After migration

[psp83]

Hello idnetters.
My migration to idnet is sposed to be completed tonight by 6pm and i have a few questions.

When i have been switched, will my line have to learn the top speed again and will all the changes made by bt on my current ISP be lost? eg, Line noise margin was moved from 9 to 11 to give a more stable connection without interleaving on.

Also will i need to reboot the router when i've been changed over?

Also, does anyone have any ideas how i can find if my line has interleaving on through my router.. I have a Negear WPN824. I've looked through the router pages and cant find the path mode.

Regards.
Paul

[rgt247]

When migrated across from Plusnet, I had an email from Idnet about now (1pm) saying my migration was complete. I swapped the login details in my 834G router over and connected first time.  I did not reboot.

As for interleaving I have no idea how to find out ? If any one does know I will be very grateful.

[Lance]

The settings will be the same as your previous connection ie your line margin will remain at 11 and interleaving will remain off. Your profile is constantly updated, depending on your sync speed. For example, if you maintain a high sync for a constant three days your profile (and therefore your speed) will be increased. However, the downward movement only takes a few hours. Try not to re-sync more than 9 times in any hour, the exchange will see this as a fault and will lower your sync accordingly.

Once you have entered your IDNet details into your router, you should simply be able to click connect (or something similar - I don't have the same router as you!). Failing that, a reboot is sure to work.

While we are going about it, you may wish to consider removing the ring wire from terminal 3 inside all of your telephone sockets. Normally, this wire is orange/white but whatever the colour, it is always terminal 3. For some people this decrease noise on the line and therefore gives a higher sync/better speed.

You may also wish to make sure you have high quality filters on ALL of your telephone sockets with something plugged in. These are highly recommended.

Let us know how your switch-over goes!

[Rik]

Hi Lance

I hope to have a 'sticky' in place shortly, dealing with test sockets, ring wires and the like, but it's definitely good advice. The margin of 11db can't be correct though, BT does it in steps of 3db from 6db upwards, so I'm guessing psp83 is in one of two situations:

1  He's connecting at full speed on a stunningly good line, and has some noise margin in hand, or

2  He's on a 12db target and the noise margin has dropped a little.

[Lance]

2  He's on a 12db target and the noise margin has dropped a little.

That would be my guess, as he says he had it upped in order to acheive a more stable line.

A sticky would be useful, Rik. It would save me typing a short essay each time we get asked!!!

[psp83]

Just a typo. i did mean 12 not 11  .

My normal sync is around 6000+Kbps with a 15margin, this sometimes drops to around 12 in the evening.

On the other hand, i've done all the wiring checks on my bt socket before, but we have the old style socket. the ones without the test socket at the back.. do you think it'll be best to get bt to change this to the newer ones as i connect straight from the main socket, using an high quality RJ11 extension but i'm going totaly wireless in my house within the next few months when i can be bothered to put up a new shelve next to the phone for the router.

[Rik]

It's worth getting BT to fit the new-style master socket as, that way, you can judge the impact of your internal wiring on the line. It might then be worth fitting a filtered faceplate yourself. Rumour has it that BT will make the change for anything from free to £30.

[Rik]

A sticky would be useful, Rik. It would save me typing a short essay each time we get asked!!!

That's exactly my idea, Lance. I've put one up on sync speed v profiles. Two more are being checked for accuracy by Adam and Simon right now.

[Lance]

My normal sync is around 6000+Kbps with a 15margin, this sometimes drops to around 12 in the evening.

As your margin only falls by around 3 at most, I would request that the target is changed back to the normal 6. That way your quick line would get even quicker!

That's exactly my idea, Lance. I've put one up on sync speed v profiles.

Just seen it, means that I can the old thread with it in out of my bookmarks now! Your work is appreciated, Rik. Have a karma!

[Rik]

Thank you on both counts. I'm hoping to establish a 'reference section' of stickies, so if you, or anyone else, has any ideas, I'm all ears. Except for the rest of my head, limbs, trunk etc.

[psp83]

So does IDnet email you when your migration is complete?

If so, got no email yet

And wont know if i've been switched over until i get home later.

[Rik]

I believe so, but my migration was totally fouled up by BT, so Simon phoned me to check instead.

[psp83]

is there a phone number i can phone to see if my migration has been completed?

[Rik]

0800 0267 237, tech support are also on 01462 476555 or email contactus@idnet.net

But there won't be anyone there until morning, I'm afraid. Simplest thing is to try your login details in your router. If you've been migrated it will connect, if you haven't, it won't.

[psp83]

Just tried and couldn't connect with my IDnet login details.
So looks like BT strikes again. Can they ever keep to times?

[Rik]

They didn't for me, I arrived just after 9 the day after I was due in. Miriam was giving BT stick on my behalf. Sorry it's happened to you too, but rest assured you have the best CS team on your case. Give them a ring in the morning.

[psp83]

Sent support an email and might give them a call in the morning to find out whats the delay.

Hopefully i'll be with IDnet tomorrow my current ISP is really annoying me at the mo 

How can someone use a connection less than 30k

[MoHux]

It's worth getting BT to fit the new-style master socket as, that way, you can judge the impact of your internal wiring on the line. It might then be worth fitting a filtered faceplate yourself. Rumour has it that BT will make the change for anything from free to £30.

That's what I heard!  So I asked BT for a quote ........... I got it; 

£135 for the first hour, and £75 thereafter (I think it was per hour after). 

I still have the old one of course!!!!   

[Rik]

The BT price list, which used to list this job at £30, has now disappeared from the web - perhaps too many people were using it to get the low price, Mo.

A couple of years back, I paid £60 for the fitting of an NTE5 and the fixing of the internal wiring, which was causing me to totally lose sync. I got a friendly engineer, who kept the cost down. ADSL Nation do have an 'old sized' filtered face plate here, if that would help any.

[psp83]

Lets hope my migration will happen today

I'll also phone BT today to see how much they charge to change the box in the hall.

Oh, by the way..
Is my current stats good?



What sync do you think i'll get if i got BT to drop the noise margin to 9 insted of 12 (as it is now)

[psp83]

Just heard back from support, BT are having some system problems that have delayed some orders and there having to do them manually.

[Rik]

What sync do you think i'll get if i got BT to drop the noise margin to 9 insted of 12 (as it is now)

Enough to take you up by 500 in your profile. (You realise, of course, that you are making me very jealous! )

[Rik]

Just heard back from support, BT are having some system problems that have delayed some orders and there having to do them manually.

Good old BT.

[psp83]

Enough to take you up by 500 in your profile. (You realise, of course, that you are making me very jealous! )

Hehe, why is it making you jealous for? whats your sync?

Good old BT.

Yeh and its annoying really since i've already paid IDnet for the connection (which i'm not using because off BT) and my billing period for my current ISP is again soon

[Rik]

I sync at around 3000-3200 and have a profile of 2500. On a good day, I might just sneak up the 64k of sync I need to qualify for a profile of 3000. Milton Keynes may be a 'new' town, but the phone infrastructure is rubbish, with lost of aluminium, fine when it was for voice-only, but nowadays a liability. The local council is setting up a project to take the town wireless, but I have doubts about it on the progress so far.

Hvae a word with CS about the billing date, I'm sure they will be sympathetic.

[psp83]

Just sent Miriam an email about billing.

I don't mind paying for something i'm using but currently im not using idnet and still being charged for it

[Rik]

I honestly don't think you'll find there will be a problem. I'm going to move this thread to the IDNet help section, as it seems more pertinent there (should have done it earlier, but I'm still new at this ).

[MoHux]

The BT price list, which used to list this job at £30, has now disappeared from the web - perhaps too many people were using it to get the low price, Mo.

A couple of years back, I paid £60 for the fitting of an NTE5 and the fixing of the internal wiring, which was causing me to totally lose sync. I got a friendly engineer, who kept the cost down. ADSL Nation do have an 'old sized' filtered face plate here, if that would help any.

Thanks for the link Rik, but I have already fitted one.
Luckily I have a rock-steady connection at 8128/'fast' sync'  .  I just wanted a new type face-plate for completeness, and thought it worth £30.
Actually you know, when you think of it, my router is connected directly to the outside line (via above socket and junction-box), being one of three spurs.  The old type master socket is downstairs!!    So no losses in the Master!

[Rik]

Luckily I have a rock-steady connection at 8128/'fast' sync'  Roll Eyes.  I just wanted a new type face-plate for completeness, and thought it worth £30.

I know how you feel, Mo, at £30 it's worth it, at £130+ it's not. Of course, I'm green with jealousy at your figures, but I know I have a poor line and no ISP in the world can change that, so I've learnt to live with it.

[psp83]

This is getting silly now, i still haven't been migrated

[Lance]

I wonder if they would have done it today if they [BT] didn't have all these other problems to sort. If I were you, I would give CS another call in the morning and I'm sure they will get BT moving!

Sorry I can't be of any more assistance.

[psp83]

Was hoping for it to be done by today as i'm away from tomorrow afternoon till tuesday and my family don't know how to enter the new details. so if its done after i leave tomorrow they will be without the internet all weekend.

And that also means i won't be able to access any files on my computers from my laptop.

[Rik]

As Lance says, you have to call support - there's nothing we can do to help you here unfortunately.

I had a very similar problem when I migrated, but once Miriam got her teeth into BT, it was sorted pretty quickly.

[psp83]

I've been speaking with Miriam for last 3 days.
Basically what i get is, BT will do it when there ready and i requested to migrate on the 27th Feb.

Reminds me why i left BT ages ago. its a pitty we have to have them as a phone service aswell

Do you guys know any good sites where i can get some high quality RJ45 leads at good prices?

[Rik]

Don't know about price, but I tend to buy my cables from Misco. I trust them more than most companies.

BT are a complete pain, and it's unfortunate that it reflects on the ISPs, who have little control over them. If Ofcom was a serious regulator, things would be different, but we all know how much use they are, so I'll leave the colourful phrases out!

Has Miriam been able to find out why they haven't migrated you? I wonder whether it's an exchange equipment issue...

[psp83]

She said BT are having system problems and have to close the migrations manually.
Thanks for the site. i'll take a look at it now.

[Rik]

BT are, indeed, having system problems - it doesn't work!

[psp83]

Here's a bit from the email i got.

BT have some orders currently delayed by a system problem. This means orders are having to be closed off manually which is taking a little longer

But this wait is giving a new meaning to "little longer" 

You would thought being a big company like BT, they would have there problems sorted out already.

Do you think it would be a good idea to give support another phone call and get them put a size 11 boot up BT backside? 

BTW, that site seem's good.

[Rik]

It won't do any harm to give support another call, but I suspect they are doing all they can. An email to BT's CEO, ben.Verwaayen@bt.com , might do some good too.

Misco are a good company to deal with, they're flexible (if you forget something from an order, and call them, they'll add it without charging you more carriage), reliable (they've never yet failed me on next-day delivery) and generally reasonably priced. They're not always the cheapest, but overall I rate them very highly.

[psp83]

I'm really beginning to hate BT. spoke to simon on the phone today, BT has told him my migration has been accepted but has been put into an exception cue.

Which he said, means they haven't got enough staff to change me over or there is problems at the exchange.

And wont know any more information until monday. and theres no eta on when it will happen aswell.

So, i might be an idnetter this time next month lol

I've also put an order in for some leads from that site rik, hopefully wont get no problems with them
Spent over £500 on computer stuff today online

[Rik]

Misco are generally a lot better than BT, psp, so I hope you'll get your stuff with no bother. Spending money is so easy, isn't it.

Have you checked your exchange status here? It might give you a clue as to what the issue is. I hope it's resolved quickly though.

[psp83]

My exchange has been on RED since christmas.

Dunno if that would affect migration thou?

[Rik]

It means they're short of VP capacity. Possibly they need new hardware to enable you to connect?

[psp83]

An upgrade is meant to be done on 16th (probly when i'll get migrated)

Will my MAC still expire in 30 days since i haven't been fully migrated yet even though BTo has accepted it?

[Rik]

I'm really not sure. Best bet would be to call support on Monday to check. My gut feeling is, if the MAC has been accepted and the process initiated with BT, it will be OK, but that's just my (large) gut talking.

[jaydub]

An upgrade is meant to be done on 16th (probly when i'll get migrated)

Will my MAC still expire in 30 days since i haven't been fully migrated yet even though BTo has accepted it?

You should be fine.  Unless something has changed over the last few monhs, the 30 days limit is to place the order with BT.  Once the order has been accepted by BT, it should be honoured (eventually in your case  )

[Rik]

eventually in your case 

Sad for psp, but it made me laugh jaydub.

[psp83]

still waiting

So i phoned BT today, Quote of £170, just so they can come out and change the little phone box. I soon put the phone down, where do they get these figures from? 

[Rik]

Your best bet, perverse as it sounds, is to have a problem after activation which requires an engineer visit. That way, you'd almost certainly get the socket changed, and it wouldn't cost unless there was a fault after the coket on your internal wiring.

[psp83]

Well i've got an eta on migration, this friday..

BUT

my connection has been down since yesterday afternoon, the router has all the new stats etc, so looks like BT are doing something, but its wrong off them to leave me without access to the net. As i've stated before, i need the internet for my work, and i was meant to be doing some work from home last night and due to BT, i couldn't and now i've missed a deadline.

Is there anything i can do about this?

I've phoned IDnet and they said they can't do nothing as its down to BT.

Some advice would be greatful.

Regards,
Paul

[Rik]

Hi Paul

Sorry to hear of your situation. I don't think you will get very far with BT, but it might be worth pushing via your existing provider. Until migration takes place, they are the only ones who can apply pressure for you. IDNet are powerless as you are not their customer yet.

The other thing to try is an email to BT's CEO, ben.verwaayen@bt.com. He does have a hands-on style and might just rattle some cages for you.

[psp83]

Talking to tiscali is like banging you head againts a wall. it hurts and doesn't get you anywhere

I've tried phoning them and they hung up on me and i wasn't being abusive or angry 2 them.

How long does BT CEO take to respond? as if its not today then theres no point in contacting him as migration is due to be completed tomorrow.

[Rik]

It would be worth contacting Ben, imo, to ensure that no-one messes up the migration. He's usually very fast to respond. You may also get some compensation...

[psp83]

I'm back here to let some steam off again!!!

BT really are a joke.

They told IDnet i would be connected by 8am today.
8am came and went, so i phoned idnet and they contacted BT. BT said they cant give an eta now and might not have an connection till next week.

So my connection has been down since wednesday .

Contacted BT CEO, telling him i need my connection for work use and every day i'm loosing money because i haven't got an connection and that i will be invoicing BT for the lose of money.

But a good thing about this is, I now know IDnet support is great its a pitty they don't have more control over BT

[Rik]

I'm really sorry to hear you're still having problems. It's a pity Ofcom doesn't have more control over BT.  Hopefully, your email might stir things a little.

The worrying thing is, at the rate BT are moving, you'll have become a Guru here before you actually get connected to IDNet. 

[psp83]

Finally, after a very long and painfull migration, thanks to BT.

I am now an idnet(ter)

My first speed test.

[Rik]

Welcome aboard, we're glad you finally made it. Have a karma to celebrate!

[psp83]

back at ya

Will be able to give my connection a full test when i get home from work later..

Hopefully i will get better speeds than i did with tiscali. So far, it looks like i will

[Rik]

Thanks.

You know, I can feel you have a bad headache developing from here. I think you should go home early, say about 1:15?

[psp83]

I would if i could, but i have a deadline to finish, and thats due tomorrow. And theres loads to do still..

I went home early last week suffering a bad migraine thats what i get for working with computers all the time 

[Lance]

Welcome to IDNet, at last! Glad you finally made it over!

[psp83]

thanks

[Rik]

I went home early last week suffering a bad migraine thats what i get for working with computers all the time 

I think monitor quality and ambient lighting have much to do with how stressful the work is. My own machines leave me quite relaxed after 10-16 hours/day, but some of the machines I have worked on have caused me significant eyestrain and headaches after just a few hours - it used to be much worse with CRTs, of course, especially those with a 60Hz refresh rate.

Oh well, only a few hours to nirvana!

[psp83]

i'm not finishing work till 8pm tonight, then probly will have to do some more when i get home from the office if i can be bothered and not play battlefield 2

At home and at the office i use 19" Flat screens. Brightness and contrast matches the the darkness off the wall behind the monitor so there no difference between the two causing problems with the eyes. Plus the desks areas are well lighted,

On the other hand, i do suffer from migraines. the doctor told me to find a different job if it continues, but theres no way i'm giving up on being a webdesigner and the good money

[Lance]

I'm guessing that the screens are against a wall, perhaps it may be the case that your eyes don't get a chance to focus on anything in the distance for a long enough period. If all you have is a wall in front of you, every now and then turn and try to focus on something in the distance for 10 seconds or so.

[Rik]

Sound advice, Lance, or should that be visual advice?

I have a window to my left, so I just let my eyes wander off to infinity every 30-40 minutes. It helps to deliberately blink every few minutes too.

[psp83]

everywhere i look in the office theres a computer or someone hitting one lol :p

The monitor is about a foot away from the wall but there are other things i do tend to read or look at, at the side off my desk. I also get up and walk around for abit every 30mins. But i end up walking to one off the other coders and giving them help, so i tend to be looking at a monitor for atleast 8+hrs a day..

Guess i should just walk out the office now and again during the day.

Also if anyone can give advice on some good screen wipes as i've ran out and the last ones was rubbish, left the screen all horrible.

[Rik]

Best thing I know is something called Solution 30, from opticians, coupled with a Calotherm micro-fibre cloth. Both are intended for specs, but do a brilliant job on monitors.

[psp83]

Well i must say. so far so good. Speed hasn't dropped below 5meg tonight

[RobMc]

I agree with Rik. A good microfibre cloth is best for cleaning screens. I got one with my lcd tv and it gets used for all the lcd monitors I have. Occasionally I have to resort to using standard screen wipes first especially when I've been shouting at some of my code that doesn't work 

One thing that surprised me recently is the difference between my desktop tft monitors and my new laptop screen. The laptop has one of these CrystalBrite screens (a shiny one) and it's so crisp, clear and easy to read that I wish I had one on my desktop.

Rob.

[Rik]

Well i must say. so far so good. Speed hasn't dropped below 5meg tonight

I'm reet chuffed for thee!

[psp83]

One thing that surprised me recently is the difference between my desktop tft monitors and my new laptop screen. The laptop has one of these CrystalBrite screens (a shiny one) and it's so crisp, clear and easy to read that I wish I had one on my desktop.

Rob.

Yeh i know what you mean, my laptop has a CrystalBrite screen. But it can be to brite sometimes so i normally put the bightness right down.