Introducing a UK first - Hybrid Connect

[Bobbybox]

Following up on this.

BT confirmed that there was a mistake with the provisioning. This has now been corrected on my account and I should see service begin later today/tomorrow. I'll post a final reply to confirm all is ok.

BB

[Bobbybox]

Final update.

A new Hybrid Connect device was sent to me today as a result of provisioning the service on my account correctly.

All works now as expected (I'm posting this using the Hybrid Connect connection as a test).

Thanks again.

BB

[Packetloss]

I received my Hybrid Connect last week and set it up.  When I had an Openreach engineer round to look at a different performance problem, we disconnected the cable to the g.fast service and the first time we tried, the Hybrid connect did not kick in at all.

So for a laugh, we reset everything and tried again.  So the second time around, the Hybrid connect kicked in after about 2minutes.

Hardly seamless or instant. 

I'll be repeating my tests to see if they were just flukes. 

[VeteranISPUser]

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@Packetlosswrote:

So the second time around, the Hybrid connect kicked in after about 2minutes.

Hardly seamless or instant.  

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Hi @Packetloss   

Two minutes is normal. Where did you see it advertised by BT as being instant? To quote the help pages "After a couple of minutes, its 4G signal bars will turn white".

What is Hybrid Connect? | BT Help

[Packetloss]

Try ringing up BT and speak to them about it. Thats how it was sold to me. I spoke to two different people in the retention team before committing to my order. 

I called them this weekend and asked them to stop peddling nonsense to me, and I quoted articles in the press that it was 90seconds.

I was originally told, "no sir, this is what we've been told. It is instant" 

[VeteranISPUser]

Hi @Packetloss   It does sound like you were mis-sold the product. You could request a transcript of that call. As you are within your  cooling off period you could cancel. The simple fact is it takes two minutes to automatically switch to 4G.

[mforrest]

Hi @Packetloss,

The realities are you likely wouldn't want it to switch across any faster, something that performs failover quicker is more suspectable to false positives - so the SH2 thinks its lost connectivity and fails over to 4G - when it could have just been a momentary blip. The failback to the fibre can take up to 15ish mins to occur, which my guess is a choice to make sure the fibre/service is stable and has been stable for a period of time - otherwise, you could end up in a situation where it's flipping back and forth continually.

I initially thought the failover and failback to be slow, but for something that I'd use in a fibre break or exchange issue - to me, 2mins is more than acceptable. Everyone has a differing perspective, just sharing mine 🙂

Other than that, its a great service and a good safety net in case of any fibre issues.

M.

[Packetloss]

I come from working with corporates, broadcasting and emergency services where its not unusual to operate using auto failover equipment that happens instantly. I think given the circumstances I might go back to my old Draytek 2920 that will give me instantaneous auto failover to 4g. Its old tech from 2016, but still works a treat.

Being kicked out of a Teams/Zoom Meeting in front of clients is no fun. Neither is the disruption to my kids home learning. I'd be less concerned if this happened once a week or month, but several times a day means I need something more reliable and instantaneous.

[Packetloss]

I'm pleased that BT have looked into my circumstances and withdrawn the Hybrid Connect service from my account.  They accepted that the service was mid-sold and that I was told that it was "instant" and "seamless" and that I wouldn't even know I was disconnected. 

In the meantime, I have tried disconnecting my service and have found that services are mostly restored between 2 to 4 minutes after the loss of service.  In some instances , I've had to restart devices.

Whilst this is acceptable for many casual users, it's not the right solution for me as my g.fast service is highly unreliable.  I'll be reverting to my unlimited Three 4G sim to help provide automatic failover to a true seamless and uninterrupted service. 

[dqj999]

Will BT offer this solution if they cannot provide Full Fibre by the agreed dates?