topic Re: My Migration Journey.. in Plusnet Feedback

My Migration Journey..

Destrike — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:48:50 GMT

...and no I'm not a goose
Not long ago I entered my MAC and started the switch from Virgin over to Plusnet, figured I'd make a thread of the entire process on how I came to wanting to switch to any problems I have and all praises I have for plusnet come the time its finished.
Provided all goes well.. hopefully a mod won't need to move this into the Rants and Raves section!
Annnnyways.. it all started with me hating virgin (non cable) and their pathetic excuse for a service (I may be a little bitter! lol).. first year was fine.. 2nd year was horrible, constant traffic management increasingly getting worse to the point where at peak time (I've worked this out to be between 16:00 and 1:00) I can't do anything other than browse webpages.. streaming media, downloading and playing games are no go.. I know I'm mostly a nightowl at heart but it was just plain horrible!
Now.. a friend has been singing Plusnet's praises for a while, from the very helpful tech support, to usually having a stable service.. essentially getting what he paid for.. and after spending a few days of reading reviews, polls, and spending a good amount of time browsing your community forum, and seeing how staff members actually bending over backwards for users, sometimes out of business hours (If I read right).. most especially seeing as you don't have to.. and can sit behind the tech support operators on the phones/and just rake in the money like most other ISP's.. so congrats plusnet on the awesome community.. even without the recommendations and approving posts of others I read.. this forum alone would have made my decision to migrate for me
Also.. inputting the details to switch was very painless and easy.. although.. I did notice I had no option to check for the 90 days guarantee? not that I'm all too worried I'd need it.. but still.. has this been removed? or automatically added to each order?
Think thats about it for my first post.. I'll update this thread with how each step goes and what I think

Re: My Migration Journey..

bobpullen — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:55:38 GMT

Hi Destrike and welcome to the forums.
I've taken a quick look at your account and all appears to be well. The order's present in BT Wholesale's systems and the migration is scheduled to take place some time on the 27/11/2008.

Re: My Migration Journey..

artificer — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:23:00 GMT

i hope all goes well for you, destrike. if it doesn't, from the posts i've read, any hiccups will be attended to promptly.

Re: My Migration Journey..

Destrike — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:09:08 GMT

Thanks for the welcomes both, and thanks for checking up on my migration Bob
So far so good did notice virgin wanted a "30 day notice period".. from the date of the mac request.. quite the sly way of making people miss the MAC window it seems.. but hell, I'll pay 2 months worth of internet for nov-dec if it means to get off that so called service of theirs

Re: My Migration Journey..

James — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:14:32 GMT

To be honest with you, the 30 day window is pretty common. It means that once you request your MAC Code you have some time to shop around before placing an order.
It's a very standard notice period - the same as ours.
Glad to hear that your order is progressing well and look forward to having you onboard

Re: My Migration Journey..

artmo — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:15:17 GMT

Am I wrong, but don't ISPs have to issue a MAC within 5 days?

Re: My Migration Journey..

Destrike — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:20:36 GMT

yea, thats how its set by ofcom anyway.. although I'm a bit behind as to whether is all ISP's now or just the ones registered with them :S
I understand the need of a notice period, but why not give an option for when the MAC is requested.. esp if someone waits until towards the end of the notice period and finds it runs out before the migration goes through... or doesn't the time limit matter as long as the new ISP get the MAC before the 30 days?

Re: My Migration Journey..

James — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:23:13 GMT

Ah sorry, I think we're confusing each other
OFCOM have a regulation in place which means that the MAC Code must be generated within 5 working days, unless there is a system problem preventing this from being possible.
The 30 day notice period that I'm talking about is standard on a monthly contract, but has nothing to do with how quickly a MAC Code is generated.

Re: My Migration Journey..

Destrike — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:42:25 GMT

ahhh I see
I do have a question, did ask via the sales email but I've not received any reply, perhaps their unsure of the answer.. but anyways.. while on the phone with virgin requesting my MAC, they were telling me how my exchange would never be able to offer me more than a 2mb connection, unless I purchase a more expensive business line to get ADSL+ (ADSL2 isn't being installed until March 2011).. despite my line getting a stable sync of 8000+ from what I can see it was just the fact my Profile being limited at 2000 that was preventing my connection.. and not the lack of a business line etc.. was wondering is there anything that could be done to receive more than the 2mb I've been limited to? whats the deal with this whole need of a business line thing :S its a very small town.. I can't imagine an 8mb connection being such a priority for the small business around here (mostly pubs/takeaways etc).

Re: My Migration Journey..

James — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:46:16 GMT

Well, your exchange is due to go ADSL2+ in 2011. There's a chance that that might get brought forward though.
Without looking at your line stats I really couldn't tell you what sort of speeds you should expect on ADSL/ADSL2+. but if you're syncing at 8Mbps, you should be able to get throughput much better than 2Mbps, especially once your exchange is upgraded.
Not sure what they're on about tbh

Re: My Migration Journey..

Destrike — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:55:52 GMT

lol 4 minutes for a response! Forum-Ninja!
well they told me to look up my exchange via Samknows and it says:

Quote
According to BT Wholesale, your phone line should be able to support a 8Mbps or greater ADSL connection via ADSL Max.

The Standard ADSL RAG test however comes back as:

Quote
Standard ADSL RAG results
You can receive 2Mbps ADSL
You can receive 1Mbps ADSL
You can receive 512kbps ADSL
You can receive 256kbps ADSL

lol to me it looks like the line is perfectly able.. but I'm only just reading up on how ADSL etc works (which your site has been very helpful btw), and I don't think I'll ever understand BT's red tape and way of working.. perhaps thats the issue

Re: My Migration Journey..

James — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:21:43 GMT

The standard ADSL stuff is BTs fixed rate products that you wont be using.
I wrote a fairly long (sorry) blog about how Max speeds work ages ago. You're more than welcome to have a read.
link:speed

Re: My Migration Journey..

Destrike — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:51:37 GMT

ahhh good to know
Thanks for the help James, did have a read through that page a few days ago just further proof that virgin were leading me down the garden path as it were lol

Re: My Migration Journey..

Destrike — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:21:04 GMT

*double posts* (There is a question at the bottom of my post btw :D)
Okie, Migration Day! Huzzah.. just put all my shiny new settings into my router, and no probs.. did need to restart the router twice for them to take effect but overall painless
Ran a few Speed tests.. which I understand my connection will be pretty much the same settings as it was with virgin..

Quote
Your DSL connection rate: 8128 kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP profile for your line is - 2000 kbps
Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 1808 kbps

BUT... my IP Profile is still at 2000kbps, which I understand should change over a few days.. but virgin had me tied to this 2000 profile ever since they promised "up to 8mb speeds!".. so my line has never gone higher.. heres a lil more info:

Quote
Data rate (Kbps) Down:8128 Up:448
Noise margin (dB) Down:9.7 Up:22.0
Output power (dBm) Down:19.8 Up:12.1
Attenuation (dB) Down:18.0 Up:9.0

Just wondering if someone from plusnet can confirm I will be untied from this 2mb profile? or was what virgin said I'd need ADSL MAX (aka a Business line according to them) to have my IP Profile closer to the speed I can physically get?

Re: My Migration Journey..

James — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:26:58 GMT

Hiya,
Your IP Profile should change in the next few days

Re: My Migration Journey..

MauriceC — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:28:39 GMT

I think you will soon be a Happy Bunny
The default PlusNet connection is ADSL MAX, but your line needs to report it's best operating conditions over a 10 day period and get this value to the Plusnet systems to set your correct profile. In the meantime they are set at the default value of 2000.
Plusnet may be able to anticipate the change, but it's probably easiest to let the system takes it's course. Prod again if things do not improve over the next 5 - 6 days.
Maurice

Re: My Migration Journey..

Destrike — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:49:45 GMT

lol I have one word to say to you gentlemen... "Woot"
Thanks for the insanely quick responses guys.. guess you can't blame my 2nd time asking about it.. after being spoon fed virgin's bull manure for the last two years.. I guess I've grown accustomed to being extra sure
This thread has gone from me giving a testimony to Plusnet and members pretty much proving all my points mentioned in the first post Thanks for all the help!

Re: My Migration Journey..

mal0z — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:06:42 GMT

Welcome to PN Destrike
The general advice is to leave the router powered up and connected to the line for several days - if not the full ten days, and power down by turning it of with the on/off bottom at the back, or unplugging it from the mains - and then back on - on a daily basis.
As others have said - you should see you speed rise over the next few days.

Re: My Migration Journey..

Destrike — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:02:34 GMT

Thanks for the welcome Mal
Does it make a difference then? a hard reset (button/plug from the wall) than a soft one? (through the router's front page)

Re: My Migration Journey..

mal0z — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:36:04 GMT

Sorry - missed your message.
Not sure what router you have ? -
I would just turn power of on router - either with the on off button if it has one - or simply remove the power lead or remove power supply from mains.
What sort of results are you getting now ?