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Original poster

Internet not working... 😡

56 replies

Ninternet · 18/03/2023 18:46

We had a new fibre connection installed this week and it's still not working. I have rang numerous times, been told several reasons, assured everything should be working the connections all check out etc, reset the router about 100 times and today in not my finest moment lost my shit with poor AJay from technical support who is clearly just following a script and has just as much of a clue as to why it is not working as I do.

So wonderful Mumsnetters please can anyone offer any suggestions on what I might be able to try. It's clearly not going to be resolved any time soon likely at least next week and all I wanted for mother's day was to relax in bed and finish the bloody TV series I'm watching.

OP posts:
XDownwiththissortofthingX · 18/03/2023 21:09

Thanks for your help by the way. I just realised I never said thank you.

It's no bother at all. I've moved house, changed accounts, changed services umpteen times, so I know how completely frustrating it is to have no service and feel like you are being ignored by a company you are paying to provide it! 😤

Genuinely though, I think that physically everything will be fine with your installation because the engineers are pretty reliable and it isn't massively complicated, they've just forgotten to release the bandwith to you that you are due.

FixTheBone · 18/03/2023 21:13

How is the new open reach fibre box (ont) hooked up?
It should two cables in addition to the incoming fibre... One is its own power supply, the second should be a network cable connecting to your Bt homehub's 'wan' socket. The adsl cable shoukd be disconnected...

Original poster
Ninternet · 18/03/2023 21:18

I know how completely frustrating it is to have no service and feel like you are being ignored by a company you are paying to provide it! 😤

This sums it up in a nutshell. Honestly I'm normally a very rational person but it's sending me completely nutty explaining to people repeatedly and answering the same questions of course the cables plugged in and yes I have turned the router on.

OP posts:
Original poster
Ninternet · 18/03/2023 21:19

FixTheBone · 18/03/2023 21:13

How is the new open reach fibre box (ont) hooked up?
It should two cables in addition to the incoming fibre... One is its own power supply, the second should be a network cable connecting to your Bt homehub's 'wan' socket. The adsl cable shoukd be disconnected...

Yes we have 3 cables. One is coming through the wall into the box, one is the cable connected to the router via the wan socket and the third in the power cable.

OP posts:
SoAndSoSaidSo · 18/03/2023 21:20

The amount of engineers that has to go out as a 'fault' to connect broadband that should have been connected at the point of order closure. Is too many.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 18/03/2023 21:24

One trick you may not have tried yet, is to grasp the router with both hands and yank it really hard (no need to unplug any cables) and then hurl it down the garden.

I can't guarantee that this will fix it but you'll feel a whole heap better.

Mummysgonetobed · 18/03/2023 21:25

do you have a Vodafone mobile? I was having issues with their broadband a while back and only way I could speak to an actual person who knew what they were doing was by calling 191 from my mobile.

Original poster
Ninternet · 18/03/2023 21:29

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 18/03/2023 21:24

One trick you may not have tried yet, is to grasp the router with both hands and yank it really hard (no need to unplug any cables) and then hurl it down the garden.

I can't guarantee that this will fix it but you'll feel a whole heap better.

Oh thank you for this I belly laughed out loud so loud in fact I woke the poor cat up and scared him half to death. 😂

I'm so fucking tempted, honestly can't make the situation any worse.

Also when calling I've been using the 191 number that's how I got through to AJay who was apparently in Egypt and thought I should be grateful because the Internet in England is better than in Egypt. Again my sarcasm couldn't be contained and embarrassing I retorted well I have no internet and you do so that bullshit.

OP posts:
enbious · 18/03/2023 21:44

Just a thought, but can you check your original order confirmation about whether they should have sent you a new router when upgrading to fibre? I've recently upgraded and had to have a new one as the old ones don't work on fibre. Different provider so this might not apply to you but worth checking.

Original poster
Ninternet · 18/03/2023 21:47

Have double checked and there was no mention of a new router. Also the engineer and those I've spoken to since didn't query the router needing to be changed.

OP posts:
quietlycontent · 18/03/2023 22:01

Ok

Call BT and ask to escalate

Log everyday you don't have Internet

Ask them to call you back everyday with and update

Ask for compensation we had no Internet for 3 weeks over one Easter BT gave us £400 credit in the end

Keep nagging every day

quietlycontent · 18/03/2023 22:03

To add basically they cut off your non fibre to get the fibre live

But they don't check its working before they go

So now you can't even roll back to your old connection

It's not funny

weathervane1 · 18/03/2023 22:07

We had the exact same issue. Eventually a BT Openreach engineer opened the green fibre cabinet on the corner of the road opposite and spotted very quickly that the connection to our house had been assigned a wrong value against it (not sure what the value was or should have been) but in less than five minutes we were up and running.

nolongeropenforbusiness · 18/03/2023 22:12

Ninternet · 18/03/2023 21:47

Have double checked and there was no mention of a new router. Also the engineer and those I've spoken to since didn't query the router needing to be changed.

The router may not need to be changed but the WAN port on the router needs to be enabled for fibre otherwise it's just a standard Ethernet port, this can be done on most routers by accessing the hub manager

Hoppinggreen · 18/03/2023 22:14

DH (who is usually pretty good at this sort of thing) reckons hardware.
He also says never to let an engineer leave after an installation until stuff works - which is not helpful at this point I know but if another one comes nick his car keys or something

DogInATent · 18/03/2023 22:45

New BT full fibre install?

Follow the instructions on the website to report a fault either by text (preferred) or via the Live Chat. You should get an engineer out to identify the cause of the fault if it can't be rest remotely. Log a complaint (via your BT online account) if things don't get moving. We had a lot of problems immediately after the fibre install due to a fault at the BT end. If it's not fixed within 3 days you should get automatic compensation (worth almost 3 days for each day your out). You should also be sent a mifi dongle to get you connected whilst they fix the fault if it goes on more than a couple of days or so.

If you end up with no option except talking to someone on the phone let them run through their script (they have to follow the script) and when it's still not fixed ask for an escalation. You may need to script-and-escalate twice to get to someone that knows what they're doing (i.e. qualified to do more than "Have you switched it off and on again?" and run the basic automated diagnostics).

SunshinePaddles · 18/03/2023 22:46

Apologies if I've missed this, but what model router are you using?

It is quite possible that the router is not fibre compatible and you may need a new router.

Original poster
Ninternet · 18/03/2023 22:49

So now you can't even roll back to your old connection

This part frustrates me the most apparently the old connection can be turned off in a matter of hours but days later I'm still not connected to the new one.

The router may not need to be changed but the WAN port on the router needs to be enabled for fibre otherwise it's just a standard Ethernet port, this can be done on most routers by accessing the hub manager

This is interesting, no one has mentioned this before. I'm guessing it's not something I can check?

Also for those asking it was Vodafone not BT however the frustration is still the same and the lack of being able to talk to a real person with real thoughts still applies.

OP posts:
Original poster
Ninternet · 18/03/2023 22:50

SunshinePaddles · 18/03/2023 22:46

Apologies if I've missed this, but what model router are you using?

It is quite possible that the router is not fibre compatible and you may need a new router.

Not sure on the model. I presume it's on the base of the router?

OP posts:
SunshinePaddles · 18/03/2023 23:00

The model may be listed on the bottom or back of the router. If you can find the model number, google should be able to tell you if it's compatible.

If the router is not fibre compatible it won't matter what you or the provider do, you won't receive internet until a new router is installed.

If you are unable to determine the model of router when you speak to the provider next tell them that the router may not be compatible and see what they respond with.

If it's a provider issued router and you didn't change providers they should be able to tell you what router you have.

Original poster
Ninternet · 18/03/2023 23:03

Have just double checked and the model is compatible with fiber. So at least that's one more potential problem ticked off the list.

OP posts:
wateraddict · 18/03/2023 23:16

forum.vodafone.co.uk/

Community forums can be really helpful in terms of advice before you get to speak to someone. There may be ideas here to try. I hope it's sorted soon.

Fifi0000 · 18/03/2023 23:21

Is it talktalk? I moved to their superfast from the 67mb one and it's so unreliable. It cuts out way more than the standard fibre. CBA changing as it was a free upgrade and it's so cheap 🤣🤣

surrenderdorothy · 18/03/2023 23:25

When I had this it turned out they had connected a different house in my street. They asked me finally was I sure I was at X house, not Y. Well, yes! It was easily fixed once that basic mistake (had been with them for years) was fixed.

DahliaMacNamara · 18/03/2023 23:30

We switched from BT to a company that could provide fibre to the premises in our area. Because we absolutely needed no break in service, we kept the BT broadband going after the fibre was installed, which turned out to be just as well. Even though I was right in front of him when the engineer made the call to HQ to switch us on, it didn't happen. I think it took about a week before it was actually authorised. In our case it didn't require another visit to the house.