The good news: Last weekend I had Sky HD installed to take advantage of my hi-def telly. All was well and good. The engineer also plugged the Sky box into my phone line and said it was needed for the Sky box when upgrading firmware. Fair enough.
The bad news: My internet is now a fraction the speed as what it was. I'm still with Orange. Previously, I was getting about one and a half meg (according to speedtest.net). Now I'm getting about 300kbps - that's less than a quarter of the speed it was.
I've tried unplugging the phone line to the Sky box and re-setting my router (a new-ish D-link which speeded up my connection and has been solidly reliable compared to my old Belkin) but it's still painfully slow at times. Every now and then it times out altogether and stops.
Is it down to the Sky box or just coincidence? Do I contact Sky or Orange? Orange, from experience will be no fun at all and I'm sure I'll go through all the old routine again. Call, get stuck in automated system, get frustrated, pull hair out, get no results. (They still haven't sent me a Livebox, after 9 months... but that's another story) Argh, the thought of it is soul-sapping... Anyone else had issues after a Sky box install?
I've been trying all day to get speedtester to work (without success), and you know what? After wasting the best part of a day trying to sort out my sodding pedestrian internet service I'M "bored now".
It's the straw that broke the camel's back as after many many years at freeserve>Wanadoo>Orange, today I've requested my MAC code. But even this isn't straightforward as "their systems are down" and I need to call back tomorrow. Why am I not surprised?
In the meantime, if anyone has any more ideas about how to get my ADSL speed back up to what it should be (ie nearer 1.5mb) then that'd be appreciated.
I've been trying all day to get speedtester to work (without success)
In the meantime, if anyone has any more ideas about how to get my ADSL speed back up to what it should be (ie nearer 1.5mb) then that'd be appreciated.
It's probably timing out because of your connection speed !!
Try plugging into the test socket behind the lower half of the main BT linebox, this sometimes gets you a better connection.....especially if you have any extension boxes. Also make sure the Sky box has its own filter.
I'm pretty certain it's NOT the Sky install, I've tried it a few times with the Sky box switched off and unplugged out of the phone line and the connection is still painfully slow. Sky box also has a filter already.
I've been putting it off for far too long out of some vain hope that my Orange service will improve but over the years any communication with them is like a trip to the dentist for root canal work, and almost as expensive. Unfortunately, at least a visit to the dentist results in the pain going away most of the time!
TBH it's a relief that I've decided to leave, and will probably go for a smaller UK-based ISP, with UK support, more consistent service and a smaller minimum contract. Probably someone like fast.co.uk
Thanks for your replies, and if you have any other ideas I'll be happy to try them out.
Sure it's an ADSL filter for the Sky box and not just a 2 way spiltter or something?
Are then are you sure those filters are ok? Got any spares to test with?
Well, turns out it WAS the Sky install after all so both of you were bang on correct. The filter that was being used was faulty PLUS apparently it takes a few days before BT registers the faster line speed so even though I unplugged it completely to run tests, it stayed slow. I only discovered this after speaking with my new ISP support desk. Incidentally, I can recommend fast.co.uk. They pick up the phone almost immediately, know what they're talking about and are UK-based. They cost more per month but you certainly get what you pay for, although their support desk is much, much cheaper than 50p a minute.
My line speed has gone from 1.5mb to 2.4mb overnight, and I have the utmost confidence that should I ever get a problem, I can call someone and speak to a human being within Three rings.
For anyone thinking of making the switch from Orange - DO IT. I stuck with them from their freeserve/wanadoo days out of a misplaced loyalty and a hope they would improve. How dumb was I.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
The filter that was being used was faulty PLUS apparently it takes a few days before 
