Trying to get a test - any advice!?

[321pastamaker]

Advised by 111 to get a test - nothing available on line. Are there best times to try?

Keep refreshing by changing between drive through and walk through every five minutes. It took me three hours of doing that to get a test.

Just keep refreshing, I managed to get ours at randomly about 11.30am they seemed to release them all. It might come up with some miles away from you but just still keep refreshing

Just after 8pm they seemed to release a lot in Yorkshire

8pm on the dot.

I’ve been trying for 2 days. Continuously refreshing and just nothing.

I saw an article about "gaming the system" where iirc you can get a "drive in"/"walk in" test by lying to the computer and claiming that you are located somewhere else entirely like Aberdeen as the tests are rationed per area. once you have got to the point of getting a QR code that can be scanned at a testing centre you do not have to actually go to Aberdeen, your local testing centre will be able to use that QR code to give you a test.

this doesn't help if you need a postal test, and I do not know if this loophole has been closed since the article was published.

the reason for this is because there is loads of capacity at testing centres and the staff there are frustratingly under-worked but the labs they send the tests to for analysis are the bottleneck and are massively overwhelmed so testing centres are not allowed to perform a test without a QR code and the QR codes are only released at a rate the labs have some chance of keeping up with.

If you have a laptop not phone have two browsers open one for walkthrough and one for drive through. Then I just kept refreshing (by saying I wanted to change postcode not not changing it)

Just after 8am and just after 10am were times tests came up in my areas and I have seen other people mention those times.

Just after noon worked for us for some reason.

Still trying!!!!

I’m trying too for DS who has a cough. Really frustrating isn’t it?

Anyone trying for just a child it wouldn’t let me book for just my son. As soon as I added my details it let me book one. Serious flaw in the system.

How do they know the person is a child? You don’t put DOB in?

🤔 I had to put his dob in but it was near the end. Perhaps it was because I said I was booking for someone else in my household, and/or that they hadn’t been in a workplace...

Thats not a flaw in the system, it clearly states children are not a testing priority, so by adding yourself you have 'duped' the system and taken a testing slot from a prioity person.

It never said that at any point when I was trying to book it. I have several friends whose children have been tested and genuinely thought there was a glitch.

Cannot physically or mentally afford for the whole household to self isolate for 2 weeks unless we are sure it is corona virus! I have 3 children. What if next week one of them gets a cough too? Then the week after the other one?

Ok, so have just gone through the booking process for a walk in centre. Seemed to get to the end, but no confirmation page, confirmation email or confirmation text!! How long did it take for a confirmation email/text??

Mine came immediately

My confirmation was immediate too.

Hummmm!!!! Looks like I'll keep trying!

Mine did that a few times conformation comes immediately so try try try again 😔

5pm and slots became available here, we booked one for 30mins later...

10 am here they all became available

Success - constantly refreshing did the trick!

We got one at 10am. All done now, see how long the result takes to come through.

I now know that the DOB entering comes in once there is availability and you proceed to booking the slot.

I am trying to book one for my son.

Do you just refresh the page which says "This service is currently very busy" using F5 or do you have you put your details in again every time?? its not very helpful to say what to do next.