Replacing ancient modem

Cherryfudge

Thanks everyone for your helpful replies.

I've just come off the phone to the broadband people who talked me though a factory reset of the modem. The signal dropped a couple of times while we did it, but she assures me it's fixed now.

400ixl

You have been fobbed off really. What was the problem she identified that was fixed by doing a factory reset?

The factory reset is unlikely to have changed anything. About the only thing it may have done is changed the channel the wireless is working on.

What do you get if you put your details into https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

Cherryfudge

400ixl said:

You have been fobbed off really. What was the problem she identified that was fixed by doing a factory reset?

The factory reset is unlikely to have changed anything. About the only thing it may have done is changed the channel the wireless is working on.

What do you get if you put your details into https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

I'm too nearly asleep to go into all the acronyms this evening, but it's looking from your link as though there aren't many options here. Certainly no fibre and no real likelihood of it in the foreseeable future.

I did wonder if I was being fobbed off: I got the feeling the factory reset was the default once the usual tests have been done and easy-wins eliminated. I had a crackly line so I can't be sure of everything she said, but I don't remember her telling me what the problem was (and I might not have understood it if she had). However, the main thing was to get back online, which is how we are now. I'll just see how it goes. A bit annoyed that it will have reset my password etc, and she didn't mention backing them up which I think is possible, so I hope I can get in using what's written on the factory label and make it secure again.

HP_Source

A crackly line? If that happens regularly on calls it's a big clue. Please do a quiet line test - dial 17070 and select option 2. You shoud hear nothing.

Cherryfudge

I was on my mobile, @HP_Source (good user name btw ). We only keep the landline as a back-up for older relatives who can't hear on a mobile.

400ixl

Still worth doing the quiet line test as landline and broadband come over the same cable, so if you have a noisy line it will affect your broadband.

What type of BT master socket do you have and is the modem plugged directly into it? Is it an old style you have one output on and use a filter for your modem and phone to plug into, or a newer one where there are two sockets and the filter built in?

Cherryfudge

HP_Source said:

A crackly line? If that happens regularly on calls it's a big clue. Please do a quiet line test - dial 17070 and select option 2. You shoud hear nothing.

I've just tried it a few times and all I'm getting is my own number repeated back to me. No options. Starting to suspect I might be in a parallel universe...

400ixl said:

Still worth doing the quiet line test as landline and broadband come over the same cable, so if you have a noisy line it will affect your broadband.

What type of BT master socket do you have and is the modem plugged directly into it? Is it an old style you have one output on and use a filter for your modem and phone to plug into, or a newer one where there are two sockets and the filter built in?

I also found a suggestion on another forum of dialling '1' then listening, but all I got then was that the number isn't recognised.

It's an old-style master socket with a two-way adaptor plugged in to accommodate both landline and broadband.

400ixl

Do you have a spare filter that you can replace the one you have fitted as they can fail over time. Also, is the phone and modem plugged into the one filter and do you have any other phones around the hose which are plugged into the wiring (so not extension DECT phone which only plugs into power).

Here is a good set of tests to conduct.

https://help.telappliant.com/en_GB/134122-connectivity/basic-diagnostics-checks-before-submitting-a-broadband-ticket

https://business.bt.com/help/article/phone-line-and-services/faults-and-repairs/i-have-a-fault-on-my-phone-line-how-do-i-test-my-equipment-or-wiring/

Cherryfudge

400ixl said:

Do you have a spare filter that you can replace the one you have fitted as they can fail over time. Also, is the phone and modem plugged into the one filter and do you have any other phones around the hose which are plugged into the wiring (so not extension DECT phone which only plugs into power).

Here is a good set of tests to conduct.

https://help.telappliant.com/en_GB/134122-connectivity/basic-diagnostics-checks-before-submitting-a-broadband-ticket

https://business.bt.com/help/article/phone-line-and-services/faults-and-repairs/i-have-a-fault-on-my-phone-line-how-do-i-test-my-equipment-or-wiring/

No spares, though we could get one. No other phones apart from mobiles, either. Thanks for the tests! I will have a look though it will have to be later sa there are things I need to get on with...