... I've been keeping my eye on this site for a few months now.
Both my Dad and I are with Orange - and as I've been reading from other posters, were both very happy as Freeserve and Wanadoo customers. I switched to Broadband about 18 months - no problems whatsoever - and my Dad about two months ago.
But how things have changed since Orange took over!
My internet connection drops occasionally, but is usually back a few hours later. It also drops during the heavy rain we've been having lately - I'm sure it didn't used to (we MUST have had heavy rain in the last 18 months!)
But my Dad's dropped about a week ago, and it hasn't been back since. He gets "PPP Server down" in his configuration page.
I'm going down to his house on Friday to do battle with the Customer Services. (He tried ringing them but just got the "We're too busy at the moment so f**k off," message.)
Although from what I've read on here it seems there's an awful lot of hoops to jump through before anything will happen.
Can anyone post a simple checklist of what I need to tell them, and what to expect from them? (In terms of what they'll expect me to do to rule out problems at my Dad's end. He has the livebox thingy by the way, I connect through a Netgear Router so have no experience of this.)
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I'll repost to update the progress (or lack of it, I suspect...) and will be more than happy to sing Orange's praises if they sort it out straight away.
If it's of any use to anyone, my Dad lives in Barnet, and I live in Whetstone (just down the road).
Site AdminJoined: 07 Apr 2006Posts: 784Location: United Kingdom
Hello John S
Just to warn you... "PPP Server Down" is not good!
What connection speed are you on (have they just upgraded you? - check Orange emails for this)
VERY IMPORTANT: Before you visit your father, ask him to phone Orange Customer Services and get you added to the account as a third party. If you are not on the account, they will refuse to talk to you, which can be extremely frustrating.
Checklist of what they will say:
You will get the usual, is it turned on questions.
Go to configuration pages, re-enter username and password (CaSe SeNsItIvE)
Are you using filters in ALL telephone sockets
What other devices are you using on this telephone line
Could you try a different filter
Could you factory reset the livebox (worth trying)
Unfortunately, they will probably suggest other things, but it is important to note that PPP Server Down is just that - there is a connection problem between your livebox and Orange via the exchange. If the above checklist fails, they will offer line tests after line tests after....
You should try and get the problem escalated as quickly as possible - however, I imagine they will attempt delaying tactics as, I guess, they are unable to deal with so many PPP server down's at once.
Your father's exchange has probably been LLU'd and his connection just recently switched - hence the problem.
Take a good read around OrangeProblems.co.uk and you will see the number of excuses they will use to (presumably) delay escalating your issue with them.
Another point of note is that they will get you to do one thing at a time and tell you to call back after completing each action - this is EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING as you have to tell each agent that you speak to the whole story again - for some reason, they fail to read the notes on the account - ALSO, AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO - log everything... Dates, times, who you spoke to, what you said, what they said... etc.
Do not rely on them calling you back. And even if you get an extension number from an agent - it's of little value as you have to be connected to teh correct call centre to get a call transferred to that person (but then they will often say that line is busy - I'm sure it is!!!)0
That's pretty much what I was expecting, having read round your forum. But cheers for putting it all in one place for me.
We tried the resetting username and password earlier (I was attempting to use the helpscreens on the Orange Site and second guessing what my Dad was looking at and/or clicking on... I feel for those callcentre staff ;-)
I considered getting him to do a factory reset - but I'll leave that till Friday. (Do the liveboxes come with manuals? Even a PDF on a CD that came with it will do.)
He always turns it off at night so it gets rebooted everyday (that sometimes kick starts my router).
I can't remember what I get in my log when my connection goes down - I'll copy and post it if it happens again soon.
I did upgrade my speed from 512Kb to 2Mb around the same time Wanadoo turned Orange. I have wondered about this. If I've understood some of what's been said correctly, am I right in saying that the 512Kb connection went through tried and tested BT equipment, but the super-duper 2Mb connections go through new Orange-owned equipment, which is a load of doo-doo?
Is this something to do with an Exchange being "LLU'd" ? What does that mean? Is that the new equipment that Orange have been installing that I've read about elsewhere on this forum? Acronym Finder suggests this stands for "Local Loop Unbundling". I found this article on Wikipedia, which suggests that's what it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...Unbundling
My dad only went over to BB a couple of months ago and I think he got 2Mb straight away.
I'm gonna be keeping my ear to the ground on the Sky deal. I can get what I get from Orange for £17.99 for free from Sky - and hopefully a stable connection as well! But I'm not gonna switch just yet. As someone else has said on here - I'd rather pay for a stable connection than get a sh*t one for free.
But I'm not going to pay for a sh*t one for much longer.
The 'ppp server down' problem is known to Orange - it's a serious server problem which they don't know how to fix.
They are 'working on it', it's their 'top priority' - I've had 3 weeks offline due to it...
It's got NOTHING to do with your setup (if it was working previously).
Keep calling them for an update. Maybe contact the ISPA who'll get you a contact at Orange so you don;t get to call random call centre staff who know nothing about the problem.
I should have added that my Dad's set up was working for about a month, including wirelessly.
He's got a brand new lappy that had not been on the internet until he got the BB set up with Wanadoo. Prior to that he used a Wanadoo dial-up on his old (and cranky!) W98 PC.
He took his lappy into his office last week (after this problem started) and hooked up to their wireless network with no problems. He's also hooked into mine once or twice.
Obviously this doesn't rule out his livebox, but I've seen enough on here to convince me it's "their end" and not his.
One thought I've had is that I still have my original Speedtouch 330 modem that came with my original BB order.
Will it be worth trying to hook that up? To rule out (or in) the Livebox? (I should have the install CD somewhere...)
Or will that not work with his connection? I've read somewhere on this forum that the older modems don't work with the higher speeds. (Could I download a different driver maybe? I can do that before going down to his.)
I suppose if push came to shove I could take my (Netgear) router down but I don't fancy reconfiguring it (if it works, don't touch it, kind of thing...)
I'm not looking forward to Friday ;-) It's the last day of my two weeks holiday!
I thought I was on 2Mbps so I must have been upgraded again (I paid them £20 in June to up my 512Kbps to 2Mbps...)
I logged into my account on the Orange site. I couldn't find anywhere that showed my current speed so I selected the Change Package option. Interestingly it still says that "Your current broadband package is: Broadband at £17.99 512kb speed 2GB cap"
And goes on to offer upgrading it for £20.
They're cheeky f**kers, aren't they!!
Oh for the days of my ZX81 when turning it off and on would restore it to factory settings. *sigh*
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