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2018-10-18 Loss of FTTC Dunfermline - anyone else?

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gm4jjj
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Registered: ‎30-07-2007

2018-10-18 Loss of FTTC Dunfermline - anyone else?

A repeat of a previous issue this month, same symptoms, dial tone fine, WiFi fine, but no internet PPPOE connection on FTTC. Last time it was OpenReach with a number of lines in my area, but I had to contact PN customer service to find out because there is no OpenReach customer facing status page for mere paying customers of PN 🙈 instead to find out you have to take up PN's time as well as mine, and I assume because it is a weekend there is no Online Chat available.... 

 

 

So, does anyone else have an issue this morning in the Dunfermline, East Scotland area? 

 

I am am prepared to be patient, but at least having an idea that OpenReach or PN are aware of the fault is always the first step.

 

Many thanks.

 

 

 

 

10 REPLIES 10
daveplus
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Re: 2018-10-18 Loss of FTTC Dunfermline - anyone else?

@gm4jjj

https://downdetector.co.uk/problems/bt-british-telecom/map/ may help you

Also, if you call customer services on 0800 432 0200 and choose technical support they should be able to find out in detail.

gm4jjj
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Re: 2018-10-18 Loss of FTTC Dunfermline - anyone else?

Thanks Dave, unfortunately like the previous time this shows everything is fine with my line. The only way I could get to the bottom of the problem the last time was to contact PN CS who have access to some status info that their supplier (OR) will only provide them, not the customer. 

 

 

 

I doubt that I will have to endure phoning PN to find out, which I dread. I would much rather use online chat. Is that always unavailable on weekends? 

 

Thanks again.

 

Anyone else having FTTC in east central Scotland this morning? Mine went down this morning and remains so. It's at times like this when you appreciate how vital it is. I won't go into personal details, but let me just say it could hardly have been a worse time.

gm4jjj
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Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: 2018-10-18 Loss of FTTC Dunfermline - anyone else?

Still trying to get through to CS on the telephone, 40 minutes listening to music. Whatever happened to the PN I used to know? 

gm4jjj
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Re: 2018-10-18 Loss of FTTC Dunfermline - anyone else?

Now through to CS and they are running tests on line, so another wee wait while they do that.

Will update when I know.

gm4jjj
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Re: 2018-10-18 Loss of FTTC Dunfermline - anyone else?

Well, the plot thickens, according to CS there are no service outages in my area, and all is working on my line according to PN. 

 

However clearly all is not working as far as I am concerned as I have no broadband as of this morning.  Just suddenly stopped... Airport Expess flashing Orange to indicate trying to get PPPOE connection.

CS trying to be helpful (and they are) are going to send a new router as mine is 7 or 8 years old they say.

Now actually mine is a simple BT OpenReach VDSL modem which has no WiFi, I use it with an Apple Airport Express router. So getting a new all singing and dancing combined modem/router is going to involve a lot of faffing about which normally I could handle myself, but for various personal reasons just now cannot easily. (Don't ask!). 

I am certainly going to try out the new box they are sending to prove a point one way or the other. 

I have always felt vulnerable with no spare BT VDSL modem.

Fortuntately I do have a spare Airport router that I can try if mine is really faulty (though I seriously doubt it as the LAN WiFi is fine).

So far this week, while it has been impossible for me to directly help,  I have had a fan oven element blow and trip out a circuit breaker in the house and now this mystery broadband problem. I have also had a third more serious problem, but we won't go into that here, proving troubles usually come in threes.

 

 

daveplus
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Re: 2018-10-18 Loss of FTTC Dunfermline - anyone else?

Some good news anyway. Good luck with the new device.

Dave

gm4jjj
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Re: 2018-10-18 Loss of FTTC Dunfermline - anyone else?

I would have preferred if the fault had been one external to my system. Then it would come back up without my intervention.

This situation now requires me to reconfigure everything to work with a completely different modem router in my home, so it isn't plug and play for me anyway. 

I find it rather strange that the broadband could just stop like that with the router still working on the LAN ports and the modem apparently working on the WAN ports according to tests by CS.

 

When possible I will get a check on what my Airport Router is reporting. 

Fun and games.

RichardB
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Re: 2018-10-18 Loss of FTTC Dunfermline - anyone else?

Hi gm4jjj

Open reach modems are availbe on ebay from £10.

Search for hg612. The 3B version is the one to go for.

Richard

gm4jjj
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Re: 2018-10-18 Loss of FTTC Dunfermline - anyone else?

Thanks Richard, I shall test with the new PN one first and then if that is OK pickup one of those £10 ones. I need to check my AirPort Extreme is OK too of course. Just difficult for me to physically do any of that just now. 

 

Once again, thanks for the tip. 

gm4jjj
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Re: 2018-10-18 Loss of FTTC Dunfermline - anyone else?

Fix

Well, we are back online 😁

 

I managed to get my SO to restart the AirPort Extreme base station (which involved quite a few extra steps because no AirPort Utility on iPad to start with, no internet connection to download it, until we got hotspot working on phone etc). 

Then after the AirPort Extreme was restarted, lo and behold the connection worked. Why it was lost in the first place is unknown. I have always found the AirPort Extreme very reliable, that's one reason why I don't want to stop using it, and it is easy to extend with Apple AirPort Express units on WiFi.

Anyway, if I had been available my first inclination would have been to just reboot it or worst case power cycle it, (the first rule of IT Support). 😂

Actually the first rule is not to do anything straight away, or react to a customer question right away, as left to their own devices they usually find an answer in the time it takes you to find out exactly what their problem is.

 

 

So the old modem and router lives for another day, and thankfully normal service has been resumed.

Thanks for all of the help.