o2 problems. Should I ask for refund? & recommend another ISP.

Nine_Lives

FIRST:

My o2 connection went down about 10pm last night & hasn't worked since. Anyone else?
I call o2 today to report. They have me reset the router & perform other tests - nothing works. I have no test socket on my main.
When I told the woman I could hear the end of my sentence repeated on the phone to her - she immediately said faulty router. I told her that when I called earlier in the day there was no echoing & it only happens with the. Cordless.
She again says faulty router. I tell her I don't use the o2 router - only when calling he helpline as this is all they support. I use my netgear router. so is she telling me both routers have gone faulty at the exact same time? I find this very hard to believe. She maintains the router is faulty.
So I say that I guess I'm to wait on a replacement (Monday she says), try this, when it doesn't work I call back & we try again.
It will work she says.

SECONDLY:

This is the 2nd time in 12 months my connection has totally gone down. Add to this the fact my download speeds, especially on sites like YouTube, are nowhere near what they were.

Should I ask for a partial refund for this month due to the downtime? I'm seriously thinking of going elsewhere, which brings me I onto....

FINALLY:

Can you recommend an ISP?
It has to be a non LLU one as we have no unbundled deals in our area. Something reliable that doesn't limit you depending on what sites you visit.
I used to be with Zen who were brilliant, but expensive.
I currently pay £20.50pm with o2 which would be higher if I wasn't an o2 mobile customer.

Sorry for any spelling errors. I'm on my iPhone which has gona very laggy online since I updated to v5.0.1.

chanz4

Myn went down too last night, and only jsut come backup its not the router.

bod1467

http://www.siteguru.co.uk/be/ADSL2PlusForDummies.pdf

Take a look at that and see what checks you can make. I guess you have an old-style master socket? (Components on the faceplate and no test socket).

Do you have any other phone sockets in your house (extensions) wired from your master socket? If yes, see the PDF for advice (ring wire removal). Note also that every socket should have a filter fitted.

And on that subject - have you tried replacing the filters, and also the ADSL cable?

If you haven't got a corded, analogue phone for testing - get one. (£5 or less typically, e.g. Argos. Useful also if there's a power cut). Then you can disconnect all equipment from all sockets and try the quiet line test (17070 option 2 - the line should be absolutely silent).

Nine_Lives

The socket has an in built filter, although I've tried separate ones too. The adsl plugs direct into this. The other direct plug is sky. From sky goes 1x corded & 1x cordless in a twin adapter.

All tests I've done are fine.

I've just called o2 again for 3rd party router settings as I reset my netgear router. I had the username & password. It couldn't remember if I had to tweak other settings (ppoae or whatever it is. Vpi etc). I had to do this ages ago & only wrote down my login details.
The chap said I should set "do you require a login" to no. How is this when I was advised years ago by o2 that the answer is yes & has been working for years with an answer of yes. He didn't seem to have a clue what settings to talk about so I ended the call.



I'm fast having enough of o2!! They want to call me on my mobile too to discuss whilst they test my landline but guess what - I get no signal at home. That's by-the-by - their broadband is becoming shocking.

Do you recommend anyone else? I'm tempted to go back to Zen & hope they're still as good as they were. They're just costly though.

Nine_Lives

Well who'd have guessed it.

I figure i'll install the o2 router today to just see if it comes good during the weekend. Internet light turns red (yesterday it wasn't on at all) ... and then green.

It's a miracle i tell you!! As according to the oh so knowledgeable o2 representative, my router was FAULTY. It's come back from the dead no less.

Yet i don't know how to connect wirelessley to this router, so i install my Netgear one & guess what? Yes, that works too.

What a lot of help o2 have been </sarcasm>. My gripe with them now is that they're sending me new hardware, which when you leave you have to [pay to] return. I better not have to pay postage on this new hardware as they should've never sent it out. I told them it wasn't faulty, but they wouldn't listen.

Can anyone recommend another ISP?

bod1467

Put your phone number and/or postcode into http://www.samknows.com/broadband/broadband_checker and see who's available.

macman

It's not 02 that is the problem. If you have no LLU options, then you are on 02 Access-the resold BT Wholesale product, which is dire.

Nine_Lives

I joined in 2009 & it wasn't too bad actually. I think i was paying £17pm/£17.50pm when i joined which was cheaper than Zen's charge of £24.99pm. It wasn't quite as fast, but was fast enough. There was the occasional drop out, but nothing major - Zen had no dropouts for me in 3-5 years i was with them.

Recently though, o2 have been shocking. YouTube is a waste of time - you have to wait forever for a video to load. I've had 2 dropouts at days at a time within the past 12-14 months. Oh, and the price is now £20.50pm.

The o2 prices i quote are discounted prices - i believe they'd be £5 more if i wasn't an o2 mobile customer.

My area only has a 8mb max line, but i never get near that really.

I've heard bad things about TalkTalk, Sky, BT. I was once with PlusNet when they were winning awards but they turned slower than 56k. They may have sorted it by now, but they've had it as far as i'm concerned.

Zen may not be as good as they were when i was last with them, but they were pretty faultless, which is why i'm tempted to go back. They're just £26 a month though which is a bit much.

Nine_Lives

macman

Your line is up to 8MBps-no one ever get 8. If 2MBps is all that your line can support, then that is all you will get, regardless of ISP.
Post your router stats and someone can take a look.

Nine_Lives

macman wrote: »

Your line is up to 8MBps-no one ever get 8. If 2MBps is all that your line can support, then that is all you will get, regardless of ISP.

I know this already. I've had 6MBps before. Don't think i've ever hit the 7MBps marker, but i've certainly been in the 6-7MBps area many times.

Post your router stats and someone can take a look.

How do i do this?

I have a Netgear DG834PN if that helps