Faulty brother fax machine or bt line

mikeopvc

I tried this thread testerday on the techie forum but have not had much response so please forgive me if you think it doesn't belong here.


I've had hell with my brother fax machine lately and have been on the phone to customer support loads of times but now they are saying it's the line that's at fault.
I'm really frustrated now, I just got off the phone to a very smug BT person who said my line is testing absolutely fine.
Brother said my line is very poor quality and quiet, what does this mean and how can I sort it?
I have important faxes to send and receive for my business but can't do either, I have spent all day trying to sort this and just feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall. I even had a brother engineer out this morning, he was here for 3 bloody hours :mad: scratching his head and sighing before eventually changing the board and concluding "yep that's all fine now mate just call BT if you have any more probs"

There's lots more to whine about but I think you get the picture,

Please help someone

mikeopvc

I have sent a fax this morning so the line is capable of faxing but it took 3 attempts, it seems to be an intermitent fault.
Brother said if you can get 1 fax through then the fax machine is definately ok but the line is unrleliable. I thought a line was either on or off with no inbetween but it seems this is not the case.
The brother engineer kindly left all his rubbish for me to get rid of and there are a couple of sheets of paper titled Test Report from Fax Line Servicing Ltd
There are some results on there such as:

Duration 53 seconds Signal Level : Weak (-31 dBm)
Speed 7200 bps Line Noise : Very quiet (-60 dBm)
Image Lines OK 100% Signal Quality : Average

I havn't a clue what these mean but I'm hoping someone will be able to take a look and offer some input.

I had been considering the option of getting BT to move my master socket to my home office as it is currently in the front bedroom. At least if I did this I would be getting an engineer to attend without the fear of a "not our fault" callout charge.

BexTech

You could try sending some faxes on your fax machine from someone else's known good line.

mikeopvc

BexTech wrote: »

You could try sending some faxes on your fax machine from someone else's known good line.

The fax machine weighs a ton and I live amongst a load of busybodies who probably won't take kindly to me knocking on there door asking to set it up while I run some fax tests, This is what brother suggested I do but it really isn't practical I'm afraid.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

littleboo

Is the line ok when you make a voice call ?

mikeopvc

It seems to be ok now though I have had issues in the past but just put that down to rubbish cheap handsets.

BT_company_representative

Hi mikeopvc, I have sent you a PM containing some information and look forward to hearing from you.

mikeopvc

BT_company_representative wrote: »

Hi mikeopvc, I have sent you a PM containing some information and look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks, I have sent you a PM

Also just to add, after littleboos question I thought I would just check all of the handsets we have in the house, we have a total of 4 but I only ever use the one in my office which is always on the base unit.
It seems when listening to the dial tone that it doesn't flow ie. it's inconsistant, to be honest I have never noticed as I rarely use the landline for calls as I am always on the mobile, as are the wife and children.

In a weird sort of way I hope the line is found to be faulty as at least I can get it sorted and put all these ongoing problems behind me.

macman

If you get an intermittent dial tone (like an engaged beep but slower) then that indicates you have messages waiting on 1571! It's not a symptom of a line fault, which often results in noise and crackling on the line.
If you do not have a steady dial tone then your fax machine can't dial out properly.
Have you tested your line using a 'good' (wired not cordless) handset connected to the BT test socket behind the master socket panel. This will eliminate any problems with your internal extension wiring, only then should you get BT out to check the line upstream of the master socket.
But nothing you've said indicates a physical fault on the line.

RTNI

Not sure if this still applies, but does the REN of the line still apply these days? Just thinking if the OP has 4 handsets then the line might be overloaded?

If you disconnect the other phones and see if this makes a difference for a while perhaps?

mikeopvc

macman wrote: »

If you get an intermittent dial tone (like an engaged beep but slower) then that indicates you have messages waiting on 1571! It's not a symptom of a line fault, which often results in noise and crackling on the line.
If you do not have a steady dial tone then your fax machine can't dial out properly.
Have you tested your line using a 'good' (wired not cordless) handset connected to the BT test socket behind the master socket panel. This will eliminate any problems with your internal extension wiring, only then should you get BT out to check the line upstream of the master socket.
But nothing you've said indicates a physical fault on the line.

It isn't intermittent like an engaged tone, the dial tone is there but after listening for a few seconds it begins to crackle slightly.
I hadn't ever noticed this before because I always pick up the handset, dial the number then put the handset to my ear.
The fax is capable of dialling out but on occasion it fails half way through (same with incoming faxes), this is what makes me think the line is poor as it is unreliable.

I'm told by brother that the REN does still factor but as I only have one base unit directly into the line for all four handsets then it only counts as one item.