Talktalk FTTP problem with no Digital voice

Hi folks,

I'm not sure if anyone can shed any light on what is the problem here but here goes anyways.

I was on a FTTC package with Talktalk and in February 2020 they cabled the area for FTTP and I was invited to do a trial of a 110 mbits FTTP which I accepted. The old package i.e FTTC also ran as a backup with the landline and internet through the old master socket,

Obvious for these last 30 months I have been using the internet through the ONT with an average download speed of 106mbits. The trial was supposed to last for six months but then was extended to a year, and after that I heard nothing more about it, while still being charged for the cheaper FTTC package.

Fast forward to July of this year and I decided to upgrade to their future Fibre 150 with digital voice on a new 18 month contract..

The go live date has come and gone with no digital voice on the service, and no increase in download speed still averaging 106mbits as on the trial.

I have been in contact with Talktalk Future Fibre Team, and Tech support on numerous occasions, have been given hope that they have diagnosed the problem, one guy said that each premises has a different reference number and mine doesn't seem to match where I live, another guy said that part of the order wasn't finalised.

As well as this I have the added problem of only my old FTTC package still showing on my account and it keeps prompting me to renew my contract, I expect a mess up in billing on my next billing date as that will show out of contract prices.

An Openreach engineer was out and says the ONT is a solid build and all appears correct from the Openreach side, and the problem is with Talktalk's end.

I have given up hope of Talktalk Future Fibre team or Tech support being able to solve this and I seem to be going around in circles doing the same old things resetting router etc, and even the Telephone conversation ending abruptly with a dead line.

I am very lucky in the sense that the old landline still works through the old master socket, and the internet speed through the ONT is good.

I am using the old type of large ONT used a few years ago that will take a battery pack, The router is a Talktalk Hub 2.0 with a test telephone plugged into the back green socket, for Digital voice which of course doesn't work. I did try the Eero router, same problem but much prefer Talktalks Wi Fi hub 2.0.

The Openreach engineer says that the ONT seems to be working fine.

A difficult one this I know, sometimes I think that it may well be one of the settings pertaining to the FTTP trial that is somehow affecting the Future Fibre service.

Any ideas appreciated.
Thanks a lot
Joe

Edited by joemardo1 (Thu 01-Sep-22 16:10:04)

I have given up hope of Talktalk Future Fibre team or Tech support being able to solve this and I seem to be going around in circles doing the same old things resetting router etc, and even the Telephone conversation ending abruptly with a dead line.

Sounds very much like a TT account / provisioning issue that they are unwilling to expend the effort to investigate and properly resolve.

An option, possibly extreme, possibly not (depending on your point of view) is to port out the landline number to another provider (before TalkTalk lose it in some further administrative fudge).

This would have the effect of ceasing the *entire* bundled broadband service FTTP and landline - but at least then you would be clear of the the FTTP muddle AND retain the landline number.

Start then afresh / a clean sheet with a new FTTP provider contract (just for data) AND keep your landline number (on an indy VoiP provider). The main downside here is that there will be a gap in your broadband service until you could recommence the 'new' FTTP broadband service with the new provider.

Just an option to consider. Not saying its the best way of clearing the mess.

As Pheasant says it sound like a fudge now, possibly the free FTTP trial wasn't setup correct in the first instance. I would be wanting to start a fresh and if the landline number is important to you I would be getting it out of harms way as soon as I could.

Edited by deleted (Thu 01-Sep-22 17:48:06)

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

. . . The main downside here is that there will be a gap in your broadband service until you could recommence the 'new' FTTP broadband service with the new provider. . . .

If there is an adequate mobile signal that downside could be mitigated.

Thanks folks for the replies.

The landline is important in the sense that I have always got a good enough deal with Talktalk in this new Future Fibre 150 package I do get 24 months all uk and mobiles calls free.

And it does work through the old master socket, as Talktalk do have the old package only still active in my account, rather than the new FF150 package.

A strong possibility this is going to lead to overcharging on my next billing date of 8 Sept, as I am still prompted when I login to my account to renew old contract which runs out on the 17 Sept, I can imagine they will refund, but still don't want that to be a problem every month.

Of course we can live without the landline so wouldn't go to the trouble of porting it to another provider.

just wondering,

1 If I was to leave Talktalk in the future for another ISP, what are the chances that somehow a setting from Talktalk could carry over to the new ISP preventing them from giving me the speed of the package I signed up for?

2 Wouldn't you think that with a 150 mbits package I should be getting a higher speed than 106 average?

This is an image of the ONT that I have from 2020, it has a Tel1 light that is not lit, though Openreach engineer says the ONT is ok as PON is solidly lit.

My Ont

Edited by joemardo1 (Thu 01-Sep-22 18:44:05)

In answer to your queries.

1. No. The profile etc is not carried over from ISP to ISP. A new profile will be applied by Opnreach at the time the new FTTP service is commissioned.

2. Possibly yes, although this may also be down to your internal network / WiFi especially or indeed your devices laptops/PCs etc. In short it could be either or - would need further testing and investigation to be sure.

3. Image of the ONT and LEDs is fine. Tel1 light is not lit as you are not in receipt of FVA (fibre voice access) via the ONT for telephony, but instead via the copper pair from your master socket. So this is perfectly fine.

In reply to a post by joemardo1:

Fast forward to July of this year and I decided to upgrade to their future Fibre 150 with digital voice on a new 18 month contract..

AFAIK TalkTalk's 'digital voice', is not universally available, and even if it was it's very unlikely to be by connecting to ONT, it will be throu router.
Also AFAIK from the end of trial a combined copper and FTTP wouldn't normally be offered, this was a sticking point for me moving to FTTP and one reason I swapped to TalkTalk Business. Even then after several months TT cut off my phone and for some time kept telling me I had never had any sort of phone contract, as I pointed out to them I had email confirmation and listed on their website where all the phone calls I had made.
As Pheasant says, if you have the opportunity to port number without penalty to a 3rd party VoIP provider, then do it before TalkTalk 'loses' number, as you run risk of loosing number which could be a PITA if people contact you on that number.

Thanks for the clarification Pheasant.

Pleasure. Good luck.

In reply to a post by burble:

AFAIK TalkTalk's 'digital voice', is not universally available,

It is now.

and even if it was it's very unlikely to be by connecting to ONT, it will be throu router.

Not just unlikely, but impossible.
FVA was withdrawn long before Talktalk even started trialling Openreach FTTP.

I'm not aware of any ISP's who used FVA (voice via the ONTs TEL port) other than BT.

Edited by j0hn83 (Fri 02-Sep-22 16:00:14)