Line Switch

[#1]

Hello forum members.

How easy would it be to persuade Plusnet / Openreach to switch my ADSL connection to another line?

The diagnostics bot has found yet another fault on the line - the third so far - and I feel that using an alternative line, if one is available, might cure the problem once and for all. Would it only be done in extreme cases?

2:00 am this morning and I'm getting this speed:

[#2]

Has the bot suggested any action?  This sounds like it needs Openreach intervention.

[#3]

Hi Jab,

Yes, an engineers visit was advised, but the previous two visits didn't fix the problem, so I don't have much faith that a third engineer would be any better.

[#4]

Is your phone line silent if you run the 17070 option2 test? Which router are you using? 

[#5]

@jab1 

Yes, I did a quiet line test, all okay. The modem/router is a Cisco Linksys WAG320N.

The last engineer fitted a new 5C Master Socket - the old one was 30 years old. He also recrimped the wires outside because he found some corrosion on them. After he had done that, his testing equipment returned a speed of 6.10 Mbps.

[#6]

If the  QLT passed there must be some other fault. I don't know that router, but does it have an error log and/or a page showing your line status?

[#7]

No logs, and the line status reads "Interface: Connected", along with my IP address and list of subnet mask, default gateway, etc.

[#8]

OK, not the most user-friendly of routers then. Can you attach a screenshot of the line status page - obscuring any personal data like your user name - don't worry about your IP address.

[#9]

Using the tabs "Modem Router" and "DSL Connection".

[#10]

OK. I'll have to request release of those images, so probably won't answer until tomorrow.

@James_B  This situation is intolerable!!

[#11]

@jab1 

Okay, and thanks for your assistance so far.

[#12]

To ask the obvious question, I assume there is no possibility of any kind of full or part fibre service where you are.

I might be thinking about trying a mobile service with those speeds.

[#13]

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@markhawkin wrote:

...I assume there is no possibility of any kind of full or part fibre service where you are.

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Yes, there is. I'm in a FTTP area, but my current contract doesn't expire until September 2026. If I switch to fibre mid contract it would possibly mean agreeing to a new 24 month contract with all the unwanted price increases included. I would prefer to shop around for the best deals towards the end of my contract.

Three have a home broadband deal at the moment which looks attractive. It's a home hub with a sim card in the back, but I'm not sure how reliable a mobile signal is when compared to fibre.

It would just be nice to get the 5 to 6 Mbps service that I was getting when my contract started. I really haven't had anything to complain about until now.

[#14]

If you purchase the Three deal online, you can get it and try it out. If it doesn’t work, return it within 14 days. That is what I did when looking around.

[#15]

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@Xanadu_2 wrote:

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Yes, there is. I'm in a FTTP area, but my current contract doesn't expire until September 2026. If I switch to fibre mid contract it would possibly mean agreeing to a new 24 month contract with all the unwanted price increases included. I would prefer to shop around for the best deals towards the end of my contract.

Three have a home broadband deal at the moment which looks attractive. It's a home hub with a sim card in the back, but I'm not sure how reliable a mobile signal is when compared to fibre.

It would just be nice to get the 5 to 6 Mbps service that I was getting when my contract started. I really haven't had anything to complain about until now.

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If you still have a year to go on your contract, you will still have at least one more price increase to come on that. Bear in mind that you will have to move to either an FTTP or mobile contract before December 2027 anyway - as things stand at the moment, the PSTN/ADSL service will finish at that point.

You could of course try the Three service at any  point, as @mystreet1  has pointed out,it is available on a 'suck it and see' basis, and using it would not affect your current ADSL service.