Hi - man was I glad to find this forum, much less frustrating than a 30minute phone call to a technical support agent that knows less than I do!
Have had Orange broadband for a month or so, and began to experience problems with it, though the symptoms all seem to be linked, I can't figure out the cause so far.
1) The phone connected to the BT line single-rings intermittently - this can happen at any time irritatingly enough and is clearly indicative of a fault. When the phone actually is ringing with a person on the other end it double-rings, that is to say the ringer on the phone is twice the speed - when we just had a BT line for a month this never happened with the same phone.
2) There is a lot of noise on the BT line, again intermittently - it's not always there.
3) The internet and VOIP cut out intermittently during which time the @ light flashes, but the problem seems to sort itself out if you leave it for a short time.
These problems seem to all occur at the same time and also seem to be worse on Saturdays at peak time (though is pretty infrequent at other times). BT have agreed there is something wrong with the line but the engineer said that as far as he can tell from the exchange the problem is a signal coming down the line (i.e. from my end), not up it.
Have tried unplugging livebox overnight and the random single-ring problem remains on the normal BT landline phone. Trying leaving the landline phone unplugged at the moment to see if the internet still dies to eliminate any device causing interference on the line. Not had an engineer in the flat to look at it yet as if it turns out to be something plugged into the line I will be facing the £120 odd call out charge.
Anyone else have a problem like this? Could the micro-filters that Orange supplied even be causing the problem? Don't have the extra cash to play with so I can't experiment by buying all sorts of different network devices to test unfortunately. Many thanks.
BT have agreed there is something wrong with the line but the engineer said that as far as he can tell from the exchange the problem is a signal coming down the line (i.e. from my end), not up it.
This would seem to be a faulty phone appliance if a signal is emanating FROM your property particularly if you've disconnected the livebox.
Try replacing the phone with another (buy a new cheapy if necessary) or disconnect any other appliance, fax, answer m/c, Sky, security alarm ?
You say the property is a flat...any chance of old cabling still being connected somewhere ?
Try dialling 17070 option 2 for a quiet line test....nothing else should be connected for this.
Thanks for the suggestion - didn't know about that number will test it. I have to take it that the BT engineer was telling me the truth about a signal coming from the house - seems unlikely it would be the phone as it was fine until I got broadband but I guess spending £2 on a phone is cheaper than £100 odd.
EDIT: Yes definite possibility that there could be old phone lines somewhere in between me and the exchange. The flat I live in is brand new, build into a very old building that was a mill so there is the distinct possibility that they could have used old line in the building somewhere. The engineer was unable to comment tho..
Rang that number and as expected you can hear noise on the line with nothing else plugged in - I have had a bad experience with cheap mircofilters before, could it be down to Orange's microfilters?
Rang that number and as expected you can hear noise on the line with nothing else plugged in - I have had a bad experience with cheap mircofilters before, could it be down to Orange's microfilters?
No it's the line from your flat to the exchange.
Phone BT and tell them what you've done and the results. You may not notice any major effect on your phone line signal but broadband signal is another matter.
Yes definite possibility that there could be old phone lines somewhere in between me and the exchange. The flat I live in is brand new, build into a very old building that was a mill so there is the distinct possibility that they could have used old line in the building somewhere. The engineer was unable to comment tho..
If any of wires no. 1/3/4/6 are connected in the BT linebox or any extensions then that may not help the situation. Only wires 2 and 5 are required in modern installations. Remove the lower half of the main BT linebox and follow the instructions from the link above then check each extension box and do the same if necessary.
Thanks very much for the advice - I am going to have a go at it this weekend.
EDIT: Wire no.3 was connected in my main BT ext and I pulled it out leaving just 2 and 5. Result - the BT landline phone now no longer double-rings. I am unable to check and see if the two other extensions also have wire 3 connected as they are sealed to the wall. There still seems to be a buzz on the landline.
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