After DV how do I find out where a fault is ?

[Bob1001]

Prior to DV it was just a case of splitting the line at the master socket and plugging a phone into the line side, if it worked  then the fault was in the house and my problem.

However since changing to DV I can't see anyway of proving if the fault is the line (it still comes over copper) or the hub which I own. The last thing I want to do is to report a fault find out it is my hub (I own mine, I know BT has changed their contract so with new hubs they belong to BT) and be charged for a visit just to be told your hub is faulty.

[jac_95]

Hi Bob1001,

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.

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.

[Tom20001]

Bob. You’re trolling.

[Bob1001]

@Tom20001  No I am asking a reasonable question that I don't know the answer to.

[jac_95]

With VoIP if the broadband ain't working it's a broadband fault. If the broadband is working but the phone won't connect to the sip gateway it's a VoIP fault.

The move to VoIP basically means it will either be a broadband issues or a software/server issue. The smart hub 2 logs should help identify a VoIP issue

[Bob1001]

@jac_95That is not strictly true as we have FTTC so the last bit is conventional copper wiring and judging by recent experience that is where faults normally are (usually in the underground )but I can no longer plug a phone in to the master to see if the line is working.

[iniltous · Accepted solution]

Although you no longer have a usable ‘quiet line test’ feature , everything else is pretty much the same , in the case of no service , if don’t already you run your router from the master socket, move it there temporarily and plug into the test port , if service returns , the issue is between the master and wherever the router is normally sited, if the issue remains, report it to your ISP.

If the ISP suspects the line is OK ( by testing  it ) and suspicion falls on the router itself, no doubt they would supply another one ,  possibly with conditions for out of term customers  ( like a new  minimum term ) but you would always retain the option of obtaining a different router yourself  , there are plenty of them available, and much like keeping a known working phone available for testing purposes with legacy systems, perhaps keeping a ‘spare’ router will become worthwhile.

The only thing with being on DV is not being able to differentiate between a telephony issue and a broadband issue , but that’s because everything effectively is a broadband issue, regardless of that issue potentially being on the copper pair  for non FTTP customers .

[Bob1001]

@iniltousThank you, very helpful, although I am happy with my Smarthub 2, you mention other routers, is it possible to use a different router and use digital voice, I know that for broadband it is easy to use a different router.

[licquorice]

You know perfectly well that Digital Voice requires the use of the Smart Hub2. It has been posted countless times on the forum and is the first thing in the faq.

[iniltous]

You could use almost any router , provided it’s not locked to another ISP , to prove the line capable of syncing, ( so your router for testing purposes it doesn’t have to be a BT one ) but DV needs a SH2, and as already stated, you knew that already .
If it were the case that you owned your SH2 , and it became faulty , and you already had a replacement router ( not a SH2 ) that would get your broadband back up but ( obviously ) not your ‘telephony’ , are you disadvantaged ?, well IMHO , not really …you could obtain a different SH2 , or ask for the telephony option to be removed from the broadband service ( makes sense not to pay for something you cannot access ) …chances are BT would in these circumstances, supply a replacement SH2 anyway.

I know how much you liked by previous analogy , so here is another ( and a true story ) , I was a relatively early adopter of Sky Digital  , I bought my own set top box ( several hundred ££ ) , it worked for years then it went faulty …so I’m  now a Sky TV customer but cannot watch what I’m paying for , I call Sky , they offer to sell me a new box for several hundred ££, I said No, just cancel my TV subscription,  they then  offer to sell me a refurbished box for £100, I said No , just cancel my TV subscription, they then  offer a maintenance visit for £60, that will fix anything, I said No…….finally they relented and offered a ‘free’ maintenance visit , they replaced the box with a brand new one for ‘free’ , well not quite, a new 12 month minimum term, but at that time I was prepared to remain a Sky TV customer , so the minimum term was of no consequence.

Ultimately, my option was to leave if it were impossible to get what I considered to be reasonable , in your  scenario paying for DV but not being able to access it, you would have the same option to leave.