Re: Help again with Broadband please
Originally Posted by
Pesta
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If I get any problems, I always switch off at the wall socket and wait, then reboot it.
Just a point to note.
Switching off your router is inadvisable unless it's absolutely necessary.
Every time you switch it off the BT system detects that it can't talk to your router any more and it interprets that as a problem. If it keeps happening the BT systems then actively lower your B/B performance and speed in the hope that the communication can be improved. That can get very frustrating very fast as performance grinds to a crawl and it takes 3 days !!! yup 72hrs before the BT system cranks up the performance again.
So anyone who thinks it's a good idea to switch off their router every night before going to bed to save on electricity usage might want to think again !
Regarding your wider problem, the issue is 99% of the time the fault of the internet provider but they will never admit it and they always give customers the complete run around. They have a script which the helpline staff just work through. That script ALWAYS throws the problem back to you. They give YOU loads of things to try and test, which are all meaningless and futile because ultimately it is THEIR B/B system that is having issues. They know about it but they always give customers the run around.
Because of this I have had to take measures to cut all that crap out. I have 2 or 3 routers. That's because I found the router that the service provider sends you, is largely poor and underpowered. For example I couldn't get a signal in my back garden with the provided router. So I simply went to Maplins and bought a much better router.
Bottom line is I have 2, maybe even 3 routers. Now these all operate the same way. You plug them into the power, and you plug your phone cable into them and lights start flashing on the box. The lights are labelled, always the same and one of those lights is the broadband service coming through the phone line. If that light doesn't light up, then 100% there is no broadband service, a BT/provider fault.
To prove it I try each of my routers and if the magic light doesn't light up on each router then there is absolutely no question. Armed with that evidence I then just contact the helpdesk, tell them that 3 independent routers confirm there's no BB signal and the fault must be theirs. And that basically sorts the blame and they get on and fix it.
I will offer one other tip for people if they are getting really poor BB performance, which happens a lot because the providers throttle certain users so they can offer faster performance to other users.
You simply go onto their website, login with your credentials and go to the webpage that deals with terminating/leaving the service. You click the various buttons and options to indicate that you are THINKING OF LEAVING but don't actually confirm anything. Their system picks this up, and then magically you will find that your BB performance suddenly starts to go into hyperdrive.
This lasts for a while until normal service resumes. Then just rinse repeat.
BB providers are a law unto themselves. They are all crap and none of them properly admit when their services are down or performing badly.
A lot of the problem is that the providers piggy back off BT's infrastructure so when BT is having a problem it affects their ability to give you a service. There's little they can do so they just run customers around in circles, stalling until BT sort out their stuff.