Pnone and Broadband went dead on Monday. EE Minihub supplied

Oct 03, 2024 Last reply: 1 year ago 13 Replies

Broadband died on Monday, Smart Hub just set there with an orange flashing light. I had just noticed caller ID showing a new number that I was going to check on Google (assuming that I still had a working phone line)



I checked all the neighbours and they were fine. After about 2 hours, it occurred to me to see if there was a dial tone, and it was dead !.



Luckily I have a mobile, or how do you report a dead phone if you only have a landline ?. (Caller ID still shows incoming numbers and CALLING phone gives the ringing tone, but my phone is dead).



The fault report icon gave an automated voice suggesting that I could hang up and they would text me, or press 2 and be put on hold. After a few seconds the automated voice said " we have detected a fault on your line and one of our helpful Openreach engineers would fix the fault on Friday 4th.



Yesterday I was out, and arrived back at 6PM to find an EE package on the doormat. It is an EE minihub as below -



"We're sorry you're without broadband. As part of our promise to keep you connected, we'll help you stay online.



We've sent you a Mini Hub with unlimited data, which will be with you soon.



You might get one that's EE branded and that's because EE is part of the BT family. "



But landline and BB are now working, so what should I do with this minihub ?. Wait for them to ask for it to be returned (there is a prepaid return label inside), or actually use it ?.



As an unlimited prepaid data device, it must have some value, so who is liable if I post it and they never receive it ?.



Andrew


Oh, I'd better check around the house to see if I got one too. We noticed our phone line was dead on Tuesday and reported the fault on-line as the internet was still working. Yesterday it occured to me that anyone phoning me would just get a number unobtainable so after giving up on the BT phone help I got onto the Chat and they provided a divert to my mobile.

This afternoon the phone line was back and I got an SMS to confirm that they had fixed the problem though I struggle to understand how the phone line can be dead and the broadband working unless the issue was in the exchange. Or do the services get split at the cabinet (we are FTTC) so upstream someone can have cut the copper but the fibre was ok.

I'm not sure whether they've just managed to avoid the automatic compensation but hoping that £9.76 will come off my next bil.

They do split - copper continues to the exchange for the phone only, while the BB is generated in the cabinet from a fibre connection. Lose the exchange and the BB will still work.

It's also possible to have working DSL but no voice when there's a bad joint on the line - RF manages to jump the high resistance gap but DC/AF doesn't.

Theo

? I thought that the whole idea was for fibre to run from the exchange to the cabinet, and only the connection from the cabinet to the home/premises would remain copper until FTTP/H (what is the preferred term now?) had been installed.

Had that a few years ago.

That's the change currently happening, but in that case the phone would be 'digital voice' and plugged into the router not the wall. That's not implied in the OP's post.

On digital voice a lack of phone but working broadband is a fault with the VOIP system - I'd start by power cycling the router (and any other phone equipment) as a reboot often clears problems if they get confused.

Theo

Fibre doesn't go near the exchange.

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"Fibre networks require less equipment, are more efficient and can connect more customers from fewer exchanges. "

Do the cabinets contain routers?

Whilst the legacy exchanges can go there must still be racks of switches and routers somewhere centralised for each area?

DSLAMs. Not exactly routers, but close.

Their function is to take the copper based VDSL signals and turn them into something that can be multiplexed over the fibre backhaul. No routing but plenty of protocol conversion.

Fibre goes to a regional distribution centre. There the fibre signals are buffered and presumably multiplexed down onto large backbone fibres.

That happened to me a few years ago. (Not BT/ee) I thought nothing of it until the cost of the diverted calls, several £, turned up on my mobile bill.

You paid for incoming calls on your mobile?

I think you do when abroad

BT charges me for incoming calls when I'm in the US.

Only the diverted calls.

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