Edited by MrSaffron (Tue 30-Jul-19 13:00:24)

In reply to a post by Robocop_99:

Well according to MyBT when i login on my account, it should be the superfast fibre plus. Looks like i am going to have to get in touch with them.

You'll probably go round in circles on the phone.

The mods on the BT community forum would have it sorted pretty quick.

So even if i pay for the essentials package which is essentially what i'm getting now i would have the same speed? Also interestingly just checkedn on the DSL checker and an observed speed has appeared today

Observed Speeds

VDSL

Max Observed Downstream Speed (Mbps) 78
Max Upstream Observed Speed (Mbps) 20
Observed Date 2019-07-30

ADSL

Max Observed Downstream Speed (Mbps) 4.19
Max Upstream Observed Speed (Mbps) 0.45
Observed Date 2018-11-10

But im not understanding here is whether i should contact support or not. Are you saying this is the max speed i will get no matter what package i am on and i shouldn't enquire about the speeds MrSaffron?

Edit: just saw your edit. speed was quoted at 35-36 which is what im getting. Just slightly peeved to be paying for the superfast plus package if this is the speed i would get if i payed for the essentials package. As this is the speed that is quoted on the essentials package when i look on BT's website.

Edited by deleted (Tue 30-Jul-19 13:13:26)

Your line would without doubt go a lot faster on the top Openreach package (80/20). It would also reach the full 55Mbps sync speed on the 55/10.

Bear in mind that actual throughput speeds are possibly 10% or so below the sync speed that the router reports.

If you would like faster then push for it as others have recommended. If you are happy with what you have got then push to get the lower price. In either case, as suggested by an earlier poster, the BT support forums are probably the best route.

The observed speeds show a connection on 80/20 which is strange, what do the estimated speeds say now and what are your actual sync speeds from the modem stats. There is something fishy going on!

Ummmmm!

Check the router stats again. That "observed maximum" I believe is an actual sync speed so the connection may have been upgraded.

It seems we both spotted that at the same time .

Ohhh interesting! I didnt realise the observed speed was the actual sync speed. Im currently at work so will investigate when i get home in a few hours and report back.

To get the higher speeds you now need to pester and point out what the checker is now showing...

BT made a choice based on the estimates it had at the time and now real data is available it is clear a lot faster is possible, getting that across to people who will invariably just look at the speed they said you would get and not understand will be the battle.

Looking forward to hearing.

I've never put much stock in the "observed speed" on the checker because for my Mum's number it says 80 Mbps but she has only ever had the 40/10 package since FTTC has available.

In reply to a post by simon194:

I've never put much stock in the "observed speed" on the checker because for my Mum's number it says 80 Mbps but she has only ever had the 40/10 package since FTTC has available.

"observed speeds" is what it says, they take what you are sync'd at and plonk it on that results page.

In reply to a post by Realalemadrid:

The observed speeds show a connection on 80/20 which is strange, what do the estimated speeds say now and what are your actual sync speeds from the modem stats. There is something fishy going on!

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Ummmmm!

Check the router stats again. That "observed maximum" I believe is an actual sync speed so the connection may have been upgraded.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Looking forward to hearing.

Well the router is still connected at 9999 Kbps up and 39994 Kbps down. Max rate is at 22056 Kbps up and 83643 Kbps down.

I have tried explaining the situation to customer support and all i get is "Well it reaches it's speed we quoted". Should i try and push the issue via the BT forms as was suggested earlier?

In reply to a post by Robocop_99:

Well the router is still connected at 9999 Kbps up and 39994 Kbps down. Max rate is at 22056 Kbps up and 83643 Kbps down.

I have tried explaining the situation to customer support and all i get is "Well it reaches it's speed we quoted". Should i try and push the issue via the BT forms as was suggested earlier?

Well that seems to be the general opinion. However, I would try completely turning the router off for, say, 30 minutes then back on before trying that. (The 30 minutes seems very arbitrary and I've often poo-pooed it, but very occasionally it does work for connection problems).

I would take issue with BT if I was paying for superfast fibre plus and they supplied the 40/10 essentials product.

The odd thing is the observed speed which is what it says, an actual sync speed of 78Mbps at some time today, but now the line is capped at 40/10.

I suspected that BT support would be unhelpful, even though it is obvious that the line will go much faster.

I used to be with PlusNet and you could ask for a GEA test on their forums which was helpful in this kind of situation as it gave the speed profile of the line, however it tended to be a couple of weeks out of date so may not help here.

As Robertos has suggested a single power down and restart of the modem may help, if not the BT Forums may be the best bet.

If that trick does not update anything then yes chase via the BT forums

Yup tried the powerdown for 30 mins and still the same speed. Will chase on the forums. Thanks for all the help guys. Will report back once i hear something back.

As I said my Mum has only ever had the 40/10 package so the "observed speed" should be 40 Mbps not 80 Mbps so the observed speed is coming from somewhere else.

The observed speed on my line is the actual sync speed so I agree with Taras.
What is odd is why Robocop's line shows the higher observed speed when the line is on 40/10

Does the max speed just so happen to coincide with your sync speed?

Not sure if I understand your question but I am not in sync at 80Mbps if that's what you mean.

From my modem stats the sync speed has been 54.818 Mbps for the last 18 days and the max observed speed on the checker on 27/07/19 was 54.81 Mbps

I would argue that the observed speed is an actual sync speed.

While I also argue the observed speed is usually the sync speed.

Was asking if people who know the max speed reported by the router and where this is higher than the sync speed speed whether it matches the observed speed.

In the off chance that Openreach are showing the max speed

Ok just an update! They have just responded that they have upped my speed to the 80/20 so now my modem is syncing at the following stats.

https://imgur.com/a/rgal130

Super happy about this! Only issue is when i do speed test my speed is coming out at 35mb still download. The upload is 20mb so thats working correctly. Just unsure why my download is the same?

Maybe a power off will resolve it? Or is there something else going on maybe? I am using a wired connection and nothing has changed my end so i should be getting the full speed.

Edit: Rebooted them and now im on this https://www.speedtest.net/result/8468825414.png

So much happier! Thanks for all the help everyone

Edited by deleted (Fri 02-Aug-19 18:13:00)

Great News.
You should hopefully be syncing at 80Mb within a week.

+1

That's much better, it took a little while but you should be on your way to a full 80/20 sync when G.inp kicks in.