My BT infinity broadband experience. Please advise...

ibie1983

Hello guys

I have seen many BT complaints on here. I just wanted to share my experienceand hopefully many of you can advise and help me.

I joined BT infinity broadband (40mb speed) in early January and I havehad a shocking service so far. My connection completely sucks, as it constantlydrops and the speed is very very slow. Ever since I joined, for the last 3months, I have called BT numerous times and spent hours on the phone with them.Every single time, the BT rep checked the line, ran some tests, made someadjustments and assured me the problem would be fixed. But it is never fixedand they cant fix it.

I was previously with Sky and had copper wire internet with an averagedownload speed of 3mb, which I thought was decent for a non-fibre opticbroadband. And the good thing was the connection never dropped. The only reasonI changed to BT was because I wanted to get the BT sports channels.

Yesterday, 20/04/14, I couldn't access the internet at all, and when I donea speed check, I got a grand speed of 0.1mb. I phoned BT yet again, and the rep simply told methere is nothing wrong with my line as all the tests confirmed that it isrunning as normal and wireless connection isn't guaranteed.

I responded by saying why do you offer a wireless service when you cantprovide one. He simply restated that the wired connection works as normal andwireless connection cannot be guaranteed. I just had a heated argument with therep for half an hour without getting anywhere. BT wont even send an engineer tocheck my line as the rep said they wouldn't send one out for a wireless fault.

I never had any wireless problems with Sky. My BT router/modem is locatedexactly where my Sky one used to be, which is on the ground floor of my flat. Iuse my internet on the first floor. It is quite clear to me that BT is notproviding the service that they are supposed to.

I told the rep that as they cant fix the wireless problems, they would haveto move my phone socket and router to my first floor so I can have a workingservice. He told me that can be done at a cost of £200. It looks as thougheither I have to put up with a non existent service or pay £200 to get aworking service. Can anyone please advise?

Ibs

A.Penny.Saved

Take your Pc down to the router and use an ethernet cable to test it. If it works fine and the speeds are okay then the problem is with the wireless reception in your property and not the fibre connection. You might be able to get a new router to improve things or pay for moving the telephone socket.

In which case unless there is a fault with the BT router they will probably not do anything because it's not their responsibility.

JJ_Egan

One the external connection BT Open Reach .
Two your internal wiring .
Three the wireless router .
Essentially those are the key points where the fault may be .
and its not clear from the OP where the actual fault might be.

Wireless then you can simply test next to the router , factory reset the router and setup again and check your wireless settings .
Only real way to test the wireless router is to use another one .

Key question has to be does the connection work and stay stable on ethernet .
Posting your line stats may help .
What wifi reception is next to the router will also help .

A.Penny.Saved

If it is a wireless problem then one of these might help. Check the other things first to confirm that it is a wireless issue. Also check for compatibility with your equipment before purchasing because I have only just seen this and not checked it out.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CEB53JQ
http://www.ebuyer.com/519414-tp-link-150mbps-universal-wireless-n-range-extender-tl-wa750re

macman

The rep is quite correct. BT contracted to deliver the service to your router: the wireless set up in your house is your responsibility alone. The fact that they supply a wireless router does not guarantee connection to every other device in every other part of your house.

ibie1983

Thanks for your replies guys. It is much appreciated.

@ A.Penny.Saved, the internet seems to work fine with the Ethernet cable. That's what BT told me anyway. I will try this tonight to know for sure.

Where am I supposed to get this new router from? Isnt this supposed to be provided by BT? I access my internet from the first floor and the router is on the ground floor. I have had Sky and virgin broadband before and never had problems accessing my internet from the first floor.

The other problem I had was BT was supposed to send me the router prior to the installation date. When the engineer showed up, the router still hadn't showed up, so the engineer got one from his van. Maybe he used an inferior router?

@ JJ Egan, what do you mean by the following,

1) Posting your line stats may help .
2) What wifi reception is next to the router will also help .

Thanks

kwikbreaks

I believe you're supposed to get a Home Hub 5 with Infinity. It handles both ADSL and VDSL which is used by Infinity. They used to provide a modem and seperate router which would make the task of moving the Wireless part of it easier.

With Infinity installs a new master socket gets fitted and unless that's faulty it will completely isolate any internal wiring. That leaves either the connection having a fault or poor WiFi performance. If it's the connection that's down to BT and it seems they have ruled that out. If it's the WiFi and the provided router is working then that bit of wood you see drifing away is your paddle because fixing WiFi is down to the customer.

Test wired. Test WiFi nearby. If both are performing properly then you need to be looking at how you can either move the router (an issue with a combo unit) or how best to extend the WiFi which may well be a Homeplug based wireless extender solution. Quite why the HomeHub 5 is stuggling when other routers didn't is a bit of a puzzle as sfaik they work OK.

There is a possibility that playing around with the WiFi channel may solve it but from your description something a lot more radical will be needed.

ibie1983

Thanks for the replies guys. I will have to give this wifi extender a try even though it doesn't seem to work for everyone.