This topic

FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Davco — Tue, 25 May 2021 15:10:20 GMT

I reported a fault. My fttp broadband was dropping intermittently for a few seconds at a time. Under normal circumstances that would be a niggle that I could cope with. However, I'm a presenter on two radio stations broadcasting three x two hour live shows per week and my shows are more often than not dropping. A real problem for me (and the stations).

Engineer visited my property today and confirmed that there was a fault and a new piece of hardware would be required (unit next to the modem) and he would be reporting the issue 'back to the exchange'.

I have subsequently had a text advising me all is now OK. It is not. I went onto the fault tracker, which now states 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I have not.

Why do people lie?

Any advice would be appreciated. 🙂

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 25 May 2021 15:23:32 GMT

@Davco

Are you a BT Business user, as you are using your connection for business use?

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Davco — Tue, 25 May 2021 15:34:21 GMT

Thank you Keith

No, I'm not, as I would normally broadcast from a studio.

Live broadcasting from home will hopefully be (very) temporary.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 25 May 2021 15:42:04 GMT

@Davco wrote:

Thank you Keith

No, I'm not, as I would normally broadcast from a studio.

Live broadcasting from home will hopefully be (very) temporary.

Not sure there is a lot you can do. The BT Smart Hub 2 cannot really cope with large uploads without buffer overflow, which is what I expect is happening. What sort of bitrate are you trying to upload?

ISP provided routers are never that good, and people have been using their own routers connected to the Openreach ONT.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Davco — Tue, 25 May 2021 16:03:13 GMT

Thank you Keith

90%+ of presenters on both stations are currently broadcasting from home and I'm the only one with this issue.

Everyone has encoders set to 320kbps for maximum quality. I have dropped down to 128kbps (CD quality) and it's still dropping out. Sometimes I can get through a whole show without a hitch, but at it's worst I have to stop broadcasting completely.

As much as the issue itself is very frustrating, the bare-faced 'you have told us your fault was fixed' lie is what's annoying me more.

I have subsequently been back in touch with BT (by phone) and during our conversation I was told an OpenReach engineer would be with me tomorrow 'between 1pm and 6pm', yet having now looked at the fault tracker information, that's been changed to 'our supplier has estimated that your fault will be fixed on Fri 28 May 2021'. So that leaves me not knowing if the engineer will turn up up tomorrow (Wednesday) as told or Friday.

Well, at least we can send a helicopter to buzz around Mars. 😀

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 25 May 2021 16:12:21 GMT

When you get the dropouts, do any of the lights change colour on the ONT, or the home hub?

I assume you are using a direct Ethernet connection into the home hub, and not a wireless connection, as wireless connections are subject to interference and disconnections?

You may find that forum members here, suggest that it may be better to use your own router instead.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Davco — Tue, 25 May 2021 16:16:12 GMT

Thanks Keith

Yes, ethernet cable all the time.

There is a red 'fault' light on the unit (I'm not sure what the 'ONT' is?) which I hadn't seen. The engineer spotted it instantly. He tried to reboot it without success and then told me it would need to be replaced... and he didn't have one with him.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 25 May 2021 16:28:26 GMT

The ONT is the Openreach optical modem.

It may look like one of these.

If there is a red light on the ONT, then that indicates a problem with either the ONT, or the optical fibre route.

If there is a red light on the Smart Hub 2, then that would indicate a problem with that.

This is the Smart hub 2 connections area, so it may be worth checking the red lead from the ONT, to the Smart Hub 2.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Davco — Tue, 25 May 2021 17:04:35 GMT

Thanks Keith

There's a green light flashing intermittently on 'port 1' of the ONT (I believe it should be solid green) and the red light showing 'fault' is on the battery back-up unit.

I'm being sent a mini-hub, with a 4g sim card, as a short-term fix to keep me online, but that will be worse than useless for live broadcasting.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

pippincp — Tue, 25 May 2021 17:53:40 GMT

The red light for the BBU normally means the batteries need replacing but I wouldn't bother as they were installed to keep FVA going in the event of a power cut and it has now been discontinued. You'd also need a UPS for the hub and PC/Laptop for it to be of any use.

As to your problem, have you tried a direct connection from the PC/Laptop to the ONT?

Go to windows SETTINGS.
Than select Network & internet.
Click on Dial-up and select Set up a new connection.
From a new pop-up select Connect to the internet and click on Next buton.
Now click on Broadband (PPPoE)
Now fill-up User name and Password as your ISP gave you. bthomehub@btbroadband.com Password BT.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Davco — Tue, 25 May 2021 18:11:53 GMT

Thank you pippincp

These acronyms are wasted on me. FVA? UPS?

Regards.

Davco

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 25 May 2021 18:13:57 GMT

@Davco

You can bypass the battery backup unit, as they are not fitted any more, and can give problems, so try doing that first, as it may fix the problem.

There have been a number of reports about failing ONT power units, so that could be an issue.

Also check that the Ethernet cable from the ONT port 1, to the red port on the home hub, is fully located. It should be clicked in place, and held there with a retaining clip.

If that clip is missing or broken, then you will get an intermittent connection, which would explain the flashing port 1 light.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 25 May 2021 18:18:01 GMT

FVA=Fibre Voice Access. A way of providing a phone line over fibre, using the TEL1 socket on the ONT.

UPS=Uninterruptible Power Supply unit. Provides power during a loss of mains supply.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Davco — Tue, 25 May 2021 18:23:01 GMT

@Keith_Beddoe

Thanks Keith

Other than bypassing the battery backup (which I'll now try) I've checked all of the other things you mention.

I'd have thought they would be fundamental checks the engineer should have done when he was here. The only thing he did, apart from confirming there was a fault as soon as he came through the door, was to 'reboot' the battery backup, which I now gather from yourself and @pippincp was never going to make any difference.

I guess I'll just have to wait and hope that engineer #2 can sort it out. It's the 'you have told us your fault was fixed' that I find particularly galling.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 25 May 2021 18:32:41 GMT

The flashing light on port 1 could indicate a problem with the home hub. Have you tried a factory reset of the home hub?

You would normally expect the lights to change on the home hub if there is a problem with the connection between the ONT and the home hub. I assume there is no change on the home hub lights, is that correct?

Do you have another Ethernet cable that you could try between the ONT and the home hub, it does not have to be a red one?

Ethernet cable connections are only crimped, and its not unknown for then to make a bad connection.

I am surprised that the engineer (technician) did not try changing this cable.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Davco — Tue, 25 May 2021 18:55:38 GMT

I forgot to say 'engineers'... as there were two of them and neither checked the connections.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 25 May 2021 19:09:44 GMT

It does make you wonder what training, if any, they receive, and why they did not carry a spare home hub.

Before I retired, I used to work on business customer equipment, and it was necessary to be very thorough, and to carry spares, so that service was restored, otherwise there was a financial penalty.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Davco — Tue, 25 May 2021 19:30:19 GMT

@Keith_Beddoe

Thanks Keith

I really appreciate your help. I think I'm just going to have to sit it out and hope the 'new' engineer gets me up and running properly soon.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

pippincp — Tue, 25 May 2021 22:26:02 GMT

Why don't you try the direct to ONT setup I suggested and provided instructions for? If it is a hub problem then it will be resolved and you can continue broadcasting whilst the issue s resolved.

From what you have said it sounds like you had useless Qube engineers attend rather than an Openreach one. Not that an Openreach engineer could sort out a hub issue.

@Keith_Beddoe may well have carried spare modems etc in the past but Openreach deal with so many companies now it is impractable. They do not carry ISP supplied equipment.

Re: FTTP Issue - 'you have told us your fault was fixed'. No I haven't.

Davco — Wed, 26 May 2021 09:02:52 GMT

Thank you @pippincp

I have received confirmation that an Openreach engineer will be with me this afternoon. I'll leave things as they until he visits.

If he can't resolve the issue on this visit I will certainly try your suggestion.

I'm not due to broadcast now until tomorrow evening so I do have some breathing space.

Thanks for your support and advice. It is appreciated.

Davco