Hey Maturin,
It's crazy hey. I'm a PC user, but my fellow Mac residents are having the same problem...
Broadband
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biscuitman1978
- Posts: 1588
- Joined: 16 May 2006 20:14
- Location: Chislehurst; previously Sydenham
I'm not sure if it's related, but I have Talk Talk TV (formerly Tiscali TV and before that Homechoice). I get telephone, broadband and television delivered along the phone line.
For some weeks I've had problems with the television service: it freezes while I'm watching or won't boot up in the first place. Broadband and phone have been fine.
I've had two visits from Talk Talk engineers, three visits from BT Openreach engineers and BT Openreach checking everything was okay at the exchange. The BT Openreach engineer who visited most recently found no problem on the line when he did an initial test, but after further investigation he did find a problem (not in my flat), which he resolved. The television service now works, although I still get occasional freezing of pictures. Phone and broadband are still fine.
I'm not sure if this is as good as the service will get. I'll be speaking to Talk Talk later this week. I will see if I can get any more information on the problem that the BT Openreach engineer resolved and will let you all know if I do.
Incidentally, Talk Talk's customer service has been excellent, and BT Openreach have been helpful too.
For some weeks I've had problems with the television service: it freezes while I'm watching or won't boot up in the first place. Broadband and phone have been fine.
I've had two visits from Talk Talk engineers, three visits from BT Openreach engineers and BT Openreach checking everything was okay at the exchange. The BT Openreach engineer who visited most recently found no problem on the line when he did an initial test, but after further investigation he did find a problem (not in my flat), which he resolved. The television service now works, although I still get occasional freezing of pictures. Phone and broadband are still fine.
I'm not sure if this is as good as the service will get. I'll be speaking to Talk Talk later this week. I will see if I can get any more information on the problem that the BT Openreach engineer resolved and will let you all know if I do.
Incidentally, Talk Talk's customer service has been excellent, and BT Openreach have been helpful too.
I got an email from BT, which was addressed to an email address that I give out to all the retailers of the world - which I rarely check - advising of the upgrade, and also offering a new piece of kit, for free (which they would normally charge for!) which will help with my broadband. It sounds similar to the filters that I use anyway, but I would be keen to know if anyone else with BT got the same email - and also whether they have taken them up on the offer/whether it has made any difference.
My bt broadband died the day they did the upgrade 11/3/2010 at first the speed went to about 500Kbs then when complained it went up to 4mbs...but now I can only get the internet for about 10mins at a time and some web sites I can't connect to at all.
I have had the same BS as you guys from BT no surprise there!
I have had the same BS as you guys from BT no surprise there!
Yeah its the old BT I plate fitted one to my Telephone socket when they first came out...I never did find any benefit...fishcox wrote:I got an email from BT, which was addressed to an email address that I give out to all the retailers of the world - which I rarely check - advising of the upgrade, and also offering a new piece of kit, for free (which they would normally charge for!) which will help with my broadband. It sounds similar to the filters that I use anyway, but I would be keen to know if anyone else with BT got the same email - and also whether they have taken them up on the offer/whether it has made any difference.
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southernmoose
- Posts: 52
- Joined: 9 Jan 2009 18:06
- Location: London
Broadband
Hi 'The Eagle',
Just wandering if the engineer managed to sort out your broadband problems in the end? Our connection is still dropping out and we've tried a combination of daily calls/emails to BT (when we have connection!) to no avail...
Just wandering if the engineer managed to sort out your broadband problems in the end? Our connection is still dropping out and we've tried a combination of daily calls/emails to BT (when we have connection!) to no avail...
BT visited Sunday morning as expected NO problem found between m y equipment and the exchange.
BT Specialists are now (with my help) investigating this and hopefully all the problems (for all) will be resolved shortly. Today I am carrying out some final tests before they go back to BT Wholesale and tell them where the problem is (basically on their network).
For those who are technically minded if you do a tracert to the website that will not open you will see where it times out i.e usually on hop 4 or 5
I will report back as soon as the fault is fixed.
To do a tracert:-
start>run>type CMD enter
A small black box will open
Type tracert www.sydenham.org.uk ENTER
This will show you if it can connecct
Would be interested to know the results you get ONLY WHEN YOU CANNOT connect
BT Specialists are now (with my help) investigating this and hopefully all the problems (for all) will be resolved shortly. Today I am carrying out some final tests before they go back to BT Wholesale and tell them where the problem is (basically on their network).
For those who are technically minded if you do a tracert to the website that will not open you will see where it times out i.e usually on hop 4 or 5
I will report back as soon as the fault is fixed.
To do a tracert:-
start>run>type CMD enter
A small black box will open
Type tracert www.sydenham.org.uk ENTER
This will show you if it can connecct
Would be interested to know the results you get ONLY WHEN YOU CANNOT connect
Sorry to hear about your problems. BT are notorious about filtering traffic on their network and when it goes wrong - it can go very wrong.
This includes diverting traffic using their DNS. DNS is the system that turns an address eg sydenham.org.uk into a number which will find the relevant webserver.
Here is a recent example when BT Broadband screwed up a load of business connections: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/29/bt_hijack/ (read through the comments to see how BT do not think through the consequences of their actions)
This should be easy to get around (unless BT block it) by using a third party DNS. You could try here to see if it helps: https://store.opendns.com/setup/ (remember to record the existing setup so you can revert).
BT may be filtering everything going through port 80 (webtraffic) which you can't do much about. Or if they have problems peering (connecting to other networks).
We have lots of problems with clients using BT Broadband. Disproportionately more than any other ISP. Our advice is always "please migrate". It is easy, it can cost nothing and if you check out reputations on the specialists broadband review sites - revelatory!
Further comment on BT Broadband I will leave to Marcus Brigstock on the Now Comedy Show (BBC R4 6.30 Friday/12.30 Saturday). Hardly a week goes by without a dig ...
Admin
This includes diverting traffic using their DNS. DNS is the system that turns an address eg sydenham.org.uk into a number which will find the relevant webserver.
Here is a recent example when BT Broadband screwed up a load of business connections: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/29/bt_hijack/ (read through the comments to see how BT do not think through the consequences of their actions)
This should be easy to get around (unless BT block it) by using a third party DNS. You could try here to see if it helps: https://store.opendns.com/setup/ (remember to record the existing setup so you can revert).
BT may be filtering everything going through port 80 (webtraffic) which you can't do much about. Or if they have problems peering (connecting to other networks).
We have lots of problems with clients using BT Broadband. Disproportionately more than any other ISP. Our advice is always "please migrate". It is easy, it can cost nothing and if you check out reputations on the specialists broadband review sites - revelatory!
Further comment on BT Broadband I will leave to Marcus Brigstock on the Now Comedy Show (BBC R4 6.30 Friday/12.30 Saturday). Hardly a week goes by without a dig ...
Admin
Update.
I've (supposedly) had the 'special investigation team' investigating my problem for the last week. According to them they have identified and corrected the problem at either the server or exchange level; they're not being specific, despite my repeated requests for them to be so.
According to them everything is fixed.
According to my computer, it's not.
Browsing the Internet HAS improved. E-mail HAS improved. Note the use of the word 'improved'. This is not a 100% solution, I would estimate 75%.
But it is still absolutely impossible to upload any files for work purposes. The line is simply not stable enough to transmit any file over 100 meg, and in many cases 30 or 40 meg. It just doesn't stay up long enough.
I just can't think of anything else to try. They're supposed to ring up this morning to ask me how it's going, I'm afraid my answer is going to be the same as it has been since 17 March.
I'm locked into a contract with BT, so don't seem to be able to anything about it. I've ordered virgin media cable broadband and have an installation date of 20 April. If I can't get rid of BT I'll just have to have both. Theoretically this will be a belt and braces approach, as it is statistically unlikely they will both be down at the same time. Here's hoping anyway.
I'm very, very disappointed and disillusioned with BT. 12 years of good service wiped out.
I've (supposedly) had the 'special investigation team' investigating my problem for the last week. According to them they have identified and corrected the problem at either the server or exchange level; they're not being specific, despite my repeated requests for them to be so.
According to them everything is fixed.
According to my computer, it's not.
Browsing the Internet HAS improved. E-mail HAS improved. Note the use of the word 'improved'. This is not a 100% solution, I would estimate 75%.
But it is still absolutely impossible to upload any files for work purposes. The line is simply not stable enough to transmit any file over 100 meg, and in many cases 30 or 40 meg. It just doesn't stay up long enough.
I just can't think of anything else to try. They're supposed to ring up this morning to ask me how it's going, I'm afraid my answer is going to be the same as it has been since 17 March.
I'm locked into a contract with BT, so don't seem to be able to anything about it. I've ordered virgin media cable broadband and have an installation date of 20 April. If I can't get rid of BT I'll just have to have both. Theoretically this will be a belt and braces approach, as it is statistically unlikely they will both be down at the same time. Here's hoping anyway.
I'm very, very disappointed and disillusioned with BT. 12 years of good service wiped out.
I've been away for a week, and come back to no internet - only on line now, thanks to the kindliness of a neighbour allowing me to use their wireless.
Been on the phone to BT all day, and they reckon its working, but it isnt.
Been swapping filters, calling India on an hourly basis, turn the Router off, etc etc - ad infinitum (last time this happened was about two years ago, and it took weeks to sort out).
I suggest that anyone who has had problems demands a refund in their fees - I got 2 months free last time, and will look for the same again - at least.
Last spoke to them about an hour ago, and they told me 'dont call us - we'll call you'.
Really infuriating.
Been on the phone to BT all day, and they reckon its working, but it isnt.
Been swapping filters, calling India on an hourly basis, turn the Router off, etc etc - ad infinitum (last time this happened was about two years ago, and it took weeks to sort out).
I suggest that anyone who has had problems demands a refund in their fees - I got 2 months free last time, and will look for the same again - at least.
Last spoke to them about an hour ago, and they told me 'dont call us - we'll call you'.
Really infuriating.
Just swopped over to OpenDNs very easy... seems to be working quite well, but early days yetadmin wrote:Sorry to hear about your problems. BT are notorious about filtering traffic on their network and when it goes wrong - it can go very wrong.
This includes diverting traffic using their DNS. DNS is the system that turns an address eg sydenham.org.uk into a number which will find the relevant webserver.
Here is a recent example when BT Broadband screwed up a load of business connections: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/29/bt_hijack/ (read through the comments to see how BT do not think through the consequences of their actions)
This should be easy to get around (unless BT block it) by using a third party DNS. You could try here to see if it helps: https://store.opendns.com/setup/ (remember to record the existing setup so you can revert).
BT may be filtering everything going through port 80 (webtraffic) which you can't do much about. Or if they have problems peering (connecting to other networks).
We have lots of problems with clients using BT Broadband. Disproportionately more than any other ISP. Our advice is always "please migrate". It is easy, it can cost nothing and if you check out reputations on the specialists broadband review sites - revelatory!
Further comment on BT Broadband I will leave to Marcus Brigstock on the Now Comedy Show (BBC R4 6.30 Friday/12.30 Saturday). Hardly a week goes by without a dig ...
Admin
Update.......
Following numerous tests that have been carried out on my line, BT (Wholesale) have now admitted that there is a problem with some of BT customers on the up to 20 meg connections.
A special team will be working on it tomorrow morning (13 April 2010) from 9am this will probably involve moving all the BT customers off the faulty mslam card that we are sharing. Hopefully my problem (and others) will be resolved tomorrow.
I will keep you updated.
Following numerous tests that have been carried out on my line, BT (Wholesale) have now admitted that there is a problem with some of BT customers on the up to 20 meg connections.
A special team will be working on it tomorrow morning (13 April 2010) from 9am this will probably involve moving all the BT customers off the faulty mslam card that we are sharing. Hopefully my problem (and others) will be resolved tomorrow.
I will keep you updated.
The Eagle and Dekan,
Thanks for your updates.
My problem is still exactly the same. The only way I can connect to the Internet in a semi-usable way, is by using my old (white) home hub, and changing the settings on my computer to the open DNS settings. The brand-new black home Hub is useless, with or without the open DNS settings.
I couldn't get BT to admit there is even a fault at the exchange, until the engineer who had been called out (for a third and completely pointless line test) told me that there WAS a recorded fault at the exchange, and even gave me the internal BT fault number.
When I passed this information onto the BT India complaints manager she told me that the engineer was a liar, and so was I.
She then rang back an hour later to confirm that there was in fact a fault at the exchange. No explanation. No apology.
It goes on and on and on...
Thanks for your updates.
My problem is still exactly the same. The only way I can connect to the Internet in a semi-usable way, is by using my old (white) home hub, and changing the settings on my computer to the open DNS settings. The brand-new black home Hub is useless, with or without the open DNS settings.
I couldn't get BT to admit there is even a fault at the exchange, until the engineer who had been called out (for a third and completely pointless line test) told me that there WAS a recorded fault at the exchange, and even gave me the internal BT fault number.
When I passed this information onto the BT India complaints manager she told me that the engineer was a liar, and so was I.
She then rang back an hour later to confirm that there was in fact a fault at the exchange. No explanation. No apology.
It goes on and on and on...
Do I presume the problem is not fixed?
I had no downtime on the 13th. But then that could be because I am on another Mslam or they didn't change it. I use BT infrastructure but another ISP (Zen).
The only other suggestion I can make if it is a hardware issue is to beg, borrow or steal another (non-BT) ADSL modem. You will need to know your BT account username and password and not be afraid of checking the basic setup parameters which should be googlable somewhere.
There are rumoured to be some compatibility issues between chipsets but no facts. Nevertheless nothing to be lost by trying another bit of kit rather than watch (non-flashing) lights or ringing India. Just make sure it is ADSL2+ compatible.
HTH
Admin
I had no downtime on the 13th. But then that could be because I am on another Mslam or they didn't change it. I use BT infrastructure but another ISP (Zen).
The only other suggestion I can make if it is a hardware issue is to beg, borrow or steal another (non-BT) ADSL modem. You will need to know your BT account username and password and not be afraid of checking the basic setup parameters which should be googlable somewhere.
There are rumoured to be some compatibility issues between chipsets but no facts. Nevertheless nothing to be lost by trying another bit of kit rather than watch (non-flashing) lights or ringing India. Just make sure it is ADSL2+ compatible.
HTH
Admin
Thanks for the advice, admin.
I don't know if the change the Eagle mentioned happened or not. I've still got random hangs and random inability to connect. Traceroute (which I confess I don't understand), behaves very oddly. There is an enormous pause between one and two, followed by lots of responses punctuated by lines with three stars in them. I know enough to know that this is not normal. Very often it's impossible to ping sites at all.
Using open DNS, as your earlier suggestion. And it works!
I understand (I think) how open DNS works, but just can't understand why a third-party solution should be so much better than BT's own systems. Why on earth can't BT's DNS work? Am I missing something?
I'm simply biding my time now until my virgin cable broadband is installed on the 20th. As soon as I confirm that that works, and is stable, I'll be getting out of my BT contract. I think 3 1/2 weeks of downtime constitutes breach of contract, don't you?
Even though I'll have cable broadband I still want to have a phone line broadband as well. This past 3 1/2 weeks has taught me that I can't afford to have any downtime on my business. So for the future I want belt and braces.
As soon as I get my Mac code from BT I'm off. I see from your e-mail you use Zen. Can you recommend them? I've heard some very good things about Be There.
I don't know if the change the Eagle mentioned happened or not. I've still got random hangs and random inability to connect. Traceroute (which I confess I don't understand), behaves very oddly. There is an enormous pause between one and two, followed by lots of responses punctuated by lines with three stars in them. I know enough to know that this is not normal. Very often it's impossible to ping sites at all.
Using open DNS, as your earlier suggestion. And it works!
I understand (I think) how open DNS works, but just can't understand why a third-party solution should be so much better than BT's own systems. Why on earth can't BT's DNS work? Am I missing something?
I'm simply biding my time now until my virgin cable broadband is installed on the 20th. As soon as I confirm that that works, and is stable, I'll be getting out of my BT contract. I think 3 1/2 weeks of downtime constitutes breach of contract, don't you?
Even though I'll have cable broadband I still want to have a phone line broadband as well. This past 3 1/2 weeks has taught me that I can't afford to have any downtime on my business. So for the future I want belt and braces.
As soon as I get my Mac code from BT I'm off. I see from your e-mail you use Zen. Can you recommend them? I've heard some very good things about Be There.
I have the same problem with BT Broadband. It has taken 2 weeks, numerous phone calls and an engineers visit before they worked out it is a problem with their own equipment. The call centre staff have always been ok but there's nothing they can do apart from refer the problem to the engineers who just blame BT Wholesale.
I'm afraid your solution is a bit beyond my limited technical abilities so I have resorted to writing a "Disgusted of Sydenham" letter to the CEO and Chairman of BT. Not sure if it will do any good but it made me feel better.
If anyone hears that the problem has finally been resolved can they update the thread. I am sure BT won't tell us.
I'm afraid your solution is a bit beyond my limited technical abilities so I have resorted to writing a "Disgusted of Sydenham" letter to the CEO and Chairman of BT. Not sure if it will do any good but it made me feel better.
If anyone hears that the problem has finally been resolved can they update the thread. I am sure BT won't tell us.