Telephone line fault - BT and Virgin disagree!

[Scooby]

Hello, all.

My sis-in-law has been without broadband for weeks now. Home telephone works fine. Her line rental is with BT and her ADSL broadband with Virgin.

I've been trying to help her out by going on the Virgin 'help' forum, as to phone Virgin is a worse experience than sticking pins in your eyes.

Helpful person on the Virgin forum has carried out line tests and reports there is definitely a fault - they say to get on to BT to sort it. Hey-ho, BT says there isn't a fault. Virgin asked my sis to ask BT to carry out an "enhanced copper continuity test". BT says "Have done, the light is green - there is no fault".

I think it's called stalemate.

Ok, Virgin have at least provided some test results, and when I asked my sis to compare these with BT's, the BT lady said "There's no figures - just the light is green - there's no fault..."

Sis suspects that BT basically don't give a t*** because the broadband is not with them, only the land-line phone - and that works ok.


So that we can knobble BT if they are being deliberately awkward, could anyone give the answers to:

1) Should BT's 'enhanced copper continuity test' return results with more detail than "the light is green..."?!

2) Do any of Virgin's test figures (below) mean anything to peeps on here? If so, which ones suggest a problem? And could this 'problem' be as serious as to mean that my sis has broadband sooo slow that it takes - literally - 2 hours to load one eighth of a Google homepage...?

Test Result Attribute	Value
Line Test Ran Successfully	NO
Test Result	Line tested OK. Measurements within specifications.
Line Length	3847.6 Meters
Capacitive Balance	94.0 %
A To B Resistance	1633.724 ohms
A End BatteryResistance	9999.0 ohms
B End Battery Resistance	9999.0 ohms
A End Earth Resistance	9999.0 ohms
B End Earth Resistance	2250.079 ohms
Additional Info1	CAPACITIVE BALANCE POOR 94 %
Additional Info2	TONE RINGER DETECTED

Many thanks!

 

[Adam W]

Does the modem include wi-fi? I had a problem trying to setup my Sky broadband - the lights were on on the modem but I couldn't connect. Called technical support and they got me to try the wifi from my phone which seemed fine, then they reckoned my network adaptor wasn't working and I should take my computer to a computer shop to get it looked at. About 20 mins later I got it working myself.

Id suggest unplugging everything and maybe trying a different microfilter.

 

[Scooby]

Hi.

Thanks. Yes, it has WiFi, and that's what she normally uses. However, to narrow down the fault possibilities, she's using an Ethernet cable for the time being. Doesn't help, tho'!

She's tried a new filter.

All the lights on the router are green, suggesting it's working. Her laptop is working, as she had it connected to our WiFi when she visited last week.

Virgin are adamant there's a line fault - see their test readings. BT are equally adamant all is ok with their line...

 

[Sharpend]

I presume that you have filters on every telephone point? Is the modem on the master or is it the phone? Sometimes swapping them about using filters also can clear a fault.

 

[Adam W]

I'd try unplugging everything else from the line and just have the modem plugged into the master socket. Maybe even disconnect any slave sockets.

 

[Scooby]

Many thanks, everybody.

Yes, all that stuff has been done - she's been through normal checks under Virgin's guidance until blue in the face.

That's why it was then taken forward to the next stage - line checks. And that's where the dilemma lies: Virgin says "Yes there's definitely a prob - here's the results to show it." and BT say "No, the line is fine - the light is green!"

Does anyone on here understand what these figures represent and how significant they are? Could they cause such a broadband problem? And why are BT simply relying on a simplistic 'Green Light'?!

Thanks.

(I understand what resistance and capacitance are, but don't know what they relate to in these results.)

 

[ian.settle1]

I would tell them to get it sorted or there will be a letter of complaint going to both their CEOs as well as OFCOM

 

[Scooby]

I would tell them to get it sorted or there will be a letter of complaint going to both their CEOs as well as OFCOM

You offering...? :bucktooth:


(Only kidding. Many thanks.)

 

[chrish_1977]

Don't just stay asking the same people take it higher and make such a stink threatening ofcom etc

 

[Scooby]

Don't just stay asking the same people take it higher and make such a stink threatening ofcom etc

Tattoos, eh? Can I send your photo with my threat - obviously cutting out the lovely pic of the wee baby, and perhaps hinting you're holding the head of the last CEO to cross you instead...

 

[gnuuser]

Continuity testing will only yield a limited result
You should analyse the signal with a dual trace o scope and induction meter to see if there are errant voltages being induced on the line.
Note if this is the case the phone usually has a loud hum
More so during damp weather

 

[Scooby]

Thanks all.

I did tell her to pursue this with Virgin (whilst she was in the process of transferring to TalkTalk!) She's convinced that Virgin were dragging their feet deliberately because they'd sussed she was moving.

As it happens, change-over day was yesterday - she plugged in and installed her new router this morning, and has faster BB than she's ever had...

So, looks as tho' it was down to a faulty router all along...

Jeepers.

Thanks for your input.