How is UPC's Installation?

IgsTer

Thinking about moving from UTV to UPC and just wondering what the installation is like getting set up for broadband and phone?

I heard they change the box on the wall beside the tv and put in a two-way splitter box, then connect your tv to one side and then the cable that goes into your modem to the other side, I suppose then the modem feeds out an ethernet cable to go to your router or pc and also a rj11 phone cable output that goes into the phone, is that right?

Also does anything get changed or moved around outside the house such as splitters that lead around and into the other tv points installed in your house, or do they just install the broadband/phone on one of the already installed tv point locations inside you house taking up one point on the outside splitter?

also can you get them to drill through the wall upstairs and put the broadband box in up there instead of having to feed it up on the inside of the house from downstairs?

Thanks for any feedback

They install a 2 way splitter, 1 coax to STB, 1 coax to Modem. Modem then has 1 RJ45 (standard Ethernet) port which you can connect to a router (wireless or otherwise).

If your getting Voip aswel there will be a port for the Voip phone too.

If you want the modem upstairs then they will have to put in another point, which they will charge you for each month.

IgsTer

cisk wrote: »

They install a 2 way splitter, 1 coax to STB, 1 coax to Modem. Modem then has 1 RJ45 (standard Ethernet) port which you can connect to a router (wireless or otherwise).

If your getting Voip aswel there will be a port for the Voip phone too.

If you want the modem upstairs then they will have to put in another point, which they will charge you for each month.

Thanks for the quick reply

So im guessing when installing the two way splitter inside they just use the original cable that was coming through the wall from outside for the previously installed older splitter?

Yeah i will most likely be getting the voip too, so the port from the modem to the phone is just your avergae rj11 type phone cable that every phone uses these days and not a coaxial cable or ethernet? basically nearly any phone will work will it?

I will also most likely be having the modem and router upstairs but dont have a point installed in the room atm. I could probably get one installed there but all the points on the outside splitter are taken up already for other points in the house so not sure how the installers would go about that. Would they be able to install a larger splitter outside with more outputs or do they need or use a special splitter outside for broadband/phone?

If not i would probably have to feed a coaxial cable inside upstairs myself. The price per month for a new point is €3.50 i think am i right?

Thanks again

homer911

How do multiple phone sockets work then?

I have never used my UPC connection, but use the cable going through the wall to connect my satellite dish via the connection box, which also houses my telephone cable. I have a second TV cable going from the connection box to an upstairs bedroom, not connected to anything.

Fresh Pots

If you want multiple phones you will have to buy a set of cordless phones. That way the base phone will be plugged into your modem and the rest will be pick up the signal from the base.

vibe666

NTL provide you with a 2 phone pack of wireless dect phones, but they are very basic and (IMHO) not very good, although for free you can't argue.

worth noting is that whilst NTL will tell you that you can plug any phone into the RJ11 socket(s) on the modem they provide, for some reason it can be fussy with some phones.

I bought a 4 pack of BT dect phones with voicemail etc. in Argos about 3 years ago and they just refue to work. I've tried with and without splitters and the UK filter/voltage regulator (not entirely sure what it is, but it definitely does something) you get for UK phones they're just dead even though they worked fine with my regular phoneline. looking online it seems like they just don't like some phones for some reason, but others are fine.

maybe it's just UK phones with the RJ11 adapter like you'd get from Argos etc. or who knows what else. just something to be aware of.

installation itself is usually pretty quick and painless, 20-30 minutes.

IgsTer

Thanks for the feedback lads

Ill probably use the phones ntl supply so, just to see if they work alright, but may buy a triple pack in the future as i think three phones will be needed like it currently is. Will all of these phones work that are listed here. Is it once there irish rj-11 DECT phones they will most likely work?

http://www.argos.ie/static/Browse/ID71/12160363/c_1/1|category_root|Office%2C+PCs+and+phones|12160256/c_2/2|cat_12160256|Telephones|12160360/c_3/3|cat_12160360|Digital+cordless+multi+handsets|12160363.htm

On a further note i was thinking of getting a new tv wall point installed in my room where the modem etc will be set up, will the upc broadband/phone installers put this in when they come out to install the broadband/phone or will i need to get it installed before hand?

also its €3.50 a month for an additional wall point is that right?

Thanks

_Sidhe_

You don't have to have the modem installed next to the tv.
That's just the easiest way, so probably the way most techs do it.

My install was very painless.
Had the tv installed in downstairs, the BB installed upstairs.
They wanted to leave it by the tv, but I said no and they agreed straight away.

They split the cable outside, rather than inside.
One cable came from the outside cabling into my upstairs room for the BB.
Another cable was split off that and tacked along the roof and then down the outside of the house.
That one went into the living room for tv.
One tech did the outside and the other the inside.
Done very quickly, and never had a problem.
They even set up the wireless network (although I reset the router and set it up "properly" myself afterwards:P)
I don't pay for a second point, cause I don't have tv in the second point.
They only have one cable coming out directly into my modem.
I'd have to get a splitter if I wanted to use the second point for TV.


Edit: NTL use a digital phoneline, so some older DECT phones won't work.
Check if it's VOIP capable before buying.

vibe666

mine not wokring could just be pot luck.

i got a 4 pack from argos, they're usually all from the UK so they have an adapter to change from the UK style plugto the RJ11 standard plugs used in Ireland, although from what I understand there's more than just a different plug on them as the voltages are a tiny bit different, so there's some circuitry in there too (someone who knows will e xplain it better than that).

i'd give two thumbs up to buying them in argos though, they have their "no quibble" guarnatee so if you buy one and it doesn't work just chuck it back in the box andswap it for a different one in argos till you get one that works.

the ones ntl give you are okay(ish) the mic just seems to be very low compared to everything else and they're pretty basic for a dect phone, but they'll do in a pinch. we've managed so far with them and haven't bothered trying to replace the other phones we had yet, although we're missing the answering phone.

I'm actually seriously considering dropping the phone service altogether and going with blueface as NTL don't do a UK cals bundle and my phone/broadband bill is actually higher with NTL than wit BT due to this (UK relatives).

i have a mate on blueface who got a phone with wifi and has the SIP client set up on it so that if he's in work and someone rings his home number, his mobile rings too which is pretty cool.

aaronm13

I signed over about a month ago and as above was painless.Only problem I've discovered is when you plug a second phone into the modem one of them wont work,unplug one and it's fine.Ive tried different set ups with wires and its still the same problem.I'm using a Phillips cordless phone and the one UPC gave me on the day of installation.Has anyone come across this problem or is it a problem with the modem,really hope I dont have to get onto customer service.

IgsTer

Thanks again lads

I think i will need a TV/Broadband+Phone type wall point splitter so i think i may have to pay for it to get it done and then pay monthly i believe. Hopefully they will drill through the wall and install it on the day.

Yeah i will most likely use the upc supplied phones for the first few weeks just to see how they work with the new line and then go and buy a triple pack from argos probably, yeah they are very easy to bring stuff back to if you have any problems which is good.

Theres only one more coaxial point available out of the four points on the main trunk splitter up under the gutter. Hopefully theyll use the one left available for the new wall point I need to get in the room with the modem, and not use another seperate splitter down one of the already installed lines coming from the trunk splitter outside that leads to another wall point inside my house, i doubt that would help the signal very much.

and aaronm i think i read somewhere while looking all this up that you can only use one of the phone ports out of the two on the modem unless you pay for an extra line or something? if you plug another one in only one will work. I think you need to use a pack of dect phones with the base one connected directly to the modem. Not really sure on this but that may be the problem your having

_Sidhe_

The second phone port in the modem is for a second line.
It's not active.
Use a splitter or DECT phones.

And Vibe, my parents have the UPC phone, and have a Voicemail on it.
it's not on the phone,it's like Eircoms system, on the line itself.

ronkmonster

what days do the UPC techs work? Do they come out on Saturdays?
If not, are they reliable to come out on a day if it arranged?

coldfire1x

vibe666 wrote: »

mine not wokring could just be pot luck.

i got a 4 pack from argos, they're usually all from the UK so they have an adapter to change from the UK style plugto the RJ11 standard plugs used in Ireland, although from what I understand there's more than just a different plug on them as the voltages are a tiny bit different, so there's some circuitry in there too (someone who knows will e xplain it better than that).

i'd give two thumbs up to buying them in argos though, they have their "no quibble" guarnatee so if you buy one and it doesn't work just chuck it back in the box andswap it for a different one in argos till you get one that works.

the ones ntl give you are okay(ish) the mic just seems to be very low compared to everything else and they're pretty basic for a dect phone, but they'll do in a pinch. we've managed so far with them and haven't bothered trying to replace the other phones we had yet, although we're missing the answering phone.

I'm actually seriously considering dropping the phone service altogether and going with blueface as NTL don't do a UK cals bundle and my phone/broadband bill is actually higher with NTL than wit BT due to this (UK relatives).

i have a mate on blueface who got a phone with wifi and has the SIP client set up on it so that if he's in work and someone rings his home number, his mobile rings too which is pretty cool.

Even I do make lots of calls to UK and US. I have an account with justvoip.com, if you buy 5 euro credit you get unlimited 60 days free calls to lot of countries including UK (landline) and US. If you buy 10 euro credit you get 120 days unlimited free calls. You can use your credit to make calls to mobile (10 cents) etc or to the countries which are not free. I have setup the sip on my Nokia E51 (internet phone option). Just connect to wifi and talk as much as you want I have a data add on as well so it comes handy for making calls when not home. Just keep your NTL phone for receiving or local calls. And they have a skype kind of software that enables you to make calls from your PC as well.

coldfire1x

ronkmonster wrote: »

what days do the UPC techs work? Do they come out on Saturdays?
If not, are they reliable to come out on a day if it arranged?

They work on Saturdays but to get an appointment for Sat you may have to wait couple of weeks, the slots are usually full.

Whenever you make an appointment always put a special request for the technician to call you before they come, so that they dont claim that no one answered the door.

aaronm13

_Sidhe_ wrote: »

The second phone port in the modem is for a second line.
It's not active.
Use a splitter or DECT phones.

Thanks for that Sidhe,I'll pick up a splitter,suppose I'd get one in Power city or Maplins.

_Sidhe_

No worries man.

Is there a reason that you're not using DECT phones?
My parents have 4 running in different parts of the house on the one line.
Works grand for them.
Save you running a phone line from a splitter to a second phone.

vibe666

i was wondering if it would be possible to wire the ntl phoneline into the pre-wired eircom phone points already in the house?

not sure if it would work or not, but it might be worth looking into if you already have your house wired for phones.

Thanks for the tip on the phones and the voicemail (and the other voip thing, thanks have been dished out where appropriate:)), I'll have to look into it.

_Sidhe_

You can hook the phone up to the internal wiring.
It's a digital line, so it should work fine.
Just switch it.

Depends on how many phone points you have though.
I wouldn't try and run many more than 4 at any one time, cause it could lead to interference.

Simply switch it over and your points would work.

vibe666

cool thx, will give it a go.

IgsTer

Thats good to hear, will probably have to use the phone lines wired all over the house meself, in order to get the phones working the way they are now. Dont want to have to move the phones around to different rooms.

aaronm13

_Sidhe_ wrote: »

No worries man.

Is there a reason that you're not using DECT phones?
My parents have 4 running in different parts of the house on the one line.
Works grand for them.
Save you running a phone line from a splitter to a second phone.

No reason,just using the phone I have and the two rooms are beside each other so I can just run the cable through an access panel I have in the wall.Got a splitter and the two phones working grand now so cheers for the heads up.

_Sidhe_

aaronm13 wrote: »

No reason,just using the phone I have and the two rooms are beside each other so I can just run the cable through an access panel I have in the wall.Got a splitter and the two phones working grand now so cheers for the heads up.

No worries man.

extopia

vibe666 wrote: »

cool thx, will give it a go.

How did it work out? Interested in this myself...