This topic

Massive oversight by BT

Singled5678 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 15:42:57 GMT

So frustrating now having no home phone line after they converted me to digital voice!

did BT not plan that people may just have their own much better router than the smart hub?

what are you supposed to do if you don’t use one and using your own router.

a member of staff said to me last week that BT don’t like or want us to use our own router!?

im being sent two digital phones with apparently. I was told they cannot guarantee they’ll work with my router

I actually don’t have the smart hub 2 at home? I do have the previous hub with no mention of digital voice on the back.

I even asked if it’s possible to put the hub in modem mode or something and then plug that into my own router?

The staff were clueless and quite frankly extremely rude. offering no workarounds at all or guidance. Just kept saying they don’t support other routers etc on and on.

I have submitted a formal complaint about a member of staff who just spoke over me and when I asked to speak to management just kept saying no no no no over the top of me!

there must be some way I can use this hub and then connect the digital phones to that, somehow?

seems my complaint has been closed but no feedback from it recieved. I hope they have spoken to the member of staff and reviewed the call! Utter disgrace

Re: Massive oversight by BT

jac_95 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 15:22:06 GMT

Hi Singled5678,

Thanks for the post and welcome to the Community.

This is an automated response as I can see you have a question about BT’s Digital Voice service. Rather than waiting for a response from the Community, you may find an answer to your question by using the search bar on the Community homepage. We also have a thread that contains a wealth of info related to BT’s Digital Voice, click this link to take a look, Digital Voice FAQs.

To learn more about the nationwide change to this Internet based voice service visit landlinesgo.digital

If you have already looked for the answer to your question and have not found anything that can help, then please ignore this message. One of our Community members will be along shortly to help you further.

Re: Massive oversight by BT

jac_95 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 15:46:17 GMT

@Singled5678

The current phone system, PSTN, is closing hence why all providers are moving to their own VoIP type voice service such as BT's Digital Voice.

BT's digital voice will only work with their BT Smart Hub 2.

There's a few options if you want to continue using BT's home phone service.

1) use BT Smart Hub 2 as main router the use your own in conjunction with it. This involves double natting.

2) switch package to broadband only - this will remove the voice service. You can then use a third party VoIP provider. See threads if wanting to port number:

https://community.bt.com/t5/Home-phone-including-Digital/Post-Full-Fibre-Switching-to-SIP/m-p/2289251/highlight/true#M88999

Re: Massive oversight by BT

licquorice — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 15:43:32 GMT

@Singled5678 You're a bit late to the party, this subject has been debated about ad nauseum on the forum for a number of years.

There are workarounds, the hub doesn't have a modem mode but can be used in conjunction with third party devices in a number of configurations.

https://community.bt.com/t5/Home-phone-including-Digital/Digital-Voice-with-different-Router/td-p/2095493

Re: Massive oversight by BT

Singled5678 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 15:45:24 GMT

I know I work in telecoms lol!

I don’t accept this as being the solution.

there must be some way the smart hun can be used as a slave or modem Only and use that as a bridge between my router and the digital voice service?

Re: Massive oversight by BT

Singled5678 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 15:47:04 GMT

Thank you! Just as I was saying to the woman at BT.

you’d think BT would have more if a grip on this then if it’s been an issue for ages!!

Re: Massive oversight by BT

licquorice — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 15:51:25 GMT

It's not an 'issue', it is a deliberate policy of using a proprietary VoIP implementation that requires the use of the BT hub as the first connected device.

There is no way around that

Re: Massive oversight by BT

iniltous — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 16:04:22 GMT

It really doesn’t matter if you don’t accept ‘the solution’ , ‘DV’ is BT’s proprietary telephony offering, it requires the SH2 to be connected to use it , any BT broadband customer with DV who hasn’t had a SH2 previously supplied, should be provided with one .BT telephony isn’t compulsory, someone can have BT broadband without any BT supplied phone service if they chose , but if they want BT to supply a phone service it’s increasingly and will become exclusively Digital Voice .

As indicated there are workarounds , not perfect , but they do allow those that would prefer not to use the SH2 exclusively, but it does need to be part of the broadband service to use DV.

If it’s absolutely the case that the SH2 will not be incorporated, then the options are , remove BT telephony completely, or use someone other than BT broadband, that will allow third party routers to access that ISP company’s proprietary telephone system, but most mainstream will tie you to using their router for their telephone service, so it’s likely a standalone broadband service will be necessary and your own arrangement made with a traditional VoIP supplier.

If the no ISP supplied telephony is the way you chose to proceed but the existing phone number is required, then port that number to a ‘regular’ VoIP supplier and access it via any broadband service, however it’s possible that porting a phone associated with a broadband service to a VoIP provider could cease the broadband service at the same time, so some mitigation to cover the potential break in broadband service should be considered.

Re: Massive oversight by BT

Singled5678 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 16:12:37 GMT

Yep thanks for confirming there are indeed workarounds as I thought.

Nobody seems to realise this who I spoke with.

Re: Massive oversight by BT

licquorice — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 16:16:54 GMT

Why would they, they are there to support BT products not offer networking solutions utilising products they have no knowledge of.

Re: Massive oversight by BT

Singled5678 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 16:19:30 GMT

Eh?!? Because they supply my fttp and the smart hub is a bt product is it not!?!? Unless im mistaken!

So surely they should know the capabilities of the smart hub and how it can be used as a bridge etc lol hahaha. You’re winding me up Now I’m sure.

Re: Massive oversight by BT

licquorice — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 16:22:12 GMT

It cannot be used as a bridge and any solutions involve an understanding of networking which they are not expected to have.

Re: Massive oversight by BT

Singled5678 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 16:24:31 GMT

You’re pulling my leg now. Thanks to everyone who has actually helped. I know what I need to do now.

Re: Massive oversight by BT

licquorice — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 16:29:55 GMT

Whatever

Re: Massive oversight by BT

jac_95 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 16:32:24 GMT

@Singled5678 BT Consumer's customer support can only help with the equipment BT sent to you and not aspects of other third party hardware:

https://www.bt.com/terms/post1stsep2020voiceandbroadband

15. What we're not responsible for and limits on our liability

viii. You using any equipment or hardware we haven't supplied.

23. Equipment and software

We can only be responsible for equipment we give you. If you choose to use any other equipment (like a router made or supplied by anyone else), you must make sure it's compatible with that service

Re: Massive oversight by BT

Singled5678 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 16:33:47 GMT

Consider this. If I bought a tv and needed help with the equipment on how to use it.. would I go contacting the electric company, or the people who make it lol 😂

were you the woman at bt I spoke with who had the bad attitude earlier 🤦🏻‍♂️

Re: Massive oversight by BT

Singled5678 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 16:37:46 GMT

Correct section 23 is exactly that! Lol.

My question was how do I use the smart hub and set it up to work with my router to use THEIR digital voice service 😂😂

nobody had a clue.

Re: Massive oversight by BT

jac_95 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 16:41:19 GMT

@Singled5678 as stated before to use BT digital voice you need to use the BT Smart Hub 2. That's the only support BT customer services will go up to.

As the workarounds the community of BT customers have found you still need to use the BT Smart Hub 2 as primary router but as I'm sure you are aware with you working in a Telco that you can create a separate network (but does mean double natting) by connecting another router with using dynamic or static IP address connection type to BT smart hub 2.

BT smart hub 2 --> LAN (using one of the Ethernet ports on back) --> WAN of third party router.

Re: Massive oversight by BT

licquorice — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 16:43:27 GMT

You are entirely missing the point or being deliberately obtuse.

The ONLY advice they could give you is that you are required to use the SH2 for Digital Voice. There is no configuration required other than simply connecting it to the ONT.

Setting it up in conjunction with a third party device is beyond their remit

Re: Massive oversight by BT

jac_95 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 16:56:53 GMT

@Singled5678

To also note this forum is a customer to customers self help forum where other customers can give advice and help to eachother on using their BT Consumer services and products.

All of us here are only BT Customers. The only BT employees are the mods (who have the mod badge next to their username) or BT experts who again will have a BT employee badge next to their username.