What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I have been having problems with my Orange broadband connection for the past week.

I had a long technical help call with an Indian chap:rolleyes: a few days ago.
He had me checking ethernet cables, phone line, and switching their box on and off again - that last suggestion worked.

Today I had connection problems again so did the on/off procedure again without result - concluded I need a new box.

Rather than have another long conversation with 'India' I decided to switch ISP to BT

I am not seeking the cheapest - I need the most reliable with better service.

When I phoned Orange to get my MAC code I discovered that Orange broadband was down for more than just me.

During the time I had no broadband connection I phoned BT (free:)) and discussed my needs - decided to switch.

Now that the Orange fault has been repaired - I haven't changed my mind and will be switching.

Orange have been offering me a better deal but I don't want it.
My survival depends on internet shopping and banking.

I have been with the same ISP for 15 years and have never switched.
I have read of people being off line for several days whilst switching.
Is this to be expected, or just a hitch in the switching process?

Re: Bt contract
 

I've switched twice, both times it was off for a couple of hours at most.

you could consider a "backup" 3G PAYG dongle in case of real emergency... they can be topped up easily in event of an emergency and will keep you in touch with teh supermarkets etc :D

You may want to read this though

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15154020

:D

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I have moved your posts to a new thread instead of digging up an old one on a similar subject.


I think I has worked out what your problem is.
To reset your box you have to switch if off then on, switching it on/off as you did will leave it switched off so it cant work :rolleyes:

If Orange want to send you a new box and they have been good for 10 years why change provider, let them send you a new box and have nothing changed.
Do you use an orange email address because that will change.

I just looked at your details - do you still use that old email address you have registered to the site, I did not know they would still work? I am guessing they became Orange which is why they still work.

On a personal note I prefer using Windows Live email or Google gmail myself, that way if you do change ISP you keep the same email address, there are other benefits as well.

Re: Bt contract
 

Oh dear might need a rethink:eek:

Thanks Neil - will read up on google mail

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Orange continued to support many old email addys like Lineone that were taken over and then taken over again.

Personally I'm not a fan of webmail systems so I just run my own domain for email. Costs are negligable and I have full control no matter how/where I connect.

I've been with Sky for ISP now for a number of years and its been reliable and quick. They do try blocking normal SMTP traffic but do support the alternative ports.

At the end of the day all ISPs could potentially suffer outage and there is always the chance of an act of god/idiot causing issues like my firiend who was without Internet at home for weeks due to some idiot nicking the copper wire.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

My company - not sure if you know who they are but I don't discuss online - has moved all corporate email to google and is ditching all its exchange servers just keeping an archive system for a while. I have heard it is supposed to be costing them a 1/10 of what it did per email account than it did for using exchange.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Margaret, I had all the same problems with BT, including talking to somebody a million miles away who's, to be honest, use of the English language leaves a lot to be desired, I was on to India for 1hr 5 mins on Friday, and a call back from an engineer at six, when I made an appointment for a call back at 2pm Sunday when somebody was around to do all the bending down etc that they wanted me to do. Unfortunately they didn't bother to call on Sunday, so I decided to swap to Sky, after agreeing all the terms I just mentioned that the phone line had to support my emergency call system, which is imperative, unfortunately Sky were unable to provide this service so all bets were off. Back to square one:mad:

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

MargaretR, I switched to BT when we moved in January, after talktalk messed me about with the contract and wanted 3 weeks to reconnect me.BT said 5 days and did it, similar price. No trouble so far.
Also my thought is that BT own the exchanges and lines so if there are any problems you are talking directly to the supplier, not the ISP who rents from BT, and as a BT customer you might get sorted first.talktalk blamed BT for the 3 week wait they required.
The service jaysay received is disappointing but I suspect they are all as bad.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I switched to BT when Talk Talk took over Tiscali, I had been with Lineone for 13 years and Tiscali took over them, I always kept the Lineone email address.

Talk Talk left me without email for 3 weeks and I could not get anywhere when I tried to phone them.
I joined BT on the 1st Dec 2010 and have all day calls, line rental and broadband for £29 a month. I have never lost connection and have checked to download speed weekly and it is just over 10Mb.
BT customers also get free access to all the Openzone and BT Fon Wi Fi points which is not much use to people who don't take a PC out of doors but it is there if you need it.
I have a mobile phone which has Wi Fi and it is useful to check email when I am on holidays.

I have had no reason to complain about anything regarding BT.
Talk Talk send me an email every month saying they have not been able to get the monthly fee from my account which I closed last December and cancelled the D/D. I never reply for fear of them starting a new two year contract.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Since I started this thread I have phoned BT (free;)) again and they assure me that any time without an internet connection will be no more than a few minutes.

The positive experiences that some of you have reported with BT have swng my decision back to switching to them again.

I appreciate your feedback - thank you :D

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I have been with BT since the 7O's for my phone and I have only ever had BT for my internet. I know they might not be the cheapest, but I have never had a problem with them at all......at one point I was having trouble with my wireless connection.......I contacted them( a very pleasant lady with a mild scottish accent - not india) in 48 hours they had sent me a brand new wireless hub...free of charge. Problem solved.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

You had better luck than me Margaret, I have never had any complaints about BT until last week, the main problem is finding somebody at the other end of a phone who A) you can understand and B) some one on the other end that understands you, last Friday I got neither and as for sorting out my problem, which is still with me, since I talked to an engineer (that's what he said he was) I have had no further contact what-so-ever, even though they set a time to ring me on Sunday. I know exactly whats wrong the hub is a bit like my chest its knackered, I'd even pay for a new one. I think the real problem at BT is they are more interested in gaining new customers or attracting people back than looking after their current customers. But for the fact that Sky could not support my emergency life line I would have swapped to Sky without another though about it, but it looks like I'm stuck where I am for the time being

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Why dont you swap to Sky for Internet but leave your phone with BT? I was like that for years. I only swapped the phone over because it was a little cheapere and I got a good deal to do so.

Ian

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I don't think Sky are interested in deals like that these days Ian, I chatted to this chap (who by the way spoke with a lovely english accent) and the fact of just the internet without phone was never an option

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I'd be surprised if they would say No to you if you made it clear that its just internet access or nothing. I believe you already have SKY TV package so they would be keen to get a bit more from you.

At worst, how much is BT Internet, you may be able to get a second line in from Sky for Internet and phone and just keep the BT line on the lowest cost package for the lifeline system for less tahn BT charge for Internet alone. That way you woud have extra resilience built in should a catastrophe happen to the BT line

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Um thats a thought Ian

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I never have used the Orange telephone application - just used the broadband.
In attempts to persuade me to stay with them, they have provided a list of options. There is one for broadband only at about 50p a month cheaper than what I pay now.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I have had trouble with orange for 12 months got it fixed today at last brother was on phone for an hour but he got it fixed I will be emailing them as like you I have been with them for about 15 years moved home last year thats when the problem started

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Am I right in thinking that (with the exception of Virgin) you need to rent a £11.99 monthly BT telephone line regardless of who provides your internet service?

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I know you can now change line rental to Sky, the rental from them is I think £12-50 a month plus £7-50 for Broad band

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

no, you can choose to switch your rental to whoever you like. The actual wire to the house is provided by BT openreach which is a seperate company to the BT that sells you the phone service, Sky etc pay BT Openreach for the use of their equipment as do teh BT phone side.

IIRC Sky is actually cheaper for line rental than BT, it certainly was when I switched over

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Might be worth a look, then: I don't mind paying line rental if the sum total of everything comes in the same or cheaper. If it costs the same, I need to be getting more for my money.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

have a shufty here

Sky Talk and Line Rental - Phone line and talk packages from Sky

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Have you managed to get your MAC code from Orange Margaret? I had such a battle with them after Ian died it would have been laughable (but i wasn't much fun for me being without internet, Mez will tell you it was disgraceful). When I eventually got the code went with Sky and had no probs with them. Now I just use a 3 dongle but do appreciate that your reliance of the internet is much greater than mine, hope you get things sorted soon:)

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I haven't got the MAC code yet - they said 'in 3 to 5 days' by post - if not arrived by monday I suppose I can get angry then.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Well I seemed to have sorted my problems out, or should I say accyman as, he came round and put in an hard line connection instead or wireless, not had a problem since, which is fine because I always use my laptop on my desk anyway, cheers Jas

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Good luck with that Margaret, hope you get sorted.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I got my MAC code today, and ordered BT using online ordering.
I chose the '4months free when switching from Orange' plan and the years £120 lump sum up front for telephone line rental.

Will get my home hub delivered next friday and get 'switched' that day.
I hope the installation will be easy - everything else has worked fine so far :)

PS - got myself a gmail address and switched all I need to that already so that bit is sorted in advance (thanks Neil)

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Its quite easy to install Margaret, I did it easy and I'm a numpty

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I'm thinking about quitting Sky broadband and going with BT myself. They've just announced a new 300mbps service which will start rolling out later this month in some areas (so it might reach Accrington by 2013 :( ). All subscribers will get fibre optic cables direct to their door, which should mean broadband speeds are as high as advertised (not 'upto Xmbps speeds' as is currently the case).

For casual web users it should just mean that the connection is much more relaible. For people such as myself who use it for large uploads and downloads (work, not porn or piracy ;) ) and for online gaming, it will be an absolute godsend.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

What speed do you have now and what do you do that needs more? I work from home and run all sorts of stuff, all day.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Tbh the major one for me would be less lag on online games. Better ping on fast paced games would make huge difference.

Currently on Sky, not sure on the speed. But uploading >1gb files takes an age.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Thats because we have an adsl system. You can pay for faster uploading etc.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

In the few days before I ordered BT broadband, I got a call from them saying that my phone 'free evening and weekend call' service would be upgraded to 'anytime free' at no extra charge - I agreed (who wouldn't).

A few days later when I ordered the package 'broadband and phone(ev & weekend free calls)', I asked about the anytime calls I was promised. I was told that the broadband package I had selected overrode that change - so I would be back to free ev. & weekend calls.

OK - what I hadn't had, nor asked for, wouldn't be missed.

So I have been getting letters about both changes at the same time - the effective dates are a week apart.

Today I got a letter about the new Anytime plan which I thought would apply for one week. The small print mentions a fee for cancellation of the plan.

Whoa - what is this all about! - will my change of service to 'broadband and phone' be regarded as a cancellation and incurr a cancellation fee - a bit rich that!

I phoned (free) to ask.
I was told that I am a 'special customer' so the 'Four months free broadband and (ev & weekend) phone' package I have signed up for will have the bonus of free anytime calls added as a bonus.

During the order process I paid £120 - a years phone rental - up front.

I should get no phone or internet bills for the next four months and pay only £13 a month for the eight months after that.

It seems a bit 'too good to be true' - we shall see.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Here to serve ma'am

(sorry for late reply not been 100%)

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Please refrain from calling yourself a numpty in future, we had complaints from four real numpties who were offended that you have lowered their status even more :p:D

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I get faster uploads on my three mobile than on my PC on virginmedia real 10mb broadband. When I tweeted that to the two companies three were impressed but virgin were not. They both replied though :D

I think our uploads are far to slow in the UK compared to our downloads. 50:50 would be more acceptable. I use upload a lot for online backup and photo storage as well as remote access from my netbook/phone.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Hope you are restored to full health Neil...if not, I am a whizz at blanket baths :D:D........I get to the parts others have never dreamed of:)
(hope that made you smile, if nothing else)

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I am almost back to normal thanks.
(If you used facebook you might know what was wrong with me :p)

I was bathed in the real bath on Sunday morning ;)

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Oi owd on abit, a thowt I wur fost itut queue fur on o them baths, un Jaysay wurt next.:D:D:D:D:D
Retlaws.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I am nice to Margaret :rolleyes::D

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

If thats the case why didn't you take your usual action and delete the post:D:D

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Ya its not Retlaw, we have our rights ya know:D:D:D

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Barnyard confetti to you, fost intut queue stands at back o me, that shud know thad by now.:D:D:D

Retlaw.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Always in your footsteps Walter, but about 20 years behind you:p:p:p

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

When I got up this morning I had no internet connection.
Orange had cut me off 24 hours too soon.:mad:
My BT Home hub got delivered half an hour ago - and here I am, back in action:D

I must say I felt withdrawl symptoms all morning without my internet 'fix'.
I will get great pleasure from deleting Orange from my direct debit list on internet banking.:D

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Your home hub is now filling your flat with wifi electromagnetic radiation and sharing your internet connection with fellow btfon users ;)

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I have connected with an ethernet cable

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Do you want to give me a panic attack:eek:
I notice that you winked;) - reassurance is due - please.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Just because you connect with a cable does not mean your wifi hub is not wifi ing its little transistors off.

Read all about BTFON here BT | FON

This might be some more useful information for you How to disable the stupid BT FON..? - BTCare Community Forums

Even when not is use wifi access points still transmit to help users find them.

Then again you could have people all around you using wifi or wireless video extenders, bluetooth on their mobiles and the 100's of other things that transmit radio signals.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I have now opted out.
I don't understand what it is but since I don't want to access the web away from home, I presume that it is pointless to have it.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I to am conected with an extranet cable and the wifi is turned of on my laptop

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

It might be off on your laptop but it wont be off on your home hub unless you has specifically gone into its settings and turned it off. I can't remember if you can turn wifi off on a BT home hub, not played with one for a while.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Nearly sure accyman turned it of for me Neil but not 100%

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I thought that the free add on of Anytime to my service was too good to be true - it was! - and my bill includes £3.94 for one week that it was available to me :eek:- I didn't use it!

I prepared an email and scoured the BT website for an email address to use - there isn't one.:mad:

This is what I wanted to mail -
"I recently transferred my broadband supply to you.
After my initial enquiry, and during the seven days I awaited my MAC code, I received a phone call from your sales dept.
The salesperson was requesting my agreement to upgrade my telephone account from 'ev & weekend' to 'special low price anytime'.
- and said that this would cause no extra cost to me - the DDebit would stay unchanged.

I pointed out to her that I would be signing up for the package 'broadband with ev & weekend calls' within days, so there seemed little point in changing my telephone plan.
She assured me that the free anytime calls would continue as an 'add on' to my new plan, so I consented, and the change took place.

When I was about to complete the online broadband & phone application, I sought advice in the chatroom help you provide.
I raised the topic of this 'free anytime add on', and was told that it would not apply.
I was not concerned by this news, because I hadn't asked for it - and hadn't used it - and I did not expect that any charge was being made for it.

On the day my home hub was due to be delivered, I found that Orange had discontinued my broadband connection during the night.
I telephoned your helpline to enquire whether my BT broadband was ready for operational use as soon as delivery and installation of the hub had been done.
I was assured it was.
During this call I asked again about the 'free anytime call add on', which had been discussed twice before, and was assured that it was to be added to my package because I was ' a special valued customer'.

Today I have received a bill (online) which shows -
1 - no added bonus of Anytime calls to my service
2 - a charge of £3.94 for the one week that Special Low Price Anytime was available to me!

I would appreciate knowing whether or not I can have anytime calls at no extra cost and, and a refund of the £3.94 you have charged me."

So I phoned to say what the mail says.
I was assured that I do not have free Anytime calls.
The £3.94 will be shown as refunded on my next bill.

It seems I an not a 'special valued customer' after all ;)

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Your a special valued customer, while their after your custom, after they've hooked you they don't give a monkeys, something they proved to me the other week, you see the TV ads for BT Total Broadband, and in the writing which is on the bottom of the page it says new customers only, when they have you hooked you just returned to being a customer:(

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

MargaretR, I paid a years line rental( £120) like you and the anytime call plan is £16/month(excluding calls to mobiles).So the 'free anytime' is worth £3/month to you.
Don't they record/log your calls to their sales dept.? I think I'd try pushing it as they promised this to you more than once! A matter of principle, after all they told you that you were a 'special valued customer'. Nothing to lose and the calls to them are free.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I don't think I need free daytime calls.
My quarterly bill for daytime calls is rarely above £5, so paying £3 a month wouldn't be logical.

The 'package' I have chosen gives me free internet access for four months - I'm not going to be greedy;)

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

This switch to BT has a previously unnoticed disadvantage.:(
I have been with them for 2 weeks and 3 days and have received mail which tells me that I have used 7.76 of my 10 monthly usage allowance.
Unless I modify my usage I will be paying extra £5 a month every month my usage exceeds 10.

I dont download music.
I dont download films.
I do websearch extensively for many hours a day.

I would appreciate your comments on what you think may be causing this 'excess use'.:rolleyes:

I suspect the following -
..watching TV on BBC iplayer
..reading a book on a live connection to scrbd
..having several webpages open at one time for a few hours at a time.

If these are causing heavy usage, I will need to modify my browsing habits, reluctantly.:mad:


PS as an afterthought - could someone be 'piggybacking' my connection:eek:

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I've been with BT Broadband since feb 2007, in that time I have never received any notification from them regarding my usage, or that there may be an extra monthly charge, can't say that I went into any great debating on costs with them at the time I signed up

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Your first step is to ensure it's a genuine BT email. It probably is, as you've been with them for such a short time, but it's worth checking.

Keeping a website open for a long time won't generate more traffic. I can't see how reading a book online is going to take up much of your allowance, either.

Watching iPlayer will use up a lot of transfer allowance. A typical program will be 200 MB or so, but that may vary based on resolution, duration and actual content (an hour of "Question Time" in HD will use much less transfer than, say, an hour of "Spooks" in HD just because there are a lot of static shots).

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

If on average you watch a couple of 200 MB programs a day, and use 50 MB on "other stuff" - that would exactly yield the sort of usage pattern they describe. If that's way in excess of what you watch - it's possible someone else is using your wireless. By default BT wireless routers have an enabled channel through which other BT subscribers can use WiFi when they are on the move. You can (and should) switch this off, but although the cynic inside me is saying "yeah, right", I'm sure that BT will separate your own usage from public usage for the purpose of calculating whether you're near your limit.

BT's old silver 2line router has both WEP and WPA enabled. WEP is easily hacked, so assuming they still enable both protocols, someone could be using that WiFi channel and stealing your broadband. I never found a way to switch off the WEP channel.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Thanks for the info - BBC iplayer could well be the cause, and I often have BBC news 24 playing in the background when browsing.
My TV is now in use for that.
Maybe when Neil sees this he will instruct me how to disable wifi (I use an ethernet cable)

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

My parents have had the same notification off BT numerous times. I contacted BT for them, and was told they could see it was from them watching iPlayer, Catch up TV and the like, they even supplied me with some times and dates of heavy usage, once I quizzed them, they agreed that is what they had been doing. So it is genuine, and I checked their wifi and it was secure, as I knew it would be because I did the setup, hope this helps.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Yes use your TV for watching live programs, If there is something you are unable to watch, buy a device to record the programs for you, there are many out their depending on how you receive broadcasts.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Sounds like a lot of sense in that odders, As I said in an earlier post Ive been with BT nearly 5 years and never had any such notification, but there again I've never used the catch up system on my computer, if there is something I want to watch I record it on Sky + but there are other systems out there

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

It will be your iPlayer and BBC News

I refer to my previous comment

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I still don't regret switching.
I was having my Orange connection shutting itself down a few times a day - most annoying.

The Orange helpline person said that it was because my webrowser needed updating.:rolleyes:
I no longer had any confidence in Orange.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

In my opinion you should have taken the new router and see if it fixed it, if not you could have changed isp and had all the fun of BT and its naff ness.

Sometimes cheapest is not the best option. You are a fairly heavy user and chose the wrong BT option. Maybe you should change to an unlimited so you can browse how you used to without worrying.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

It all boils down to being too idle to switch on the TV :D
I don't keep it on standby, so would have to stand up and move to do it.
So this may be for my own good :D

I have got four months free broadband from BT - that's £52 in pocket.
The monthly charge that Orange offered me was 50p less than BT - but I moved for a more reliable connection.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I disabled btfon within a few days.
Today I have found out how to disable the wireless facility of the home hub - and done it.:D
I found out how by looking at BT customer forums.

Now no-one can piggyback my connection, and I stop the EMF radiation.
I'm feeling a proper clever clogs

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Margaret, I raise my cap to you...you are a proper clever clogs!:)...and I mean that with the utmost repsect.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Um I just got accyman to do it for me;)

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Well John....there is a fine lancashire saying....'Why keep a dog and bark yourself'....not that I think Accyman is a dog....jus that I think that if you can get someone to do it for you....then good luck. Me? I prefer to learn to do things for myself, then if I have to do it again........I have forgotten how to, and have to learn all over again.:D Ah the joys of being a crumbly!

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

The only reason I got accyman to help out is that, believe it or not I'm not physically able to start messing about pulling wires out and replacing them, plus he set up a hard line for me (ethernet cable) which is better, I was using wireless and losing the connection 2 or 3 times a day

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

I have never used a wireless connection - always used an ethernet cable.
Your BT home hub could still be transmitting wireless capabilities for others to use unless he accessed the home hub settings to disable it. Did he?

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

yip

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

When you ring BT technical helpline you always get through to a call centre with indians on it. It is hard work trying to understand them.But the other week when I had cause ti ring I spoke to an Indian lady witha very good command of English and she spoke slowly

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

Good - when you live in a block of flats as we do there is always a risk that a neighbour is getting a free ride.

You may have a generous nature and not mind, until you realise that their use slows down yours.

Re: What Happens When You Change ISP?
 

The Indian women at BT are certainly better than men when it comes to being understood