Broadband and phone dead

[#1]

After being flaky for days now my broadband has stopped working completely and my phone line is dead. I've checked all the connections and done all the fixes suggested.

Can't get through to on the phone - 30 minute wait -  online chat is also down, so suspect many others are affected but service update says all ok.

Thank goodness for iPhones, Personal Hotspots, Tesco mobile, 4G and my generous data allowance otherwise I wouldn't be able to access this page.

I cancelled an old direct debit for Plusnet mobile which I cancelled over a year ago and half suspect that somewhere in Plusnet's system that has triggered the disconnection of my broadband which has a completely different direct debit and bill recently paid. Please say it ain't so!

If anyone from customer services or technical support is reading this, can you help get my broadband back up and running, please.

Thanks

[#2]

Try CHAT but any pop up blockers need turning off for it to work. IT'S available now. Use a PC/Tablet not phone.

[#3 · Accepted solution]

Hi there and I'm sorry about the wait times over the phone and using live chat.

Testing your line isn't finding any problems. Can you confirm you've tried the steps in our troubleshooting guide here including plugging your telephone handset into the test socket as explained here?

[#4]

Hi Gandalf

I did all the trouble-shooting checks before I posted here.

It's limped back to life now - swearing at the router, researching alternative broadband providers then leaving it unplugged in a heap on the floor while I went out for an angry stomp appears to have shocked it back into service.

It is still flaky and slow, though. I mostly use broadband for my internet radio and recently it's been struggling to cope with that.

I'm going to click the 'fixed' button, but if my broadband doesn't pick up I shall probably seek an alternative to Plusnet when my contract comes up for renewal.

Thanks for your reply

[#5]

Hi Gel

Thank's for those suggestions.  

Life's to short to waste hanging in a chat queue which is why I came to the forum. I was using my laptop at the time, not a phone, with mobile pairing, 4G and generous data - which, incidentally, I discovered is much faster and more stable than my Plusnet connection. So that's given me food for thought about renewing my Plusnet contract.

Cheers

[#6]

Happy to hear you've it working again now.

Let us know if the problems redevelop and we'll look at arranging an engineer.

[#7]

@Magscribbler,

A warm welcome to the forums.  To be honest this does not sound overly good if I have understood your description of the problem.

After being flaky for days now my broadband has stopped working completely and my phone line is dead.

There was no dial tone on the phone line ... and now there is - correct?

If yes this has nothing to do with broadband - that is a pure POTS problem ... one which I fear might well come back when you least expect it.  No dial tone suggests that at least one "leg" of the copper pair has a disconnection (poor contact joint).  In such situations broadband can limp a long, but not very well.  I think this will come back at you!

In some situations an inbound call (ring current / voltage) can rectify the bad joint ... until it fails again.  This gives the presentation of an intermittent fault ... which often will not be seen when the line is tested ... as the process of testing can also rectify such issues.

Broadband is not going to work well if the "phone" line is not working properly.

Please perform a quiet line test - dial 17070 select option 2 using a corded phone plugged into the test socket behind the face plate of the master socket. It should be silent. A noisy phone line (or no dial tone) will have a marked adverse impact on the performance of broadband.

If the line is noisy or there is no dial tone, then a PHONE LINE fault needs to be raised with your phone provider. If this is PlusNet, you can report a fault on line using the button below.

• Phone Faults

Note that all of this kit is owned and serviced by BT Openreach and their sub-contractors - not Plusnet.  If there is a problem relating to your line, which remains unresolved by BTOR, moving to a different ISP is not going to fix the issue on the line to your property.