Other ways to get broadband

moneyistooshorttomention

bouicca21 wrote: »

I am somewhat nervous about entering into this one as am decidedly non expert, but just in case it helps ...

Money, did you say your router was plugged into an extension socket rather than the master? My study is also too far away from the master. So the router is plugged into the master and then my pc is connected via a pair of powerlines.

Yes - it's on the phone socket in my study. The "main" phone socket is in the hallway - right by the front door. The study socket is the one I've always used my computer from (apart from a brief interlude - where I'd got wires everywhere running through from hallway to sitting room and was having to make do with my computer on my dining room table there). That makeshift arrangement was during the gutting of my house - as I had to continue living here whilst the work was done around me. I was having problems even then - ie using the main phone socket. It didnt make any difference.

It's only a very small house (ie bungalow of about 1,000 square feet in size) - so not vast eons of space apart iyswim.

The extension wire for study phone socket has been taken up from main socket, up via loft and back down again into my study. I had to use an electrician for that - as the BT guys wouldnt do it that way - courtesy of one of them having recently put his foot through someone's ceiling and they were quoting "'elf and safety" at me. They wanted to run a telephone wire for some feet along visibly every which where - instead of doing things the normal way/way I wanted - and hence the electrician having to do that instead of them doing it. One of the BT guys refusing to do it my way was the one that suggested having an electrician as a way to get round that "'elf and safety" restriction. So they obviously thought it was okay - it's just that they had recently been forbidden to do it that way.

arciere

Money, anything you do now is a shot in the dark, until you (or someone who knows what he's doing) check what's going on on the router (I am talking about the ADSL signal).

You need to get someone look at the ADSL stats , from there you will understand if the problem is with the line (which can be the BT line or your internal wiring) or some settings on your computer (or even the computer itself).

That's the easiest thing to do at the moment, before thinking of changing router, computer, wires ISP or else.

moneyistooshorttomention

Okay will do arciere - if I still have problems after tomorrows engineer visit.

Whew - just had my 3rd time today of fighting to get back online:(.

You can appreciate just how much I need the Internet - now that I'm living in such a remote area - hence the frustration with it:mad:

GunJack

Some observations....

1. It's generally a bad idea to swap ISPs f you've got a known problem.
2. It sounds like between you & your "computer guys" have covered most f not all the testing you can do internally (if they haven't, they're poor and you should look elsewhere).
3. It sounds lke you've got a line problem - probably a joint in one of the junction boxes between your house and the PCP (green cabinet in a street somewhere that your line goes to, this is known as the D-side)
4. FTTC won't help you if the fault is on the D-side line, but it could if it's on the E-side (PCP to exchange - FTTC bypasses this for broadband, with the phone & broadband then combined n the PCP before heading into your house)

bouicca21

Money, not sure you understand what powerline does. It's a way of not having lots of wires.

You plug one in near the router and connect it to the router by Ethernet cable. You plug the second into a socket near the pc and connect it to thepc by another Ethernet cable. Magically the signal then travels from router to pc via your ordinary wiring. Better than via an extension, especially one that has a lot of wire because it has been routed out of sight through the loft.

https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/networking/powerline-networking-what-you-need-to-know-930691

moneyistooshorttomention

GunJack wrote: »

Some observations....

1. It's generally a bad idea to swap ISPs f you've got a known problem.
2. It sounds like between you & your "computer guys" have covered most f not all the testing you can do internally (if they haven't, they're poor and you should look elsewhere).
3. It sounds lke you've got a line problem - probably a joint in one of the junction boxes between your house and the PCP (green cabinet in a street somewhere that your line goes to, this is known as the D-side)
4. FTTC won't help you if the fault is on the D-side line, but it could if it's on the E-side (PCP to exchange - FTTC bypasses this for broadband, with the phone & broadband then combined n the PCP before heading into your house)

3. I'm guessing there is a joint in the line - where they've removed a section of old line nearest my house and replaced it, and then, presumably, joined it to the old line the rest of the way down to the green box.

4. What is FTTC? What is D side line? What is E side line? (I'm guessing that D side means from the box to my house and E side would be going away from the box in the direction of town??).

What is PCP?

moneyistooshorttomention

bouicca21 wrote: »

Money, not sure you understand what powerline does. It's a way of not having lots of wires.

You plug one in near the router and connect it to the router by Ethernet cable. You plug the second into a socket near the pc and connect it to thepc by another Ethernet cable. Magically the signal then travels from router to pc via your ordinary wiring. Better than via an extension, especially one that has a lot of wire because it has been routed out of sight through the loft.

https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/networking/powerline-networking-what-you-need-to-know-930691

You could be right....

"Powerline" is a new concept to me.

I'm guessing you are saying I could plug the router into "main" telephone point and a powerpoint beside it??

There might be a slight problem there - as there isn't a powerpoint by the "main" telephone point. The two nearest powerpoints to "main" telephone point are respectively:
- the other side of the hallway and I'd constantly be walking across any wire as I went to/fro my sitting room
- inside the sitting room and ditto and it would be having to run underneath the sitting room door to enter the sitting room

Would that matter? or does there have to be a powerpoint beside the "main" phone socket?

arciere

bouicca21 wrote: »

Money, not sure you understand what powerline does. It's a way of not having lots of wires.

Powerline is for Ethernet wires, not telephone wires.
If I understand correctly, OP has had an extension for the telephone socket. Much easier to get a long telephone cable that connects directly to the master telephone socket.

bouicca21

I mean ordinary plug sockets, you plug the powerline into a mains socket. Then the broadband signal goes through your mains wiring.

moneyistooshorttomention

Progress to date - that expensive broadband a poster recommended are currently firing emails to and fro to me with queries about the location.

It looks like they might cover my location as far as can be seen at present.

Awaiting further info. from them and, if I make a decision to swop to them, it looks like something I'm going to have to put in my diary for about a year or so time (ie when contract expires with Plusnet) to stop them imposing a leaving charge on me.