This topic

Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

r0ss2k3 — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 15:01:50 GMT

I have recently switched from Sky Fibre to full FTTP 900. I have to say so far it has been awful. I seem to drop the majority of the speed through the daytime where even streaming youtube is struggling. Then at night it seems fine. Speed wise I was faster with Sky. Hate to say throttling but I cant think of anything else.

Plex and Emby streaming is almost a joke at times as are FTP speeds.

That is not the end of the issues, the wifi is also worse, I have been unable to connect most of my smart devices and those that are connected drop out frequently. 2 of these are connected via ethernet (hive and surepet cat flap), catflap being the hardest hit (despite never disconnecting prior to BT). All alexa devices seem to play the hokey kokey.

I am now concerned this may be the norm, working from home just now so had expected a better product than what I had before. I understand that wifi will never see amazing speeds but expected at least better speeds.

Wifi coverage has also taken a hit, have tried putting the disc in different rooms but its still poorer than before.

Can someone advise the best way to take this forward and the possibility on getting an extention on the cooling off period.

I noticed today when I log into the roter and try to run a speed test that I have a fault message :

You've already reported a fault with your broadband. You can track the progress of this fault online.

Date raised Sep 10, 2020
Product Broadband
Reference VOL053-***********

Is this an automated thing because I havent raised a fault (I dont know how to)?

To make it more frustrating I was billed today.

Thanks for any advice.

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

Pilot25dmc — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 13:58:55 GMT

What Router are you using?

I am on the same package and although I was not seeing the same issues as you I read enough horror stories to know that there was an issue with the Smart Hub 2 and the 900 FTTP.

I bought an ASUS Router and have not looked back.

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

r0ss2k3 — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 14:04:35 GMT

I read a few people saying that they have bought alternative routers. Thats a bit poor if BT are issuing equipment that isnt up to the job. Any chance you can let me know what exact router it was? Did it improve the wifi? BT should be paying for this stuff!

Also on another note BT dont provide you with the account billing id number, yet you get pestered with emails telling you to link the billing account. I had to call up and request it and they dont give it over the phone or via email only old school letter, so that takes almost a week to arrive. Without that you cant access the speed tests etc, had i not requested the number I have no idea how i would have gotten it.

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

Pilot25dmc — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 14:51:04 GMT

ASUS RT-AC86U ‘AC2900’. Currently £158 from PC World or Amazon.

Its not cheap and there is loads of other makes & models out there, but this one seems to get singled out as one of the most reliable routers on the market.

It also took me less than 5 minutes to set it up.

The wifi is definitely stronger, not blow your mind stronger, but you will see an improvement. I had 3 complete wifi discs which are now in a drawer (you can’t use them with the ASUS anyway, but I don't really need then anymore).

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

r0ss2k3 — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 14:54:04 GMT

Thansk for the info, ill look into that, perhaps once the wife calms down over spending more on something that is worse (current wifi and internet situation). It is poor though to have to spend more money on equipment.

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

r0ss2k3 — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 13:09:57 GMT

Day 2 of no internet at all. Just when you think speeds cant get worse you get nada up and nada down. Switch to full fibre they said.....great for home working they said.....fastest speeds in the land they said......... 😞

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

Pilot25dmc — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 13:55:10 GMT

If you have no internet at all then there is an issue with either the wiring, the ONT (modem) or the router.

Or... it’s all three.

Ask BT for an engineer to check the wiring and fit a new ONT.

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

r0ss2k3 — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 14:31:09 GMT

Hi, thanks for responding.

The chap i spoke to on the phone said that the issue is definately outside the house. I had to send on an image of the box on the wall. I requested someone comes out but he said that wasnt possible???? Immediately passed the buck to openreach who apparently told him they would be out this afternoon. No one has been near as of yet and would be amazed if anyone did come out (actually now starting to think I was being BS'd). I will be expecting a call back from BT tomorrow and at this point I have very little hope of any resolution this week and likely next week too. Billed 79bucks then within hours I lose all services. Told there would be no compensation, because I didnt pay for the premium add on im stuffed. Why would you pay for the highest grade package that they say is 100% online and then pay for an add on should it go down. I stupidly thought it was reliable. Working from home is a challenge to say the least.

On the flimsy wall box there is a red light at LOS, green power and green LAN, the other light isnt on at all. Router was flashing purple but is now red. Because of this I was told a BT engineer is not required. Almost an hour on the phone when I should be working. I cant fault how polite the guys I spoke too were.

When it was installed the box was put on the wall, big hole left in the wall where the wire comes in the house (not even a bit of silicone), wires were stapled to the skirts (poorly). Lights came on the router and the guy said thats it, told me speeds would likely be a lot less due to firmware and then left. No tests, certainly not in the house. I was then left to set everything else up (phones and useless disc). So perhaps it was never installed correctly ?

I am at a total loss and my cooling off period expires tommorow.

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

Pilot25dmc — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 14:40:56 GMT

If its a full ‘Loss of Service’ then the ONT is either faulty or the fibre optic cable was not terminated properly in its connector.

I watched the engineer do mine like a hawk and he used some special machine that heat welded the cable and the connector together and had a screen on it to test the optical connection was good.

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

r0ss2k3 — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 15:15:32 GMT

I didnt see any special equipment and was in the room while he fitted it (all be it mostly with back to me so unsure).

I called up again (just off the phone). It now gets interesting. I got through to the same department as yesterday. So initially on my first call the chat I spoke to put me on hold while he called openreach for an update, that was when he could tell me that they would be out today. Spoke to a lady today who confirmed she has the same role exactly and works in the same department , job description etc. She said there is now was or means of calling openreach. So one of them are telling lies. I highlighted my concerns and requested that a BT engineer get booked in the very likely chance that I need one. She told me that was not possible as she does not have access to the system to book one, only open reach could book one. I was however offered the chance to upgrade so so i could get a router to get me back online, at a further cost of course and contracted for 18 month!

I have however been told that after 48 hours I get £8 a day "Good Will Gesture" which has been agreed by ofcom. Now ofcom dont agree good will gestures they set the compensation minimum limit so how in the blue sky is that "Good Will".

I can see this being a saga of more lies and whitewash before I get some internet. 10+ years with sky and never an issue, not even 10 days with BT and a complete nightmare.

Almost lost the plot last night when I realised I cant watch TV in the other room because its connected via Sky Q and cos no net, no telly.

I also asked the lady to send me the contact information for the CEO (preferably their email) she said she would do that. What I got was an email with the link on how to make a complaint. I really hope that this lady was exceptionally bad at her job and that not all are alike. Up until that call I actually had some hope. There no need to bare faced lie, if you dont know or dont know how to do somethin or even new at the job and havent been fully trained then admit that and seek help, but dont lie to customers.

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

r0ss2k3 — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 15:35:10 GMT

This is the wall where the wire comes in the house: https://imgur.com/StaO4X1 is that same as everyone elses ?

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

Pilot25dmc — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 10:21:45 GMT

My cable comes in from underground, the fibre cable has a black cover with an almost human hair thick white fibre inside.

You would have noticed the machine if the engineer had used it, it came in its own flight case and was fairly bulky.

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

Matt-S — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 10:24:39 GMT

Hi @r0ss2k3,

Thanks for taking the time to post.

I'm sorry to hear that you are having problems with your FTTP connection. While we can't help you directly we can try and find somebody who can help. I've sent you a Private Message with details on how you can get in contact with the mod team.

Thanks

Matt

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

r0ss2k3 — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 10:26:07 GMT

Thank you very much for that, very much appreciated. Unfortunately I didnt get a chance to save it befor e it was removed from the forum. It would appear that someone does not want these details known to the public!!!

The engineer only had a drill and some hand tools from memory, could be wrong though as stupidly trusted that they were profesionals.

I woke up to an email this morning to book an engineer, followed the link on the email and it takes you to the broadband test page, there was nowehere for me to book an engineer, so had to call again, another hour of my time wasted.

Have just spoke to guy from openreach who was in the street, finally someone who was actually helpful! Transpires that the council objected to where one of the fibre poles were located so they were told to disconnect and take it down. He said BT were informed of this long before the pole and service was removed (possibly before my install). The fibre now need re routed and I am looking at about another week before I can get any internet. He suggested that BT hook me up via copper however that was completely removed when the fibre was installed. I explained all the issues I have been having and his opinion was that it was never connected correctly to start with and that pre pole removal no errors were present on their part.

Complete catalogue of errors from start to finish.

Just remembered one bit of advice the lady I spoke to from BT yesterday told me - "You can always contact another providor and switch".

So BT cannot phone Openreach and cannot contact them at all acording to the lady yesterday, yet the helpfull guy today gave me his number.

I do appreciate that extra info and wish I had saved it before it was removed and really hope when the engineer comes I will be provided with a 4g temp router

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

r0ss2k3 — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 10:34:14 GMT

Hi Matt-S,

I have no PM's. I can also only assume that you were the person who removed the contact details for me to complain at a higher level. Thats pretty poor and surely all customers should have access to such information. Transparency is a wonderful thing. If anyone does wish to help then such information should be freely available. I can see how these matters are usualy concluded however I strongly believe in sharing experiances in the hope that new customers are aware of the negatives provided by a company and not just the false promises. If someone reads this thread and garners an awareness of what could happen to them then that is a definate possitive, I wish I had read such threads before taking the plunge.

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

Matt-S — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 10:56:29 GMT

Hi @r0ss2k3,

Thanks for your message, I'm sorry that you didn't receive my private message I have sent another one. Please can you let me know if you get it?

The information was removed for two reasons, one of which was because it broke our terms of us:

6.3 You must not upload, post, or otherwise transmit any content (including but not limited to text, links, communications, software, images, sounds, data, or other information) that includes any of the following inappropriate content: a) any personal information belonging either to the poster or another person, such as full name, address, phone number, personal email address, and BT reference numbers;

An Openreach employee's full name was included in the post. The second reason is that the contact details are for Openreach and this isn't an Openreach issue. If you contact Openreach you will be directed back to your service provider.

I agree with you that transparency is a wonderful thing and we have not removed any of the negative comments about the service or the problems you are facing. We have only removed incorrect contact details and an Openreach employees personal information.

Thanks

Matt

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

r0ss2k3 — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 11:07:41 GMT

Matt-S

I am afraid you are not following the rules correctly but rather misinterperating them or manipulating them for own benefit.

The details posted did not fall into the realms of personal information.

What was posted is information that should be in the public domain, all be it well hidden by BT. Details of any CEO or higher management for a company that is publicly traded should not be removed or hidden. Personal details would include home phone number, date of birth anything directly identifiable to an individual however does not include job title, office addresses, work phone numbers etc.

If you go way back to one of my original posts you will see a BT refrence number, which to this point remains there.

Same goes for the Openreach senior managers.

A persons name is not personal information especialy when it is related to a position of management within a company. Unless of course linked to something other than employment or something that is unique to the individual (ie. date of birth, NI number etc). A work email is not personal either.

Hate splitting hairs or sounding petty but that was bad form.

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

SeanD — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 11:31:09 GMT

@r0ss2k3 wrote:

Matt-S

I am afraid you are not following the rules correctly but rather misinterperating them or manipulating them for own benefit.

The details posted did not fall into the realms of personal information.

What was posted is information that should be in the public domain, all be it well hidden by BT. Details of any CEO or higher management for a company that is publicly traded should not be removed or hidden. Personal details would include home phone number, date of birth anything directly identifiable to an individual however does not include job title, office addresses, work phone numbers etc.

If you go way back to one of my original posts you will see a BT refrence number, which to this point remains there.

Same goes for the Openreach senior managers.

A persons name is not personal information especialy when it is related to a position of management within a company. Unless of course linked to something other than employment or something that is unique to the individual (ie. date of birth, NI number etc). A work email is not personal either.

Hate splitting hairs or sounding petty but that was bad form.

Hi @r0ss2k3,

Thanks for the post and welcome to the Community. Firstly I want to apologise for the problems you have had with your connection, from what you have written it is clear that your experience has been extremely poor. If you haven't yet please take @Matt-S up on his offer of us lending a hand. We will make sure this issue is picked up and seen through until it's been fixed.

The last thing we want to do is add further frustration so this was not our intention when we removed some content from this discussion. If you had of contacted Openreach directly, as the post that was removed, had suggested, they would not have been able to help you and would have referred you back to us. You are our customer so it is up to us to contact Openreach to discuss this. I know you were told otherwise when calling BT and I am sorry about that, this info was incorrect.

With regards to posting personal details on the Community, we have defined that a person full name is not allowed to be posted on Community. One reason for this is that it's not hard to guess a BT employees email address if you have their full name, the vast majority of employees will not be able to help through their work email address, so contacting someone within BT directly may lead to unnecessary delays.

Please let us know how this progresses and we are here if you need support.

Cheers

Sean

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

r0ss2k3 — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 12:03:52 GMT

So if I was to post a certain CEO's details (name, email address, direct line, fax, office number etc you would remove that, despite the fact details can be found very easiliy on the BT site : https://www.bt.com/about/bt/our-company/group-governance/board-of-directors, is that what you are now saying?

I work for a much larger company and all senior manager details are BY LAW in the public domain. Now I hate to sound like some keyboard warrior but trust me on this subject I do know what I am talking about. Why not just admit that you do not want it to be easy for people to make complaints without running the gauntlet of corporate BS, people would actually respect that.

So far I hear BT can talk to Openreach, BT cannot talk to Openreach, only openreach can create the ability for a customer to arrange a visit, visits cannot be arranged over the phone, Openreach status cannot be checked on the system. etc etc. At no point has anyone actually been honest until I physically spoke to an opernreach employee.

I have received Matt's message and have responded. Really ironic that Matt removes (and still wrongly, despite what you say) what is classed as personal information yet asks me for a ton of personal information via PM yet I dont know the guy from Adam. Are you people employed by BT? There was no introduction or disclosure with evidence of employment. Seriously !!!!

OK so the offer of help is kind and useful and perhaps by answering the following that would help (and most liklely help others):

Can a BT helpdesk operator (sorry dont know the exact jo title, the internet technical department folks) call Openreach (as in the internet help team) ?
Can BT arrange an engineer visit without Openreach instigating it via the system (otherwise the operators cannot book, system doesnt allow)?
Is it standard policy to advise a customer to contact another providor and arrange a switch of service?
Why is the term "good will gesture" used for compensation, when in fact it is not a "good will" it is what Ofcom force providors to pay?
Are these forums and the rules heavily moderated to ensure there is no freedom of speech?
Is it true that the equipment provided for Fibre 900 is not full up to the task and to make advantage of the speed and wifi that further 3rd party equiment must be obtained?
Why is fibre advertised as the most reliable product yet there is a heavy sales push on the halo product?
What can the forum operators offer that the helplines cannot?
Can you call Openreach and arrange engineer visits, and BT engineer visits?
Are forum moderators employees of BT, if so in what capacity and responsibilities?
What is the process for making a FOI request (including the local policy)?

Appreciate the help and additional info. Thank you.

Re: Fibre 900 daily slow speeds and connection issues

SeanD — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 13:42:02 GMT

Hi @r0ss2k3,

Thanks for the reply. In answer to your first question, yes if you post the details of any employee on the BT Community, we will remove this content as this is part of our terms of use.

The purpose of the Community is for customers to be able to help each other resolve issues, having advised on the Community to contact other teams or people within BT is the opposite of what we are trying to do if that makes sense? BT’s complaint procedure is not hidden and can be viewed in full from this link, Complaining to BT

I am sorry for any confusion around who works for BT and who doesn’t. That’s a fair point I can completely understand the concern caused by a private message out of the blue from someone requesting your details. All 8 of our moderators are employed with BT and you will see their Community title ‘Moderator’ underneath their username. We also have some employee who will engage under an Expert title, so for example ‘BT TV Expert’, BT Sports Expert. These folks are also employed by BT.

Below are the answer to your other questions

Can a BT helpdesk operator (sorry dont know the exact jo title, the internet technical department folks) call Openreach (as in the internet help team) ? If there is an open fault and BT have not received an update from Openreach or Wholesale then yes, our technical adviser can and should contact both of our suppliers for an update.
Can BT arrange an engineer visit without Openreach instigating it via the system (otherwise the operators cannot book, system doesnt allow)? This depends on the fault and where the fault lies. If Openreach deem the issue is on their side then an advisor cannot book an appointment, in other situations, Openreach will send back a notification for BT to go ahead and book an appointment and once that is received an advisor can book an appointment
Is it standard policy to advise a customer to contact another providor and arrange a switch of service? If you would like to switch your service to another provider and don’t want to be without service for a period of time then yes, it would be best to contact the provider of your choice and they will set the switching process in motion. This should then mean that there will be limited downtime for when you move from BT service to the new provider. You can, of course, cancel with BT first but depending on your new provider it may take a few days to get you connected at which time you will be without service.
Why is the term "good will gesture" used for compensation, when in fact it is not a "good will" it is what Ofcom force providors to pay? These are two different things; compensation is what you are entitled to from BT in terms of service downtime or outages as laid out in our terms of use. If a customer does not meet the parameters for compensation, then at times BT will offer a goodwill gesture. You are correct though compensation is mandatory as laid out in our Customer service guarantee
Are these forums and the rules heavily moderated to ensure there is no freedom of speech? Our Community is moderated in line with our terms of use, please see here, BT Community Terms of Use . I am sorry that you feel that we heavily moderate posts, you only need to spend some time reading through some posts on Community to recognise that we don’t remove posts that criticize BT or are negative towards us.
Is it true that the equipment provided for Fibre 900 is not full up to the task and to make advantage of the speed and wifi that further 3rd party equiment must be obtained? The equipment that BT supply with our Full Fibre service is up to the task, although I acknowledge that some customers have found that using a third-party router offers a better experience. Moreover, some speed issues related to speeds over a wireless connection are down to the device and/or wireless standards that they use. Most wireless standards will not support speeds of 900+ meg. That will change with Wi-Fi 6 but that’s a fairly new standard. This is also something that we are looking to include in future hub releases
Why is fibre advertised as the most reliable product yet there is a heavy sales push on the halo product? BT Halo offers customers other benefits
What can the forum operators offer that the helplines cannot? The Community is primarily for peer to peer support. Using the Community may mean that you can find a solution to your problem without the need for contacting BT directly. We offer customers another avenue to help themselves. If, however, you need direct support from BT then the Community may not be able to help so you are best to contact BT directly. Our moderators and subject matter experts will also help if the Community cannot deal with an issue
Can you call Openreach and arrange engineer visits, and BT engineer visits? It really depends on where the fault lies
Are forum moderators employees of BT, if so in what capacity and responsibilities? Yes, our moderators are all BT Employees. We are here to engage with and help customers where we can. We don’t just moderator the Community but the mods will also be the guys solving problems in the background on the issues that the Community could not help with
What is the process for making a FOI request (including the local policy)? I presume that you are asking about obtaining all the information that BT hold on you? If that is the case you can make a Data access subject request from this link, https://www.bt.com/privacy-policy/

I hope this info help and please let us know how you get on with your service. We are here if you need us 😀

Cheers

Sean