about to move to IDnet. a few questions

coreservers · Jul 13, 2009, 08:02:59

Hi There, I'm about to switch ISP's from sky connect, I think to ID net. i'm wary because of the appalling service from sky, So thought I'd ask a few questions here before taking the plunge

1:- Traffic shaping, Throttling. Sky connect are abysmal, I am "shaped" from 5.4mb to somewhere between 384k to 700k every night between 4pm and 11pm, making gaming impossible, infact everything is impossible except basic browsing, as pings rise to 128ms. So I want to make sure that Im gonig to be able to actually do what I want to do after work.

2:- bandwidth availability. the above was due to sky overselling then not buying extra bandwidth from BT. Have IDnet got sufficient badnwidth availability.

2a:- Cant seem to find any prices for purchasing a router from IDnet on the website, or are the supplied with the broadband order?

3:- quality of support. All I ask is honest answers, if the service is not working, tell me, i'll still respect you for honesty.

4:- phone services, I want to take the anytime lite package on the phone as well, is it reliable and good value for money.

Sorry to ask as many questions but Sky has really got my back up.

Ray · Jul 13, 2009, 08:37:22

Firstly

and

To answer yor questions: -

1. Idnet do not traffic shape or throttle your connection at any time. My pings on a non interleaved connection are normally around 15 - 18ms
2. Idnet always try to ensure that there is no congestion on their network.
3. Yes Idnet do sell routers at the moment this will be a Netgear DG834 or DG834G if you want wireless.
4. Support is UK based and very good, the phone is normally answered quickly by knowledgeable people.
5. I am currently on their Anytime Lite phone package and I've found it to be excellent.

I hope that answers your questions but i'm sure someone else will be along shortly who will give you more details.

Steve · Jul 13, 2009, 08:52:58

I would fully endorse what Ray has said. You can use any router you want,even your sky router can usually be unlocked.

rireed3 · Jul 13, 2009, 09:01:17

In your current state at Sky I think you will be sceptical that all is rosy at any ISP including IDNet.

I also am fortunate to have 20ms pings, but others have posted somewhat higher.

You will also see problems reported on this forum. The main difference is that IDNet support do everything they can:

to make sure their own network isn't a bottleneck
to guide customers to test and fix their physical connections in the house
to help with the other factors in the connection: BT Wholesale/Openreach and the router makers.

Helping with BT is very important. IDNet take the position that they should use their contacts at BT to our benefit where possible. That has helped many who wouldn't have been helped by other providers.

Richard

Gary · Jul 13, 2009, 09:18:13

I have pings of about 29ms on a wifi link support is ok they answer phones promptly and are knowledgeable, there have been certain issues recently but unlike a large faceless company IDNet have are real humans with no scripts and will help as much as they can, my speeds are good although there has been a slight drop in throughput recently but nothing major. Out of all the ISP's I have been with so far I am happy here, no idea about the phone service as I never like having all my eggs in one basket but I have not seen complaints. After Sky you should be fine with this ISP.

Rik · Jul 13, 2009, 09:50:26

Hi and welcome to the forum.

What everyone else said.

There are occasional problems, as there are bound to be at any ISP, but we generally know the cause and the planned cure very quickly. The MDs and staff of IDNet visit these forums regularly.

The phone package is exactly the same as the one you would get from BT except for the prices and where you have to call if anything goes wrong. I actually experienced a voice fault a few weeks back and it was resolved within an hour.

coreservers · Jul 13, 2009, 09:58:22

Thanks for the replies. I suppose in effect i've not much to lose as it;s a monthly contract, and sky have already issued my mac code, I meant to add, I'm not being shaped because of misuse, it's all sky connect customers, sky connect is just a re-branded BT home package. I run an rj45 extension from my socket up through the ceiling, to my sky router, but i'll go price a new one today. I use wired as I get 100mbs. and have an xbox 360 cabled to it as well.

I can barely play pro evo, as the lag is so bad

Rik · Jul 13, 2009, 10:00:06

Hopefully, we can improve on that.

Simon · Jul 13, 2009, 10:07:21

Can't add to the above, but

coreservers · Jul 13, 2009, 10:28:07

Wish me luck, i'm going in

, all I really want is to be able to download patches and upgrades for my pc games, and use xbox live as it's meant to be used.
and fly online in MS FSX. which I really miss.

Rik · Jul 13, 2009, 10:34:11

All of which should be fine.

glen · Jul 13, 2009, 13:22:24

Quote from: stevethegas on Jul 13, 2009, 08:52:58

I would fully endorse what Ray has said. You can use any router you want,even your sky router can usually be unlocked.

It depends what msan is being used, some routers dont work at all with some msans especially on adsl2+, as I found out, had four routers only one worked. The Netgears should have no problem though.

Steve · Jul 13, 2009, 13:31:38

Sky were using DG834GT if so this can be unlocked from Sky using the Netgear recovery software and flashing with Netgear firmware

john · Jul 13, 2009, 13:42:36

Hi and

If you do need to buy a new router then Idnet are advertising them for £44.89 and £59.80 for a Netgear DG834 (wired) and DG834G (wireless) router respectively inclusive of VAT.

See thsi link : http://www.idnet.net/solutions/home/routers.jsp

Also if you haven't yet seen it then IDNET have an FAQ page here which should answer most of your questions.

Fortunately I've rarely needed to contact support, the couple of times I have they have been really efficient, I only wish other companies customer support staff were as good.

I;ve no experience with Sky so I can't tell you if you will get a better service with Idnet but it's very probable that you will. I would advise giving them a try and as you only need to be on a monthly contract and if it doesn't work out you've not lost much anyway.

quandam · Jul 13, 2009, 14:11:59

I can tell you that you will definitely get a better service here. I was with Sky Connect and you are quite correct, it is dire (or worse even

). You have made the correct decision to leave Sky Connect and the correct decision to come to IDNet

coreservers · Jul 13, 2009, 14:27:57

done it, Wednesday is my migration. i've been sent two emails one gives my email address extension as .gw6 and the other as .gw7. I'm a bit confused now, and hope there's not two accounts

Rik · Jul 13, 2009, 14:58:08

Check with support - your email addresses will, when you set them up, be in the form of user@idnet.com. The others are your logins, usually in the forum of phone number@idnet.gwX. Now that you have those, you can go ahead and set up your email, webspace, blog space and photo album. The email addresses will work immediately.

sobranie · Jul 13, 2009, 17:34:10

I thought it would be one or the other! Eg: gw6 or gw7.
Having said that I can log into idnet with passwords entering gw5 or gw6.

Rik · Jul 13, 2009, 17:35:22

I can beat that.

Sebby · Jul 13, 2009, 19:27:04