Since December our BT infinity has been very finite

axisus

.... in other words it's shite. Since we got it a few years ago it has been brilliant, but it feels like we have been downgraded. We often had 3 or 4 of us using t'interweb at the same time no problem, but everything grinds to a halt now. Anyone else had a problem?

I keep meaning to ring them up and complain during the working day, but I get to work and forget - every bloody day!

Might have to look into Virgin

Bridgehouse

BT have connected a load of people up near you and they are getting your internetz.

Complain bitterly and they might send a cable guy out to shuffle them around so you get more speedz.



(This post sounds like a piss take but it really isn't... ask me how I know..)

thomasross20

Get a phone mast erected near your house. Lol.

Fretwired

I have BT ... no problems. Very fast. Get your line checked (seriously).

uncledick

I had BT for 18 months - utter shite.  Most days the internet would grind to a halt even though their wonderful Home Hub said it was still connected.  I got totally fed up with listening to Indians reading from a script which basically said that 'if the speed is ok after I've re-booted then everything is fine'.  They suggested that I do a speed test when the problems occurred and couldn't grasp the fact that it wouldn't even connect with my home page - let alone do something.   Switched over to Zen.co.uk and now have a faster service with 100% reliability for less money.  Seriously - don't waste your time.

Philly_Q

BT Infinity isn't available in my area (a little village way out in the sticks.... called London).

I have bog-standard BT Broadband and it's getting slower than ever.  If I open a page with a lot of pictures on it I have to watch them load one at a time.  It's like going back in time 15 years.

Have they pissed away too much money on BT Sport?

m_c

As others have said, run a speed test. The official BT speed tester can be accessed via http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9354/?s_intcid=con_fly_help:L1:popular:L2:speed_9354
(you'll need to login to your BT account to run it).
The BT Wholesale one at http://speedtest.btwholesale.com/, and it can be worth trying another one such as http://www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk/

Also try the broadband availability checker, as it will list the estimated speeds you can expect - http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/speed-checker

I've just had my BT Infinity fixed today after having connection issues for nearly two weeks, along with a long running intermittent loss of speed problem after prolonged wet periods finally being detected (fault used to always of cleared up by the time an engineer arrived - one unofficially told me what he suspected the problem was, but couldn't do anything about it as he wasn't meant to be checking for it), so that problem is now in the hands of the power company.

I'd suggest using the online chat option for reporting problems, as it's a far less stressful experience. If the first engineer visit doesn't fix the problem, you'll normally get assigned a case manager, who's job is to keep you updated and ensure the fault gets fixed. Other than the delays getting engineer appointments, I've got to say the whole process is not that bad.
The biggest problem I've always had, is the fault not being present when engineers have eventually arrived, which you can't really blame the engineer for.

stimpsonslostson

I'm experiencing something similar. 
It works fine for a bit then suddenly all grinds to a halt. 
The hub thinks everything is fine... Resetting the hub usually fixes it. 
It's annoying if I'm watching Netflix, infuriating if I'm working from home on a remote desktop. 
The only reason I've persisted this long is that I had btsport for the UFC, but as they're introducing charges for that I think I'll look at my options. 

SimonC

Lat November I had 5.2Mbs
December 4.2Mbs
Now 3.2 Mbs

According to BT, there is no problem.
And they're putting th price up!

digitalscream

It's a bit silly with all this - I'm with Plusnet, who are owned by BT, but I consistently get better speeds than both the houses either side of me, who have BT Infinity.

Admittedly, I pay more than they do, but still...I rarely see less than 76Mbit/s downstream and 19Mbit/s upstream (on an 80/20 line).

boogieman

We got pissed off with Virgin hiking their prices every year so started looking at other suppliers. According to the three (!) different sites I had to look at to find if Infinity was available in our area, it isn't. Then I noticed a big green box on the pavement literally round the corner with a sticker on saying "Infinity is here!" and rang BT. Nope, it definitely isn't, or so I get told.

I mean, I like BT, I used to work for them for over 25 years, but if they can't even get simple stuff like this right then, sure as shit, they aren't getting my business. 

rlw

Blimey - just checked my BT line.  Download 86Mbs - Upload 24Mbs.

BigMonka

m_c said:

As others have said, run a speed test. The official BT speed tester can be accessed via http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9354/?s_intcid=con_fly_help:L1:popular:L2:speed_9354
(you'll need to login to your BT account to run it).
The BT Wholesale one at http://speedtest.btwholesale.com/, and it can be worth trying another one such as http://www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk/

Also try the broadband availability checker, as it will list the estimated speeds you can expect - http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/speed-checker

I've just had my BT Infinity fixed today after having connection issues for nearly two weeks, along with a long running intermittent loss of speed problem after prolonged wet periods finally being detected (fault used to always of cleared up by the time an engineer arrived - one unofficially told me what he suspected the problem was, but couldn't do anything about it as he wasn't meant to be checking for it), so that problem is now in the hands of the power company.

I'd suggest using the online chat option for reporting problems, as it's a far less stressful experience. If the first engineer visit doesn't fix the problem, you'll normally get assigned a case manager, who's job is to keep you updated and ensure the fault gets fixed. Other than the delays getting engineer appointments, I've got to say the whole process is not that bad.
The biggest problem I've always had, is the fault not being present when engineers have eventually arrived, which you can't really blame the engineer for.

I've been going through that same process of speedtests and online chat - they're fairly good and yesterday they've agreed to send an engineer out next week. I had BT broadband that was about 3-4Mbps but since upgrading to Infinity nearly 2weeks ago it's been slower than before! I had to wait for the 10day "stabilisation period" to finish before they'd do anything about it.
Only thing I'm worrying about now is that they say they'll charge me £130 if the engineer says the problem is on my property, gulp.

m_c

BigMonka said

I've been going through that same process of speedtests and online chat - they're fairly good and yesterday they've agreed to send an engineer out next week. I had BT broadband that was about 3-4Mbps but since upgrading to Infinity nearly 2weeks ago it's been slower than before! I had to wait for the 10day "stabilisation period" to finish before they'd do anything about it.
Only thing I'm worrying about now is that they say they'll charge me £130 if the engineer says the problem is on my property, gulp.

With Infinity you should see a speed increase. I used to get between 3-5Mbps with ADSL, but am now getting 7-8Mbps with Infinity, which is pretty good considering the cabinet is 2 miles away.

The good thing about the latest BT Smart Hub, is the technical log gives you lots of info about what the connection has been doing. I printed that of for the latest engineer, which gave him an idea of the problem, but I think they can get the history from the BT side as well.

Despite having had numerous engineer visits, I've yet to be charged, even when no fault has been found, however I suspect that's probably got a lot to do with the history of faults on the line. When ever I've had to talk/chat to somebody, there's usually quite a delay while they check the records for the line.

boogieman

BigMonka said:

m_c said:

As others have said, run a speed test. The official BT speed tester can be accessed via http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9354/?s_intcid=con_fly_help:L1:popular:L2:speed_9354
(you'll need to login to your BT account to run it).
The BT Wholesale one at http://speedtest.btwholesale.com/, and it can be worth trying another one such as http://www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk/

Also try the broadband availability checker, as it will list the estimated speeds you can expect - http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/speed-checker

I've just had my BT Infinity fixed today after having connection issues for nearly two weeks, along with a long running intermittent loss of speed problem after prolonged wet periods finally being detected (fault used to always of cleared up by the time an engineer arrived - one unofficially told me what he suspected the problem was, but couldn't do anything about it as he wasn't meant to be checking for it), so that problem is now in the hands of the power company.

I'd suggest using the online chat option for reporting problems, as it's a far less stressful experience. If the first engineer visit doesn't fix the problem, you'll normally get assigned a case manager, who's job is to keep you updated and ensure the fault gets fixed. Other than the delays getting engineer appointments, I've got to say the whole process is not that bad.
The biggest problem I've always had, is the fault not being present when engineers have eventually arrived, which you can't really blame the engineer for.

I've been going through that same process of speedtests and online chat - they're fairly good and yesterday they've agreed to send an engineer out next week. I had BT broadband that was about 3-4Mbps but since upgrading to Infinity nearly 2weeks ago it's been slower than before! I had to wait for the 10day "stabilisation period" to finish before they'd do anything about it.
Only thing I'm worrying about now is that they say they'll charge me £130 if the engineer says the problem is on my property, gulp.

BT/Openreach are only responsible for problems up to the master socket. Everything else inside the property is assumed to be yours , so they'll  charge for repairing "your" wiring. Try taking the faceplate off the master socket and plugging the router straight into the hidden socket inside. If it works better then it's your side of the circuit that's faulty. Probably worth doing that before they send an engineer out. 

RandallFlagg

Are you 100% wireless in your house? If so consider upgrading your router. I am on Infinity 2 and upgraded from BT HomeHub 5 to the new BT SmartHub and wi-fi speeds are significantly faster and our disconnection and bandwidth issues have gone away

mike257

boogieman said:

BT/Openreach are only responsible for problems up to the master socket. Everything else inside the property is assumed to be yours , so they'll  charge for repairing "your" wiring. Try taking the faceplate off the master socket and plugging the router straight into the hidden socket inside. If it works better then it's your side of the circuit that's faulty. Probably worth doing that before they send an engineer out. 

This.  Your service provider should be advising that you do this before they entertain sending Openreach out as if their guy tests it fine to the master socket, that's where his responsibility ends.

ennspek

I've never used it but just wanted to say that's a brilliant thread title. Hats off sir.

thomasw88

you could try changing to a non BT router..    Got a massive improvement when I was with BT doing that.

however, I switched to sky as their customer service/fixing issues is 1000x better than BT.  

Longtallronnie

Got an email offering the new smart hub for cost of postage only to be told I wasn't eligible because I renewed my contract the day before. Grrrr.

Is it worth shelling out for over the home hub 5?

WezV

mike257 said:

boogieman said:

BT/Openreach are only responsible for problems up to the master socket. Everything else inside the property is assumed to be yours , so they'll  charge for repairing "your" wiring. Try taking the faceplate off the master socket and plugging the router straight into the hidden socket inside. If it works better then it's your side of the circuit that's faulty. Probably worth doing that before they send an engineer out. 

This.  Your service provider should be advising that you do this before they entertain sending Openreach out as if their guy tests it fine to the master socket, that's where his responsibility ends.

Yeah, they have always told me to do this before giving the potential charge spiel.   Had loads of visits at my old house and never got charged.

it did take 5 engineers to "diagnose" the fault I pointed out to the first one.... an obviously damaged line between pole and house.  Probably 20 phone calls too