Fibre internet connections and additional phones on same line

[interestrateripoff]

We've been having a few issues with our fibre connection at home.

First the router suddenly developed a problem with some devices not connecting, naturally the call centre were useless as reading from a script rather than doing some proper critical questioning, after multiple phone calls I finally got fed up and investigated the difference between my phone and my wifes and found that they had different chipsets and also discovered they had recently updated the firmware.  Whether the it was a bad flash or fixes in the firmware created other problems I have no idea but thanks to no one wanting to ask the obvious question what devices where connecting and which weren't could have revealed the issue weeks ago along with the call centre staff looking at if there had been a recent update.

The other issue we've had is that the line itself has been dropping, this to me has led to some farcical statements being made.

The first is the fact I've changed the password/SSID has somehow stopped the router from connecting properly to the company's server and is causing it to drop.  This gem was said by the engineer who turned up.  They also don't like the fact that I've changed the admin password to login with.  The fact this is recommended by the router itself is naturally amusing.

We also got told by the engineer that fibre doesn't like having more than a single phone connected.  For years on ADSL and fibre we've had two phones one downstairs and one upstairs but this apparently is now a problem and causing line issues.  So are they correct on this does having more than one phone on the same line cause line issues?  The issue is the phone downstairs when its plugged in causes the line to drop.  Master socket is upstairs in the bedroom.

Any suggestions?

[dgul]

38 minutes ago, interestrateripoff said:

We've been having a few issues with our fibre connection at home.

First the router suddenly developed a problem with some devices not connecting, naturally the call centre were useless as reading from a script rather than doing some proper critical questioning, after multiple phone calls I finally got fed up and investigated the difference between my phone and my wifes and found that they had different chipsets and also discovered they had recently updated the firmware.  Whether the it was a bad flash or fixes in the firmware created other problems I have no idea but thanks to no one wanting to ask the obvious question what devices where connecting and which weren't could have revealed the issue weeks ago along with the call centre staff looking at if there had been a recent update.

The other issue we've had is that the line itself has been dropping, this to me has led to some farcical statements being made.

The first is the fact I've changed the password/SSID has somehow stopped the router from connecting properly to the company's server and is causing it to drop.  This gem was said by the engineer who turned up.  They also don't like the fact that I've changed the admin password to login with.  The fact this is recommended by the router itself is naturally amusing.

We also got told by the engineer that fibre doesn't like having more than a single phone connected.  For years on ADSL and fibre we've had two phones one downstairs and one upstairs but this apparently is now a problem and causing line issues.  So are they correct on this does having more than one phone on the same line cause line issues?  The issue is the phone downstairs when its plugged in causes the line to drop.  Master socket is upstairs in the bedroom.

Any suggestions?

Well, possibly.  The ring generator circuits in the cheap voip boxes can't drive many ringers (and I don't think any can do an actual bell, but I'd be happy to be convinced otherwise).  Most providers assume that there's a DECT on the end and that all phones will connect via a single physical line.  But all this said, it sounds like you're being fobbed-off.

[DTMark]

If it were really fibre than it wouldn't have anything to do with telephone lines.. It's fibre to the cabinet. So at the street cabinet 800m from where we are there might well be 2Gbps available.

However that's then re-modulated into a signal that can be run over copper and aluminium old phone lines which carry it the rest of the distance.

So a house right next to the cabinet might see that 2Gbps+ shaved down to just 100Mbps over a matter of fifty metres. That's all the copper can do.

Now go out 1km from the cabinet and you'll be lucky to see 20Mbps. 2km and probably nothing at all. We're in line for a potential 20Mbps as the cable is ancient and 1380m long. So even though it's 800m away it may as well be 800 miles away.

Why this matters is that the circuit is "perfect". So the VDSL modem at your end should be the "first thing in the circuit". Where the cable comes into the house there is usually a "master socket" which is the first one that gets the signal with the other extensions wired "in series" after it.

Other devices can interfere with it (esp. Sky boxes) and even routing it another 50ft over some average DIY cable kit can see it become slower and less stable.

The master socket - if there is one - is the one with the stripe across it.

To test the theory, pull out the modem connector, pull off the faceplate on the master socket, and plug the modem in there (there's a direct socket behind it) and see if the behaviour, especially slow speeds and drop outs, changes.

The "it's your internal wiring that is causing the fault" is an old favourite with phone networks and DSL. Can't possibly be anything to do with the network being so old that the sellotape is yellowing and falling off, can it.

It is usually necessary to prove that it is not the internal circuitry, which is to say the wire you ran yourself, is not to blame for problems and so most ISPs will direct you along this path of testing with the "test socket" before calling anyone. Or BT will come out, say it looks alright, leave, charge the ISP over £100, they bill you, and around it goes again.

 

[interestrateripoff]

Having had the visit not certain theres been much improvement with whats been done.

Whats the issue with the sky boxes?

[blobloblob]

What make/model of phone(s)?

[The Masked Tulip]

My neighbours had BT fibre put in a year ago and they were getting 80 to 90 download. Then I got fibre and their speed halved. As more of us get it in the road I suspect we will go back to 14.4K. I used to like my US Robotics 1950's retor style modem. I miss the sounds.