Just jumped ship from O2....

tredders · Nov 04, 2009, 13:23:56

Hi all

I was just about still in my 30 day "cancel without penalty" agreement with O2, when I decided that the daily drop from a consistent 5MB to 0.3MB d/l speed every single night was enough to make me look around for another provider. Found IDNet recommended on a couple of Broadband forums, and had a look at the packages on the website. Just to check things out, I called the IDNet support number, and was amazed (a) that the call was answered within a couple of rings, (b) I got to speak to a "real" person, and most amazingly (c) the chap I spoke to actually knew his stuff and wasn't just reading from a script! I then found these forums, and from reading all the positive feedback on here, there's either some mass-brainwashing going on, or IDNet's service really is good...

To cut a long story short, I should be active with IDNet in 3 days. It'll be nice to have a connection that doesn't reduce in speed by 90% at 8PM every night....

Tredders

Supanova · Nov 04, 2009, 13:32:29

Oooh I'v not heard anything good about the O2 access package, although I'm on the 20meg ASDL2 package and it is flawless with the support team second only to IDnet.

You will find IDnet about as good as it gets for people stuck out in the hills somewhere, assuming they have fixed those nasty high pings yet?

Glenn · Nov 04, 2009, 13:37:17

Tredders, as you have found out yourself, IDNet have one of the best customer helpdesks, the guys and girls know their stuff. If you move, you should be able to maintain your connection speeds 27/7 with only slight drops in speed over peak times.

Ray · Nov 04, 2009, 13:38:18

Tredders.

Simon · Nov 04, 2009, 14:24:20

Tredders!

You'll find the only brainwashing going on round here, is when Rik gets on to food.

Sebby · Nov 04, 2009, 15:00:15

As other says, O2 Access never gets good reviews. You'll be very happy on IDNet, especially with the new hostlink in place.

tredders · Nov 04, 2009, 15:01:51

Thanks for the friendly welcome, chaps.

Quote from: Glenn on Nov 04, 2009, 13:37:17
you should be able to maintain your connection speeds 27/7 with only slight drops in speed over peak times.

and this is the exact reason I'm moving. The O2 service is fine during the day (I work from home, so use my connection pretty much from 7AM to 11PM most days), but runs like an absolute dog from 6PM onwards. Although the O2 website states that they've implemented load sharing on their Access service, the customer services chap I spoke to earlier (after a 12 minute wait, grrr) said that it wasn't in place yet, and wouldn't be "for another month". From looking on various forums, it appears that it's been coming "next month" for the past 4 or 5 months, and I bailed out before getting locked into a contract.

My IDNet order is all placed - ironically O2 managed to give me my Mac code within an hour of me requesting it. Quite why they choose to exhibit their best customer service when someone is leaving is beyond me, but I'm not complaining

Cheers again - look forward to contributing in some of the other threads here.

Tredders

Rik · Nov 04, 2009, 15:40:05

Quote from: Simon on Nov 04, 2009, 14:24:20
You'll find the only brainwashing going on round here, is when Rik gets on to food.

Rik · Nov 04, 2009, 15:42:23

Welcome aboard, Tredders.

IDNet's had its problems over the past year, and they're well documented throughout the forum, but they are coming to and end now that BT have finally delivered, 16 months late.

Take a read here:

http://www.idnetters.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=15254.msg403808#msg403808

tredders · Nov 05, 2009, 19:21:43

Well, I've got my email from IDNet - I'll be live on the service tomorrow, by 6PM. Having just waited about 3 minutes for this page to load, in order to type this (no exaggeration!), I can't wait!

Glenn · Nov 05, 2009, 19:23:41

The change over may happen in the early hours tomorrow.

Tacitus · Nov 05, 2009, 20:03:19

Quote from: Glenn on Nov 05, 2009, 19:23:41
The change over may happen in the early hours tomorrow.

Mine was supposed to happen at 6 pm. In reality when my router wouldn't connect when I switched on around 7am, I realised the switchover had happened. Logged into the router, put in the iDNet details and connected.

It was that simple.

tredders · Nov 05, 2009, 21:29:52

Good to hear that it might actually be early - I'll give it a try before I leave for the office tomorrow. My new router turned up today - I went for the Netgear DG834G that's the recommended one when you switch over to IDNet, but got it cheaper from Amazon, so I should be all set.

If this is the last post you see from me, assume it's all gone a bit Pete Tong

Simon · Nov 05, 2009, 21:42:37

Quote from: tredders on Nov 05, 2009, 19:21:43
Well, I've got my email from IDNet - I'll be live on the service tomorrow, by 6PM. Having just waited about 3 minutes for this page to load, in order to type this (no exaggeration!), I can't wait!

You should be able to access your IDNet account now, and set up emails, etc, for when you're up and running. Good luck!

Ann · Nov 06, 2009, 08:32:39

So Tredders? The anticipation is killing me!

tredders · Nov 06, 2009, 10:10:06

Well that was painless! Got an email early this morning to say I was active, spent 5 minutes configuring my new DG834G, and then I was up & running. First thing I did was a speedtest, which gave the best speed results ever on my line, so I'm very happy at the moment.

The acid test for me will be to see if I'm still getting decent speeds at 9PM tonight, but from reading the postings on here, it doesn't sound like I've got anything to worry about.

Will post an update later tonight.

Tredders

Simon · Nov 06, 2009, 10:11:49

Rik · Nov 06, 2009, 10:12:38

Welcome to happy land.

Don't forget, if you haven't already, to set up your email, web space, blog space and photo album.

tredders · Nov 06, 2009, 18:28:38

Thanks for the replies. Bit of a mixed first afternoon - the speed is great, and is consistently at the maximum for my line.

However, the connection drops from 5MB to about 0.2MB every 10 minutes or so, which is cured via rebooting the router. I've spoken to IDNet's (excellent) tech support, and they've remotely pinged my router to prove that the connection is good. They're saying that it's most likely being caused by the fact that mine is a new connection, and the line is finding it's optimal speed. Bit frustrating at the moment, but hopefully it'll all settle down soon.

Rik · Nov 06, 2009, 18:29:44

Are you saying the line is re-syncing, or that speedtests are varying?

tredders · Nov 06, 2009, 18:38:33

Quote from: Rik on Nov 06, 2009, 18:29:44
Are you saying the line is re-syncing, or that speedtests are varying?

I'll be happily using the internet, and the connection's nice & quick. If I run a speedtest, I'll be getting 4.5 - 5MB. Then, after 10 mins or so, browsing grinds to a halt, to the extent that it takes 2 minutes to refresh a webpage, or it just times out. If I then try a speedtest, it barely registers any speed at all!

If I then reboot the router, all is hunky dory. At least for the next 10 mins or so. I've got my old 2-Wire 2700, which I'm tempted to config and try, but this is a brand new DG834G (as recommended by IDNet), and the config's been checked and is ok....

Rik · Nov 06, 2009, 18:44:13

I'd swap routers as a first step, but make sure not to force more than 10 re-syncs in an hour. I didn't experience anything like that when I moved to WBC, but there are so many variables, I'd start with the router - I'm using a 2700 and it's fine.

What else is connected to your phone line?

tredders · Nov 06, 2009, 18:47:15

Quote from: Rik on Nov 06, 2009, 18:44:13
I'd swap routers as a first step, but make sure not to force more than 10 re-syncs in an hour. I didn't experience anything like that when I moved to WBC, but there are so many variables, I'd start with the router - I'm using a 2700 and it's fine.

What else is connected to your phone line?

Yeah, I'd come to that conclusion... I'll try the 2700 and see if that's any better. Not a huge amount more on the phone lines, and everything's through a microfilter.

Rik · Nov 06, 2009, 18:49:19

What, though, and is the router on the end of an extension lead of any kind?

tredders · Nov 06, 2009, 19:55:23

Quote from: Rik on Nov 06, 2009, 18:49:19
What, though, and is the router on the end of an extension lead of any kind?

I've got a DECT phone in the hallway (with 4 remote handsets), and the router is plugged into my main BT socket into the house, in the lounge. No Sky, Tivo etc.

The router was connected to a Belkin Surgemaster 4 way plug, so I've tried moving a couple of things around and plugging it straight into the wall. We'll see how that goes.

Incidentally, I tried the 2700 with exactly the same results. Also got BT to check the line and they're saying it's all come up clear.

I've noticed that the router is now synching at a much lower rate (4544 rather than 6250-ish earlier). Let's see if it's more stable at this lower speed.