Eircom broadband and need for separate line

anotherlostie

Hi,
Firstly I apologise if I've posted something in duplicate but I find the search engine a little, er, delicate!

My Dad has had Eircom broadband in Cavan for about 2 years now. He also has Phonewatch...

When he got the service, a tech had to come out to (afaik) split the phonewatch and broadband. Well whatever he did, it worked. Until last week.

Now his modem Netopia 2247NWG has a DSL sync problem - light flashing instead of being solid, and no broadband. He tried switching it off, resetting it etc. Not all the phone sockets in the house have filters fitted, but this has been the case all the while the system was working.

He has been in regular contact with Eircom support but a combination of an accent he finds hard to decipher in tech support, his hearing, his relative lack of computer tech speak, and finally him relating things to me, I am a little confused as to what needs to happen. What I can gather is that he was told he needed a direct line installed to the modem, (or something along these lines) and would need to pay €99 for this. I found this outrageous! If they have problems between their own alarm system and their broadband, where they make almost €50 a month in fees, they want more cash to sort out the problem that they failed to resolve last year???

In my mind switching to an alternate provider seems sensible, but will phonewatch cause problems regardless of who is involved? I appreciate any help to stop paying eircom for a service he isn't getting.

dub45

The situation here appears to be that you are posting asking advice and comment on a situation you are not clear on yourself. On your own admission your father does not understand the person he is talking to - they may not understand him either - In your post you say that you are a 'little' confused as to what needs to happen but that does not then stop you jumping to all sorts of conclusions and accusing Eircom of all sorts of stuff.

What needs to happen is that you establish exactly and I mean exactly what is going on. There is no question of needing an extra line to accommodate Phone Watch and BB. Loads of people have this combination and it has worked perfectly for your father you say for the last two years.

Can you not visit home to attempt to clarify the situation for yourself?

lucernarian

If the modem can't sync, they need a technician out. It's really as simple as that, once the modem is plugged into a socket of course:) Complain if they refuse to send out an engineer.

dub45, where was the OP jumping to conclusions? If no changes were made but the broadband stopped working, I'd also be rightly annoyed about asking €99 to get it working. The OP is clear on what's happening, but is not clear on what "needs to happen". If s/he did, they wouldn't be here asking for advice;) Do you or any of those close to you work for eircom btw?

From what I can tell, it could well have nothing to do with eircom phonewatch. I thought that a problem with phonewatch would cause disconnects, as opposed to suddenly stop DSL from working one day.

I take it that on the day it stopped working, there was nothing added or removed from the line?? Did you try a new lead from the adsl port on the socket to the modem?

dub45

To_be_confirmed wrote:

If the modem can't sync, they need a technician out. It's really as simple as that, once the modem is plugged into a socket of course:) Complain if they refuse to send out an engineer.

dub45, where was the OP jumping to conclusions? If no changes were made but the broadband stopped working, I'd also be rightly annoyed about asking €99 to get it working. The OP is clear on what's happening, but is not clear on what "needs to happen". If s/he did, they wouldn't be here asking for advice;) Do you or any of those close to you work for eircom btw?

From what I can tell, it could well have nothing to do with eircom phonewatch. I thought that a problem with phonewatch would cause disconnects, as opposed to suddenly stop DSL from working one day.

I take it that on the day it stopped working, there was nothing added or removed from the line?? Did you try a new lead from the adsl port on the socket to the modem?

If you read the ops post properly, which you obviously didn't, you would have noted that he has not been near the house so he could not have tried a new lead to the modem.

Further if you read the post you will see that basically the op has not got a clue what is going on on - his own admission. Note the uncertainty to put it kindly in the following:

but a combination of an accent he finds hard to decipher in tech support, his hearing, his relative lack of computer tech speak, and finally him relating things to me,
I am a little confused as to what needs to happen. What I can gather is that he was told he

The op also refers to the phonewatch being the problem and that Eircom failed to resolve this problem

I found this outrageous! If they have problems between their own alarm system and their broadband, where they make almost €50 a month in fees, they want more cash to sort out the problem that they failed to resolve last year???

Given that the phonewatch and bb combination have worked for a considerable period how have Eircom failed to resolve the problem 'last year'. You will also note that some of the sockets in the house are unfiltered which is far from helpful.

In the midst of the many calls which the father made it is not hard to see how a new line might be mentioned in general but it is most unlikely that Eircom are going to recommend a new line in a situation where bb has previously worked no problem. As you point out yourself there is no evidence that the phonewatch is the problem and you also point out that the router lead for example could have slipped out of the socket - further the router may have become faulty, the filter may have become faulty etc etc.

In short the situation calls for someone reasonably computer literate and bb savvy to visit the house and examine the situation.

If s/he did, they wouldn't be here asking for advice

What advice can anyone give when neither they nor the poster know what the problem actually is? Your own post is notably short of any advice. You night note that at the time of posting there had been 103 views without a rush to offer 'advice'

Do you or any of those close to you work for eircom btw?

Yeah my great grandfather worked in the old Dept of Posts and Telegraphs for a week in 1959:rolleyes: Are we to take it that anyone who mentions Eircom on boards without in some way bashing them is an Eircom employee? For God's sake cop yourself on!

anotherlostie

TBC, thanks for your helpful reply which also elicited a helpful reply at the second attempt! Thanks for your comment too; I need to cop myself on for having a similar opinion...

I'm not going to spend half an hour replying to your reply and its reply, suffice to say that my Dad worked as an electrician for 45 years so is able to follow cables round the house he's lived in for 39-odd years.

And I did not want to state things definitively when I could not be sure, but it seems that that is the only way to get others to listen. I have a suspicion someone thinks I am racist, but far from it, I was trying to be clear that the issue at both ends was unclear, and I wanted assistance, and did not want anything to be taken as assumed.

I will hopefully be able to be at home on Friday pm and get a call from Eircom (heaven forbid they would allow you to call someone directly at a given time!!!).

lucernarian

Where does it say that anotherlostie has not been at the father's house?? I think I'm owed an apology for saying I didn't read the post (which I did twice before now). I wondered about your employer as your good comments are kept exclusively for Smart and eircom.

The sockets are not meant to be filtered with the minifilters!!! That's the point of the special master socket! The modem plugs into that socket only and all the other sockets in the house pass through the one good quality filter. There should be no minifilter used anywhere in the house.

As I said already, the OP KNOWS what the problem is. The modem refuses to sync. Can you not see that?? There's no need to establish the problem, it's all about finding a solution now.

And It's hard to give advice when the most likely method to solve the problem is for a technician to do tests on-site. I put dowh the uncertainty in the OP to not jumping to conclusions on repeating someone else's memory of a conversation.

For the record, changing to another provider won't solve any phonewatch-related problem, but if there's a problem at the exchange end of your line it *might* fix that... slim chance though. So just try to get the technician callout.

dub45

If you read the post properly (as I point out above!) it is blatantly obvious that the op has not been to the house. The whole post is based on what he has been told. (Nor is it mentioned anywhere that there is a master socket involved).

By the way I haven't made any 'good comment' about Eircom in this thread - what I have pointed out is that the op is making baseless allegations about them based on what he 'gathers'! I would feel the same irrespective of which ISP is involved.

anotherlostie wrote:

I was trying to be clear that the issue at both ends was unclear

But as I also point out - to people like your good self if a poster is not automatically bashing Eircom they must be a majority shareholder in the company! I have also criticised Smart recently and praised UTV so should I be applying for a job to UTV?:rolleyes:

Freddie59

dub45 wrote:

If you read the post properly (as I point out above!) it is blatantly obvious that the op has not been to the house. The whole post is based on what he has been told. (Nor is it mentioned anywhere that there is a master socket involved).

By the way I haven't made any 'good comment' about Eircom in this thread - what I have pointed out is that the op is making baseless allegations about them based on what he 'gathers'! I would feel the same irrespective of which ISP is involved.



But as I also point out - to people like your good self if a poster is not automatically bashing Eircom they must be a majority shareholder in the company! I have also criticised Smart recently and praised UTV so should I be applying for a job to UTV?:rolleyes:

Dub45 - I also received similar treatment from you some time ago regarding an Eircom problem, and you have treated the OP in a similarly dismissive fashion. For whatever reason you feel a need to defend Eircom . And you are right - no ISP should be berated at every opportunity without good reason.

However, if you apply the same logic than that same ISP is open for criticism if they fcuk up - which they obviously did in this situation. Maybe if you became a little more courteous with your repsonses than this problem would not arise.

The OP's parent was a long-standing Eircom customer who deserves better treatment. Sadly this is not exclusive to Eircom and would appear to be a developing trend in many companies, be they ISPs or companies outside the communications realm. It's all down to basic manners, something which is being eroded on a daily basis in this country.

It may change in the future, but somehow I doubt it.

watty

At anyrate changing provider won't fix anything. Unless it is to NTL/UPC, Fibre, Wireless etc as it is the same phone wiring.

dub45

Freddie59 wrote:

Dub45 - I also received similar treatment from you some time ago regarding an Eircom problem, and you have treated the OP in a similarly dismissive fashion. For whatever reason you feel a need to defend Eircom . And you are right - no ISP should be berated at every opportunity without good reason.

However, if you apply the same logic than that same ISP is open for criticism if they fcuk up - which they obviously did in this situation. Maybe if you became a little more courteous with your repsonses than this problem would not arise.

The OP's parent was a long-standing Eircom customer who deserves better treatment. Sadly this is not exclusive to Eircom and would appear to be a developing trend in many companies, be they ISPs or companies outside the communications realm. It's all down to basic manners, something which is being eroded on a daily basis in this country.

It may change in the future, but somehow I doubt it.

If you read my post properly you will clearly see that I am not defending Eircom at all. And I doubt if there is any one on boards more consistenly critical of bad customer service (irrespective of who it is) than myself.

My point is (and you bear it out in your post) that the very name of Eircom leads people on boards to jump to the conclusion that they have to be in the wrong. If you read the ops post again you will clearly see that it is full of uncertainty and again I refer you to his own concise summary of the situation:

Originally Posted by anotherlostie
I was trying to be clear that the issue at both ends was unclear

Now there is absolutely no evidence to date that Eircom are in any way to blame for this situation (or indeed that they are not) or that the op's parent deserves better treatment. We don't know what treatment the parent has actually had. In fact the op never made any criticism of Eircom in relation to the way his parent has been treated - you have jumped to this conclusion. For example it would be equally possible to draw the conclusion from the ops original post that the parent has been treated with consideration and courtesy given the op's description of the parental difficulties:

He has been in regular contact with Eircom support but a combination of an accent he finds hard to decipher in tech support, his hearing, his relative lack of computer tech speak

All we know for definite is that the parent's bb is not working - we dont know the reason - the op based on an assumption and an erroneous statement about Eircom failing to solve a problem last year (when in fact both services have worked perfectly together for the past year or so) makes an allegation in relation to Eircom.

What I can gather is that he was told he needed a direct line installed to the modem, (or something along these lines) and would need to pay €99 for this. I found this outrageous! If they have problems between their own alarm system and their broadband, where they make almost €50 a month in fees, they want more cash to sort out the problem that they failed to resolve last year???

.

All we know is that the bb is not working - it may have something to do with phonewatch it may not.

Pointing that out and pointing out that allegations (against a company irrespective who they are) based on maybes and uncertainties is wrong is not to defend that company but simply to point out the obvious.

My point was that the house needs to be visited by someone tech savvy to have a look and try the basic diagnostic stuff.

It is a sad day indeed that when you dont criticise Eircom you have to be working for them!!!

And as regards this:

Freddie59 wrote:

Dub45 - I also received similar treatment from you some time ago regarding an Eircom problem.....

That was the one where you expected an Eircom teccy to let loose on a neighbour's trees etc etc and where quite a few people agreed with my views no?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055046721&referrerid=&highlight=

Sponge Bob

Bangalore knows nothing about Phonewatch, ask for second line support (which is in Ireland). I am not impressed with eircom home dsl support nowadays:(

_blank_

Sponge Bob wrote:

Bangalore knows nothing about Phonewatch, ask for second line support (which is in Ireland). I am not impressed with eircom home dsl support nowadays:(

:rolleyes:

I used to work for tech support, and it's in East Point business park in Clontarf, D3.

You cannot get passed direct to 2nd level as soon as you ring the line, the techs are required to troubleshoot until they can do no more.

OP, in relation to your problem.

If the Eircom tech came and installed BB over a line with Phonewatch, then you will have only one phone socket where the BB works. Make sure the cable running from this to the Netopia is secure in both ends, and try another one too.

If there is a sync issue it looks like they'll have to send a line tech to check the line between the exchange and your house.

It will only cost you money if the tech needs to correct a wiring issue in your house, and every tech support agent is required by law to mention this to callers.

It ensures that the callers don't demand a line tech for every little problem too. Pronblems that CAN be solved with over the phone troubleshooting, rather than send an already very busy tech to a house where a dog has chewed through a cable.

Your issue looks like a tech is needed though.

Ring eircom again, tell them you have checked at the drop point with the dsl on it, and checked with another cable, that you have reset the router each time too.

The agent will ahve to ask you some questions, allow them to do so, they will then escalate the case to the line people, and a tech will check the line.

The tech may not contact you directly. He will report back to his base, and then the case will be updated for the support centre. It is up to the original agent to call you back to check if the BB is working again.

This process can take about a week, depending on how busy the line tech in your area is.

anotherlostie

I just wanted to put this to bed now that I have a resolution (hate when people leave threads hanging and you wonder how they sorted things out).

When I got home last Friday, I noticed that after the initial green/ red blinking of the power light, it went very faint (in fact, it was probably off, and the light from the LAN led was giving slight illumination to the power indicator). I mentioned this to the tech guy but he didn't seem too bothered; my Dad had mentioned this too, but got the sense it was unimportant. We tried several things that had already been done, to no avail.

A friend then brought out a 3347NWG he had knocking about, and that behaved similarly. So I rang tech support back, and this time highlighted the power issue until I was listened to! And when I explained the issue with it, the guy said it was probably a problem with the power cable, so he would send a replacement one out.

Looking around home, I found a 12V supply, and plugged this in. Hey presto, the modem powered up and internet access was back. No tech visit, no €99 for an ISDN line installation etc etc.

Hope this might help someone else some day!

DonJose

Is he using wireless?

dub45

anotherlostie wrote:

I just wanted to put this to bed now that I have a resolution (hate when people leave threads hanging and you wonder how they sorted things out).
.............

Looking around home, I found a 12V supply, and plugged this in. Hey presto, the modem powered up and internet access was back. No tech visit, no €99 for an ISDN line installation etc etc.

Hope this might help someone else some day!

dub45 wrote:

...................

My point was that the house needs to be visited by someone tech savvy to have a look and try the basic diagnostic stuff..............

I rest my case!:)

lucernarian

I'm glad to hear it was as simple as that, and at no cost to your good self.

It's shocking to think that eircom were asking about €100 to fix a problem caused by faulty eircom-supplied equipment.


One other thing, it looks like anotherlostie was away from home after all. "When I got home last Friday..." So much for giving the benefit of the doubt!:D

dub45

To_be_confirmed wrote:

I'm glad to hear it was as simple as that, and at no cost to your good self.

It's shocking to think that eircom were asking about €100 to fix a problem caused by faulty eircom-supplied equipment.

Here we go again - there is absolutely no evidence that Eircom ever asked for about 100 euros to fix the problem:rolleyes:

To_be_confirmed wrote:

One other thing, it looks like anotherlostie was away from home after all. "When I got home last Friday..." So much for giving the benefit of the doubt!:D

A fact which you would have noted if you had read his original post correctly?

I dont know where the benefit of the doubt comes into it!

watty

They are obliged to mention they might charge 99 Euro.

It is however annoying when you know the problem is them to be told this.

dub45

watty wrote:

They are obliged to mention they might charge 99 Euro.

It is however annoying when you know the problem is them to be told this.

Did you read the thread at all? Nobody knew what the problem was (as I pointed out earlier in the thread several times) until anotherlostie visited his father last Friday. And even allowing for the irrational hatred of Eircom on here describing a faulty power supply as Eircom being the problem is really stretching it!!!!

lucernarian

Oh FFS.

The OP says that his father heard that he would need a separate line installed for the broadband. Do you think he found that under his pillow one day, dropped by the DSL fairy?? A new line costs €121.93 and a second line costs the same. ISDN costs €99 to install, as the OP mentions today.

And frustratingly you still say there's "absolutely no evidence".

When I asked you about him being at home, you say it's "blatantly obvious". It's obvious that he's going on a story by his father but surely that could mean his father made the call while the OP was somewhere else at home?? (I do know it turned out otherwise). I took it to mean that the billpayer had made the phone call while the OP was away. He says it in his second post that he will be home, but this was after you said that I "obviously didn't" read the post. Btw, you can also take back that particular remark.

It's plain to see what the fcuking problem was. The modem was unable to sync.

And for the record, when he said that the broadband and phonewatch was "split", it infers the installation of the special socket with the filter built in. Which is what Phonewatch do when there's also DSL on the line.

dub45

To_be_confirmed wrote:

Oh FFS.

The OP says that his father heard that he would need a separate line installed for the broadband. Do you think he found that under his pillow one day, dropped by the DSL fairy?? A new line costs €121.93 and a second line costs the same.

And frustratingly you still say there's "absolutely no evidence".

When I asked you about him being at home, you say it's "blatantly obvious". It's obvious that he's going on a story by his father but surely that could mean his father made the call while the OP was somewhere else at home?? (I do know it turned out otherwise). I took it to mean that the billpayer had made the phone call while the OP was away.

The op actually never wrote that - even the op was less certain than you - which is quite extraordinary! I really think that you should take your irrational hatred of Eircom to the personal issues forum!

I would remind you (yet again) of what the op wrote:

He has been in regular contact with Eircom support but a combination of an accent he finds hard to decipher in tech support, his hearing, his relative lack of computer tech speak, and finally him relating things to me, I am a little confused as to what needs to happen. What I can gather is that he was told he needed a direct line installed to the modem, (or something along these lines) and would need to pay €99 for this.

The op also wrote:

Originally Posted by anotherlostie
I was trying to be clear that the issue at both ends was unclear

To sum up the op jumped to the conclusion that phone watch was the problem in this case - it wasnt. The issue was complicated because the person posting was not dealing directly with the problem and the original posting was based on an admitted lack of clarity at both ends.

Absolutely no evidence!

anotherlostie

Dub45, your arrogance knows no bounds. My father was told he would need a line that would cost €99. You claim there is no evidence of this.

My father may not be altogether savvy when it comes to the ins and outs of broadband telecoms, but he knows when he is being told something will cost him money. But you probably think that because he cannot talk ad nauseum about broadband he cannot be trusted that he was told something would cost money (in fact, eircom cust service phoned him within 2hrs of the cancellation wanting to know why, said they would get back to him, and that was that).

He had mentioned the power supply in one of the calls, so had I. But for my final call, I decided to make sure this was taken on board by the tech guy; when it was, the solution was elucidated. Simple in the end, but dub45, you leave a bitter taste about posting anything here again as far as I am concerned.

dub45

anotherlostie wrote:

Dub45, your arrogance knows no bounds. My father was told he would need a line that would cost €99. You claim there is no evidence of this.

This is the first time you have stated this directly no? What has changed to make it so definite? Previously this was your position:

I am a little confused as to what needs to happen. What I can gather is that he was told he needed a direct line installed to the modem, (or something along these lines) and would need to pay €99 for this.

and how about this?

And I did not want to state things definitively when I could not be sure,

Also as TBC has posted above apparently a new line costs more than €99?

Given the number of phone calls that appear to have been made it is not unreasonable to assume that the subject of a new line was raised possibly even by your father and the cost was given. Its quite a jump from the uncertainty of your first post to now stating definitively that your father was told he would need a new line (particularly in the absence of any technical investigation of the line?)

I still stand by my assertion given the lack of clarity you mention above that there is no evidence that Eircom were suggesting a new line to solve the problem.

anotherlostie wrote:

My father may not be altogether savvy when it comes to the ins and outs of broadband telecoms, but he knows when he is being told something will cost him money. But you probably think that because he cannot talk ad nauseum about broadband he cannot be trusted that he was told something would cost money

I have made no assumptions at any stage about your father - the only reference I have made to him at any stage was to quote your good self about him.

anotherlostie wrote:

(in fact, eircom cust service phoned him within 2hrs of the cancellation wanting to know why, said they would get back to him, and that was that).

This is the first mention of any cancellation you have posted here and doesn't appear to have any great relevance to the issue at hand.

anotherlostie wrote:

He had mentioned the power supply in one of the calls, so had I. But for my final call, I decided to make sure this was taken on board by the tech guy; when it was, the solution was elucidated. Simple in the end, but dub45, you leave a bitter taste about posting anything here again as far as I am concerned.

I would point out again to you that based on telephone conversations with your father which you described as being less than clear no?

Originally Posted by anotherlostie
I was trying to be clear that the issue at both ends was unclear

You diagnosed a problem as being the fault of Phonewatch - which it wasnt - accused the installers of not having installed it properly

I found this outrageous! If they have problems between their own alarm system and their broadband, where they make almost €50 a month in fees, they want more cash to sort out the problem that they failed to resolve last year???

The above was a totally erroneous statement based simply on jumping to conclusions. Now that's arrogance.

As I pointed out what was need was for someone to visit the house and attempt to diagnose the situation - you did that and the bb which never went away mind you is now working again.

If that leaves a bitter taste so be it. When posting people should not make wild allegations about companies which you did. And if you cannot deal with that being pointed out to you well thats your problem.

watty

dub45 wrote:

Did you read the thread at all? Nobody knew what the problem was (as I pointed out earlier in the thread several times) until anotherlostie visited his father last Friday. And even allowing for the irrational hatred of Eircom on here describing a faulty power supply as Eircom being the problem is really stretching it!!!!

Yep.
And I was only making a general comment, not one about the OP. I think you are over-reacting slightly. I should have made it clearer that the "know" in question was my own line fault, and indeed they eventually (after 5 years) did agree the line was faulty and did not charge the the threatened sum. It oddly took five years to get them to agree to send someone out to my end of cable rather than autotest from exchange, bad connection on one leg at the local cabinet. If indeed the problem had been dog eating phone in the house the charge for call out would have been levied and valid.

dub45

watty wrote:

Yep.
And I was only making a general comment, not one about the OP. I think you are over-reacting slightly. I should have made it clearer that the "know" in question was my own line fault, and indeed they eventually (after 5 years) did agree the line was faulty and did not charge the the threatened sum. It oddly took five years to get them to agree to send someone out to my end of cable rather than autotest from exchange, bad connection on one leg at the local cabinet. If indeed the problem had been dog eating phone in the house the charge for call out would have been levied and valid.

What exact relevance has this to the thread?