Would they charge for router?

moneyistooshorttomention

I've had numerous broadband problems since moving here 2013.

Long since lost count of how often PlusNet have sent in OpenReach to deal with it.

One way and another - I think its substantially resolved - but its still not a normal connection (ie reliable). Therefore, every so often, it spends a day or two up and down like a tarts knickers and I've got yet another bout of it going on.

Everything to do with me has been checked numerous times and is absolutely fine.

So they check the line and my main phone socket. Then they do so next time. Then they do so next time again and so on ad infinitum.

I think it might be worth my supplier (ie PlusNet) replacing my router. It shouldn't need it - as it was new when I came here - but just to do "belt and braces" and be absolutely 101% covering all options.

So - I've had this particular router now over 1 year. Would PlusNet replace it on the basis of"just in case" their router is having an effect on things without charging me (as that router is their property - not mine)?

Double_V

I believe it's the router.
Same thing happened with me but with Sky though.

I had to pay for the router postage only and it was only £6. Was added onto the bill.

EssexExile

I'm surprised they haven't changed it. Whenever I've had troubles with internet it's been the first step, I've had loads of them. I'm afraid I throw them away or I'd have sent you one.

moneyistooshorttomention

One other thing I am wondering about this is the fact that an engineer (unconnected with my house) recently told me that there is a capacity problem in this area for phonelines.

He said that there is a certain level of capacity (so to say) that is necessary for an area and then a "safety element" of a bit extra is built into what the area as a whole needs. He told me that the safety margin element for this area has been totally used up and any time a new house is built and someone else is asking for the new phoneline they need there is a problem - courtesy of no spare capacity and an unwillingness on BT/Openreach's part to sort it out courtesy of financial considerations.

Could the area capacity level be being a problem to me? and therefore any time I scream about bad service....they tweak and fix me...and someone else gets "knocked out" and they scream and they tweak and fix them and then someone else screams. Rinse and repeat and we're all on an endlessly repeating circle of "I must get my connection sorted out" and BT/Openreach never does get the message of "Fix it all forgawdsake and lay on some extra capacity". Is that what is happening here?

AndyPix

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

One other thing I am wondering about this is the fact that an engineer (unconnected with my house) recently told me that there is a capacity problem in this area for phonelines.

He said that there is a certain level of capacity (so to say) that is necessary for an area and then a "safety element" of a bit extra is built into what the area as a whole needs. He told me that the safety margin element for this area has been totally used up and any time a new house is built and someone else is asking for the new phoneline they need there is a problem - courtesy of no spare capacity and an unwillingness on BT/Openreach's part to sort it out courtesy of financial considerations.

Could the area capacity level be being a problem to me? and therefore any time I scream about bad service....they tweak and fix me...and someone else gets "knocked out" and they scream and they tweak and fix them and then someone else screams. Rinse and repeat and we're all on an endlessly repeating circle of "I must get my connection sorted out" and BT/Openreach never does get the message of "Fix it all forgawdsake and lay on some extra capacity". Is that what is happening here?

I would say yes.

If they have checked the dside and the eside lines coming from your local cabinet (green box in the street), and you say you have checked your socket at home, then local contention has to be the issue. They are probly squeezing the last little bit of user capacity out of it before laying new lines.

Although what screams out to me here is that they haven't swapped out your router.

Scream at them until they do.
And no, you shouldn't have to pay for it

Farway

I am with Plus net

the first router was free, when it went wonky I had to pay for a new one

It is not their router, it is yours, as is the problem

I would not scream at them, just change the router and get on with life

JJ_Egan

When i was with PN first router played up after a few months they sent out a replacement .If it was over a year old it would be mine and up to me to replace .

moneyistooshorttomention

Result of today's phonecalls with PlusNet boils down to in summary:

- PlusNet is having problems fixing internet problems in Wales today - because a large chunk of Wales is having a general internet problem.

- Wales does seem to have a lot more internet problems than England or Scotland and PlusNet don't know why this is the case.

- PlusNet are telling me it cant be the router and that their system would tell them if it was the router. They tell me that they wouldn't supply a new router anyway - because I've gone through my initial contract period I signed up to (think its a year?) and I'm now on a rolling month by month contract. A new router would only be sent if I signed up for a specific new contract period.

- It may well be the case that the local area having what would appear to be inadequate capacity in it could well mean that I could complain and I get fixed, but it knocks on to someone else and they complain and they get fixed and it all goes around and around in an endless circle of complaining - whilst we all wait for the whole area to get some more capacity in it BUT I betcha B.T. is hoping that some people will shut up and stop complaining and then they could maybe get away with not laying on some more capacity
(Note to B.T. = it aint gonna happen....there are now lots of us living here that have been used to more normal standards and we will keep right on complaining until such time as "normal standards" is what we have).

So - right now - and I'm waiting for the affected section of Wales to be put right as a whole and then we can see more clearly what is happening right here.

Biggles

Double_V wrote: »

I believe it's the router.
Same thing happened with me but with Sky though.

PlusNet and Sky, and one or two others apparently, use the same router, it's a cheap piece of junk, branded 'Technicolor' .

I replaced mine with a BT Homehub for £2 at a car boot sale, it works a lot better.

moneyistooshorttomention

From peoples comments here, I am wondering whether it might be as well to take on PlusNet's router responsibility for them - and buy my own router instead.

I didn't realise their router wasn't deemed to be up to scratch on the quality front anyway. Prior to moving, my "supply" was Virgin cable.

So - what do I look out for router-wise? Which are deemed to be the particularly good and bad makes generally? What sort of price should I expect to pay for a good-quality make? Then I will go and have a browse-around Amazon. I cant buy a new one immediately - because I'm still in the gap between my retirement age (on job pension) and my revised State Pension Age at the moment. So - I am now rather planning to buy myself a new router once I hit that revised SPA and get the rest of my income back again and so have some weeks in which to investigate which router would be best for me.

As a non-techno - is it as easy as pull out the 4 wires from sockets on the back of the PlusNet Router and push those wires back in again to the back of a new router? (ie no other fancy fiddling round).

Biggles

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

As a non-techno - is it as easy as pull out the 4 wires from sockets on the back of the PlusNet Router and push those wires back in again to the back of a new router? (ie no other fancy fiddling round).

Once it's connected up, you'll need to tell it your broadband username and password, that's about it.